I am delighted to have so many pregnant friends.  (Julie, Ashleigh, Christen, Gina, Missy, Lisa, Rachael, Amy --  I'm talking about you!)  It gives me the chance to "talk shop" about pregnancy and baby stuff with lots of my favorite ladies!  It also gives me the chance to opine about the good, the bad, and the ugly of baby registries.  Today, I have to share one "must have" -- the Moby wrap.

After Jack and I got home from our second trip to the pediatrician last week, he was cranky and fussy.  Hey, if I'd been to the doctor twice in one week and wanted a nap, I'd be cranky and fussy, too!  I decided to listen to my maternal instinct and cuddle the little dude for a while.

However, being a Type A attorney on her second sick day in one week shortly after maternity leave, I had a variety of things I wanted to do around the house.  Is there a way, I wondered, to do things while cuddling the little dude?  Enter, Moby wrap.

The Moby wrap, for the uninitiated, is about ten feet of jersey fabric that comes with an instruction manual.  You tie the fabric around your body in a way that creates numerous possibilities for how to tuck your baby into it and "wear" them.  I had tried it when Jack was a newborn, but he didn't like it.  Now that he is a seasoned professional at almost 4 months old, I decided to try it again.

Success!

Jack loved it.  We bopped around the house, doing things, for about an hour, at which point, Jack fell asleep. He then snoozed on my chest for another two hours.  I totally and completely loved every second of it:

(Despite the way this photo makes it look, I have a tank top on.  I'm just sayin'.)

So, mamas!  Get a Moby wrap.  It's been given the Jack Bernard seal of approval.

Hope this finds you well,
Heather

A Boy and His Dog

Jack and I had a lovely lunch with our friend, Carrie, yesterday.  Carrie thoughtfully brought Jack a supersoft stuffed puppy!  It's about as big as he is, but I thought I would give it a try this morning.  Jack woke up at 5 AM (normal wake up is at 6) and showed no signs of slowing down.

It was a big hit:

Thanks, Carrie!

Hope everyone is having as good of a weekend as we are!

Heather

This Week Was Brought to You by Amoxicillin

Just in case we were getting too comfortable, or good at, our daily routine, Jack decided to get sick.  Granted, I knew this would happen shortly after he started school.  He's been there for 3 weeks.  Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long.  That, plus the fact that his hands LIVE in his mouth right now, except for when they are touching germ-ridden things, makes his nasty cold not a surprise.

I am a little bit surprised, though, that I ended up taking two non-consecutive sick days this week as a result of said cold.  Granted, I know that I can't take the day off every time the munchkin gets a cold (particularly when he has no fever, which is the X factor for attending school).  However, it's his first cold, which means it's my first cold, which means I really want to make sure everything goes right.

Synopsis of my week:

Monday -- I am out sick.  I take Jack and I to our respective doctors.  This takes 5 hours to accomplish.  In an ironic twist, I get Amoxicillin; Jack does not.  Pediatrician is pretty sure he's on the way to kicking the cold.

Tuesday -- Work.  Jack seems to be getting better.

Wednesday -- Work.  Jack seems to be getting worse. 

Thursday -- I am out sick.  Jack and I go back to the pediatrician, who confirms that he is not, in fact, better, and prescribes Amoxicillin.  (In an ironic twist, I never filled my prescription for mine, because getting to the pharmacy while working full time with a cranky baby is difficult.  However, despite this laisez faire attitude toward my health, I am now better.)  Pediatrician waives my copay and apologizes for hauling us back in -- he just wanted to see Jack again because he's so young.  We love our pediatrician.

Perhaps the most notable event of the day, though, involves our wait in the doctor's office.  I fed Jack a bottle while we were waiting.  He took it contentedly.  He belched vigorously.  I felt like a champion mother on display.  That is, right until he spit up with volcanic force.  Horrified, I watched as the spit up covered my shoulder, cringed as it made a Batman-style "SPLAT!" on the floor, and gasped when I realized it had also sloshed into my open purse/diaper bag. 

Friday -- To be determined.

(Sigh)  Happy Almost-Friday, y'all.

Heather

A Discerning Eye

With every passing day, Jack becomes more and more of a little dude.  He is constantly observing life around him.  He adores faces and talking to people -- though he still also enjoys a good ceiling fan. 

He's a bit iffy on toys as of yet:  His favorites are the bunny-in-carrot-car and the Whoozit. 

He is, however, fascinated by MY favorite toy:  my Blackberry.  In my question to capture those chubby cheeks for a text message last night, he made that clear:

What is that thing?  Why is it pink?  Why do you keep holding it up in my face?

Hope this finds you well.

--Heather

Happy Father's Day!

Durel's first Father's Day was a great one.  We celebrated with his dad, and as such, had three generations of Bernard men together for the day!

Speaking of Bernard men, two of them would like to wish Durel a happy, if belated, day:

Hope all the dads out there had a great one!

Heather

PS:  Note the football.  Durel is starting early!

Western Baby Circle

In some cultures, babies ride on their mothers' backs as they trek across unforgiving terrain, looking for water.

In other cultures, babies' mothers dress them like cowboys and cowgirls and take their pictures for fun.  (Hint:  This is my culture.)

That said, it was Pearl Snap Friday at school.  This was self-proclaimed by the moms because we know how to party with our awesome babies.

I am sorry to say that Jack, earning his title as the Poop King, had a blowout in his cowboy onesie before he could join the fun.  (Or leave the house, for that matter.)  But he did rock his jeans overalls with flair to participate in the fun.

Starting with Jack:  Jack, Mac, Eli, Maren, and Gabe.

Happy weekend!

Heather

Baby Sarcasm

Jack is bound to be witty.  Let's face it:  Durel and I consider sarcasm to be an essential mode of communication.  And our friends, by and large, agree.

These friends have also kindly been providing Jack with fun clothing to stimulate his sense of humor and hone his keen powers of observation:

Thanks to Aunt Mandy and Uncle Jeremy for keeping it real in the onesie department.

Hope this finds you well,
Heather

Rocking the Bumbo, Part 2

Jack and I are still enchanted with the Bumbo chair.  We busted ours out this weekend and Jack had a grand time.  Granted, the process of sitting up, holding your head up, and playing with a Whoozit can take it out of you:

But it's all good.

I do, however, have to make one warning about the Bumbo chair to all future parents and future Bumbo users.  And no, it is not the warning about putting your Bumbo on the table or counter.  (You're not supposed to do that.  As you see in the picture above, I am not necessarily following that advice.) 

On the contrary, it is this:  the Bumbo seat is the PoopMaker.  I don't know if it is the sitting stance, or the foamy contours of the wonderous chair, but it's creating the perfect storm.  Yes, and by storm, I mean shitstorm.  Each time Jack has graced the Bumbo chair, he has had an explosive poop that shoots up the front, up the back, or both. 

He likes it.  He gets to sit in the chair and feels much better after the poopy deed is done.  I refuse to be intimated by a poopy diaper, so I'm good with it, too.  But if I am really charting our adventures as parents here, I needed to share. 

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

Rocking the Bumbo

When you  have a baby, your vocabulary expands.  Not just to include all of the slang terms for body parts and bodily secretions -- get your mind out of the gutter.  On the contrary, there is a veritable lexicon awaiting all new parents.

Here's a taste:

Boppy:  U-shaped pillow used to position baby for nursing.  As in, "How the hell did cavewomen breastfeed without Boppies?"

Travel system:  Conglomerate of baby-moving items which are frequently purchased together, at great expense, and "click" together, providing reassurance of baby's safety to sleep-deprived parents.  As in, "What the hell is a travel system?  Oh.  It's a carseat and stroller.  I need one of those."

Ferberize:  Process of attempting to get your baby to sleep through the night using the techniques of one very rich Baby Expert named Dr. Ferber.  As in, "I think my baby is a Gremlin.  He won't let me sleep.  I think it's time to Ferberize him."

Bumbo:  Soft, foam chair-thing that helps babies sit up and makes them look really cute and portable.  As in:

Jack likee the Bumbo. 

Hope this finds you well,

Heather

I'm Here, Too

I was just realizing the other day that there aren't too many pictures of Jack and I.  I'm either ducking out of photos or taking them.  Harumph.  We'll have to fix that.

For now, here's one that was taken at Jack's debut party held recently at my office.  He's not displaying his normal charm and panache, but he's still pretty darn cute.  You will see that I am sporting my new running watch, purchased for half-marathon training, and the ubiquitous hairband on my wrist.  Ah, motherhood.

Carrots Rock

I like carrots.  Durel likes carrots.  We are carrot-eating people. 

Our dogs even like carrots.  We discovered this accidentally when we had just adopted Pablo as a puppy.  We were about to get married, and were having a "two days before the wedding" party at our little rental house.  Among other things, I had purchased the requisite veggie tray for the occasion.

Both my dad and Durel's dad were quite taken with Pablo (as was everyone else; he's a handsome lad).  In particular, they wanted to give him lots of treats.  Out of polite desperation, we gave them permission to give Pablo baby carrots from the veggie tray.  A party animal was born.  An hour later, with the carrots on the veggie tray dwindling supiciously, we saw a punch-drunk Pablo pawing around the party with carrot crumbs on his head.  Carrot.  Fragments.  On his head.  From his exuberant chewing.

I digress.  Jack not only likes his rattle in the shape of a bunny driving a carrot car, but he is also learning what his hands can do.  Developmental milestones are fun.

Remember that baby pool?

I was telling a new coworker today that we used to call Jack "Cheeseburger" because, well, we didn't know if he was a boy or a girl.  She was impressed with our fortitude at waiting to find out the baby's sex.  I am so glad that we did.

This discussion reminded me of that baby pool we did soooo long ago.  And that I never announced a winner! 

The truth is that there was no outright winner, but if the winner is the person who got the closest to being right, then my dear friend Kristina is the winner.

Her guess:  girl / 8 lbs 3 ozs / 20 in / Mar 4, 12:00 am
Jack:  boy/ 8 lbs 8 oz/ 20 3/4 in / March 4, 1:44 am

So...congratulations, Kristina!  Evidently, you're a little bit psychic and a little bit rock n roll.

Jack thinks that's awesome.