It's hard to believe our little boy is 9 weeks old, and by the time some of you read this he'll be 10 weeks old. This maternity leave is flying by. We recently had Jack's 8 week appointment at the pediatrician. He was 25 1/4 inches long, and 11 pounds 13 ounces. This puts him in the 50th percentile in weight and well off the chart in height. We talked to the doctor about my suspicion that he has reflux issues, and because of some of the symptoms we described we ultimately decided to put him on Zantac to help him feel a little better. The weight wasn't a huge concern since he's still in the 50th percentile, although considering his height, and the fact that he was a larger baby at birth, it might be a little low because of the reflux, so we'll see how he does after he's on the medication for awhile. It definitely seems to be helping what appeared to be some pain after he eats (not every time, but enough that it concerned me), and he looks a little plumper now, so maybe it will make his weight go up a bit, too. Or maybe he's just going to be tall and skinny...only time will tell.
While the reflux talk is all so very exciting, I've yet to tell you the most exciting news: JACK IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. Has been for awhile now, actually. At 7 weeks, just like his big sister, Jack magically slept through the night. We have had a few nights where he wakes up in the middle of the night, usually because he's Houdini-ed himself out of the swaddle, but for the most part he sleeps from 9pm to 7am. What a dream. I feel human again. In case you're wondering, we achieved this miracle through the techniques in the Baby Whisperer book with both kids. Thank you Tracy, for your sleep training methods. We're basically running a baby boot camp over here. And thank you, Lauren and Jack, for apparently being prone to long bouts of sleep. Or maybe Lauren and Jack should thank us, since both Sean and I are pretty good sleepers ourselves. You're welcome, children. It's a mutually beneficial relationship.
Jack is getting more and more interested in what his big sister is doing, and what's going on in the world. He's also learning self defense at a very young age, as Lauren appears to have lost control of her limbs and often knees, kicks or elbows Jack in the face. Poor Jack. But you'll thank her later when you're tough Jack, I promise. Above and below, Lauren can't stand to not be the center of attention and cuts in on Jack's cuddle time with Grandma Power. The Power grandparents visited this weekend and were as surprised as us at how much Jack has grown.
Jack is a dream of a child. After he sleeps for 10 hours, he wakes up and eats, plays a little, and then naps for three or four more hours. This is when I head to the gym for an exercise class; my teacher calls him the class mascot (he sleeps in his car seat next to me the entire time). You can see that the gym class is working for him in the photos above, he has crazy neck strength. But it's not just the sleep, Jack is happy and easygoing. He's starting to smile a lot more, and in fact when he wakes up in the morning he doesn't even cry, just wriggles a hand out of the swaddle, sucks on it a little bit, and then when I go in to get him gives me a huge smile. Love this boy. I've always heard that you're only given as much as you can handle, so apparently I can't handle much because I've had two amazing babies. There's a lesson in there, I think.
OK, some tidbits about our little Jack Attack. He's starting to smile, and even smiled when I walked over to him last night. [cue heart melt] He likes to "coo talk" back and forth with us, and even he and Lauren coo talk to each other. He puts weight on his legs and stands up whenever given the opportunity (pretty sure Lauren didn't do that until she was about a year old). He can hold his head up for minutes on end, and is even hanging out in the 
