Someone is Getting BIG!

Here's a quick way to see how much Jackson has grown in the last two months.

The first photo was taken on April 26; the second was taken on June 19.

When C and I compared these photos, we were shocked to see how much J truly has grown in just under two months. I know he's getting bigger, but when we see him every day, the rate at which he's growing isn't as noticeable as it is once we compared these photos.

2-Month Check-up

Happy two months to Jackson!

Yesterday our man turned two months old and today was his check-up - he did great and the doc had great things to say: he's 'thriving' and is a very healthy baby.

Here are his key stats:
- Height: 24.5 inches (98th percentile)
- Weight: 13 lbs, 15 oz (85th percentile)
- Head circumference: 40.5 cm (80th percentile)

We had started to see some improvements in his colic last week but he's been a little fussy again the last few days - the doctor confirmed that we are on the downhill and we should continue to see improvements between now and three months, and confirmed that J should be completely through it by four months.

J seems to nap the best when in his bouncer, which was one of the things I asked the doctor about. While he confirmed it's not a huge deal, he did confirm that it's best for J's long term sleeping habits to get him sleeping in the same place during the day that he's sleeping at night (which is his crib). While he will go down for a nap in his crib sometimes, it only lasts for 30-45 mins but in the bouncer, J can nap for hours. So, that's what I'm going to work on over the next few weeks, especially since I'll be going back to work in August and he'll be starting daycare in September - gotta make sure he's able to nap comfortably and long in a crib, or else they'll kick him out (or, at least that's what I'll tell him!).

J was very happy and calm the whole time we were there, but when it came time for his three shots, he became the saddest boy I've ever seen and it about broke my heart! It was so sad to see him go from being so happy to so upset in less than a second --- but he calmed down quickly as soon as the shots were over with and I was able to pick him up and hold him. He even had some more smiles left in him on the way to the car, but he's been passed out every since we left and I think he'll be pretty sleepy the rest of the afternoon.

Looking forward to J kicking colic and to see what exciting milestones the next two months bring us!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Tart

If you're looking for a quick and easy dessert recipe for any upcoming summer gatherings, look no further than this salty and sweet creation: peanut butter pretzel tart with caramel drizzle. I found this recipe in a recent Rachael Ray magazine and had been dying to try it out, so when Joan invited us over to lunch this past weekend, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finally whip this up.

It was pretty quick and easy, and turned out very yummy --- I thought it might be pretty heavy and very sweet, but it was actually fairly light and the salty pretzel crust helped cut the sweetness.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Photo courtesy of Rachael Ray Magazine.

Eventful Weekend

We had a busy, but fun-filled Father's Day weekend and with both Curtis and Elliott in town, we were able to get in lots of quality Moran family time and enjoyed lots of yummy food.

Here are some of the highlights from our weekend:

• On Friday, Corey's fam came over and Jackson met his Uncle E for the first time. Then we headed to Thaiku for dinner, followed by gelato from D'ambrosio for dessert.



• Saturday found the Morans back at our place for breakfast which included fabulous pastries from Cafe Besalu.



• Saturday evening, Corey, Jackson and I headed over to the Gossetts to help Chris celebrate his 34th birthday. We popped J in the Bjorn and he did really well again, and true to his form after a party, he slept all the way through the night, without waking up for a 4 a.m. feeding.



• On Sunday, J, Roxy and I celebrated Corey's first Father's Day by letting him relax in bed a bit, getting him Starbucks and opening presents. Then we headed over to Joan's for a yummy Father's Day lunch.

All in all a great weekend and we're looking forward to the next weekend so we can spend some more time with C!

Three generations of Moran men.

J and Uncle E --- neither looked very comfortable with each other, but I'm sure they'll grow to like each other more.

Cuddle time with Gramma.

Quality time with Grampa.

Even Roxy got some cuddle time.

Corey's presents from J, Roxy and I (and yes, those are boxers with black Frenchies on them! Props to Joan for seeing those and telling me about them!):

8 Weeks

Jackson's had some huge milestones over the past week or so - it continues to amaze me how quickly he changes and grows. And I can't believe he's almost 2-months old!

Outfit from Joan & Curtis, on their recent trip to Paris - love how grown up J looks!

Feeding
He's started eating 5-6 oz at a time (though he did put away 8 oz in less than 20 minutes during one feeding today!), and has cut back from 8-9 feedings / day to 7. He's now going 3+ hours between feedings during the day and he goes for 5-7 hour stretches at night. One night last week, he even went 9 full hours between feedings overnight --- love that!

Schedule
He's definitely been on a more consistent schedule this week:
- 7-8 a.m. - wake up and first feeding, followed by play time and a nap
- 11 a.m. - second feeding, followed by play time and a nap
- 2 p.m. - third feeding, followed by play time and a nap
- 5 p.m. - forth feeding, followed by play time and a nap
- 8 p.m. - fifth feeding
- 10:30 p.m. - sixth feeding, followed by bed time
- 4-5 a.m. - last feeding

But, as we've discovered, as soon as you get used to something, it changes! Today, he started going closer to 3.5 hours between feedings (and even went over 4 hours at one point), so I'm sure our schedule will change again soon!

Colic
J had a great week without any major crying fits. I think one of the keys has been making sure he is getting some good naps in throughout the day so he doesn't get too tired. And I'm not sure if it's related or not, but typically every morning between 5-6:30 a.m., he moans and groans and seems to be in a lot of discomfort while sleeping. Typically, we give him his colic tablets and move him from his crib to his bouncer, which seems to help. But we even saw improvement here this week --- his discomfort didn't seem nearly as bad and he even stayed in his crib until his first feeding several mornings.

Crib vs. Bouncer
J has done great in his crib overnight since day one; however, he's never really napped well there. This week, though, he had several 45-60 minute naps in there, and even spent some time in there durng the day looking at his mobile or "talking" to himself as he falls asleep. When he wakes up before nap time is over, I'll move him to his bouncer and he'll falls right back asleep until his next feeding, at least but he seems to be getting more comfortable there during the day.

Other Notables
Jackson continues to drool a lot, and has started sucking on his fists a lot, evening finding a finger once or twice.

His neck gets stronger every day and during tummy time, he props himself up on his elbows and looks around quite a bit. To help lift his head up each time, he uses his feet to push off the floor, which ultimately ends up pushing his whole body forward, so throughout the course of tummy time he often "army crawls" forward 6+ inches. And he has started batting at the toys that hang from his play mat.

He's started to roll onto his side and if it weren't for that pesky arm that he's laying on, he'd be rolling over. We'll leave him in his crib to run and grab a bottle and come back and he's completely on his side but that dang arm just keeps getting in the way!

Right before we feed him, we put a bib on him (he's a bit of a messy eater), and even when he's super hangry, he stops crying since he knows a bottle is coming his way. But we have to be quick --- he gets very impatient if we're not quick enough!

And he has been "talking" a ton more - it's so cute to hear him across the room babbling to himself or in response to us talking to him. He also smiles more and more every day and we love trying to get smiles out of him, especially right after he eats, which is when he's happiest.

Totally TMI but he's definitely been pooping way less every day (only 1-2 times vs. 3-4); however, these ones smell AWFUL and make me gag every time. And while we're on this topic, while changing him during one of his 4 a.m. feedings this week, he wasn't quite done and literally shot poop 2 feet from his changing table, hitting the wall, floor and lamp in the process. It was probably the only time I've ever laughed this early in the morning.

Stay tuned for J's current stats after his 2-month check up later this week.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the three best dads I know --- you are all such amazing men and truly bring so much joy to our lives. Life would not be the same without you --- Roxy, Jackson and I truly don't know what we'd do without you!




And to Corey - happy first Father's Day to you! You are a fabulous dad and I can't wait for Jackson to get just a little older, so he realizes how lucky he is. Thank you for being such a great parenting partner in crime - I have no idea how I'd do it without you! I love you so much!

High Tech Hi

I know Corey misses Jackson when he's at work so I often text him pictures of Jackson throughout the day so C knows what we're up to. Recently though, I decided to leverage the web cam that's built into my laptop and the Video Call feature within Messenger to occassionally show C quick live footage of our little man.

Even though we can't see or hear Daddy (he doesn't have a web cam or microphone on his work computer), it gives C a fun way see Jackson when we check in every few days.

Here are a few photos from our quick conversation yesterday afternoon.

Colic Confirmed

Last week, I took Jackson into the doctor to see if it was colic, or something else, that was causing our little man to be fussy.

Based on his symptoms and age, the doc confirmed that J does have 'mild colic', saying that it probably puts him at a 7 on the spectrum of babies and how 'difficult' they are in general (10 being the most difficult). The great news is that he is completely healthy and growing quickly --- he weighed in at 12.9 lbs, which is 3 lbs more than his previous appointment four weeks earlier.

The other good news is that colic typically peaks at weeks 5-6, and with him being almost 7 weeks old at the time of the appointment, the doc thought we'd start to see improvement gradually between then and 2 months old, and even more improvement by 3 months old, with colic going away completely by around 4 months. In fact, over the past four days, he's been great and hasn't really had any unexplainable fussy periods. He's also been sleeping really well, both during his naps, and at night.

Fingers crossed this trend continues...but the meantime, we have found the Bjorn to work wonders at helping keep him calm, especially when out and about.

Summer Celebrations

With Corey's dad and brother planning to be in town over Father's Day weekend, we packed up and headed over to Yakima this past weekend to celebrate Father's Day with my dad. My grandma's birthday happens to be next weekend as well, so we were able to celebrate with her while we were in town, too.

It was Jackson's second trip to Yakima and he did great in the car, both ways. We did stop to feed him about 30 minutes from Yakima on the way there, but he still went over three hours without eating, which was a record for him during the day. Roxy did much better in the car this trip, but Corey was holding her, which always helps her behave.

It was sunny and in the upper 70's in Yakima, which was fabulous and allowed us to break out the summer clothes and shoes -- we so needed a little bit of sun and heat after our lackluster Seattle spring.

While we were in town, Corey and I were even able to sneak away to see Bridesmaids while my parents watched Jackson. We had a great date and thoroughly enjoyed the movie, while J had a blast at home with my parents, who played with his Ernie stuffed animal.

Had a great weekend and look forward to a few more Yakima adventures this summer.

Cytochrome P450 3A4

If you don't know what Cytochrome P450 3A4 is, just ask Kelsey, the newest PhD graduate in town!

Even though she's been working for the last four weeks, Kelsey officially graduated from the University of Washington's School of Pharmacy yesterday as a Doctor of Philosophy in Medicinal Chemistry. Over the last six years, she's poured blood, sweat and tears into school and into her research titled 'Mechanism-based Inactivation of Cytochrome P450 3A4: An Examination of the Sequential Metabolites of Dilitazem and the Reactive Metabolites of Trans-Resveratrol'. (Note: While it may sound like I know what I'm talking about, please do not ask me what this means. I simply copied this down from yesterday's graduation ceremony program and actually I have no idea what this means, other than 'resveratrol' means red wine or is something in red wine, which is all that matters.)

We are so proud of (our extremely smart friend) Kelsey for all of her hard work and so happy that she's received her PhD. I was so glad I was able to attend her graduation yesterday, as I missed her dissertation (the presentation of her thesis, which would have helped me better understand what all her research was about) since it was on April 25, just two days after baby Jack was born. (We keep joking that we need to better plan our huge life events to not conflict with each other.) And not only did Kelsey earn her PhD, she had a job lined up at ProteoTech, a drug development company, months before she was even done with school.

After the ceremony, Corey, Jackson and I headed over to her house, along with some of her other friends and family, to celebrate the awesomeness that is Kelsey. We had a great time and not only were we thrilled to celebrate and toast Kelsey, Jackson was on his best behavior, which helped make for a very enjoyable (and stress-free) evening.

Congrats Kels! We are so excited for you, your new degree and career and can't wait to see what kinds of drugs you help develop!

Apparently parties wear J out --- he slept for about six hours straight last night (which is only the third time he's slept that long!)

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Roxy!

We are truly horrible puppy parents - Roxy's third birthday came and went on June 7 without our usual celebration. We talked about it last week and discussed how we'd celebrate her big day this year, given that she's been such a good big sister to Jackson, but when Tuesday rolled around this week, we completely forgot!

So during our errands around Ballard today, J and I popped into All the Best to pick up some extra special treats and two new squeaky toys to celebrate Roxy's big day. She loved the treats and spent much of the evening playing with her new toys. In addition, I'm going to take just her on a long walk tomorrow morning, which I'm sure she'll love. And we'll be sure to give her some extra love and affection - she's truly been such a good dog with baby J in the house.

We definitely don't have as much cuddle or fetch time for her as used to or as we'd like, but she seems to still love us. Now she simply follows us around more and if we stop anywhere in the house, she plops down behind us and waits for our next move. It's like her way of making sure we remember that she wants to spend time with us, regardless of where that might be, and her way of keeping tabs on us. She also will often lay on Jackson's rug when we're in there feeding or changing him. And she doesn't seem to mind the crying anymore --- she used to run into his room when he'd cry, but now she'll just open an eye from the couch (as if to say 'he's crying again???') as we walk by to go take care of him. And honestly, she just seems very interested by him, often trying to sneak a lick of his face or hands when he's doing tummy or back time on his play mat. Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come and when he's old enough to play with her, they'll be BFFs.

Happy 3rd birthday, Roxy! We love you, even though you may think otherwise lately.

Joggin' with Little J

With the nice weather over the past weekend, Corey decided to head out for a run with Jackson in the BOB. It was the first time Jackson (and the BOB) have been out for a run, but it sounds like it went well though Corey mentioned it was a bit more of a workout than he'd expected given the coordination and effort required.

Jackson seemed to like the run - perhaps it was the air the BOB caught when going over bumps at a running speed.

I'm looking forward to the day (hopefully soon as my 6-week check-up is tomorrow) that the whole family can go out for a run!

Introducing J to Via

To celebrate our 5-year "First Date" and "Engagement" anniversary, we headed to Via Tribuali as we've done in years past. The difference this year was that it wasn't just the two of us celebrating - baby Jack joined us!

While we weren't able to make the date happen on the big day (May 31), we snuck it in last night. We were a bit nervous that J would get fussy, but he (very pleasantly) surprised us by sleeping through most of dinner and not making a peep until we walked in the front door at home afterwards.

It was great to be able to keep our tradition alive, while also introducing the newest member of our family to one of our favorite Seattle restaurants.

Fussiest Baby on the Block

Parenthood has become a whole lot more, should I say interesting (read: difficult, exhausting, demanding), over the last few days, let me tell you! The fussies have arrived at our house in full force and we are quickly learning just how true it is when other parents say that just as you figure one thing out, babies can quickly and easily change things up.

Until this week, Jackson really only cried when he was hungry or needed to be changed (but mostly just when he was hungry); however, that has completely changed. He still cries to let us know when he's hungry, but he now often cries uncontrollably between feedings when we know he's not hungry and when we know he has a clean diaper. Things like his bouncer, which used to keep him occupied so I could grab a shower, cook a quick dinner, etc, or the use of his pacifier or rocking him in the glider for a few minutes if he did get a little fussy or tired over the previous five weeks no longer consistently do the trick. He used to nap for an hour or two at a time, and now he'll only nap for maybe 30 minutes before waking up crying, leaving us frantically trying everything to get him to console him or get him back to sleep if he still shows signs of tiredness.

Sometimes, we're able to calm him with a mixture of rocking, patting his back, 'shhhh'ing', a white noise app, swaddling, and his pacifier, but other times, he continues to be upset, leaving us feeling very helpless and so sad for our little man.

After some research online, we're wondering if he possibly has colic since many of his symptoms align. During our research we found that Mylicon (infant gas drops) and Hylands Colic Tablets have worked wonders for other parents in the same situation, so we picked both of those up over the weekend and have (sparingly) used those when nothing else helps --- while they do provide him some relief and the ability to settle down for a bit, he definitely still has his uncontrollable fussy periods or fussy periods that seem as though they'll never end.

Luckily, Corey is a HUGE help and we make a good team, passing J back and forth (since holding him seems to keep him most calm for the longest period of time) so the other can get things done.

Note to our friends: If we happen to pass up any social engagements in the near future, please don't take it personally --- we just don't want to subject you (or your ears!) to the fussiness until we can better manage it or until it passes (which I hope is SOON!).

And by the way, if anyone has any tips for dealing with the fussies, we are ALL ears...just as soon as we turn down the white noise that has taken over our house these days.

Family Picnic

With temps in the mid-to-upper 70's today, Corey had the fabulous idea to take a walk over to the Ballard Locks for a family picnic this evening. So we packed up the BOB, snagged some munchies from QFC, grabbed Roxy and headed out the door.

The Locks are only about a 1/2 mile from our condo so it was a nice, easy walk over there and it was so fun to see so many people and dogs out enjoying the nice weather. You really can't beat Seattle on a nice, sunny day - it's absolutely gorgeous.

Roxy had a blast getting out of the house, and it was nice to take Jackson out in warm weather for once, though he wasn't awake for much of the outing.

Fingers crossed that we get many more opportunities to spend evenings outdoors as a family this summer.

Catching Up

Sorry folks - I've been a total blog slacker! I'm going to try to be better about posting more frequently, but in the meantime, there's a lot to fill you in on!

Two weekends ago, Jackson, Roxy and I made the trek over the pass to see my parents. Corey originally thought he was going to be gone for about four days for work and we thought it would be great if I could be in Yakima with my parents, who could help out with J and Roxy while he was gone. He ended up only being gone for a day (though a very long one, which began with a 6 a.m. flight and a return to Seattle at 11 p.m.), but it was still nice to get over to Yakima. The drive was just short enough that I was able to make it all the way there without having to stop and feed J, though he did get a bit fussy for a few minutes about 20 miles away - just as I was about to pull over, he fell back asleep. Coming back to Seattle, I stopped at the pass to feed him, just in case we ran into traffic - couldn't imagine having a hungry, screaming baby while stuck traffic! (Surprisingly, Roxy was hardest to deal with in the car, as she's used to sitting on one of our laps and she kept trying to climb over the console to sit in my lap.) It was a quick trip but I was able to take J into both of my parents' offices, which they (and their co-workers) loved.

This past Wednesday, we went into Children's Hospital for a hip ultrasound. I had hip dysplasia when I was a baby (which required a body cast at the time) so J's doctor wanted to have his hips checked to ensure he didn't have this. He thought J's hips would be fine based on an initial examination and because dislocated hips typically run in first born breech females, but as a precaution, especially because he was breech until late in the game, we had the ultrasound. We should hear the results soon, but even if he does have hip problems, many improvements have been made in the last 28 years and there are a lot of things that they can do outside of a body cast, so that is great.

J and I have been getting out for one or two mile walks a few times a week, weather permitting. Last weekend, we met up with Kels and Gina, and J experienced his first Greenlake walk, which he slept the entire way through. I was a little nervous he'd wake up fussy at the farthest point from the car, but he slept the entire way and did great. We love the BOB!

J smiles more and more every day --- not sure he's doing it yet because he recognizes us, but he'll often break out into a smile when looking at us while he's eating, or when we're talking to him. Love that. And two times now, he's giggled in his sleep, which is the cutest sound ever. And he always smiles right as he's falling asleep and the other day, as I was holding him, he fell asleep and his whole body shook slightly while he was smiling --- though there was no sound, it seemed as though he was giggling.

As I mentioned in my last post, J and I have been grocery shopping at QFC lately since it's so convenient. Both times I've taken him, he's been a perfect angel in the Bjorn - he didn't make a peep. Once he was alseep the entire time and the other time he was awake, checking everything out. And when I take him out in the Bjorn to walk Roxy he does great - he's usually awake and looking around at everything we pass by.


We've noticed that J can track things with his eyes that are 2-3 feet away. When I stand a few feet from him with a toy or stuffed animal and move it back and forth, his head and eyes will move to watch it. Love to see him learn new things!

He started drooling a TON this week. I wasn't sure what this meant at this early age, but in a Baby Center email I received earlier this week, it sounds like teething can begin as early as 3 months, with signs (like drooling) appearing 1-2 months before the first tooth. Not sure if that is what his out-of-control drool means, but I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Finally, our boy is starting to get some serious rolls! His thighs are getting massive and rolly, and his tummy looks like a beer (or maybe milk?) belly. Love to see our little man becoming quite the chunky monkey.

A Day in the Life of Baby J

As a new mama, I now fully understand what other mamas meant when they told me that your days fly by and that you are lucky if you squeeze a shower in. While we aren't doing all that much each day, the feeding / wake time / nap time cycles happen so frequently that I have no idea where the day goes.

While we're still working on a schedule, here's a sample of a day in the life of Baby J:

• Between 6:30 & 7:30 a.m. - First feeding, typically followed by a short wake time*, followed by a nap while I get ready for the day (if we have plans).


• 10ish a.m. - Second feeding, followed by wake time*, followed by a nap.


• 12:30ish p.m. - Third feeding, followed by wake time*, followed by a nap.


• 3ish p.m. - Fourth feeding, followed by wake time*, and sometimes followed by a nap.


• 5:30ish p.m. - Fifth feeding, followed by walking Roxy, and sometimes followed by a nap (or fussy time, as has been the case lately).


• 8ish p.m. - Sixth feeding, sometimes followed by wake time*, and typically followed by a nap.


• 10ish p.m. - Seventh feeding, followed by bed time.


• Between 1-2ish a.m. - Eighth feeding and then back to bed.


• Between 4-5ish a.m. - Ninth feeding and then back to bed.

Keep in mind that there are obviously LOTS of diaper changes mixed in, as well as some fussy periods. Those just aren't as scheduled as the feedings --- don't be fooled! And, for the time being, while he does great sleeping in his crib overnight, he will have nothing to do with it for naps during the day. Thus, he often naps in his swing or bouncer. Finally, I catch up on housework (laundry, dishes, cleaning, making dinner) and the occasional nap during J's naptime.

*Here are some of J's wake time activities:

• Back time on his Baby Einstein activity mat (thanks again, Kels, Gina and Sara - J loves this, and especially loves looking at himself in the mirror).


• Tummy time on the Baby Einstein mat or on my stomach


• Reading books


• "Talking" to me while cuddling


• Going on a walk in the BOB


• Grocery shopping - though I'm typically a loyal Fred Meyer shopper, I've been opting to pop J in the Bjorn (which J loves - thanks again Reeders and Gossetts!) and cross the street to QFC -- he's so good while I pile everything into the cart, pay, push the cart to our condo to unload the goods and then push it back to QFC. This is all much easier than packing him into the car and then having to haul all the groceries up a few bags at a time from the car when we get home


• Bath time


• Hanging out in his bouncer or swing (thanks HMG - the swing is a big hit and he's actually swinging as I type this!)


• Walking Roxy (after one of the late afternoon feedings) with J packed in the Bjorn - we're probably quite the entertainment for passersby as it's quite difficult to keep ahold of Roxy (who typically pulls us down the sidewalk) while trying to carefully squat down and pick up after her, all while keeping J happy and upright.

Note: Apologies for the full detail on his schedule; I'm also documenting it for myself so I have a way to remember how things used to be since they change very quickly and I'm sure I'll quickly forget how we spent our days when he was 1-2 months old.