Jack: 5 months

I seriously can NOT get enough of this picture..I am sooo one of "those moms" who whips out her camera and shows this pic to anyone who will look at it. What's more, my grandpa "Sonny" who passed away when I was in 6th grade, used to wear plaid pants and various "get-ups" similar to this outfit....LOVE it!!!

I reflect on this past month and very much view these last 30 days as a time where our whole family was "getting in to the groove" of things.  Many transitions have occurred lately and this month, we have worked on stability, routine, consistency and just creating some calm after the waves.  I would say that Jack is fully adjusted to 5 days a week daycare and is thriving in that setting.  With the exception of HOW our provider communicates with us and the lack of tact in some of her statements, she loves him so much and is really trying hard to help him develop and enjoy his time in her daycare.  I am also pretty much adjusted to being back in the groove of work and being in that setting again.  I have been SOOOOOO busy at work I can barely keep up and as we speak I have 6 outstanding assessments that need to be done and I am booked with back to back clients for the next 3 weeks.  It is a blessing and a curse to be so busy in my field.  

While being so busy and trying to keep up, it is with mixed emotions that I report Jack is 100% on formula as we complete this month.  He is a tank, he is a pig, he loves him some grub and I can not keep up.  I starting supplementing with formula right at 4 months and at the completion of this month, my freezer stash was gone, my pump sessions yielded next to nothing and our nursing (for nutrition and milk) has come to an end.  I am enjoying the new freedom and decrease in anxiety and "need to plan ahead-ness" that I used to have while full on nursing; however, I also sometimes feel like I failed my child knowing I COULD have done multiple different measures to try and strengthen my supply.  I know could have quit my job, I could have pumped 3x over night, I could have taken pills, ate more, drank more, slept less, pumped more, nursed more, ate oatmeal, overdosed on fenugreek, done cartwheels and painted my face purple but I didn't want to.  Adding an extra 5-6 months of breast milk knowing that Jack is about to start solids soon and seeing how healthy and fine Mia has turned out...I decided not to give a shit.  The hold up for me has been knowing that Jack will be our last child and that I will never again be able to experience the bond that is created through nursing again.  I know I'll have bonds with my kids in other ways, but the things was that Jack and I both loved this experience.  Ahhh bless...we had a good run Bud.  

Plus...he basically is chompin at the bit trying every day to get as many fingers/fists in his mouth as he can...I keep waiting for that 1st tooth. 

You kinda see this in the pic but a funny thing I have noticed with Jack lately is his intense eye contact...like almost a little stalker creepy-like :)  He is so curious of his world around him that he will just sit and stare at people even if he's doing his own thing...but it's cute nonetheless.  

Jack loves his baths now which makes everything more pleasant.  He has outgrown the sling type thing and basically outgrown the infant tub...but he looks too cute in it to stop using it just yet.  Plus, he can't sit up on his own yet to be in a real tub...so there's that too.

 Jack is still rockin the swaddle at night and doing quite well with it.  We have had to switch to the larger size of course, but he seems to stay still and sleep solid when we wrap him up tight and prevent the random flailing of arms that can occur.  Mia was swaddled until 6 months and I imagine Jack will be too....especially since this chill lump of a dude hasn't mastered the art of rolling over just yet.  Jack CAN roll over if he wants to and I have seen him do it on several occasions...he just doesn't AT ALL seem interested.  It's like...why would I roll over when I am fine just chillin right here?  I won't start worrying about his motor development too much until he decides not to walk until he's like 3 or something.

Another huge "groove" our family is getting in to is the fact that Nate is now finishing his 3rd month ( I think) of being self employed and working full time at home in our basement.  It has been a while since started his venture of "sticky" and switching it over to full time employment has been an adjustment...that has been extremely beneficial so far....thank GAWD!  Nate seems to bond more with Jack and the kids seem to like being around their dad more now that he has the freedom and space to do his current passion.  With that, we have not had a lot of time to upload and photo shop pictures...let alone take them.  Jack has come along with us for some fun family outings and cabin visits this past month, but we did not do a good job of documenting...our bad.  So the random segue I guess is that Fathers Day was fun as we went out of town to our neighbors cabin for the 3rd year in a row and Jack was able to enjoy some family time with us and with good friends.

 Jack and neighbor buddy Luke lounging in the shade while the older kids went bonkers.

There are so many pics from this weekend but we didn't take many...these few pics are thanks to our neighbor :)

Same old thing, different location :)

Luke and Jack: High on life.

This is the Fathers Day art project the kids made for Nate.  Jack looks so startled by the whole thing but damn that is cute! 

Well, Jack-a-boo, Buds, Bubbers...I am, as always, very excited to see what you have in store for us next month and beyond.  You have been such a chill and cuddle-bug baby and I am loving all the snuggles I can get.  Sleep tight, love you.