Been rather hot here the last couple days, which has forced our hand on an issue that we have been ignoring.

We have three Daikin split air-conditioning systems in the house. Two cool all of downstairs, and one covers just our bedroom upstairs. We have been extremely happy with these units – they have been surprisingly cheap to run and do a fantastic job. On the other hand, they are also rather expensive. We hadn’t covered the rest of upstairs as we knew to do all rooms it would cost an arm and a leg.

Our experience over the last couple days has highlighted the fact that hot weather rules the upstairs area out of bounds for Jack. While it is not as bad at night - particularly in his nursery, there will still be a reasonable number of nights where he won’t be able to sleep comfortably with just a Fan on.

So Al and I discussed it before. We think we might be able to get just one big unit in the open area upstairs, which might work ok if we close off all the other rooms during the day. Al is going to organise for someone to come out and let us know if that is feasible, and then quote on doing it. In the meanwhile Jack might have to bunk down with us on really hot nights.

Speaking of Jack, he has had a pretty good day. Al went back to her previous work place to have lunch with a friend. Jack behaved himself for the most part, regarding many of her old colleagues with long stares. He didn’t get much sleep after 11am, but never really showed signs of being over tired, and didn’t even bother having a witching hour.

I was speaking to my Mum this evening. She has been staying with the sister of mine who had her first child a couple weeks ago. It turned out that the “unplanned caesarean” was done because she had preeclampsia. It hadn’t been identified before labour started, and during a blood pressure check at the 10th hour alarms went off and people came running. Her partner was actually told outside the theatre that they did not expect her to live through the operation. No wonder he was so shell shocked afterwards. The doctor had said it was the worst case he had ever seen, and that it had given him such a fright that he would prefer she use another doctor if she ever decided to have a second child. It seemed he was only half joking.

Don’t take life for granted.

Posted by Doug at 12:17 AM

Jack asleep on Al's shoulder - he must be finding the new couches comfortable...

 

Posted by Doug at 8:24 PM

Jack enjoying some quiet time at his favourite window...

 

Posted by Doug at 10:50 PM

"Hey Dad, whatya doing?"...

Posted by Doug at 8:38 PM

Jack turns 4 months tomorrow. I’ve realised in the last week that I am about halfway through my maternity leave. While it feels like I finished up work quite a while ago, and that Jack has been in our lives for a long time, it also seems like time has just flown by. (The paradox of time going fast and slow at same time.) It is starting to feel like my leave will be over before I know it, so I am reminded to enjoy and make the most of it.

Hot weather has hit this week. It doesn't feel like that long ago that we were trying to ensure Jack was warm enough, and now we are trying to keep him cool. I have had to let him sleep on me in our room (with the Air Conditioner) at the start of the night, and transfer him to his room when it is a bit cooler.

Been another up and down week - between the heat, Jack going through another growth phase, and also appearing to have a sore tummy today. In between he has had happy days – but it still seems at this early age that it is still a day-to-day, week-by-week proposition with how Jack will be. You just have to take it as it comes. Thankfully he generally seems to be a happy chap.

Settling during the day has been the most constant issue I have been addressing of late. This week I looked up a chart for how long babies are supposed to be a wake vs. sleep at 4 months, and realised I wasn’t allowing Jack enough awake time. I think I have been misreading his cues, thinking the first signs of tiredness meant I should be getting him to sleep when instead he just needs some quiet time first. I think I have been causing both of us unnecessary angst, and spending unproductive time trying to get him to sleep before he was ready. I really should have taken my cues from him - he knows what he needs and tries to communicate it.

I feel a bit silly to have taken so long to figure this out, but now that I have it is already making a difference. By giving Jack more quiet time he is now often taking only a few minutes to go down to sleep when ready. Once a day or more he is now calmly getting himself off to sleep without needing to be rocked or walked. This is making my life and his easier and more enjoyable!

Some quick comments:

. In past few days he has taken to holding his toes with his hands.

. He also loves playing with balloons, and enjoys balancing them between his hands and toes.

. He has gone back to some of his earlier 'a-goo' noises in past few days.

. He seems to enjoy fans blowing cold air on him.

. Visited a friend's property on Saturday for a 40th. Jack enjoyed being outside, laying on a blanket on the grass, and feeling the cool breeze.

Posted by Al at 8:33 PM

Been another busy weekend. Al had her good friend Jude over on Friday night, and I had the role-playing guys here as well. Jack was well behaved, and all seemed to have a good evening.

Finished off the backyard todo list over the last two weekends - visited the local Nursery and also Bunnings, planted some flowers for Al, put up something for the Star Jasmine to climb on, shaped the hedge, put down fertiliser, gypsum and compost, and gave it a good weeding. Aside from watering and the weekly 5-minute clean up, I shouldn't have to do anything for another 6 months.

...Shouldn't - except for having puncturing an irrigation pipe when I moved one of the lights. Luckily the watering system is in three segments, and the one I "broke" is the least used one. I'll fix that next weekend...

Above is a comparison of what the back yard looked like before the work.

Jack seems to be going through his 3rd growth spurt (matches in with the timing suggested by the books, and his behaviour is the same as the last two). He was harder work than usual for the second half the week. We had a really good day with him yesterday - even attending a 40th birthday party late afternoon for a couple hours with him. Today however he had a stomachache, so was back to being harder work. While obviously uncomfortable, and although he was extra clingy and suffered a few periods of slow mournful crying, he make obvious effort to be happy. Thankfully he was over the worst of it after a few hours, and made it easier on his parents than what he might have.

Working from home tomorrow - to be here for the Air Conditioner salesman. Going to have a very busy week with Work. Not looking forward to it.

Posted by Doug at 11:15 PM

Jack thinks his Mum's shoulder is perfect for drooling on, spewing on, and looking over...

 

Posted by Doug at 8:13 PM

I was thinking that one of the things I have neglected to remark upon have been current affairs. For example, how the first time I turned the TV on in Al’s Hospital room after Jack was born, I found live coverage of the London Terrorist attacks. I will try to mention such things more often so that Jack can reflect on what was happening in the world, and how it was making us feel.

Jack’s growth spurt lasted around a week, and was much like the previous two. The first few days were the more difficult – Jack was unsettled within himself, not sure what he wanted, and was more demanding and clingy than usual. On the middle day he was just brilliant – a beaming smile all day, totally happy, perfect. The next few days he was prone to mood swings, grumpiness, wanting extra food, and was back to being clingy. A bit like the conifers we have in the front garden, this time his growth appeared to alternate and affected his girth instead of height!

Straight after this he had his second round of immunisation needles. He was ok as he waiting (and waited) around at the community centre, but got a worried look and was uncomfortable the closer to the nurses he got. He gave a sharp cry as the first two needles went in, one in each leg at the same time. The third needle that followed elicited a very loud, keen, hurt, “Oww, Oww, Oww, Oww, What are you doing to me” cry. This calmed down to a few hurt whines after 30 seconds, and within a minute was back to almost normal – except for large tears on his face. Those trips are only going to get worse. He suffered a slight temperature over the next 24 hours, but after all of that he seems back to his normal self.

Now while I have indicated he was harder work – overall it was still relatively good. He still slept fairly well, played, enjoyed quiet times, and talked and smiled. It was just that the transition from one phase to the other was more disjointed and often more work. Al handled it well, and neither of us felt worn down over the period. What we marvelled on was seeing how on occasion Jack was obviously not feeling the best, but you could literally see him trying to be happy.

While we obviously love Jack deeply, there is one aspect of our feelings that has kind of surprised. We both really like who Jack is as an individual. We like the way he explores and experiences, how he learns, how he communicates, how he interacts, and how he shows his happiness. At four months of age, he’s a champion little individual that we are delighted to have the pleasure of knowing.

Posted by Doug at 11:46 PM

Jack had his 4-month injections last week. He looked more worried as he got closer to having them. He let out an alarmed cry - particularly after 2nd needle, but settled down quickly afterwards. He was certainly more aware of what was going on this time than last – which is obviously only going to get worse. That makes it harder for him, and us the parents. He seemed to have a slight temperature the next day and was more clingy, but otherwise adjusted ok.

Jack had a little girl at Gymbaroo rolling over and continually trying to 'paw' him last week. He didn't seem perturbed, more just curious about it. His first experience of being pawed by a girl - as Doug pointed out, something he might be happier about once when he reaches his teenage years!

I took him on the first long car trip by myself to visit his Auntie Michelle, Uncle Mark and cousins Tara and Saemus. He slept the whole way in both directions, which made things easier. It was great to see Tara and Saemus holding his hand and interacting with him.

We have been doing the rounds of school tours in the last couple days. It feels strange to be doing it so early, but after missing out on our first childcare placement, it seems better to be safe than sorry.

Jack gets lots of comments from family, friends and strangers alike, that he has big beautiful eyes, and appears very alert and bright.

We also went out to a housewarming on Saturday evening on top of all the above - so it has been a busy social week for Jack.

Posted by Al at 7:36 AM

We did a tour of a private school on Saturday morning. I felt stupid doing this while Jack was so young, but I learnt my lesson with not getting into our preferred childcare centre. It is all about keeping your options open. As it was, we were not the only parents with babies there. Al had already organised brochures, but I kind of just got stuck on the cost of it. In fact, I was a little sceptical of the whole thing. I had some ideas on how I would prefer Jack to be taught, and what environment I’d like it to be in, and it didn’t match my perceptions of private schools.

We arrived, were met by friendly and professional staff, where told the ideals and approach of the school, and then given a tour. It was frightfully close to what I would like for Jack.

Their early learning centre didn’t impress as much as our preferred childcare centre, but we will have to seriously consider the school as an option. That’s a whole lot of work. If we send Jack there, we will need to decide when we would like him to start. Then we need to go over the financials – not just for one child, but multiple. It will also involve understanding and accepting a real cost to our own plans – holidays, investments, and where we wanted to be living in 15 years.

On Saturday evening we went to a house warming party.

On Monday morning we went to a second school tour. This one was ok, but didn’t really impress enough to want to spend that sort of money on.

We have one more school to consider in the area, but that one doesn’t have an open tour till next year.

Through all three outings Jack was pretty good. Alert and interested in what was going on at the start, getting a little overwhelmed and tired by the end, but not being too loud or grouchy. He spent most of the time looking over his mum’s shoulder, wide eyed, mouth half open in wonder, staring intently at all. I caught numerous people smiling at him, which he would sometimes return. A surprising number remarked on him - how alert he was, how big his eyes are, and how well behaved he was. He certainly draws attention to himself.

One last thing – on Sunday we did a large grocery shop. Jack started out in his baby carrier, but soon got uncomfortable and was crying – loudly. Very. This was the first time in public I think. Al tried to calm him for a minute or two but he was having none of it. In the end we took him out of the carrier – he immediately smiled, and then promptly fell asleep in Al’s arms. He certainly knows what he wants.

Posted by Doug at 11:49 PM

The air conditioner is being installed as I type. They were meant to arrive at 7am this morning, but the installer was not informed of the job. Why do these things never work out as simply as they should? Anyway, the original installer did as much as he could over a couple of hours around lunch, and now two other installers have turned up (after they finished their day) to complete the job. *sigh*

I am feeling – well, fretful at the moment. Al took Jack for a long walk in the pram at lunch - the first in a few weeks, and the first time in a more upright position. As soon as she got back you could see Jack was sunburnt, right across the face and small touches on both feet and arms. Al put moisturiser on it, but after a play / feed / sleep cycle Jack’s skin had turned a brighter red. A review of the books, a trip to the chemist, and 30 minutes of creams, damp cloth and water spraying, and the first round of “treatment” is complete. It will have to be repeated every four to six hours. While Jack hasn’t shown any discomfort yet, both parents are feeling horrendous.

Jack certainly seems to be the one who pays for his parent’s lessons.

Posted by Doug at 6:46 PM

The laundry is my domain. Jack’s arrival has seen an increased workload, but not entirely in the areas I expected. (We use disposable nappies, so that obviously cuts down on the required work.) I wash Jack’s clothes separately from our own, split into whites and colours. On average I probably do about 1.5 loads of each a week.

I use Amolin Sensitive Laundry Liquid, with NapiSan Plus Advanced Soaker as a booster. I started on an Easy-Care cycle, but found on occasion it didn’t seem to rinse well enough as Jack would sometimes get rashes off his clothes. I now use a standard Cotton cycle, and Jack’s reactions to his clothes have dramatically reduced. Soiled clothes get rinsed under running water; badly soiled clothes are soaked in a bucket with NapiSan for up to 24 hours. This approach has worked well – we haven’t had to discard any of his clothing, and I have re-washed only a handful of items over the last four months.

I also have to do an extra load of Al’s pyjamas weekly, which I wasn’t expecting. Jack has a tendency to throw up on, drool over, or occasionally soil Al’s pyjamas – and I commonly find 5 or more pairs put out to be washed a week! (I think she now has a dozen pair in her wardrobe!) I also wash these with the Amolin liquid as Jack can spend time cuddled up to them.

While 4 loads of extra washing a week isn’t too bad, it is enough that if I miss a day or two things quickly back up, and it can take a week to catch up again.

…

Got to 28 degree’s here today – just hot enough to test out the new air-conditioner. It did an excellent job. While obviously not a reflection on how it will handle 35, or even 40 degrees, at least we know it will cover us on any hot night.

…

Jack’s sunburn is still noticeable and red, but Jack himself seems little effected. Regular application of Sorbolene Cream, running the humidifier over night, and spraying him with water to keep things cool and moist (which he seems to love), is keeping his mum busy. At my suggestion she took him into the doctors today. It wasn’t for Jack’s good – the doctor just said to keep doing what we were doing. It was to put Al’s mind at rest – which the doctor did by saying there was nothing to worry about.

Posted by Doug at 8:23 PM

Had a pretty average Thursday night – dialled into a client soon after my last blog post, and didn’t manage to log off until well after 11pm. Friday was just one big long rush from the moment I stepped into the office at 6:30am. By the time I stumbled home I was well and truly over the week.

A friend from Uni visited the house on Friday afternoon. She has been living in Queensland for some years now, and I was glad to get home in time to catch her before she left. Last night the role-playing crew were over, and I think my head hit the pillow just after midnight.

Today my Parents were meant to be visiting. Unfortunately my Dad came down with something viral and had to cancel the trip. Instead I’ve done some shopping, cleaning, catching up with old newspapers and 5 loads of washing.

Jack was looking very big around the midriff this morning. Over today he has had two very big soiled nappies and a couple extra heavy wet nappies, along with his usual smaller nappies. His midriff has now returned to normal size. I guess that sort of change is logical – I just can’t remember such things being mentioned in baby 101. There is a lot about babies that doesn’t seem to be mentioned anywhere in advance...

Posted by Doug at 7:02 PM

Taken a few hours ago as Jack slept in his mother's arms.

 

Posted by Doug at 9:04 PM

I’m a bit concerned - Al is showing the early signs of being a push over. Jack has spent most of the last two nights sprawled blissfully across his mum sleeping. Al said he reaches his arms out towards her from his cot, and she has no choice but to pick him up. Hoodwinked by a 4 month old…

…

Al has noticed that over night it is not uncommon for Jack to wake up and have a play session in his cot before calling for food. This is good on two fronts. First that he can keep himself amused at times. Second that he is comfortable and happy enough in life for food to not always be his primary concern or demand.

…

The new company HR Manager sent out a staff survey. Three things in the covering letter stood out.

First it suggested it would take 7 minutes to complete. Interestingly, it was 7 pages long, had 5 overview fields, 77 rating questions, and 11 sections for free form responses.

Second the survey was confidential, yet asked for your Job title and region, which would narrow the author down to one in a handful at most.

Third it indicated no one in the company would get a copy of individual responses. It then asked you to address all completed forms to a member of the company…

Posted by Doug at 11:47 PM

Lately Jack has limited his conversations with his parents to raspberries, chortling and squeals. Given some quiet time by the window or in his cot however and he happily chats away to himself. Some of the latest noises - “Naung Naung Naung”, “Werrr Werrr”, and my personal favourite, “Nar Nar Gooon”. He has also started with occasional involuntary Oooh’s and Ahhhs, and what sound like a baby version of a contented “Awwww Yeaaahhhh”.

Al’s had a great day today. She got Jack to send me an email outlining their adventures:

tynhyl9888iuik9oiil,-0opp;;;;;;pl.,k,,,,,,,':.jh g ?

szx

.].L[;'

X EWh\

k

;'/..,.' n

I’m particularly proud of the question mark.

Apparently he was telling me about how he scooted around the coffee table on his stomach by kicking off his mother’s hands, chasing his balloon. This is the furthest distance he’s achieved yet, although it came at the cost of a little carpet burn on his knees. He also spent time in his rocker facing the kitchen cupboards, shuffling forward by swinging his legs, then kicking off the doors and scooting backwards, to start the entertainment all over again.

He certainly seemed to achieve more today than what I did.

Posted by Doug at 8:29 PM

One of his favourite toys...

Posted by Doug at 7:59 PM

The weeks just seem to fly by between all the activities and socialising. This week my mum and a close family friend came for lunch on Tuesday, followed by afternoon tea with the mother's group. On Thursday Jack and I visited a friend who has 2 kids under the age of 3. Today was Gymbaroo, Doug has role-playing friends over tonight, and Doug's parents are due in half an hour to stay the evening.

Maternity leave has provided me with a good opportunity to catch up with family and friends (including some that I haven't seen much of in recent years). It has also been great to make some new friends through the mother's group and other baby activities. I am really lucky to be surrounded by such a support and friendship base.

Jack also finds it interesting to be in new locations and to study new people and faces. It is fascinating to watch Jack's interactions with other babies and kids, which he seems particularly interested in observing.

The babies in the mother group are all starting to be more aware of each other, and reaching out and touching each other. Sometimes they are oblivious to another baby's touch, sometimes they look with interest at each other, sometimes one or both get startled and are in instant tears.

Here are some of the outcomes to Jack’s interactions with other babies:

. In mother's group two weeks ago, Emily and Jack were touching each other's faces. Emily then advanced to sucking on Jack's face - all of which was ok by Jack until Emily decided to scream. That produced instant tears from Jack. This week Emily joined Jack on the activity mat and Jack was happy to look at her, but when she started trying to touch his face, on came the tears and demands for rescuing by mum. Emily's mum and I are joking that she is taking things too fast for him, and needs to slow down or she will scare him off. (Yes - mothers start the little boyfriend and girlfriend comments even at this early stage!!)

. Lachlan also tried to share the activity mat with Jack two weeks ago, and also had Jack in tears after touching him (Jack doesn't appear interested in sharing his activity mat). This week however Jack had his revenge in touching Lachlan, causing him to break out in tears.

. My friend’s son Dominic was able to stroke Jack’s face nicely, after which Jack keenly watched him move around the room. His sister Isabel however squealed loudly in Jack’s face, causing more tears.

. At baby Gymbaroo some of the babies keep trying to crawl or roll on top of Jack. This produces worried looks from him, but thankfully so far the other mothers have intervened before any tears eventuate.

Being a parent makes you reflect a lot on your own childhood. You start to see some things in a different light. In part you appreciate things from the parent's perspective. In part you are also reminded of the child’s viewpoint. It is helping to bring back many long forgotten memories. It makes you think about what you valued in growing up, and so want to emulate for Jack. It also makes you think about what you want to do differently. Both Doug and I are lucky to have had overall positive childhood experiences. We use that as a baseline when thinking about how we want to approach parenthood.

Posted by Al at 9:01 PM

My Parents came down last night and stayed until after lunch today. They got to see Jack in his normal happy morning routine. Here is jack on his Grandpop's lap:

Posted by Doug at 4:06 PM

With the rush of last week, the late night on Friday with the Roleplaying Crew, and my parents visiting yesterday, I was hoping (needed) a quiet and relaxed day. Unfortunately I woke up with hayfever sinus pain this morning that I can't shake, and Jack has had a pretty unsettled and relatively unhappy day. (Another cold maybe?) Below Al keeps him distracted with a Yoga session...

Posted by Doug at 4:16 PM

Al and Jack were out when I got home from work today, having lunch with the Mother's Group. It seemed odd to have to disarm the alarm and come into an empty house. Al's PC had died during the day, so I pulled it apart. For no good reason it then started working again, so I backed it up and left it running. (It is still running happily now. *shrug* ) I then set up my work laptop and connected to a client. As I sat in my study I felt a strong sense of missing Jack, and was looking forward to seeing his cheery face.

I’ve been surprised at the strength and growing influence of the bond we already have with Jack. It has even affected the level of empathy I feel towards issues related to children in general. I guess it is like the early stages of an adult relationship – those extra intense emotions that some people get addicted to. Or in another view, a manipulative Mother Nature at work to ensure you bond with your offspring. Regardless, there is an overriding feeling of just how precious Jack is that surprises me with its power.

Posted by Doug at 11:55 PM