Bacon Bits: 3 months - and on time!

FINALLY caught up! Writing this on Jack's actual 3 month birthday. I find this a huge success in my life.

January 2, 2014 (whoa.): JACK IS 3 MONTHS OLD!

December was a very interesting month for us...some challenges, lots of change, and a 12 hour car ride to Chicago. But first of all, those measurements are estimates (and probably poor ones) since we didn't have a 3 month doctors appointment. I'm fairly confident that his weight is pretty close to correct, but his length is more or less off. I know this for two reasons: a) this kid has some LONG limbs. His feet are huge and don't fit into jammies without his toes scrunching up and his sleeves look like three-quarter length sleeves. He's wearing 6 month clothes. b) Ever tried to measure a squirmy baby with a Snap On tape measure?

At Jack's 2 month doctors appointment at the beginning of the month, we got some troubling news that Jack had a heart murmur. Instantly terrified, we saw a pediatric cardiologist the following Monday. Jack didn't have a care in the world. Mom had severe anxiety and Jack flirted with the nurses. The nurse said she had never seen a baby so happy to be attached to all those wires. He did much better than I did.

Hey girl... like what you see? I work out every morning in my activity gym. You should check it out sometime.

After an EKG, a physical exam and a serious ultrasound, it was determined that Jack had an innocent heart murmur. No holes, so special treatment needed. This was a huge relief to me, as I was majorly concerned to due a history of heart problems in my family.

With only 2 weeks left of maternity leave, my anxiety got worse and the best way to deal with that was by snuggling with this critter all day. So we did, and it was awesome. The dreadful first day back at work came all too quickly. I wasn't scared to get back to work, I was actually looking forward to seeing all my friends and feeling like a productive citizen who doesn't stay in their pajamas for 2 full days in a row (I'd call that a low point, but I had some even lower points in graduate school.) I was terrified of being away from Jack while he was at day care. The place we picked was great and I trusted that they would take great care of him. My irrational fear was probably something all Moms think: Is he going to love daycare and forget about me? I cried over this many times. Marc and my mom all told me it would be just fine, but I wanted to slap them both in the face and scream "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!? HE'S GOING TO HATE ME!"

He didn't hate me. In fact, I think he really loves it there. By the end of his first week, he happily went into his teachers arms and started flirting with her immediately (I'm going to have a Zack Morris in 14 years.) He made a friend who he spends tummy time with. He takes a few cat naps and reads books and the teachers just love him (who couldn't?) He sleeps so well at night after spending the day there. I think I actually like having 7:00-bedtime to myself to get stuff done. But I can't say my first week back at work was as good. But I'll address that in my New Year's resolution post.

After a week at work and a week at daycare, we needed a seriously vacation (working a full week after 3 months off was tough.) We took the very long drive to Chicago to spend Christmas with the Weldy's. We decided to drive overnight so that Jack would sleep the entire time. It was AWESOME. He woke up once to eat. We made better time driving with Jack than we did with Bowser! Marc and I just switched driving every few hours so the other person could sleep. Unfortunately, Marc picked up some sort of stomach flu that hit him somewhere in Indiana. I picked it up the next day. Then it spread to Grandma and Pops...

Anyway, Christmas was GREAT! I need an entire post to share the cutest pictures of the best friend cousins. On New Year's Eve, we decided it was time for Jack to start sleeping the whole night in his crib. It is night 5 and I am still sleeping on an air mattress on the floor of the nursery. It's been a little bit of a struggle, but that is due to Jack going through a growth spurt and needing to eat every two hours and a major spit up issue. But I feel good about tonight. Last night, he fell asleep on his side, and when I woke up to check on him, he was on his stomach. So that happened. Now every time I lay him down, he immediately rolls to his side and sticks his butt out.

This month was a little exhausting mentally, emotionally and now physically (thanks to crib training), but the smiles and coos and conversations Jack and I have are so worth it. He is such a happy baby, and I love spending every single minute of the day with him. Even after a night of no sleep, that smile and that low, soft voice is enough to get me through the day. Love love love him!!!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Jack's third month.