3 Months

Our little man is up to 19 lbs (ugh!) - needless to say, Mommy's arms are getting quite the workout! He continues to get stronger: looking around, pushing with his legs when we lean him against our chests, arching his back, and twisting to look around when laying on the floor... We also enjoy that he will now watch us walk from one side of the room to the other. Of course his smiles continue to melt our hearts!

Jonathan and Daddy matched on the Sunday before Christmas - the Grinch was rampant in our house this year! But we had fun with Christmas regardless - Mommy wouldn't let the Grinch steal our joy!

We had many presents to open and the Grandparents loved doting on Jonathan! Of course, we had to open everything for him - we're sure that next year we won't be able to keep him out of the paper!

12 weeks - Growing Boy

So much has changed in just a week! After a not-so-restful weekend last week, on Monday night Jonathan slept almost 7 hrs straight at night...and the rest of the week he stayed pretty consistent, sleeping about 6 1/2 each night! Needless to say, Mommy & Daddy are feeling much more rested! The longer nights, seem to be coinciding with shorter naps in the daytime, so I'm not feeling like I'm getting as much done, but, I'll take the uninterrupted sleep at night for sure! We're still putting him in his car seat at night, but he's in his crib in his room... we may regress a little when we actually put him flat in the crib, but we know he can make it for long stretches at any rate and that's encouraging!

Jonathan weighed about 17 lbs, 12 oz this week... so he's definitely not hurting for food! Breastfeeding is going much better overall and while I considered giving it up a few weeks ago, at this stage I feel like I can continue for awhile.

Another thing that we've been marveling at is how well Jonathan is starting to hold his head up. We've put him on his stomach for "tummy time" for several weeks and he only got his head close to horizontal to the ground - I could tell he was looking up with his eyes, but he couldn't get his chin up high enough to look forward. On Saturday, he raised his chin up higher than he ever has and was able to look in the little mirror on his activity mat. He is growing and changing so much!

We also got to visit with Grandad again & Aunt Karen (who met Jonathan for the first time) - Jonathan was great and performed all of his 'tricks' for her (singing with Daddy, smiling, raising his head...)

11 weeks

Jonathan is up to 17 lbs and is 24 inches long. His newest discovery is his hands and he sucks on them constantly (which means he drools all over the place!)... He hasn't quite found his thumb, but he can get half of his fist in his mouth.

We think he's going to be a sensitive little guy - when I was changing him the other night, I had just finished putting a clean diaper on him when I heard a pretty good 'rumble down under' - I jokingly scolded him and he immediately pushed out his bottom lip and was about to cry - I quickly changed my face and tone to cheer him up and he smiled...but it about broke my heart to see that pouty lip!

I've taken on a new full-time job - mothering Jonathan! I turned in my resignation at the IU Foundation just after Thanksgiving. As my leave was ending, we realized that it would be great for us to take the opportunity for me to stay home while we were able to make it work. It's bitter-sweet, because I loved IUF and the people I worked with, but after waiting for a baby for 3 years, it just made sense for me to stay home with him!

We did get our Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving (a tradition that I've insisted on since we got married and Kyle thinks is torture). And in the afternoon there were 2 presents under the tree (a tradition that Kyle started when we put up the tree the first time... and I think is torture). As you can see, Kyle has caved on letting Jonathan wear Christmas attire... (this was a gift from Aunt Beth)

2 months

Last week was family overload for Jonathan! We were so glad to see Kendall, Vivi, Noah, Silas and Jonas for Thanksgiving - they all smothered Jonathan with hugs and kisses. (Kyle and I got a rest for our arms as Kendall and Vivi held Jonathan whenever I wasn't feeding him or Kyle wasn't changing his diaper! :o) The boys were really sweet, asking to hold him and kissing his head - I can't wait until Jonathan is big enough to get in there and play with them!

Kyle was happy that Kendall came through and brought Jonathan his first Cowboys onsie. In true Kendall fashion, Jonathan also received a Spider-man stuffed toy and his own pair of "Chucks" (which he'll have to grow into a bit). I'd post pictures, but we've misplaced our digital camera at the moment....

Jonathan was passed around from grandparent to aunts to cousins at Grandma Ruby's and Grandma Sims' houses... I think he slept for 5 hours Thanksgiving night!

Jonathan's 2 month 'well-baby' check-up was today - everything is just fine. The rash we have been noticing is related to cradle cap and should clear up as soon as we treat it. He was given his first round of shots and only cried for a few seconds afterward (thank goodness!) He weighed 16 lbs and 1 oz (greater than 95th percentile) and was 23 3/4 inches long (in the 75th percentile). He's outgrown most of his 0-3 sleepers and now we know why!

We continue to see him "play" and "talk" with us - especially while he's laying on the changing table. While diaper changes used to cause him to fuss, he now babbles and coos while we sing and talk to him.

8 Weeks

At 8 weeks, Jonathan is weighing 15.4 lbs and is about 23 1/2 inches long. He's getting cuter by the day. And starting to stay on more of a schedule (which helps all of us function better!). His favorite CD seems to be the Veggie Tales Sunday morning songs and he loves when Daddy plays with him on the changing table - he could be half asleep while feeding at 3:00AM and the 2 of them get to the nursery to change his diaper and Jonathan starts cooing and playing...

Jonathan goes for his 2-month "well-baby check" on Monday - it's hard to believe the time has gone so fast already!!

Daddy's First Business Trip

It is amazing how having children changes your perspective when you do things. Everyone told me that, but I guess I didn't quite have a grasp of how true it was...

Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had my first business trip since Jonathan was born. Normally, when I travel, I am looking for cool stuff to do, restaurants to eat at, watching for clues as to what's going on with my flight (all were on time this time...) and hoping for my elite upgrade (I got one out of 2 possible on this trip...)

This trip, I was still looking for the upgrade (wider seats with more legroom are always a plus) but as I walked through terminals and went through security checks etc., I found myself looking at things very differently.

For example: What types of strollers are people using when they go through the airport? Do they bring car seats on the plane or not? Does the airline gate check these things, or do we have to check them in? If I had Jonathan, where would I change him? If we are still breast feeding, how can we feed him and keep Cheryl covered up? What happens if Jonathan blows out his diaper while the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign is on? Would they make an emergency landing for a "Strange Smell in the passenger compartment?"

My #1 revelation from this trip: Detroit Metro Airport has great baby changing facilities in its bathrooms. Upon entry into the bathrooms (I checked by both A9 and A70 because I know that's where the Indianapolis flights ALWAYS depart from) there is a baby changing station right inside the door. It includes a big changing area, hooks for your diaper bag and a sink right next to the changing station. This is very important when your son is too much of a MAN for his puny little #2 diapers :) I should have taken a picture to illustrate. I mean the changing station... no one want to see pics of the blown out diapers...Maybe on my next trip I'll update the post. (It will be really funny for the other travellers to see me taking pictures of the changing station )

So once again, with all that said, it comes back to baby poo. Just like the other parents we know said it would.

7 weeks

Jonathan is up to 15 lbs and we've had to stop putting on some of his 0-3 month old sleepers. We've moved up to size 2 diapers, but he's even been able to "blow out" poo from them, even though they're bigger! (we know, T.M.I.)

We've tried putting Jonathan in his crib for naps - he looks so small in that big bed!! He sleeps better in the bassinet still (and he sleeps even better in his car seat!).

We'v taken a couple of steps back with breastfeeding - so that is frustrating (for all of us). But we're hanging in there for now. If things don't improve, he might just be 'weaned' before Cheryl goes back to work (only 4 weeks!).

6 Weeks

We've made it to 6 weeks! Breastfeeding is going MUCH better, which helps Cheryl deal with the lack of sleep we are getting (or not getting, so to speak). Jonathan in just this last week has started sleeping on a 4hr-3hr-1hr pattern at night, so the sleep deprivation is also getting better.

Jonathan is really starting to pay attention to us, which makes Mommy & Daddy feel good. He now smiles when we play with him and even 'coos' a little now and then too. We spend our waking hours singing, reading, talking, swinging and playing on the activity mat. He doesn't like to be left alone for too long while he's awake...but then he's not awake for that long anyway!

Jonathan is now just over 14 lbs and is about 23 1/2 inches long. He feels twice as heavy when we pick him up at 2 in the morning, though! :o)

We spent Jonathan's first Halloween in Spencer at the Sullenbergers, where they have been known to have between 600-800 trick-or-treaters (we're not exaggerating!). Of course, our dear friends, Mary, Thom & Justice were there too. Jonathan didn't really scare anyone with his Boo outfit..but he looked awfully cute!

1 Month

One Month? Can it really have been that long ago that our little boy was born? (about this time Kyle would break into "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof)... We can already see that Jonathan is responding to us and his smile just melts our hearts.

We've noticed in recent weeks that he likes to stretch all out, into what we call his Superman stretch. Kyle also caught him in the picture above, as we were all getting ready for church this past Sunday.

We're still figuring out breastfeeding and scheduling, but are optimistic that we'll all get the hang of it soon. Our moms have been a great help in giving Cheryl a chance to nap, shower and just relax. What a blessing to have them both in town!

We're off for a group picture tonight with all of our buddies that had babies this summer (9 in all!) Hopefully the poor photographer can get a couple of shots with most of the babies looking in the right direction!

3 weeks

We've made it through another week and it seems things continue to change - just when we think we have things figured out...he changes on us! :o) He is still eating well. In fact, Cheryl weighed herself and then weighed herself holding Jonathan and the difference was close to 12 lbs!! So, even though she still feels like she's figuring out the whole breastfeeding thing, he's getting plenty!

We've made several excursions in the last week - met some friends for a devotional, went to watch Daddy play softball one night and then joined the family for dinner at Cracker Barrel (our first attempt at breastfeeding in public), dinner date to Olive Garden and even a shopping trip to Target. As we get the hang of getting everything together and getting out the door, excursions don't seem so cumbersome (although they're much easier when Mommy & Daddy take Jonathan out together).

2 Weeks

We've made through the first 2 weeks with some ups and downs. After some marathon feeding and Cheryl developing mastitis, the end of week 2 was a little rough. BUT, it seems the feedings are paying off - when we left the hospital on 9/25, Jonathan was down to 8lbs 15oz, 2 days later he was back up to 9lbs 2oz and as of his 2 week appointment on 10/8 he now weighs 10lbs 7oz. Our boy knows how to eat! Our sleep schedule is getting a little better too. So Mommy isn't quite so tired (or emotional) :o)

Jonathan Grant

On September 23rd, at 2:10AM, our 9lb 12oz bundle of joy - Jonathan Grant - made his debut. Being 10 days early, you can imagine our surprise at his size. We expected at least an 8 lb baby, and thought he might be close to 9lbs, but we were weren't prepared for him to be almost 10 lbs!! (He didn't quite beat Daddy who weighed in at 9lbs 13oz at birth.)