Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Jack gets an opinion

I'm not sure when it started or how it happened, but Jack seems to have gotten an opinion ... and he chooses to voice it with a new range of whines and cries. A few months ago, I began to notice that Jack's typical baby-cries had started to turn into a perturbing whine. After spending day in and day out with the little dude, the difference between a "need" cry and a "want" cry is becoming more and more obvious. Add to this development the ability to turn his head, move his hands, and wrinkle his nose and Jack's got a whole new range of ways to communicate "No way I'm not havin' it!!"

He generally busts out the whine when he's tired of playing in the same spot with the same toys, when I'm not feeding him fast enough (or I'm trying to feed him prunes like in the picture above), when I'm putting him in the sleep-hold and he just wants to stay up and play, and when I'm sitting down with him and he'd prefer that I stand. Yeah, he's a little picky.






So with this new whining ability, I've also got to practice the mommy "no." I find myself saying "no" so much lately, and he's not even crawling! I hate to think of how negative I'm going to start sounding when he's really able to get into trouble.

If you want it, come and get it

I think I have a tendency to be one of those hovering moms, you know, the kind that never leave their child's side and any time a toy falls out of reach they put it back in their kid's "zone"? So I'm working hard at giving Jack some independent playtime - time with just him and his toys so that he can figure things out on his own without mommy interfering. It's actually kind of funny, Jack will happily play by himself with me listening from the other room for about 20 minutes or so, but as soon as he even catches a glimpse of me walking by he suddenly wants his mom. OH! And speaking of wanting mom, he actually REACHED for me for the first time on Sunday. This was kind of sweet since he's never done that before, but has also caused me to watch out for a clingy baby. I have no problems with babies lovin' up and being close to their mamas, but for me personally it is a goal to raise kids who can be just as happy without mom as they are with her. I want Jack to be used to spending time with other people, and to realize that he can be safe and happy with our family and friends. I've heard 6 months is around the time when babies start clinging to their mamas, but so far he seems to enjoy being dropped off at the sitters or left with his daddy for a few hours. He's probably thankful for a break from me! Now that I've totally gone off-track, what I really wanted to share was this video of mommy making Jack retrieve his own toys. I finally realized he's never going to learn to crawl if I'm constantly putting them back in his hands. On the other hand, a three-level house may not be the best place to learn mobility anyway. Bring on the safety gates!!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Don't mess with a mama and her napping baby!

I live at the beach. There is only one house in our neighborhood with enough grass worthy enough to be deemed a "yard." And that house just so happens to be right next door. It is also vacant. According to the neighborhood gossip it's owned by a very rich man in real estate, who is presumably sitting on the property until he can either sell it off for profit or build a big 4-unit condo. Personally, I think the Lord is keeping it vacant while we live here so that the side of my house can still get some sunshine.
Because this is the only house with more than 10 cubic feet of grass, it is also the only house that requires a lawnmower. So once a week during the summer a big ole' truck and trailer veer into the driveway, 3 people jump out with 3 different grass-cutting devices, and in 15 minutes flat the yard is sheered and the mowers are back in the truck. This is serious business. I mean, check out that professional mowers garb, complete with protective eyewear. I don't know about you, but that is not the kind of mower that I grew up with in Pennsylvania. And people live on multiple acres where I come from, not multiple cubic feet.



Unfortunately, this weekly occurance didn't seem nearly as catastrophic last summer when I was pregnant as it does now that I have a 6 month old... WHO TAKES NAPS! It didn't dawn on me until the revving of the gas powered engines that Jack was sleeping soundly in his peaceful crib, right next to the window that overlooks vacant-neighbors' yard. And to think, last year I was worried about squirrels keeping Jack up!! After 15 minutes of pacing the floor, peering out the windows, wondering if they would ever finish the job (yes I am that kind of neighbor, it's probably a good thing no one lives next door) and beginning to formulate a plan for how I was going to ask these mowers if we could coordinate our schedules in the future so that they arrived during waketime, I finally realized sleeping Jack remained unphased. Phew, what a relief. Thank goodness for a solid sleeper and yet another good reason Jack takes after his dad!

Friday, April 24, 2009

WAHM


No, that's not a misspelling. Anyone familiar with Internet lingo knows that WAHM stands for "work at home mom." That's me! And after 5 months of WAHMing I now feel I have something to say on the subject.
First off, I am SO grateful to be able to work from home. I've always wanted to be a mom but I really enjoy working too, so I'm thankful for the opportunity to do both. And I don't take my situation lightly. I realize that there are many, many mommies out there who would love to be in my position. I wish I could tell you how to work from home too, but since this job just kinda "fell" into my lap, I don't really have any expertise to share.
That said, it is certainly not easy. For being somewhat young, I've had many different jobs. Motherhood is by far the most difficult "job" I've ever had. And working from home is a definite second. There are lots of different jobs that can be done at home, unfortunately, I don't think my current position is the easiest to do away from the office, but we make it work. During my first few weeks I really had to change my mindset. In previous jobs, I would go into work at 8am and leave work at 5pm without thinking about my work again until 8am the next morning. I also wasted a lot of time being bored at my desk. Now I "get" to think about work all day (and all night) long, and mommy in my in-between time. When I first thought about working from home, I think I pictured myself with a little more freedom, which would certainly be a possibility if I could set my own schedule. But since I'm "on call" at all times, this isn't necessarily the case. Here are a few things that I QUICKLY learned about working from home:

1.) Always keep your phone within a 4-ring distance.
One of the first times I worked from home was while I was still pregnant. I had a doctor's appointment in the morning, followed by some bloodwork. I stopped at the grocery store to grab three things on my way home. I missed a total of 5 calls. When I got home and checked my voicemails, I missed another two calls. While returning one of these calls, I missed another call - this one from a co-worker asking why I wasn't taking calls. I felt horrible.
Fast forward a few weeks later, Jack is here, I'm back to work, and the phone is back to ringing. I cannot tell you how many times I've let my phone in another room, on another floor, and didn't realize it until it started ringing. If I ever answer the phone out of breath, it's probably because I just ran up two flights of stairs to answer it.
And so, I keep my phone with me wherever I go. I take it with me for the 30 seconds it takes to run out to get the mail, I keep it in my back pocket when I'm up in Jack's room changing a diaper, it's with me when I'm driving to and from work, and it sits next to my plate when we're eating dinner.
I've learned the hard way that people will always call when (a) Jack is screaming (b) I'm feeding Jack (c) I'm on the other line or (d) I decide to use the restroom. Since those early days I've gotten better at catching calls ... and at not sweating over the calls I do miss.


2.) Keep your laptop by your side.
For similar reasons as the phone, I'm never without my laptop. I keep my email up and running from 7am until 10pm and I'm constantly checking in whether I'm seated on my couch, cooking dinner in the kitchen or getting a tan on the balcony. If only I could get wireless out on the beach ...


3.) Every day is work day
My office phone is constantly forwarded to my cell phone unless I'm actually sitting at my desk. This means I could get a work call at any time. Although it is rare that someone will call me before 7am or after 8pm, anything in between there is fair game, including weekends and holidays. Last week was Good Friday. My office was closed but apparently some people were not aware. After ignoring three calls in a row from the same person I figured it would be easier on everyone involved if I just answered my phone. So much for holidays.
While I do my best to remain completely available during work hours, I simply can't be expected to answer every call. For example, one sunny day I decided Jack and I needed a walk. It was 5:30pm, the office had been closed for a half-hour, and I figured it was a good time to give my Grandma a call. Apparently someone else thought it would be a good time to give me a call. That same person proceeded to call me every minute (7 times in a row) while I was trying to have a conversation with my Grandma in between beeps. Two weeks later this same person called me 16 TIMES while I was on the phone with my boss. Not once did she leave a message. I was beginning to get annoyed. Normally I don't return calls unless the person phoning leaves a message, since that's how it would work in the office, but in this instance I was very willing to make an exception. I called her up, answered her simple question, and let her know that next time she can just leave a message after the first call and I'll call her right back when I'm free. People!!


4.) It's hard to keep a baby quiet
I try really hard to maintain some level of professionalism while working from home. I could be sitting in my pajamas, with unbrushed teeth, folding laundry with a bowl of Cheerios on my lap, but I still want people to think they're talking to a fully-dressed women sitting at her desk playing with her pen. This means no background noise. I cannot tell you the number of times I've talked to someone while they were going to the bathroom. They think I didn't know, but believe me, I heard ... and I probably made a note about it in their file. I've also had numerous conversations with people as they're driving down the highway with their windows open, in a crowded grocery store, or in the middle of rock concert ... well at least, that's what it sounds like. I try to keep background noise to a minimum, quite the challenge with a kid in the house. During those first few weeks, I'd lay Jack down and run out of the room if the phone rang. Usually he didn't mind, but occasionally there would be a really chatty person on the phone and I could hear Jack in the other room getting more and more frustrated with an absent mommy. I'm sure I was not the most attentive listener in these situations. It's a lot easier now. Unless he falls over and smacks his head on the coffee table like this morning. I apologized to the man on the other end of the line, picked up a screaming Jack, kissed his forehead, waited 2 seconds until he calmed down, and resumed my conversation. Some situations you just can't control.

Thankfully Jack's pretty content to entertain himself when I'm on the phone for a few minutes. The problem comes when phone calls end up being more than a few minutes. A few weeks back I had a conference call scheduled with several other co-workers to discuss a marketing strategy. I had it all planned out so that Jack would be taking a nap during this time. Well, Jack ended up waking up 30 minutes early and our meeting started 30 minutes late. I knew he wouldn't be content to sit quietly by himself while Mommy chatted on the phone for an hour and a half, so I decided the best alternative was to hold him the entire time since he's usually pretty quiet and calm when he's in my arms. Other than a very tired arm, this worked great until about the last 5 minutes of the meeting when Jack coughed once and sneezed twice, this was followed by a few "Hey Jack's!" on the other line. Babies are much easier to hear on the phone than we realize. :)
So now you have an idea of what a working day looks like in our house. Jack has adapted pretty well. He definitely recognizes my cell phone ring, and he likes to try to type on the computer right along with me. It's been a fun adjustment, and a worthwhile one at that. My only complaint is just that I'm a little busier at this point in my life than I hoped to be. And it's not always this way. It just depends on the time of year. These last two weeks of work have been keeping me on my toes, and unfortunately my home life takes a hit. I can't remember the last time I cooked a real dinner, my house is a dirty, dusty mess, and most importantly, my blogging suffered. You know I'm a little busy and stressed when I can't keep up with my own blog! But thankfully summer is just around the corner, and no matter where you live or what you do, there always seems to be a bit more free time in the summer!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Random Thought: Morning Doves



Aren't morning doves lovely? Especially that "whooo, whooo" noise they make. Actually, it sounds a lot like Jack's cooing. I cannot tell you how many times I've stopped what I was doing, thinking he was awake, only to realize it was simply the morning doves. Now that I've finally ridden myself of "The Phantom Baby" it's only natural the these birds should move in on my turf. But they're so sweet, I think I'll let them stay.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Too big for his britches: A 6 month update


Last Sunday was Jack's half-birthday. I really meant to do something celebratory but it was Easter sooo ... maybe next year kiddo! We had his 6 month well-baby check-up today with Dr. starts-with-an-M-but-is-impossible-to-pronounce. This is the doctor we had at his 2 month visit. I like him, he reminds me of my old pediatrician minus the stuffed parrot on his stethoscope. Jack weighs in at 21 pounds and 15.5. oz. For the sake of convenience we'll just say 22 lbs. That just so happens to also be the weight limit on his carseat. So it looks like Mommy and Daddy will be going carseat shopping soon.
One of the first questions I asked Dr. M. is "Is he overweight?" Naturally, as has been the case lately, Dr. M. responded, "Is his Dad a big man?" Poor Jon, he's beginning to earn the reputation of "Jack's Dad." Anyway, Doc said not to be concerned since it appears he's been big since birth (he's remained steady in the 97th percentile). He also suggested I bring him in for an optional 9 month appointment just to check his weight if I'm worried about it. I think I will, weight-checks are my favorite part of doctor's visits, Jack's that is, not my own. [As a sidenote, I don't mind if people say my baby is big. I know some people don't appreciate those kind of comments, but since we have nicknames for Jack like "Tank," "Chubba Wubba," and "Junior Whopper" clearly I am not one of those people. My son is big, I'm not quite sure why, but I'm not in denial. Feel free to call me out on it at any time. But it would also be nice if you followed it up with "and handsome." :)]
Back to the doctor's office, I had a whole list of questions written out so I continued on with number two: "Am I overfeeding him?" I thought it was interesting that the nurse asked me if I formula fed Jack - "no." Are you giving him whole milk then - "Heck no." She gave me a confused look as if she was running out of options. "Giiirrrl, this boy get's his Mama's milk!" So I was a little stumped when she asked me how many ounces he drinks each day. That's a tough one hunny. I just threw out a number and she seemed satisfied with that.
Anyway, I know it's pretty hard to overfeed a baby when he's nursing, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't overloading Tank with solids. But the Doc confirmed what I already thought, as long as I'm not forcing food down his throat or using it to keep him from crying (you can do that??) he's just fine. We just dropped one more feeding so at this point I'm nursing Jack 5 times a day and following 3 of those feedings with solids. I give him a delicious arrangement of cereal, veggies and fruits until he either refuses to open his mouth or starts to get fussy. I've also started to use the sign for "all done" but at this age he just laughs at me. I figure there's no harm in at least using baby sign-language this early just so he gets familiar with it. Of all the different words I think the one I'm most looking forward to him grasping is "all done." That would make my world just a little bit easier :).
Question number two for Dr. M. was about Jack's red cheeks. His cheeks get really red sometimes, usually when's he's tired or hot. Which makes sense to me but I just wanted to make sure it wasn't anything else. It's not. Just put some hydrocortizone cream on it if you'd like to. Okey-dokey.
One of my big concerns this week was Jack's liquid intake. I'm not sure if it's another quasi-nursing strike or something else, but Jack has just not been interested in milk these last two days. He would much rather scratch the back of the couch or pull on Mommy's nose than nurse. The Doctor said he may be self-weaning. Now I am not one of those mothers that needs to nurse for myself (although I do appreciate the metabolism boost). I do it because it's convenient, cheap and I want Jack to be super-smart when he grows up. But since I don't want to start him on whole milk until he's a year, I'm not giving this boy a whole lot of options. We had a heart-to-heart when we got home. "Son, you are not self-weaning. You are going to drink this delicious milk that I work hard to make for you and you're going to keep drinking it until I say you can stop." That seemed to take care of it. Actually, I'm pretty sure he's not self-weaning, but instead just finished a growth spurt. He was eating A LOT the week before, and his appetite usually takes a drop a few days after having a spurt. Plus we just started going longer than 3 hours between feedings so I think that will help too.
After his check-up we were off to the immunization clinic. This is our third visit there since Jack was born but for some reason they never noticed until now that he doesn't have a medical record. So I had to fill out a pile of paperwork to begin that. This was when I realized I don't know Jack's Social Security number. Oops. Gotta work on that one. So picture me, baby and blanket in one arm, diaper bag and coat in the other, standing at the counter, trying to fill out paperwork. One of the record-keeper ladies finally noticed my struggle and offered to take Jack. After one brief, awkward second I decided, "Why not?" and handed him over the counter. Jack's pretty social and will go to just about anybody. So for the next 20 minutes I wrote out Jack's name and address about 15 times while he played with medical records and was passed back and forth among "the ladies." At the end, the man who was helping me with Jack's file said, "I'll take this form, you can take that with you to the clinic and, oh yeah, I'll get you your baby." Yes, thank you, that would be helpful. So Jack was returned to me safe and sound just in time for those dreaded shots which he handled very well, as usual, because he's big and tough, just like his Dad.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Pick 'em Up, Throw 'em Down



Fortunately, Jack hasn't yet learned the "throw the toy on the floor and watch mommy pick it up" game yet. But even if it's not on purpose, he's not very good at keeping his toys within reach. He's kind of like a windmill, with arms flailing about knocking over everything in his circle. And then he gets upset when there are no toys left. After picking up each toy every 30 seconds to put it back on his swing tray, I finally wisened up. Why not pile EVERY toy in front of Jack while he picks them off one by one. When the last one hits the floor I just pile them all back up again. Ah ha! Yet another trick from the lazy Mama book.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

A week of firsts


Last week was a very exciting time in the life of Jack. On Monday he started sitting up on his own for the first time. Although he still tends to tip over on occasion, the fact that he can generally stay up on his own and play with toys has made my life just a little easier. I think he also enjoys the new vantage point. On Thursday he got his first tooth. Actually it may have been there on Wednesday but of course I didn't notice. There have been so many days over the past 2 months that I was certain Jack was going to pop a tooth, days where he would just gnaw on everything, days where his shirt would be soaked with drool by 9am, and days where he was just plain cranky. But nothing ever came of it. So naturally, his first tooth would show up with virtually no warning whatsoever. I took him into work for a baby shower and one of the professors casually said "oh and he's got a tooth!!" I was like "WHAT?!" Sure enough, there was his first pearly white peering through. And let me tell you, that itty-bitty tooth is SHARP! White Fang was chewing on my finger a little later that day and poked a hole right through it. OUCH! Mommy doesn't put her finger in Jack's mouth anymore.
This weekend was also Jack's first Easter. Nonnie and Poppie came to visit and Jack also got to meet his Aunt Kate, Uncle Josh and cousins Aviel and Gabe for the first time! I love cousins, at least I think I would if I actually had more than 2 (that I rarely see). So far, Jack has 6, and that's only on Jon's side of the family. I'm envisioning many fun holidays together in our future! Jack also had a great Easter. After two days of hanging out with the cuz's, he was slightly exhausted. It didn't take long for him to konk out during Church. (Note: This is a cell phone pic, I don't normally bust out the Kodak in the middle of Pastor's sermons ...).

And finally, this weekend we also experienced Jack's first cold. I've been patting myself on the back lately for not only having successfully avoided illness myself for over the past year, but for also having a very healthy baby. Jack's never been sick, lots of spit-up but never barf, I still can't figure out our ear thermometer so it's good I've never had to use it, and until this week I've only had to use the aspirator (hitherto referred to as Mr. Sucky) once during Jack's first few days of life to get out one big boogie. So it was very sad to see my little one struggling with a stuffy nose. It really wasn't that bad, the whole ordeal maybe lasted 36 hours. This was more of a "Man Cold" or perhaps in this case a "Boy Cold." If you've never experienced a "Man Cold" you need to view this:

The worst part about Jack's cold was the fact that Jon and I were sleeping in his room that weekend since we had houseguests. So all Saturday night I had to listen to Jack's boogered breathing, then coughing, then crying for Mom (more like "Mahhhh" but in the wee small hours of the morning it really sounds like he's saying "Mom"). So I'd get up, rub his forhead and say "Poor little bunny." He'd fall right back to sleep and then start the process over again in another 2 hours. It was a rough night and a good reminder of how far we've come since October. And of course, the next day both Jon and I woke up with sore throats and stuffy noses. Which reminds me of one more "first" to add to the list: Jon saying "Hearing Jack cry at night was heartbreaking." Oh really, you heard that? Hmm, that's a first. ;)

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Marley and Me


Last year Jon and I were planning to get a dog. We talked to our landlord, revised our lease, found a local litter of adorable Weimaraner puppies and even took a stroll through PetSmart. We thought a dog would be a good "replacement baby." A few days later we found out we were pregnant. We now joke that Jack is our "replacement dog." Jon still really wants a dog, and I do too, but now is really not the time. Besides the fact that we're both too busy to give a puppy the attention it deserves, we also don't know what kind of place we'll be living in next year. So it's best to wait and see where things go ...
During our visit to Key West last year, our friends gave us a copy of "Marley and Me" with instructions to "read this before you get a dog." So I did. I finished the book in two days, it was that good.
We never got a chance to see the movie when it was in theaters, so last week Jon bought the DVD. (Sidenote: While I only buy movies that I know I love enough to watch at least once a year, Jon is one of the few people I know who will purchase a movie he's never seen before. I find this very interesting ...) We finally had a movie date night after Jack went to bed last Saturday. It's a really cute movie. Although I wish it were a bit more family-appropriate, I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet. Be prepared for tears though. I don't think I've cried that hard since Jack was a teeny baby and wouldn't take naps!
Anyway, the movie is mainly a story about a young couple's experience with "the world's worst dog." But afterwards Jon and I agreed that there were so many other aspects of the movie that we really resonated with us. Isn't that what makes a movie great? When it's something you can relate to? I'm sure that's why I love all my Jane Austen-esque movies. I mean you don't have to have been born in the 17th century to realize:

... "a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (Pride and Prejudice) Why else would the Millionaire Matchmaker be so successful?
... perhaps we should all "compare our conduct with what it should have been" - Elinor's (Sense and Sensibility)
... gossip is a terrible and destructive force, especially if you live in a small town (Cranford, Wives and Daughters)
... it may be "better to be without sense than to misapply it" as Emma did (Emma)
... that your future husband could very well be the man you swore you'd never love (Pride and Prejudice, North and South)
... imagination should be cultivated in a child (Anne of Green Gables) and curbed in a teenage (Northanger Abbey)
... beware of the neighbor boy (Wuthering Heights)
... the value of a second chance (Persuasion, Jane Eyre)

Now you know why I love my movies so much! :)
That said, there were a few parts of Marley and Me that really made sense to me now that I've got 6 months of motherhood under my belt. There was one point where Jennifer Aniston said, as a working mother, she felt like she was half the employee, and half the mother, she wanted to be. I've definitely said this to myself and Jon plenty of times. There's so much more I'd like to do with both my job and my home, but right now I only have time for so much.
Also, I may not have a two year old and a screaming, colicky baby, but I could definitely relate to Jennifer at the end of an exasperating day, when she told her husband she didn't know who she was anymore. Ahh, so true. Sometimes I look back at pictures or read through old journals and realize, I'm not a carefree college student anymore who spends my free time deep in thought and listening to music, we're not the sizzling, fun newlyweds we used to be, I used to love to shop but I can't even keep up with latest styles anymore, and I now feel like I'm phasing out of my career rather than building it. And it all happens so fast I haven't had a chance to get to know the new me yet!
It also helps to get a guy's perspective. I hope our home is never so chaotic that my husband spends a few minutes sitting in his car in the driveway when he gets home, working up the courage to walk in the front door. And I'll try not to blame my frustrations as a working, mommying woman on my poor man, especially when his time at home with us is so limited.
And last but not least, I hope that after we get our little family built and established, perhaps we too can move into that stunningly beautiful Pennsylvania farmhouse, complete with tree-lined lane and plenty of fields to roam. Sigh.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Like Father Like Son

Jack loves his Daddy. From the moment Jon gets home from work to the time I put him down to bed, he can't take his eyes of his dad. Kinda makes nursing a bit of a challenge. I'm Jack's buddy, but Jon is his hero.

It's also becoming more and more obvious that Jack takes after his Pops. When we're out, people will usually take one look at Jack, one look at me, and then ask if his Daddy is "a big man." I'm never quite sure how to respond to that. He may have my eyes (which is probably why people always comment that the baby looks tired), but he's my Jonny Junior. And I'm perfectly fine with that. Someday I'll get my petite, curly, blonde haired little girl... I hope. Then again, I always thought it would be interesting to end up with a girl with Jon's personality and a boy with mine. We'll see how that pans out...

Now that Jack is almost 6 months, he seems to think he's a big boy. I think I need to arrange more playdates for our child, after hanging out with adults most of the time, he's beginning to think he's one of us. Check out Jack trying to get his hands on Jon's cup of morning Joe:



Jack still does not appreciate Tummy Time, although he is getting much better at it. But I think we may have figured out an alternative - workouts with Dad! Jon just started P90X (you may have seen the convincing infomercials). Jon says it's hard work, Jack thinks it's hilarious. He cracks up with every move Jon makes. The other day Jack joined in for some push-ups.





It must've been a good work-out because two days later he was sitting up all by himself. Go Junior!!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Milk Mystery: SOLVED

Thanks to the intel of a former "Miltonian" I finally figured out my stored milk issues. It appears that I have an abundance of lipase enzymes in my milk, which break down the fat more quickly than usual. A quick Internet search provides a plethora of information, including a link to the LeLeche League website, so I'm still a little unsure why my local LLL volunteer had never heard of such a thing. In case you're interested in reading up on this yourself, here's a good resource.

By using my super-sleuth skills, I finally realized that the problem was either with my milk or my freezer. So I took the websites' advice and scalded a few ounces of milk and then put it in the freezer for two weeks. Then I took a regular bag of milk and stored it in my babysitter's freezer for two weeks. It ended up that the scalded milk was fine and the regular milk was bad. So my freezer theory was wrong. I'll admit it in public, "my husband was right."

Although it is somewhat inconvenient to scald all my milk before storing it, it's still worth the effort. It will be interesting to see if this problem returns with subsequent children. Also, from what I've read so far, scalded milk lacks some of the nutrients found in fresh milk, but since Jack only gets about one or two bottles a week I'm not too concerned.

So thankfully, the mystery has been solved. Now look how happy this boy is!

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