Super-Fudge!

Jack Thoughts, Volume 1

Squash

I decided to try giving Jack oatmeal again yesterday and he did very well. We tried it again this morning and he was even better. The kid wants to eat. Since he isn't doing as much from his bottle anymore, we decided to call Dr Winiger to ask if we can take his solids to the next level.

She gave us the OK to try yellow veggies first, then green if he does well. On her way home from work, Taylor bought squash for Jack and he LOVED IT! The kid ate it down like there was no tomorrow. We were both extremely excited to see him going at it so well.

Now, we just keep it up with the squash for a week to make sure he is not allergic and then we try sweet potatoes. If that goes well, then peas! The possibilities are opening up for Jack and we cannot wait to try everything with him!

Sleep Cycle

Jack is in the middle of Day 5(of 10) for his antibiotics for his ear infection. The fever is now gone, the coughing almost gone, and the flatulence at an all time high. He has pooped once each day for the last 4 days and gotten it on his clothes twice at day care.

He has also taken to being cradled to sleep, which he has not done since he was 2-3 months old. Taylor said it best when she told me she missed holding this 20 pounder like a baby again.

But, the price this illness did was cause the wonder of Jack sleeping through the night to end. Over the past 2 weeks, he has gotten up almost every night either around midnight or 1am to just waking up early at 4 or 5am. I have slept through almost all of them, but Taylor has been getting up to check on him and get him back to sleep. It was due to coughing before, but now it is because he has kicked his blanket off and is cold.

Silly Fudge.

Hopefully once the antibiotics are all done, he will go back to his old habits. If not, we are in for a rude awakening (no pun intended) after being spoiled by sleep filled nights.

Trooper

The source of Jack's eye scratching and latest bout with crankiness has been solved.

Taylor took him to the doctor today because his gasping coughs and slight temperature had us concerned. Dr. Winiger determined Jack had an ear infection. Despite being on the tail end of it, she said it was the reason for the fever, the sinus pain that caused him to scratch at his eyes, and the fever.

The amazing thing is Jack still was not that bad attitude wise with the infection. He still played, had fun, and was in overall good spirits. This kid is a trooper of the highest caliber. I am very proud of him.

5 Months Old

It is unbelieveable that Jack is 5 months old! I can almost not remember him being any other way than he is right now. My parents visited this past weekend and they adore Jack and tell us how lucky we are.

I would never take back any of the hardships we have endured or that Jack has endured. It has made us a strong family and the happiest 3 people on the face of the earth.

I look forward to the next few months which, as I hear, are some of the most exciting in all of babyhood.

Jack's New Day Care Provider

Jack & Coke!

Jack in a mock ad for his future modeling career.

Passed Out (From Every Angle)

Jack + Exersaucer = An Exersausage

Squeal-zebub

Jack, despite having no voice, still attempts to squeal with glee at every opportunity. Unfortunately, the register of his voice can only be heard by dogs right now. So, too look at him, one would think he was having trouble breathing. Trust us folks, he is happy but you just can't hear him.

Jack's 1st Valentines

Jack came home with a pair of Valentines from his classmates at daycare. Too bad both were from boys!

The Worsening Cough

Jack started coughing in his sleep Friday night. It woke him up a few times, but he managed to get back to sleep. By Saturday, he had a 100 degree fever and the cough started sounding phlegmy. This morning, his voice was very hoarse and he still had a mid 99 degree fever. He was upset and cranky. He had woken up at 4am and had trouble getting back to sleep. Taylor had to cradle him to sleep.

Taylor is taking him to the doctor this morning for a checkup, just to make sure the cough isn't anything serious. I will update once I hear from Taylor.


2/13/07
Happy to report Jack is starting to feel better. His fever broke this morning and his voice is starting to come back. He still cannot make the high pitched squeals when he gets excited but that is the extent of his limitation at this point.

Dr. did advise that he not go back to daycare till the worst of the cold is over so my mom is watching him today at our house.

Dr. did not notice any labored breathing or fluids in his lungs and that the phlegmy cough is most likely just that....phlegm and drainage from his nose running down the back of his throat.

His nose and ears looked good as well...no redness or sign of infection.

We have a vaporizor going in his room and his mattress elevated. I think it's helped him sleep through the night. He did not wake during the night.

Just got a call from my mom....he took only an hour nap, but his playing, in good spirits and talking up a storm now that he has his voice back.

Sigh....his father was once nick-named 'Motor Mouth'. Sigh.

No One Told Us

We are in the process of finding a new day care provider.

The facility Jack goes to now is not ideal. He competes with 12 other infants for attention. There was one day where he ate at 10:30am, then napped from 2-5pm and didn't have another bottle till he got home at 6pm. Not a happy day. Also, one of the teachers at the day care mentioned she had no idea she was supposed to put karo in Jack's bottles for constipation.

There are days when no one can tell us if he napped in his crib or in a swing. We used to get a report of what he'd done during the day but that only lasted for the first week he was there. We do not get timely heads up when he's running low on diapers or wipes. I would imagine he's running low on wips by now but no word from the day care.

Also, they advertise 1 teacher for every 4 infants. There are 12 infants in that room so you'd figure 3 teachers. Most days, I walk in and only two are there. If there is a third teacher, I believe she is shared between the infant room and the toddler area.

I told myself I would give 'facility' day care at least one month before deciding to switch or anything. And right now, we may be on our way to in-home day care. I've already talked to someone a coworker suggested and already I got a good feeling about her. When I told her I hated facility day care, she replied, "No one told you that you'd hate it?"

I hope this works out. This lady is on my way to work and only 5 miles from where Alex works. Wish us luck.

Boys Night

Taylor had an outing with some coworkers last night, so it was just the boys. I picked up Jack and he decided to be in a bad mood and screamed off and on until we got home, where he was fine.

We ate, we played, we went to bed at a reasonable time. Soon enough, Taylor was home and we hit the sack for another Jack-ventful day.

Now that we figured out Jack was overtired, bedtime is a breeze. Now, if only we could solve the car screaming issue.

The Screaming

Jack has decided to scream as if he is in extreme pain. He only does it when in the car on the way home in the evening. We think it may have to do with not getting good naps those days. We initially thought it was a daycare issue, but he also did it leaving Wany and Jae's house. It is the worst sound you could ever imagine hearing. The only way to make it stop is to get home. As soon as he is in the house, he stops, smiles, and acts as if nothing happened.

The experiment of being a parent continues.

Jack's Super Bowl Predictions

Yeah, my Bears are gonna run all over the Colts. Yeah, go Grossman, down with Manning!


I don't like Peyton Manning. Yeah, he bothers me.


Three points! That is all we need to win! And, we got the secret weapon: Robbie "Solid" Gould! Awwww yeah!


But, I don't like Peyton Manning!


What do you mean the weather won't be a factor? Are you kidding me?

The Solid Food Experiment

While it would be a stretch to say rice cereal is "solid," it is definitely a spoonfed food, and a milestone for Jack. He didn't take to the spoon like a natural, but he showed definite signs that he will be a good eater. He didn't seem too fond of the taste, but then again it doesn't exactly scream gourmet. We will try a little each night until he gets the hang of it, and hopefully by the next visit (6 months), we will be pros at cereal and move on to fruit and veggies!

Jack Eats a Solid (Well, Sort of...)

4 Month Checkup

Official Stats (Updated 1/26/07)

NAME: MAIDY, JACKSON A
RANK: ROOKIE
LEAGUE: AMATEUR
WEIGHT: 16 lbs 6 oz (90th Percentile)
LENGTH: 26.25 inches (50th Percentile)
HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE: 17 (75th Percentile)
IMMUNIZATIONS: HIB, DTAP, IPV, PREVNAR
LENGTH OF CRYING DURING/AFTER SHOTS: Stopped immediately when shots finished.

NOTES: Jackson has been given the go ahead to begin trying solid foods, beginning with rice cereal.

Jack Discusses Current Affairs (and does so with more skill and literacy than the President of the United States, oh, and he drools less)

Where's Waldo?

Can you find the child (aka Fudgy, Fudge E. Numpkins, Tummy Salesman, Jyack-Jyack, Doo-Boo) on the couch? Observe how neatly his feet are brought together!

Ah-hahahaha!

Jack Supports His Noggin!

Anatomy of a Sneeze

STAGE 1: CALM BEFORE THE STORM
Also known as Normalcy. This is the point at which you don't know a sneeze is coming.











STAGE 2: BUILD-UP
A dangerous stage. Very often the sneezer will exhibit positions of cuteness such as yawning, wide open eyes, lifting their fists, etc. These cute examples often lead to confusion when the sneeze results.











STAGE 3: SHOCKWAVE
The power of a bullet ricochets through the body of the sneezer resulting in what can only be considered an earthquake within the nose. The sneezer will rocket forth sounds like machine guns being fired.











STAGE 4: AFTERSHOCK
The dazed expression on the sneezer's face is a direct result of the barrage the sneeze puts their skull through. This expression usually lasts until they realize they have snot in their mouths.











STAGE 5: SHAME
Very often, the sneezer is embarassed by the mucus that was expelled from their body. While sneezing is common to all humans, we still cannot help but feel estranged when it is caught on film.

Jack's NEW Achievement

Only days before he is 4 months old, Jack wowed us by doing something he has never done before. While on his tummy, he lifted his head completely straight and supported himself. This was the coolest thing we had ever seen because it just came out of nowhere. The last time we put him on his tummy, he was having difficulty even holding his head up. But now, he plays on his stomach and looks in his mirror. He can only keep it up for about 10 minutes or so, but just the fact that he does it so naturally makes us feel awesome.

Jack Eats Victor

Victor is Jack's new favorite toy, a plush rattle purple giraffe. Where the name came from, I don't know. But, Jack loves to shove the head of the giraffe as far as he possibly can into his mouth. See for yourself.

Exersaucer

Jack's first excursion in the exersaucer. He doesn't quite fit yet, but he enjoys being in it.

More 100th Day Photos

Here are some long over due 100th Day celebration pictures. Surrounded by family and friends, Jack celebrated the New Year as well. We all had a lot of fun!

It is Korean custom to take a picture of a baby boy in his birthday suit and Jack is no exception to the rule...but we will refrain from posting THOSE pictures and save them for bribery later in life...like when he brings his first girlfriend over for dinner. Hahahaha!

Cold

Jack is just getting over his first cold. He has been very congested and snotty. Luckily, he seems to be past the peak of the cold and on his way to recovery. As for us, we hope it is a long time before he gets sick again.

New Layout

We hope you like the new layout of the blog. The old version was getting boring to look at. This new one is Jack approved. Although he did say he would rather like a background that didn't make him look like he was scared of a bear puppet. But, we outvoted him 2-1.

The new title of the blog comes from a nickname given to Jack by his grandmother. "Tummy salesman" is the literal English translation from Korean. She was trying to make fun of his round gut.

Sleep

So, the reason Jack has been so cranky each evening for the past 2 weeks has been solved. He was overtired!

But, not just overtired. REALLY overtired.

Taylor and I got the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child which has helped us immensely.

Jack is not a bad sleeper; once he is down, he stays asleep. The problem was getting him to fall asleep at night. According to the book, there are several things we were doing wrong.

1) Babies should not be awake for more than 2 hours at a time when under 9 months of age. (We were keeping Jack up for up to 5 hours at a time!)

2) Babies should not be rocked to sleep. They should be put into their cribs at a drowsy state so they can get used to putting themselves to sleep. (We rocked Jack in his chair until he was completely out!)

3) Babies should not nap/sleep with an adult's face near their face as it is distracting and keeps the baby from falling asleep. (When Jack didn't sleep, we brought him to our bed which stimulated him more.)

I am sure that each parent follows a different sleep method for their baby, especially those with difficult sleepers. But, with these few tips and some minor tweaks to his nap schedule, Jack has already shown an improvement! We learned quickly over the last few days that it is more important for Jack to sleep well and grow healthy than to spend his waking hours constantly playing with us. That time will develop as he gets stronger and can stay awake longer.

Jack Laughs

Here is a quick clip of Jack laughing. It started as isolated chuckles, but now he has sustained laughs when he sees something funny over and over again. It is pretty cool that he keeps doing it and knows what he is doing.

The Greatest Generation Meets Generation Z

Jack spent a good amount of time with his Great-Grandmother this past week. This was the first time they met, and boy did they hit it off. I don't know which of them talks about the other one more. It was nice to see the generations of my family come together.

Next time they see each other, Jack will be eating real food and sitting up by himself. Boy does time fly!

Day Care

Jack went to day care for the first time today. Amidst many tears from Mom, I broke down too. We both wish there was an alternative to leaving Jack with strangers, and hopefully there will be very soon. Taylor's mom is contemplating ways to help us out. Both Taylor and I are trying to work out accomodations with our work to try and get time off during the week. Anything and everything will be attempted to try and have family or friend stay with Jack until he is a year old.

We will update as soon as anything changes.

PS: Christmas, New Year, and 100th Day Photos coming soon!

100th Day

Here are some photos from Jack's 100th Day celebration. Thank you to everyone who joined us!

A Message from Baby New Year:

HAPPY 2007!