Jacob's Attempt to Crawl

Learning to crawl is hard work!

Bébé Nageur

 

Today was the day!  I have been waiting for 6 whole months for today!  The day that Jacob was old enough to go to the bébé nageur (baby swimmers) class!  Technically the class I have been waiting for is a Wednesday morning class at Royatonic, the pool where my aquagym class is.  However, for his first time, I wanted Matthew with me in case it turned out to be a complete failure.  The main pool in Chamalieres has a bébé nageur class on Saturday mornings.  Perfect!  The first step was convincing Matthew to come with me.  In France, guys aren't allowed to wear board short type swim suits.  At Royatonic, there is a sign that shows what suits are acceptable:  the tiny biker short looking ones, the short suit ones I call 'J Crew bathing suits', or the ever popular Speedo.  Matthew agreed to wear the 'J Crew' shorts, which on anyone else wouldn't be that short, but have you seen my husband?  In his 6'4" frame, most of that height is in his legs.  More specifically in his thighs.  So the shorts are really short on him.  he he.

Teeny tiny shorts in hand, we headed to the pool this morning.  I had Jacob already dressed in his swim diaper and swim shorts, and I had my suit under my clothes, so getting ready in the locker room was easy.  Then we went to put our stuff in a locker and realized we needed a euro piece.  Neither one of us had any money.  We were all set to just take Matthew's wallet with us to the pool area and risk leaving the locker unlocked.  As I headed to the women's showers (yeah, you have to take a shower before getting into the pool), I see Matthew head over to ask a janitor about the locker situation.  Jacob and I shower, and walk through the wading pool (to get off any remaining dirt from your feet before you can get into the pools) and wait for Matthew to come out of the guy's shower side.  We wait.  And we wait.  And we wait.

I was starting to think that Matthew went back out to the front desk to ask for a euro piece or the little member card to put in the locker.  After several more minutes, Matthew finally emerges from the showers...
In a Speedo!!!!  I am talking, full-on, banana hammock!!!  Bwah haha!  Apparently at this pool, guys can only wear the little biker shorts or a Speedo (even though all the lifeguards are definitely sporting their Baywatch red swim shorts). The look on Matthew's face was priceless!   (Sorry babe!)  I thought at first Matthew had to buy the Speedo, but no, the janitor guy gave him one to wear.  Ewwww!

So at this point Matthew couldn't get into the water fast enough.  But oops, we forgot to bring the little piece of paper saying we had paid for the baby swim class.  So Matthew had to walk back across the pool area, back through the showers, back to the locker room, and then back to the pool. 

I tried my very best to convince Matthew to let me take a picture, but he refused.  The only pictures allowed were ones where he is completely submerged in water.  Shoot!

I don't think Jacob knew what to think about the whole pool thing.  He had his serious, deep thinking, furrowed brow face on most of the time.  The few times he did crack a smile was when a cute little girl baby in a bikini would "swim" past.  I think he definitely enjoyed himself though.  He got really tired towards the end (at that point it was already 30 minutes past his normal nap time), and the final straw was when a ball Matthew was playing with under the water, popped up, splashing both Jacob and me right in the face.  Other than that, I would consider the baby swim class a success!  I have to get a 'certificate medicale' and proof of vaccinations, before I can go to the Royatonic class.  We don't have that many weeks left here, but I definitely want to take him.  I have only been able to find one class in Greenville that has a class for babies this small.  I don't know why- it is great!

Jacob is 6 Months Old!

Today Jacob is 6 months old!  Wow.  Where has the time gone?!  There were times during the first 3, colicky months when I thought some nights would never end.  But here we are!  Jacob has always been a sweet baby, but when he was suffering from colic and reflux, there were times that he just seemed miserable.  Now, he is a happy, giggling, fun baby.  It is amazing to see his little personality emerge.  I think Matthew and I are going to have quite the little clown on our hands.  It is hard to describe with words, but there are times that he acts downright silly, and then will close his eyes, fall backwards, and giggle at himself!  One of my favorite new 'skills' of his is when he reaches out his arms for me or Matthew.  My goodness! It melts my heart every time. 

Speaking of skills, Jacob is working hard on sitting on his own.  Every day it seems he can sit just a little bit longer before toppling over.  Jacob can now roll from his back to his stomach, and as of yesterday- can now consistently roll from his stomach to his back.  This is an important milestone for us!  He has been able to roll onto his stomach for a little over a month now.  The problem is, once there, he gets very upset and fusses...cries...screams... until you go flip him back over (only to roll back onto his stomach 10 seconds later...).  This is not my idea of a fun game.  And the times where I decided to leave him fussing to see if he would figure it out for himself (or figure out that being on his stomach isn't fun, and would stop rolling over), I find him face down in a puddle of spit-up (no Mother-of-the-Year awards for me!).  Fortunately, this hasn't affected his sleeping.  We were really worried that if he rolled over in his crib, he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep until we came in and rolled him back over.  Most mornings we find him still on his back, but there have been mornings where we go to wake him up and he is sleeping peacefully on his stomach.

And speaking of sleeping.  Praise the Lord, Jacob has become such a great sleeper!  It took him about 3 days to re-adjust after flying back to France, but since then (knock on wood) he has been sleeping through the night.  7pm- 7am.  Wow.  I still can't believe it.  AND, remember all of those blogs on the napping issues?  Jacob now takes 2 naps of 1 1/2 hours (sometimes 2 hours, or longer!).  This has been the greatest change to our days.  I now can plan our days because I know what time he will go down for a nap.  I know how long he will sleep, which means I know when he needs to go down for the next nap.  Ironically, this type of scheduling has been the biggest source of freedom for me! 

Let's talk a little bit more about scheduling.  When Jacob was first born I made up some charts to keep track of when he ate, which side I started feeding him on, and how long he ate on each side.  I also kept track of how many wet and poopie diapers he had (sounds silly, but everyone who has breastfed knows that diaper 'output' is the best way to gauge whether the baby is getting enough milk).  After Day 13 and the 6 hours straight of crying, and the research I did on colic being diagnosed by a baby that cries for more than 3 hours/day, for more than 3 days/week, for more than 3 weeks, I decided I needed a more detailed chart to keep track of really how much he was crying.  All moms know that 5 minutes of crying can feel like an hour sometimes!  So my 24-hour chart was born.  I have received a lot of flack about my charts, but they have also come in really handy when Jacob was finally diagnosed with reflux.  More recently, they have helped me find the 'sweet spot' when it comes to Jacob's naps.  I will never forget the look I got when I pulled out my charts after spending the night in the ER with Jacob.  The ER doctor looked at the charts, looked at us, and asked (in French) "Um, where are you from?  That must be an American thing, I have never seen that in France."  Nope, not an American thing, just a Kim thing.   I admit that I am a little addicted to my charts.  Here are some examples.  It really puts things into perspective when I look at what our days were like then and now.  Just fyi- blue=sleeping, green=eating, red=crying, and the red stars are when he spit-up A LOT.  There are a lot more colors/symbols, but I won't bore you (well, bore you any more than I already have).  Can I just say how satisfying it is to color in all the blue after a full night of sleep? Or after a long nap.  Kind of the like the feeling I get when I get to cross something off a to-do list.  Sometimes when I make lists, I will even write things I have already finished, just so I can cross them off.  I know I am a dork, but I also know I am not the only one that does this.  ;)

So, anyway.  My baby is 6 months old today.  My sweet, funny, adorably chubby, cuddly (sometimes), light of my life.  I love you Jacob!  I love being your mommy.  I love your sweet smiles and giggles.  I love your chubby cheeks (that everyone comments on).  I love your beautiful blue eyes.  And I love how happy you are when you see me first thing in the morning, after each nap, or even when I have just left the room for a second and come back.  It is amazing how you can make my heart melt one minute, and the next I feel like my heart might burst it is so full of love for you.  Happy half birthday!

Adventures in Baby Food

Jacob has started eating 'solids'.  From the get-go, I knew I wanted to make homemade baby food for him.  I am not working in France, so I have the time. And anything I make at home has to be better than the stuff in jars, right?  My mom bought me the book Super Baby Food (kind of like every pregnant woman reads What to Expect When You Are Expecting, anyone who wants to make homemade baby food reads Super Baby Food).  We started off with the traditional infant rice cereal.  Jacob had his first cereal when we were in the US.  Our pediatrician had given us the go ahead after his 4 month check-up, but we waited until we were in the US with Matthew's family.  After missing Christmas, we thought it would be fun for them to witness at least one of Jacob's milestones.  He did really well.  I don't know how much he actually ate the first time because a lot of it ended up on his bib, but for his very first time- he did great.  A few weeks later I added in Infant oatmeal to his diet, mostly just for some variety for his taste buds. 

After his 5 month check-up, the pediatrician told us to start introducing vegetables during his lunch meal.  This is where things got a little confusing because everything our pediatrician told us was completely opposite from what I had read in my book, and what I had seen online.  Even on US websites, no one seems to agree on what foods to start with, what foods for what ages, etc.  One thing everyone does seem to agree on is waiting 3-5 days before introducing a new food (to allow allergies to show themselves, and then you can easily eliminate the culprit from the diet).  Our pediatrician told us to pick 5 vegetables (she gave us a list of recommended ones) and for 15 days rotate through the 5- giving a new one each day.  Hmmm... should I follow the advice of our doctor?  Or go with the 3-5 day wait rule that is the norm in the US (especially since Matthew had food allergies when he was young)?  Better safe than sorry, so slowly but surely we are introducing new foods to him. 

Food #1:  Avocados.  These are a super food.  They are not only one of the most nutrient-dense foods, but are high in iron, folate. potassium, vitamin E, and magnesium. Shew!  AND, there is no preparation.  Scoop some out, mash it up, mix in a little breast milk to thin it just a tad, and voila! (oh, and if you don't feel like freezing the rest, you can mix up a little guacamole for Mom and Dad). :)  Feeding Jacob avocado was pretty anti-climatic.  From his facial expressions you couldn't even tell that he was eating something different.  I thought after eating the bland rice cereal and oatmeal, the avocado would be a welcome change.  He did eat it all up like a champ, and was opening his mouth and leaning forward for the spoon.  So I guess that means he liked it!

Food #2:  Sweet Potatoes.  Another super food.  Preparation is pretty simple too. Poke some holes in them, throw them in the oven until they are fork tender, scoop out the flesh and puree.  The only extra step is to strain the puree because the fibers that don't puree could be a choking hazard.  I cooked up a bunch of these, and froze them into cubes.  Jacob is a big fan of these, and the orange color makes them a whole lot prettier than most baby food!

Food #3:  Green Beans.  Jacob gets green beans for the first time on Sunday.  Since Matthew took the day off today, we headed out to enjoy one of our favorite things to do when living in France- faire les courses.  Our first stop was the butcher, then the boulangerie, then the fruit/vegetable market.  I stocked up on green beans and peaches (Jacob gets those in about 2 weeks, but I thought I could go ahead and make/freeze them).  I also couldn't resist buying some artichokes that were bigger than Jacob's head!  I can't wait to dig into those.  Anyway, back to the green beans.  A friend here let me borrow her baby cooker.  It is so simple to use, and you can steam veggies and puree them in the same pot!  Unfortunately, the amounts I was attempting to cook and puree was just too much for the baby cooker.  I finally had to ditch the cooker and pull out my big pressure cooker and immersion blender.  One piece of advice I did take from our pediatrician was to add a little potato when cooking the green beans.  She told us it would help with flavor and help combine everything into a better texture.  But does that mean if he doesn't react to the green beans, then we are good-to-go with potatoes as well???

Next up on the schedule are bananas, carrots, winter squash (I think I am going to do pumpkin because I already have some frozen pumpkin puree in the freezer that I need to use before we leave in July...), pears, peaches, and applesauce.  One of my biggest goals is to "clear" foods that I might be able to find on the cruise we are going on in July.  I really don't want to have to lug a ton of jarred foods onto the ship, so I am hoping I can find some of the foods he has already eaten on board (ie avocados at the sushi bar!).  I love meal time with Jacob and I can't wait until I can really cook for him.  For now, I will have to settle for cooking/pureeing/freezing for him! 

Jacob's First Trip to the US!

On April 1 Matthew, Jacob, and I boarded a plane to take Jacob to the US for the first time!!!  I was giddy the whole cab ride to the airport, and it didn't even phase me that it was barely 5am!  I was a little nervous about how Jacob would do on the 9 1/2 hour flight from Paris to Atlanta.  After doing great on the short flight from Clermont-Ferrand to Paris, I relaxed a little. 

 The 'before' picture, sitting in the Paris Airport.

The timing of the flights worked out really well with Jacob's eating schedule, so that I could feed him during take-off in hopes of avoiding any pressure change/ear problems.  We were lucky enough to be given bulk-head seats and a baby bassinet that hooked onto the wall in front of our seats.  Not so luckily, there was another baby beside us.  The poor baby and his mom had started in India with a 10-hour flight to Paris, then the 9 1/2 hour flight to Atlanta, and then they would finish with a 4 hour drive to their home in Charlotte.  The 9 month old baby screamed pretty much the entire flight.  Even with the screaming right beside him, Jacob still managed to sleep some.  And when he wasn't sleeping, he still did great.  Matthew and I took turns standing and walking with Jacob whenever possible to keep him content.  Jacob was amazing, and had all of the French flight attendants on our Air France flight wrapped around his little finger.  :) We couldn't have asked for the trip to go any smoother!

My mom, grandmother, and grandfather met us at the airport in Atlanta.  It was so great to see their smiling faces waiting by the baggage carousel!

After a really rough night (9 1/2 hour flight + 6 hour time difference + first time not sleeping in his own crib = very confused/grumpy baby- all. night. long.), Matthew's brother, Mike met us in Atlanta to help drive us to Clayton (we had too many bags to fit in my mom's CRV!).  Since Mike and Matthew's parents never made it to France for Christmas, this was the first time Jacob got to meet his Uncle Mike.

We drove up to Matthew's parents' house in Northeast Georgia to some very impatient grandparents who have been dying to love on this little boy since November 24!

And the family love didn't stop there!  Matthew's grandmother, uncle, and his uncle's wife all drove down from Kentucky to meet Jacob.  I would say they drove down to see us, but we all know who they really came to see!  Sunday, Matthew's other grandmother, another uncle, his wife, and their 3 children came over for lunch.  I have waited so long for Jacob to be surrounded by family!  It was such a great feeling to see all of the love they have for him.

Jacob with his great-grandmother and second cousins.

Sunday afternoon we drove out to the lake to visit with some of our closest friends (in fact, David is the one responsible for introducing Matthew and I!).  I only wish we had more time to visit with David and Betsy.

What a great first weekend back home. We spent almost 4 weeks in the US, so there is lots more to come!