This week marks Jacob’s fifth week in the world, and it’s incredible how much he has changed already. He’s grown from an 8 pound baby who eats, poops and sleeps into an 11 pound baby who eats, poops, and sleeps.
I kid. Much more than his weight has changed over the last month.
For starters, he has discovered his hands. When he was born, I thought they were just regular ol’ baby hands, but it turns out they are the most delicious treat since bacon was invented. I have been tempted to taste them myself, but they’re always covered in baby drool, and I’m on a diet.
Since realizing he has hands and fingers (and not just mitten-covered nubs at the ends of his arms), he’s made up his own little games with them. His favorite: trying to see if he can get both of them into his mouth at the same time. It’s like “Chubby Bunny” but without the added sugar.
The little Einstein has also learned how to drool. Before I was a mom, I thought baby drool had to be one of the most terrifying liquids on the planet (along with nitroglycerin and those Monster Energy drinks). Now, I love watching him blow spit bubbles. Sometimes, I even grab a piece of gum and join in the bubble-blowing fun. (For the record, I’m only immune to Baby J’s spit; all other baby spit still gives me the heebie-jeebies.)
Another monumental milestone in the development of Baby Jacob is his mature decision to stop playing the “keep my parents awake for days on end” game that he loved so much for the first month of life. As I mentioned in a previous post, Jacob was born an insomniac. It wasn’t unusual for him to stay up 6,8 or 12 hours on end. But, my little marathoner has finally given up the night life. It was amazing: once we discovered the miracle of Benadryl, he discovered the joy of sleeping. Now, it’s not unusual for him to sleep 5 hour stretches at night, and he has even made it to the six-and-a-half hour mark. (By the way, totally kidding about the Benadryl thing.)
Of all the milestones that Jacob has reached in the last month, there are two that melt my heart the most. One is so special that it deserves it’s very own post, which will appear on the blog next week. The other is his champion staring skills. For his first month of life, he would inspect a forehead, hairline, chin—anything but the eyes. Now, he is the staring contest master. Seriously, the word “blink” isn’t even in his vocabulary yet (along with every other word in the English language). Though we sit and stare at each other for what seems like hours on end every day, I get the same lovey-dovey feeling every time.
And, speaking of, I think it might be time for another staring match now. And, if there’s time, we might just have a bubble blowing contest after.
