how fast the time flies

Today is 12 weeks of baby Jude. We celebrated the day by Kara going back to work for the first time and Greg staying home today with the little guy.

Little is relative, of course. Just taking a look at the two photos below and you can see how much has changed in 3 months, and how much he's filled out and looks, well older in such a short time. I hope that I don't look like I've aged that much in the same time frame!

Jude at 12 hours

Jude at 12 weeks

Yes, I know this photo was just posted, but I think he's wearing the same hat in both photos...

So, let's see... a lot has changed for Mr. Jude in the past 12 weeks:

+ He's breathing air;

+ His eyes actually focus on things (rather than the blank newborn stare we were surprised by);

+ He smiles;

+ He can reach for and grab things (though he's still working on what to do once he gets hold of them);

+ He recognizes mom and dad both by sight and by voice... he got a big smile on his face today upon hearing Kara's voice over the phone, which shocked us both!

+ He's holding his head up on his own for brief periods of time;

+ He sleeps through the night.

The list could go on and on. I was certain that our friends were solipsizing about their kids when talking about how "there's something new every day!". Well, maybe not every day but it is quite amazing to see the continual progression of development.

George the dog is not impressed, of course. By 12 weeks he could sit and stay on command. Jude has still not mastered the "don't pee on Daddy" command. But we digress.

I have a feeling that the next 12 weeks will actually be the biggest changes for us, or at least that we'll be aware of those changes... the first 12 weeks had some extended periods where we were in simple shock, and could only figure out what had changed in retrospect. I think we'll hit 24 weeks sometime around Thanksgiving. He'll be sitting at the table by himself and eating turkey by then, right? Perhaps we still have a lot to learn.

baby jude keeps on growin

Baby Jude is almost 3 months old. He was born on May 27th. Up close I think he looks like such a cute chubby boy now instead of a tiny baby.

chilly mornings deserve a hat

jude's cute chub face

But then when I see my child lying asleep or watch someone else hold him, I realize again that he's still a tiny infant...born not that long ago.

Jude snoozing on the couch

Baby Jude is quite a smiler when he wakes up from naps or in the morning. He grins and squeals. It is adorable! When I carry him from room to room, its almost like he has to catch his breath because it so amazing for him. He makes a sound like 'kuh' and looks mesmerized.

Jude also loves to laugh and smile at ceiling fans and lights.

He even smiled at me two nights ago when I was putting him to bed. He was getting a bit fussy and fussed on the changing table. But as soon as I laid him on his swaddle in the crib and started to fix it, he got a huge grin!

It is still amazing, even though friends told me this happened with their children, how Baby Jude can appear wide awake with big eyes. But when we put him in the crib sometime between 8 and 9 pm he will fall asleep quickly. Some nights without making a peep on the baby monitor. All we hear is the ocean wave sound effects from the noise machine near his crib.
Other times he does cry and we have to go in and turn on the mobile, or stick in the pacifier.

Itsa Sikora invasion!

Last week we had a lovely visit from my sister and brother-in-law (Pam & Chris Sikora) and their two daughters Meredith and Andrea. They were in the general area--Madison, Wisconsin--for one of Chris' class reunions. (Chris grew up in Madison... how did Pam and I both end up marrying midwesterners? Very odd).

Anyway, we had a short but nice visit. It was the first time that everyone met Mr. Jude, and was the first time our nieces had come to visit us in Oak Park. We had a great time hanging out, relaxing, going out for ice cream, and visiting Millennium Park in Chicago.

Chris, Pam & the girls were very flexible to deal with our current lack of a guest room. The old guest room is now the nursery, and the TV room is the new guest semi-room (fold-out sofa, courtesy of Ikea). Meredith slept on the "magic bed" with Andrea hanging out in the pack-n-play, while mom & dad enjoyed the aerobed. I think it was the most people we've had staying overnight in the house ever.

The trip to Millennium Park included a fun fountain foray... into the Crown Fountain, of course, which attracts splashing children from all over the city. Meredith jogged right in, but Andrea remained unconvinced and hung with those of us on the sidelines.

Another feature of the park is the Pritzker Pavilion... architecture by Frank Gehry, acoustics and audio systems by TALASKE which is the firm Greg works for here in Oak Park. We had the serendipity to arrive during an orchestra rehearsal (open to the public mid-day most days) and had a nice break listening to some Copland. It was actually Jude's second time to the Pritzker, as he slept through a concert a few weeks ago.

Well, here's hoping to many more fun cousin/aunt/uncle visits to come!

Pam & Greg with the kids (L to R Andrea, Jude, and Meredith)

Chris with Meredith making "Water Angels" in Crown Fountain

(note the cool circular wave pattern by her arms)

Hangin' at the Pritzker Pavilion

wow the book works

Yesterday morning Jude got up just as Greg was about to leave for work. He had slept from about 9pm to about 8am. (yes this is amazing we know). Greg stayed to change his diaper and gave me a sec to wake up before going. I fed the baby. Jude then seemed content and cuddly, and awake. We went downstairs and Jude chilled in his bouncer for a bit while I started coffee and got out cereal.

Dr Weissbluth's book "healthy sleep habits, happy child" http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0449004023 says to watch for signs of sleepyness in your child after they've been awake for about an hour. Signs include rubbing his eyes, yawning, staring off into the middle distance. I saw one yawn at one point, but then no more.

If you don't see the signs the book says to put the child down for a nap anyway, two hours after they woke up. Jude was not showing obvious signs of tiredness. But about an hour after he woke up cute little baby just started crying and fussing in his bouncer in the kitchen while I was doing dishes. I looked at him and thought 'you are tired' even though he wasn't showing any other 'signs'.

I took him upstairs, changed him into the swaddle and turned on the crib mobile. He was asleep in two minutes. Its so nice to feel like I can help my baby be happier. And I never would have thought 'hmm... i bet he wants to sleep again after sleeping all night' without the expert input. thanks Dr. Weissbluth!