Ramblin' Man

We took Jack to San Diego for his first Thanksgiving. That means we had to fly with a 3 month old. We were prepared for the worst as were the passangers around us when they saw the little guy, but he was a pro. He nursed during takeoff, once in the air, and again during landing and slept the rest of the time. When we got into San Diego he was wide awake and ready to play with his grandparents, which is more than I can say for the two of us.

In San Diego Jack got to meet the bulk of my family. He met his great Uncle Art and Aunt Melissa, Great Aunt Nonnie, Cousin Bitter and her daughter Malloy, Uncle Mac, and his three Great Grandparents, Gamom and Papa, and Grams. He was also introduced to friends at a special tea in his honor. He was on his best behavior for the most part during all the meetings and festivities. He tackled the time change, mostly by refusing to nap during the day and collapsing by about 5 in the afternoon. (This meant we were awakened at 3:30 or so every night but it was hard to hold it against him.) On Thanksgiving proper he was awake and plesant during the pre-meal socializing where he was passsed around between the Greats, then he fell asleep as dinner was being served allowing me to enjoy a delicious meal and a few glasses of a delicious wine (a sparkling Pinot from Argyle, thanks Dad)!

My parents and brother were especially ga-ga about having the boy around. G'pa proudly walked him through town at every opportunity, often 2 or 3 times a day, and took pictures of every moment. Uncle Wolphie had a special nack for flying Jack around the house that kept them both entertained for long stretches. Mimi was ever vigilant, looking for any opportunity to wrap Jack in another blanket or put on a sweater - she earned a new nickname, The Bundler.

The trip home went smoothly. Again Jack seemed quite at home in the air, sleeping between feedings and only requiring one easy diaper change. He slept on the drive back to Lancaster from Baltimore, starting to cry just as we pulled up at the house. As he never really made it onto Pacific time, the time change coming home was no problem.

Jack's first big trip was a resounding success. He loved seeing his grandparents again and meeting new friends and family. Next year he is looking forward to tasting the turkey for himself!

Things They Didn't Tell You, or That You Were too Tired to Hear

Breastfeeding

It is not that easy. Jack refused to eat from the left side for weeks, he would fall asleep while eating, it took awhile for him to figure out how to latch on, etc.

• It hurts! One evening Dan was using the Soothie pacifier and exclaimed, "Boy, this kid really sucks!" I believe my exact response was, "Ya think?!" while rolling my eyes and clutching ice packs to my chest. (the pain has stopped for now, but he should start teething in a few months . . . )
• It's boring. At first, the feedings took an hour or more. There were many 3am feedings during which I fell fast asleep while he ate only to wake up half an hour later to find him still going. He's down to 20-30 minute feedings now, just enough time to catch up on our recorded episodes of The Daily Show or Barefoot Contessa. But really, you are kind of pinned there without even a free hand - not much you can do, and it happens every 3 hours.

Miscellaneous

• You will be sore for quite awhile after giving birth, and if you are breastfeeding all you can do about it is take 2 Advil every 4 hours and hope for the best. Good Luck!
• Not all diapers are created equal. We started with Huggies - not a bottom tier brand by any stretch - and found ourselves going through not only 10 or more diapers a day but at least 3 outfits due to major leakage. We're on to Pampers brand now and except for a few occasional blowouts, due to sheer quantity and shoddy diapering, we are happy with the results.
• If your hair got thicker during pregnancy it is going to fall out after the kid is born. I am currently dropping my locks by the handful and hoping that it stops or even slows before I have less hair than Jack does.
• It will take you at least a half an hour to leave the house and another 15 minutes to get in the car, and even with all that time you will have forgotten the one thing you really need.
• You could scale Everest with less gear than it takes to go down the block for a 15 minute pediatrician's appointment.
• Baby stuff will take over absolutely every room of your house. The bedroom - baby blankets for when he hangs out in bed with us, burp rags because you never know when you might need one. The kitchen - various bottles and pumping equiptment, bouncy chair, pacifiers. The dining room - makeshift changing station, swing, blankets, stroller storage. The living room - activity mat, blankets, sling, nursing pillow, books, toys. The bathroom - q-tips and cotton balls, baby lotion, nursing pads.

Movin' On Up

We have moved Jack out of the little crib at the foot of our bed and into the big crib in his own room. I thought it would be such a liberating moment for us, we'd get our room and some privacy back. So I was surprised the first night when I realized that I missed hearing the little noises coming from the foot of the bed. Don't get me wrong, I slept better than I have in months, but I still felt like something was missing. I'm over that now and am enjoying a quieter room but I still haven't been able to bring myself to take the little crib down to the basement, just in case.

Jack - O - Lantern

It has been a big week for Jack. On Tuesday he had his 2 month doctor visit which included his first immunizations. He had 3 shots in his thighs. The nurse was incredibly fast, she was finishing with the 3rd shot by the time Jack realized he had had the first. Dan came with us to this appointment which was a big help to me. I have to admit it was difficult for me to see my sweet boy being jabbed by needles, I actually teared up a little bit but managed to pull it together by the time it was all finished. The rest of the appointment went well. Jack continues to grow like a weed. He now weighs almost 14 pounds and is over 24 1/2 inches tall. The doc said that he is a very healthy little boy!

Wednesday was Jack's first Halloween. We celebrated by taking a lovely walk in the morning - Fall has finally hit Lancaster, the leaves have turned brilliant colors and the air is crisp and cool. He took a nice long nap during the day so he was well rested for the evening. We made dinner and watched an old horror movie while waiting for the trick-or-treaters. We didn't get as many as I was hoping for, but there were a few groups of cuties. Jack and Otis were both pretty agitated by all the knocking and doorbells but they both managed to pull through and enjoy the evening.