The Fastest Month of Our Lives...

Not the greatest picture. The little gremlin would not hold still.

I can't believe we've been parents for a month now. These past few weeks have absolutely flown by. Sometimes I can hardly remember what life was like before Jack. The thought of having an uninterrupted night's sleep seems like the most foreign concept in the world. On the other hand, the whole having-a-baby thing still seems so surreal at times. I am still in awe that he is actually ours to keep, not just some glorified babysitting job.

 I think Jack is the greatest baby in the world. Here are some "fun and exciting" facts to help you get to know this little man.





10- The number of pounds Jack currently weighs. Well, this is a rough estimate. Our bathroom scale is off by a few pounds. At least, that is what I like to think. Shhh... let me be in denial on this one.

22- The number of inches Jack is tall. Again, this is a rough estimate. For some reason holding still next to a yard stick wasn't something Jack was crazy about doing.

4- The average number of hours Jack sleeps at a time per night. I am actually pretty happy about this. We'll try and do the whole "scheduling" thing at some point and hopefully get him sleeping through the night, but at this point I'm just gonna let him do his thing. The one day I tried implementing the "baby wise" system was the worst and most stressful day of our lives-both mine and Jack's. We both felt like failures until I realized he was only a few weeks old and cut us some slack.

8- The number of ounces of milk Jack once drank in one sitting. I was curious to see exactly how much he was drinking, so I pumped a bunch of milk and let him have at it. An hour and a full size bottle later, I was shocked to find out that a baby's stomach is roughly the size of a walnut and apparently my son was about to explode. Luckily a few good "BMs" (my favorite "medical" term) later, his little intestines seemed back to normal. I thought babies were supposed to be intuitive eaters, but apparently we've got a little binge eater on our hands. It's okay buddy- we all eat our feelings sometimes.

30- The number of pounds I've lost since delivery. Not as impressive as it sounds. 1/3 of that was pure baby and another good chunk was probably made up of weird fluids. Supposedly nursing does burn calories though and our little guy eats a LOT. So in a way, I am unselfishly giving him my fat. It's a win-win.

15,000- The number of diapers Jack goes through per day. I thought I would mind changing diapers more, but honestly, I'm thrilled when the little guy poops. Ever since the mild bout of constipation a few weeks ago, I'd much rather clean his little bum multiple times daily than deal with a whiny, squirmy, grunty poop filled baby.

1- The number of times he has rolled over. The other night I put him down on his tummy, left the room for about 30 seconds, and returned to find him on his back. I feel like this is quite the accomplishment for a 4 week old and consider his strength a promising attribute that will aid his future athletic career. I just wish I had gotten to see this display of strength in action.

1.5- The average number of times I wash my hair per week. I'm sorry but I'd much rather spend my precious time sleeping, eating or therapeutic cleaning (all luxuries now) than blow drying this unruly mane of mine. The sad part? More often than not, there are at least a few strands soaked in spit-up.

Jack really does seem to be a good baby, from what I can tell. He definitely has his whiny and clingy moments and yes, there have been a handful of sleepless nights, but all in all, he really is quite a mild tempered little guy. That being said, even with an easy baby, motherhood is SO much more work than I expected! It's a full time job with NO breaks! I am never, EVER off the clock. Even when I'm asleep, I dream about Jack. But motherhood is also so much better than I imagined. I'm finally starting to get it down. The thought of leaving the house isn't totally stressful anymore and as I get to know Jack, I am figuring out little tricks that make things easier. It's also nice to have such a great, selfless husband who is willing to help out so much. Brock goes to work/school for 15 hours a day sometimes and still always has the energy to hang out with Jack when he gets home. If anyone is running on less sleep than me these days, it's Brock. But...like all parents have been saying for ages, it really is worth it.