Hippos Go Berserk!

Jen and I both had a 3-day weekend thanks to the MLK holiday. I wish I could say we enjoyed it a little more. Our young prince had been making great progress on his nighttime sleep-- with at least a half-dozen nights of 8-9 hours in the sack-- but the past few nights have felt like Jack is a newborn all over again.

We consulted with friends and family who say all the right things, (e.g. "You're not bad parents," or "Don't jump off a cliff,") but we know that ultimately we have to just work hard to help our little guy establish good sleep habits. It's tough now because Jack entered the teething stage. Or at least the crazy-drooling stage.

On a happier topic, Jack's favorite book-- and I can't emphasize favorite enough-- is "Hippos Go Berserk!" Jack smiles at the mere recitation of it (you don't even need the book in hand) and often will give a funny little chuckle upon hearing the final line of the story.

What's especially funny about this is that when he hears the hippo story, he kind of hates other books. You can't go from the hippos to Dr. Seuss or he flips out. Maybe you can transition to something like "Good Night Moon," but don't launch into "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" when the boy is yelling for his hippos!

Cupie Doll, Corkscrew and Mister Man

At some point, I expect we will finally accept Jack's constant state of change as the simple reality of life, but in the meantime, we are regularly surprised and impressed by our little guy. As you know, Jen's "Cupie," as she endearingly refers to Jack, turned on the social charm just in time for Christmas. Lately, he's been working on bursts of babbling. This is entertaining stuff, especially when he slows down long enough to throw a "Ma Ma" out there with just enough of a pause to melt Jen's heart.

My "Corkscrew" has always preferred facing out when he is carried, but now that he's becoming aware of his limbs, he actively pushes and twists his way around rather than simply fussing about being held inward.

This past Sunday was a social day for "Mister Man" (another popular nickname). Josh and Jenn brought Austin in for breakfast down at Mancini's-- a lovely walk to and fro and great grub. Austin and Jack hadn't seen each other since December, but they picked it up just like old times. You know, old times-- like when they were 5 months old.

That same evening, neighbors Jeff & Kathleen brought Ellie over for dinner. Another 6 month old, Ellie is already very athletic and is rocking back-and-forth on her hands and knees. Meanwhile, Jack showed off his block-building skills. (Dad helped a little.)

We're lucky to have so many friends with young ones. It gives us the chance to commisserate about the challenges of parenthood and celebrate the small triumphs that, quite frankly, would bore the socks off anybody who wasn't in "new parent" mode.

A very merry Christmas

Just before the holidays, Jack started to babble. He had been groaning and grunting for a while, but something clicked in his head, and the boy figured out that if he moved his lips and tongue, new sounds would result. Apparently, Jack knew he was about to embark on a social whirlwind of a Christmas trip to Ohio, and he wanted to communicate his thoughts to all the family members he'd be seeing.

Oh, and did I mention that he is super-smiley, too? Between the chattiness and big grins, this kid was a lot of fun over the holiday.

Our trip started in Vermilion and Lorain-- west of Cleveland-- with Jen's family. Grandma Debbie and Aunt Niki took Jack to see Santa (see previous post) and I'd say that Santa got this boy everything he could possibly want.

Thanks to a pair of parties, Jack got to see a bunch of family members, including his cousin Alexandria who already had her passport and was on her way to London! Jack isn't a jet-setter just yet, but he is thinking about some summer travel that will put him in his first airplane.

On Christmas Eve, we set off around 8:30p for Centerville-- south of Dayton-- to see my family. Jack was worn out from all the parties and, since it was his bedtime anyway, slept the entire 200 miles. We took advantage of this rare in-car sleepytime and blitzed straight through without a stop.

Just like up north, there was a long parade of people for Jack to see in Dayton. Jack turned 6 months old on Dec. 26th, and it turns out this was a great age for him to be during the holidays. Not only was he very verbal and smiley, he also engaged people by looking them in the eye.

The long ride home was a small price to pay for a memorable first Christmas. Be sure to click the album below for pictures.

Christmas 07

Hey Santa!

Our annual Christmas adventure started on Friday. The drive to Vermilion (west of Cleveland) began around 11:30am after a morning of packing the wagon. Aunt Niki always rides the first leg of the big Ohio trip with us and then flies home when we continue down to Dayton, so we had three adults with luggage and presents plus Jack and all the stuff that he needs (Jack has two suitcases!) I picked up a rooftop carrier over the summer and put it to good use on this trip.

We made good time on dry roads. Jack was in fine spirits until about the last half-hour of the 400 mile drive, when he decided "enough is enough." Fortunately, we were able to settle him down right away. Grandma Debbie swooped Jack up and he immediately drenched her with smiles and coos. The boy is extremely social right now!

Yesterday, Grandma and Niki took Jack to the mall to get his picture taken with Santa while Jen and I enjoyed a nice date at the movies. As you can see in the photo, Jack didn't panic like other kids when he sat on the big guy's lap. Maybe next year.

Floor exercises

For a while, Jack was fairly content laying there like 2nd base (my dad's expression) and making some grunting and groaning sounds. Things changed since Thanksgiving, however, and our boy has decided he wants to get his groove on and make small-talk.

Jack's got a big ol' head. I call him Charlie Brown from time to time (such a blockhead). Naturally, we assume he's a genius. But while he's a baby, he's got a fair amount of weight at the top of his little body. Lifting himself up is more work for him than the average baby. Despite early protestations, Jack has gotten plenty of "tummy time" and we're starting to see the results.

The Big Sleep

Pop quiz: When you hear the phrase, "The Big Sleep," what is the most appropriate reference?

1. A 1939 murder-mystery novel by Raymond Chandler
2. The 1946 film adaptation featuring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
3. The 1978 re-make with Robert Mitchum and Joan Collins
4. The first full night of sleep Michael and Jen have had in the 168 days since Jack was born (but who's counting?)

There are innumerable books on the topic of how to help your baby acquire better sleeping habits. The methods out there vary dramatically-- from "Let your baby cry for 12 hours" to "Keep your baby in bed with you until he's 5 years old." Jen has been exploring this literature with her trademark research analyst's approach and established a very sensible routine. Starting at 7 o'clock, the "wind-down" occurs with a bath (or just a warm soak-- we don't want to dry his skin out with too much soap) and then a night-time bottle. Right around 8 o'clock, Jack is in his crib, down for the count.

The routine has been going great and we feel like the kid really knows "bedtime," but stretching through the night has been his big challenge. Some babies (especially, we have learned, cesarean, breech, reflux...) have more trouble getting through the night than the average baby. Jack habitually woke up between 1-3 in the morning, often for extended periods. Not fun for mom and dad, especially after 5 1/2 months.

The latest modification to our routine is what the books call a "dream feed." This is an additional bottle that you give the boy between 10-11 o'clock. Basically, you scoop him up while he is still asleep and put the bottle to his lips. With eyes closed (and maybe a little annoyed at the disturbance), he eventually starts eating his late-night snack-- without ever becoming fully awake.

After the dream feed, the little guy goes back down, "tanked up" for the night. Our first dream feed on Wednesday night got us to 3:30 (better than 1 AM, but still not great), but last night Jack slept all the way through from 8 PM until 6 AM. At six, Jen fed him and he slept for another hour and forty-five minutes after that.

We're obviously not going to get too optimistic about last night's result because it could be an isolated event. Nonetheless, it seems that no matter what approach you take, consistency is the key. Kids do better with routines than without. Hopefully our routine will help Jack establish solid sleep habits.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Just like everybody else, we're pretty busy this holiday season. I put up the outdoor decorations and lights, and over the weekend, we trimmed the Christmas tree. Hooray, it's Jack's first Christmas!

Last night, Jeff & Kathleen brought Ellie over for a holiday photo shoot and then dinner at our favorite local joint, Los Tios. The babies were extremely cute and very well-behaved, although Jack crashed early when we got home and then was wide awake for an hour in the middle of the night. His sleep habits have been improving steadily-- he typically goes down around 8 o'clock-- but we still haven't made it all the way through the night without interruption. When he does, I'll call it the Mircale on 34th Street.

The future in-laws

Following our return from Thanksgiving in Ohio, we had the pleasure of catching Shannon & Steve in town with their twins, Wil and Fiona. Steve's mother lives in Bethesda, so we dropped in on Sunday before they headed back to Pennsylvania.

Previously, I gave "WiFi" a shout-out when they turned 1 earlier in November. Seeing them in action is really wild, especially now that they're both motoring around like big kids! Oh the adventures we will have with Jack...

Jack has a few girlfriends in the neighborhood. There's Ellie (Jeff & Kathleen's girl), Sonja (Danna & Sanjay-- our nannyshare neighbors) and #3 is on her way-- Kurt and Courtney are due on Valentine's Day. But Fiona is not "the girl next door."

What does the future hold in store for these little ones? Well, let's just say that the concept of an "arranged marriage" doesn't sound so absurd all of the sudden.

"I wish turkey only cost a nickel"

After our last big road trip over Labor Day weekend (when Jack was 2 months old), we were a little nervous about how Jack would hold up for a long Thanksgiving drive to Dayton. 500 miles each way took its toll on all of us, but I'm happy to report that our little family survived the drive! We also got to enjoy a wonderful holiday with my family.

Highlights of the trip included seeing my sister 5 months pregnant, Jack dazzling everyone with his new moves and the young prince meeting two great-grandmothers. Oh, and a lot of food. I'm glad I wore sweatpants for the drive home. Be sure to check out the Thanksgiving photo album.

Thanksgiving

The Office

I downloaded 15 more Halloween pics from the lost-but-now-found camera and added them to the end of the existing Halloween album. Click the link to check them out.

My office invites everyone to bring their kids in to trick-or-treat the Friday before Halloween. Jack's pumpkin outfit was too warm for indoors, so he just met some of my co-workers and had a good time.

Scott, pictured above, started at my company the same day I did, nearly 6 years ago. He and Jess got married a week after me and Jen. They had their first baby, Drew, about five months before Jack was born. Between Scott and another co-worker and father of two, Juan, I get a lot of pointers on what to expect from fatherhood.