I know that I am going to say this over and over again, but it hardly seems possible that James has been with us for four weeks already. This month has just flown right by; maybe that is because we have been celebrating one holiday after another (Valentine's Day, Sophia's birthday parties, Steve's birthday, my birthday ...) or maybe it is because it has been such a smooth transition with him into our family.
James is truly an easy-going baby. I feel that I can say this because this is my fourth little one and I have experienced all types of personalities now. James rides easily in the van, often falling asleep, and doesn't seem to mind the constant comings and goings that we seem to have in our schedule these days. Luckily, he is also immune to the constant noise and chaos around him.
In fact, I have commented to Steve that it is so quiet in our house at night that I don't think that James really likes it that much. Like all of the other kids, he doesn't really care for his pacifier that much (sometimes he sucks on it for a bit) and that is fine with me. We take it with us on the road, just in case though.
The kids consistently refer to him as "James" or "baby James," but Steve and I vacillate between "James" and "Jimmy." He is too young to respond to his name yet of course, but I'm sure that he will recognize both versions in a couple of months.
A Valentine's Day picture of my babies:
We haven't settled into a complete schedule yet, and I don't think that we ever will. (My mom is shaking her head as she reads this, I'm sure, as she believes that I thrive on structure. But, as a fourth child, with three others constantly "on the go," it will be difficult to schedule regular naptimes). We will try. For now, Jimmy naps several times throughout the day and then we try to keep him awake after dinner so that he will be tired at night.
The older kids are in bed by 8 pm and that is when Jimmy receives this bath. Steve has been bathing him for me, as this affords me the chance to put a few things away and get ready for bed myself.
Then, into his pajamas he goes and then I sit down to nurse him. It is almost as if he knows that it is bedtime because this seems to be the longest nursing session of the day. I usually get him into bed (the pack 'n play in our room) by 10 pm and then I climb into bed shortly thereafter. For the last week or so, he has been sleeping almost 5 hours before waking up to eat again. Thank you, Little Man!
James really only cries when he needs something -- he is hungry, his diaper needs to be changed or he's bored and ready to sleep. He breastfeeds really well, almost every three hours during the day (sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little shorter) and rarely ever spits up. He had not had a bottle yet, but I plan to try giving him one in the next month, just so that he can have one once in a while.
James spends most of his days in warm pajamas because they fit him well and keep his feet warm during these cold, winter days. He did dress up in overalls one day (Steve dressed him), so we made sure to take a couple of pictures before he kicked the socks off his little bird ankles.
And, Jack is never far from his little brother these days. Those two -- wow. Jimmy is just now starting to focus more on who is around him ... especially Jack, who is forever in his face, smiling at him. Actually, all of the kids are enamored with him and I couldn't be happier about that.
No comments:
Post a Comment