Two Weeks and Counting.

Well Jack's dropped into a nice sleep pattern, 11pm feed, 3am and then again at 7am. With the intermittent wake-up call from the dogs, anywhere from 1:30am to 4:30am, our sleeping consists of three hour cat naps!!

The two week check-up is here in no time and we're all wondering how much weight Jack has lost and is he putting it on again. It's a well known fact that a newborn baby will loose weight until the breast milk kicks in.

With anticipation we're off to the pediatrician for the check-up. We park up and out we all get, Jack's in the car seat asleep, baby bag filled to the brim with all sorts of baby paraphernalia plus THE bottle. The room is on the second floor so into the elevator we get for the short ride up. It's easy to find and because it's Jacks first visit we get to go there before the RUSH of sick children and babies arrive.

OK we're signed in, the health insurance card is photocopied and everything is set. Jack's still sleeping.

Jack gets his call and into the small room we go. The nurse says "strip him down." As you well know these rooms are not as warm as you would like especially for Jack who is snug as snug can be. Once the clothing starts to be removed, the stretching starts and his weary little eyes open. We're down to the onesies now and the temperature change is apparent by Jacks face. Off it comes, then the diaper, then the WAILING starts, "my goodness" says the doctor as she enters the door.

She takes Jack and checks all his limbs, listens to his heart, checks his ears and then it's weigh in time. Onto the scales he goes and with that sudden rush of coldness from the scale there is no stopping him, PEEEEEEEE, this fountain of water is all over Jack, the scales, the examination couch.

BOY!! What a mess, but the good thing is he's only down by three ounces from his birth weight!!

Oh! For a Perfect Night's Sleep

The home coming, after the initial shock for the dogs, turned out to be reasonably calm. Dad had made sure that the house was still respectable when mom returned, after all it was only two days.

The rest of the day is spent taking it easy, dad's doing what it takes to supply the food that mom wants and Jack is sleeping soundly. The compulsory four hour feeds kick in but Jack is beginning to get irritated. He's feeding but is he getting enough, is the standard question that we ask ourselves. Unless we weigh him after every feed there's no telling how much he's taken in.

Jack eventually settles down again and mom retorts that she's feeling like a milk truck.

Evening is here and by 10pm everyone is ready to call it a night. The transferring of Jack to the cradle is no problem, he carries on sleeping. Within half an hour the crying starts, feed time already! It's been less than an hour!

OK let me feed him again, but within five minutes he's sleeping once more. Back into the cradle he goes and everyone tries to settle down. The grandfather clock chimes 2am and Jack has been up three times by now, everyone is sleeping in three quarter of an hour bursts and it's getting to be a LONG night.

Let's get the pacifier out maybe he'll sleep a little longer, so the pacifier is sterilized and it is placed within reach, ready for the next wake up call.

At last he's settled down, WOOF, WOOF, Oh no!

It's 4:30am and the dogs need to go out for a potty break, I just don't believe it!! Wearily dad gets up to let the dogs out, then climbs back in bed. Tap, tap, tap, the dogs have done their thing and now they want back in.

"I'll just leave them out" says dad. Tap, tap, WOOF, tap, tap, WOOF, WOOF, dad throws back the covers and some words come out of his mouth that I don't understand yet and storms downstairs to let the ANIMALS in again.

Oh Man!! "This is just the first night!" exclaims dad, as he pull himself between the sheets once more.

Meet the Dogs!!!

The ride from the hospital was uneventful much to everyone's relief. Jack settled into the car seat like a pro and slept the half an hour along the Pacific Coast Highway. We get to our complex and once we go through the security gates it's less than a minute to the house.

Dad pulls into the drive and it's everybody out and into the house, everyone lets out a big SIGH and drops into the couches. It's quite peaceful, the dogs are in the yard at the moment.

After five minute pass the dogs start their normal antics of tap, tapping, on the door wanting to come in, after all they hadn't seen mom for a couple of days and they were eager to smother her in kisses.

OK it's time to let them in, the door's opened and in they fly, a total disregard of manners, it's a free for all. There is the initial greeting and then they get the scent of something that is not normal. They sense the cradle and there's something inside, their curiosity gets the better of them and they start nudging the cradle to get a little closer to whatever it is that's inside.

What you have to realize is, these dogs are not small, they're Newfoundlands!!

The bouncing of the cradle from the dogs instantly wakes up Jack and this little high pitched cry sounds from within. This instantly stops the dogs in their tracks, then there's this loud WOOF! This just intensifies the wailing from Jack, as we try to reassure the dogs that everything is OK.

We know the dogs are good with kids but how will they be towards Jack?

Well, we soon found out, as they covered him in a slimy drool with their lick of approval.

Welcome to the world of DOGGY DROOL!!!!

Trucks and Baby Seats.

After the compulsory two day stay at the hospital it's time for Jack to venture into the whole wide world. Everyone is dressed for the occasion and mom is sitting in the wheelchair ready for the journey down to the truck. Jack has his all-in-one outfit on, just to make sure he's warm. The cart is loaded with best wishes paraphernalia and it's more of a parade as we make our way to the escalator.

Once on the ground floor, dad has to maneuver the Chevy out of the car park and as you know with hospital car parks it's always jammed full!!

Well, leading up to this joyous occasion, a lot of ground work had to be done to checkout the best baby seat to cart Jack back to his home. That's where the BABY BARGAINS SECRETS book came in handy. It covered everything from cribs, bedding, clothes, baby proofing and yes, CAR SEATS. Well, we went for the Britax Roundabout, this seat carries a baby up to 30lbs rear facing and 40 lbs forward facing and has a built in recline, built-in locking clip and snap-together chest clip. Phew! As far as we were concerned the Rolls Royce of baby seats.

By now dad had the truck positioned outside the hospital automatic doors, out comes mom and now's the time for Jack to be placed into the car seat. Dad picks up Jack and hoping the adjustment is correct places him into the car seat. Wow!! It swamps him but fortunately the settings were on the smallest and it fitted him satisfactory for the journey home.

With Jack now safely on board, mom in the seat next to Jack and all buckled up safe, dad loads up all the presents and flowers and the final farewells are said to all the hospital staff involved.

Dad climbs aboard, buckles up and turns the key, the Chevy rumbles into life and off we go, slowly to a whole new beginning.

All Natural or Formula?

This is the million dollar question that faces all new mothers and fathers alike. Mother wants to start off in the right direction and Jack is only too willing to try and latch on. This may appear simple but as all new mothers know, it's not as simple as that!

It was mighty awkward, Jack's pitching a fit and it's 3am in the nursery. Mom wants to breast feed and the milk hasn't come in yet. She's still recovering from the last twenty hours of labor.

The whole nursery's awake now with a dozen babies testing their lungs. Jacks got a following already with everyone crying in sympathy. "We'll have to try him on the formula," said the nurse in charge. These two ounce pre-made formula bottles courtesy of Similac are an easy substitute but by the look on Jack's face and the spit out of the milk, he did NOT like it at all. He managed to take an ounce but it was a fight, he settled down but was it from the milk or the energy spent trying not to drink?

Enfamil, Similac, Good Start by Nestle, these formulas are all very good but what does Jack like?

Mom's having a hard time in satisfying him and the constant feeding is draining her energy. We settle on the Good Start, purely as it tasted better to us than the other two formulas. We have a plan, breast feed first option, pump and bottle feed second option, Good Start third option.

Jack's hungry again but a least there is a plan!!!!

The Year of the Horse

People born in the Year of the Horse are popular. They are cheerful, skillful with money, and perceptive, although they sometimes talk too much. The are wise, talented, good with their hands, and sometimes have a weakness for members of the opposite sex. They are impatient and hot-blooded about everything except their daily work. They like entertainment and large crowds. They are very independent and rarely listen to advice. They are most compatible with Tigers, Dogs, and Sheep.
www.c-c-c.org

Well! Look what I have been born into, that is, with the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck just for good measures. Once that was removed I tested my lungs and boy did they work.

I'm a budding three and a half year old now and I will be treating you to my rollercoaster of a life in the forthcoming excerpts in The Musings of Jack so stay close and check in regularly.