Life with Baby Jared

The last few weeks have been interesting around here. This last week Jared had some trouble staying asleep during his naps. I tried some different methods and after much trial and error feel that I made some progress. =) Today he's been sleeping tons, but that is probably because of a growth spurt. Yesterday I used the Happiest Baby on the Block techniques and he went to sleep so easily. Although it's tough figuring him out it's so rewarding when I do.
We've also had our first smiles. Jon and I both got one on the same day and my mom got one a few days before. He's also learned to use a pacifier. Whoo hoo! I'm still trying to figure out how much stimulation Jared can take right now. He doesn't mind lots of noise. Well, I don't think he does because he sleeps though it, but I guess he could just be way over stimulated. He doesn't seem to be able to handle much playing though. He doesn't like to spend much time in his activity gym and he has trouble playing on his tummy for more than a few minutes. All of this is probably normal, but I am trying to make sure that I don't put him through more stress than I need to.
Funny moment of the day:
Jared had just fallen asleep eating so I put him with his face near my shoulder so I could burp him. He stayed asleep so I just let him lay there. After some time his eyes shot open and I heard/felt a huge poop (it stayed in the diaper). He immediately went back to sleep and gave a huge smile. =) What a boy!

Time Goes On

It's so crazy that the little guy is almost 4 weeks old. Where did the time go? Everything continues to move along. Little Jared has had a tough time this last week. The whole family met at my parents' house last weekend and then I caught a cold, which I promptly passed on to Jared. The poor little guy was congested, but is sounding better now. He was also getting progressively more fussy throughout the week including not sleeping unless he was in someone's arms (probably got spoiled from visiting the family...someone was holding him the whole time). That made for some rough days because I couldn't really get anything done. Jon has been great though taking over when he gets home so I can have a little break from the fussiness/crying. We both had enough this weekend. It seems like I have a little more patience. I just feel bad for Jared because he is obviously crying for some reason. We did buy some gas relief drops. Jared might also just be overstimulated by the end of the day.
He is doing much better today though. =) I'm wondering if he's going through a growth spurt because he slept 5-5.5 hours straight last night. Whoo hoo! He's also been napping quite a bit today, which is also nice. Maybe he's gotten used to not being held all the time. He's currently taking his second nap in a row where I'm not holding him.
This whole time I've felt like his mom, but I think I might be feeling more like I've got a handle on things. Although Jared doesn't have a good schedule yet, he seems to be settling into one. He normally wakes up between 6:30 and 8am and then is awake for a little bit. After that our day consists of naps, eating, and some playtime. Jon and I also did Jared's first real bath this week and he did not enjoy it at all. Anyone have some tips on ways to make bath time more fun? He doesn't really like diaper changes either, which means lots of crying at our house.
Here's some recent pics:

Sleeping sprawled out on the couch

Jon was reading Jared some Dr. Seuss

A close up. What a wide eyed boy!


Sitting up like a big boy


Jon reads Jared whatever he happens to be reading


Whenever Jared gets fussy bouncing on the yoga ball will settle him down