J is almost 3! (weeks)

From all the pictures we have of baby J sleeping, you'd think that's all he does. In truth, he only sleeps this well during the day, which is when I am awake enough to snap the pic. I guess this growing boy must be extra hungry these days because he's added an extra feeding to the night shift.

I know it's hard to believe for you So IL folks, but we have had a few pretty nice days this week, so Jalen and I decided to take a walk or two and try out the stroller. Lucky for us, Uncle Jake, there was no snow so we didn't have to put it in 4 wheel drive. Jalen did get to wear his snow suit, though - or better yet, it wore him! His arms are up by his head and his feet only go to the knee of the outfit. Hey, maybe next week it'll fit.

Now that he's growing into some of his outfits, I have been having fun dressing him every day. Not so much fun for him; I'm sure he'd rather just stay in the same jammies indefinitely. But we have so many cute onesies and outfits, he will probably wear everything once before he grows out of them! (maybe twice) You can see his rebellion as after a particularly sleepless night, I dressed him in the "Its nap time" shirt, and he disagreed with me for a good little while.

2 Week Check-Up

Wow, time flies and it has been two weeks since my water broke while sitting at this computer. Jalen has been changing so much. Of course it's easy to compare when we take so many pictures of him every day. Some of his outfits are fitting perfectly today and may not fit at all in a week or so.

Jalen had his two week check up yesterday, and that confirmed to us that he is doing very well. He has grown an inch since birth - now 21.5 in. That puts him in the 95% for boys his age. He has regained his birthweight and then some - from 7 lbs 15 oz last Wednesday to 9 lbs 2 oz on Friday! As I've said, he's a very good eater. He is doing well at night most nights. He has a stretch where he sleeps about 5 hours, giving Mommy some much needed shut eye. When Dad gets home in the evenings Jalen does his exercises, crawling up Dad's chest, pushing off with his legs, and holding his head up like a champ. He doesn't get scared when Mace barks, just gets wide-eyed and startled for a quick second. He is staying awake longer in between feedings and looks around and tells us stories. Jalen's only problem in life right now is diaper changes. He's gone through about 75 diapers in a week and has HATED every diaper change. I think he actually has a thing for dirty diapers because he's never in a clean one for more than 30 minutes.

We've had Mamaw here this week to visit and help out, and Nan, Papaw Chod, and Uncle Jake were here last night to see baby J in the flesh. That's about all for now. More milestones soon I'm sure!

Jalen Times, Issue 1

Hello everyone and welcome to Jalen's blog. This page will allow me to keep you updated on how fast Jalen is growing, and show pictures and videos of his smiling face. I'll start with the introductions:

Jalen Davis Welch was born on Saturday, January 10th 2009. He was 8lbs 4oz and 20.5in long, and has a massive head of dark hair. So far, his talents are: learning how to eat well faster than the other babies, falling asleep on demand for hours on end, staying as still as a statue while brother Mace sniffs his baby face, and waiting to poo until his diaper is off. This week (past 2 days) Daddy and I have seen several big smiles among other interesting faces. I wonder what he is dreaming about?

As for Mom, I am getting a little better by the day from the c-section, but it has been a slow painful recovery. Tomorrow will be my first day alone with little man as Daddy has to return to work and Grandma has been sick, delaying her trip down to help out. I believe I can handle Jalen; Mace is more the problem as he will most likely plan a trip around the neighborhood and I will just have to go back in the house and pretend he's not my dog. We will see...good times to come!