Fun and games

Jake is so much fun right now. He's just such a cheerful chap and he loves nothing more than being played with. A couple of days ago he discovered how to blow bubbles with his spit and he spends the whole day blowing bubbles accompanied by little sounds now. The result is a soaking wet t-shirt every day!

He just woke up from his late morning nap and all I could hear through the baby monitor was squeals and coos. When I came into his room, he was lying in his cot beaming at me and kicking his legs with excitement, before letting out a loud squeal to welcome me. While I was changing his nappy, he started giggling as soon as I touched his tummy and spent the whole time squirming on his changing mat, chortling and blowing bubbles.

He loves energetic games like being thrown up into the air or swooping around like an aeroplane. Bouncing him up and down on your knee or pretending to drop him are other things that entice big smiles and giggles. Other than that, he can sit and chew on his teething ring for ages as his teeth are still giving him some discomfort. I can feel one tooth just below the surface of his gums, so it won't be long before it comes through.

Jake can go for days without crying once and he really only cries when he's in pain or when I've made him wait too long for a feed because I'm busy doing other stuff. Over the weekend we had a big party to celebrate Jake's birth, our birthdays, our wedding anniversary and the housewarming. Jake was the perfect party baby! He slept for the first few hours, woke up briefly to charm everyone at the party, had a feed and then slept until late morning. All this when there were 50 people trudging through the house and commenting on all the rooms.

Time for a feed and some playtime now...

Growth spurt

We suspected Jake had been through a growth spurt recently. He was a bit restless and suddenly a whole load of his clothes no longer fit. A visit to the health visitor today confirned that. Our big little boy now weighs no less than 7030 g and he's 65.2 cm tall! The doctor predicted he will be 1.97 m tall when he is fully grown, but it could be 4 cm more than that. Wow. He's apparently in the 5th percentile, meaning 95% of Dutch boys are smaller than him at his age.

The doctor also confirmed our other suspicion - Jake is definitely teething. He's very early, but then he seems to be early with most things. I told the doctor he is really good in rolling over and she raised her eyebrows at that because most babies his age can't do that yet. When I lay him on the mat, he immediately flipped over, as if to prove a point! She was very impressed with his strength and muscle control. When she finally gave him his second lot of vaccinations, he only cried out once and then whimpered for a bit. He's such a champ!

This weekend we went away to the seaside with a whole group of friends, most of whom have slightly older kids. Everyone was so impressed with Jake and we were so proud! He was so cheerful and contented - he slept lots, smiled at everyone and chatted away to anyone who would listen. It was so nice for us to spend some time with our friends, catching up and it was also really good to be able to show off our big boy!

Survival

We survived my first week at work! The first day was soooooo hard. I spent the night before in tears and most of that morning. When I dropped Jake off at my parents' place, I knew he was in good hands, but I felt like something had just been surgically removed from me. It was the hardest thing ever and actually physically hurt. Luckily, I had a new job to go to and with all the first impressions and new information, the day flew by. I only called my mum twice and heard he was doing great. When I picked him up at the end of the day, I was the happiest woman in the world! My parents loved having him and he was such a sweetie. He fed well and slept for ages, smiling and playing the rest of the time. When we got home I breast fed him and was very relieved he didn't reject me after being bottle fed for the day. (I'm expressing milk at work and he gets that when I'm not around). Expressing my milk is going great too - I'm producing quite a stock! I think our freezer will have to be renamed the milk storage...

Tuesday and Thursday he was at my friend's place and her kids (aged 6 and 8) were thrilled that he was there. My friend is totally smitten with him and he did wonderfully again. My friend actually thanked me for letting her spend the day with my son! It's such a relief to know he's OK without us and makes going to work a bit easier. However, I'm not working Wednesdays and Fridays and love having a whole day with him again!

I find I'm willing the hours to pass quickly and so looking forward to the days I'm not working. My new job is great and my colleagues are lovely, but I just can't get into my work with the enthusiasm I'm used to. I need to work in order to be able to live in this house and to survive, basically, but my priorities have shifted dramatically with Jake very prominently as number 1. He is so much a part of me that it is simply impossible to carry on as normal when he's not with me.

Jake is in the middle of a new development right now. He had an awful night on Thursday when he woke up every 3 hours, like a newborn baby, and just wanted to feed the entire time. He's a bit clingy and grouchy and just not his usual cheerful self. Apparently it's very normal around the 3-month mark as they go through a big change then. He has just learned to roll over onto his tummy and loves to do this over and over and over again when he's in his playpen or on his play mat. He's so strong and will lie on his tummy for ages, holding his head up high and looking around. He's also dribbling a lot and chewing on anything he can get his hands on, so I suspect he might be getting his first tooth. A bit early, but then again, some babies are born with teeth, so anything is possible.

Every change in him is utterly fascinating and the more he interacts with us, the more smitten we both are with him. He is worth every tear shed for him and every bit of physical/emotional pain I have to go through for him. He's the most valuable treasure I could ever have imagined having and there is nothing I wouldn't do for him.