37 Weeks

37 Weeks today. One more week and Jack will have doubled his total lifetime- including the period he was growing in Mommy's tummy. So strange to think about. This time last year I was imagining life with our baby boy. I could hardly wait! Two years ago I was waiting and waiting for that positive test to tell me my little boy was on the way. Three years ago I was waiting and waiting for Matthew to give me the "OK" to begin planning for our little baby bean. 

Jack continues to be my constant little companion. Yes, he continues to be very, very clingy. Always has to have an eye on Mommy. He much prefers to sit on Mommy's lap too. He really hates being in my play pen, but we're trying to wean him into it. I often sit in there with him. He really wants to just roam around the house on his own now that he's found his knees. Sorry, baby, Grammy's house is not baby-proof. When we move out someday you'll have free reign of our house. Mommy will make sure everything is just right for you. Thankfully, Mommy doesn't mind always having her little baby bundle. Mommy doesn't want/need time alone... yet. I'm sure the time will come, but not quite yet.

This week Jack was able to try baby cheetos for the first time. He loved crunching on them. We got the cheese flavor. Baby loves cheese just like his Momma! He knew just what to do with the cheese curls when Mommy gave him his first one.

Not quite sure about this new food. He bite it in half first thing but it dissolved a little more quickly than his puffs. 

He quickly shoved the second half into his mouth. He kept wanting more after that first one. Mommy gave him five (seems like a good baby serving) and he fussed a little when he saw me put the lid back on. 

I think Jack is going through a growth spurt. He has been napping more often, but still only takes short naps. His average nap is 20-30 minutes and he typically has one hour long nap. He has been taking about three naps and one long nap per day this week. He just wears himself out. He has also been wanting to nurse more often. The last time he ate this regularly he was going through a growth spurt. Could also be a second tooth trying to push through also, I suppose. 

I am fairly sure that Jack is developing night terrors. Big sigh. His Momma had night terrors horribly when she was a baby. To this day, I still distinctly remember my two recurring nightmares from my childhood. One was about a scarecrow and another about wolves- which is why I have a semi-irrational fear of them. It's so interesting to me how vividly I remember the nightmares. The scarecrow one I had for two years straight. The wolf one was intermittent throughout my childhood. When I was an infant I would apparently just scream and scream for long stretches during my sleep. My dad would just have to rock me until I stopped. This week (and a couple times previously) Jack has started screaming during the night. He won't wake up and his cry is very different from his regular cries. This cry seems terrified. This week his screams were accompanied by "Mumma! Mumma! Mummmm!" Talk about breaking my heart! Normally at night I'll pick him up and he'll calm down immediately. During these spells he will not calm down and continues to scream and call for me for several minutes. I just hold him and sing to him and rock him. Eventually he stops and snuggles up against me. That is one of the best feelings. But it is scary when he is still screaming. I knew that night terrors were often hereditary. I anticipate many long nights in our future. 

Along with his night terrors, Jack has begun to talk in his sleep! Like mother, like son! He has been laughing in his sleep since he was a couple months old. This week he began to babble in earnest. I made sure he was still sleeping, but he must have been having an interesting dream!

With sleep, only recently have I begun to feel deprived. I will wake up and know that I physically need more sleep to function. I have occupied Jack with toys for 15 minutes- 1.5 hours while I continue to sleep. Not sure how much longer I'll be able to do that now that he's such a busy little man though. Jack's night terrors don't help any. But I have managed up until this point and I know I will never fully catch up on sleep. The life of a Mother.

This is the face Jack made while I tried to get his weekly pictures. He was not feeling too well this morning (woke up late and took two naps within the first three hours he was awake!) and wasn't too enthusiastic about pictures. 

Jack has been learning so much. He knows about cause and effect with toys and his different cries. He is not easily tricked when his cousins are trying to play with him. If we hid a toy behind the couch or pillow he isn't fooled, he goes and tries to find it. He is learning so many noises and mimics a lot of what we say. The only thing he consistently says is "Mumma" still, but he has been enjoying practicing. He crawls to everything and I'm afraid to let him try the stairs. I'm not ready for him to learn about them yet. He can pull himself up on pretty much anything (couch, tables, chairs, toilet paper stands...) and balance himself indefinitely. He has also figured out which part of his play yard is the door. He will walk over to it (aided by hanging on to the gates) and will pull on it and yell at it when he wants out. Other times he just sits and plays like a good boy. 

Jack has developed a strong will. I wonder where he got that from... Actually, he has the spirit of both his Momma and Daddy. We'll see how his temperament develops as he grows. He is not a bad boy at all, but he knows what he wants. As he cannot talk yet, I don't mind his antics. But once he begins to learn then his pushing and shoving and screaming will not be permitted. When he doesn't want something he will grab it and push it away, forcefully. He will also scrunch up his face and whine when he doesn't want something.  It is actually quite adorable, but like I said, once he learns how to use his words then the pushes away better stop. 

We went grocery shopping today and he was in the Ergo carrier the whole time. So great! He didn't fuss at all. Before he would enjoy the shopping cart and then want to be held. This way he was able to watch the people and things in the store and be close to Momma. So glad I got one. 

My smiley pants.