My Big Baby Jack

There are days when Jack seems so big, and then other days (or nights in this case) when he seems so small. He really is still my baby, even as he sits on top of my other baby (the baby bump is still a favorite perch). Last night he woke up four times (rare for our angel child…if somehow you missed the memo…he ordinarily sleeps 12 hours straight without a peep) and the first two times Johnny went to get him, but by the third time it was clear that he really wanted “Mommmmmeeeeee!” At 1:30 am as an exhausted pregnant woman (third trimester…had already gotten up to pee twice…need I say more?) at first I thought “Oh mannnnn.” Then I heard his little voice on the baby monitor again.

“Mommmmmeeeeeeee.”

There is no sound sweeter to a mama! Well actually, I think that first cry as they enter the world, after hours (days for some people) of labor is the sweetest sound. Or some might argue that the first ultrasound and hearing that little swoosh swoosh swoosh heartbeat is the sweetest sound. So I don’t know, there are a lot of sweet sounds for mamas (& a lot of not so sweet ones…especially if you have a gassy kid…haha) but Jack’s little voice last night was just so wonderful to me. Walking down the hall to scoop him up in my arms and snuggle with him for a few minutes is never something I regret. (If we had a kiddo with a night waking habit I would probably be singing a different tune though.) Those moments with him are so precious and I’m so glad that even though he is getting so big, he is still my baby.

There are definitely other days when he seems SO grown up though. Like  at the park (John texted me this picture while I was at work. When I got it I just started smiling from ear to ear. I mean how handsome is this boy?!?!). 

 

 

We took him to the park this weekend and he was just running all over, exploring, going up and down the slides and steps and loving life. Pretty much with every third movement I had to remind myself to breathe because I am an incredibly anxious mama, so the entire time we are at the park I have visions of him walking off the platform or falling down the slide…but it is still such a blast to watch him play and learn. I can’t wait until he has a little partner in crime to play with too!

In the meantime he is keeping us busy as we navigate through the fun phase of “I know what I want but I don’t know how to communicate it…so I’ll just scream/yell/whine/grunt until you desperately shove things my way that I may/may not desire.” We even had to institute a little “timeout chair” (to be used when the screaming/yelling/crying surpasses the limits of logic/reason). Of course Jack had different plans for what this chair could be used for…

My big fat baby. I love him so much!

As far as other potential solutions to the "throwing a fit" problem (the time out chair does work sometimes, so I'm not toooo worried), John forwarded me this email today:

Hello John!
When your toddler throws a full-blown screaming fit in the middle of the grocery store, you may want to hide behind the toilet paper display – but rest assured that other parents feel your pain. The most useful response is to take your child out of the store (even if it means leaving a cart full of food behind) and sit with him until he finishes crying. Staying calm and offering lots of hugs and kisses can help. Remember that your child is still learning how to communicate and will eventually outgrow this behavior.

Just another one of BabyCenter's useful updates. :) Seems like long before we hit the "terrible twos" we are still going to have a lot of excitement around here!