colour-co-ordinated Jack - his clothes now go with his new pushchair

Jack's all smiles here in his matching clothes and pushchair outfit.... and while he is a really happy little man, his first tooth is on its way through and it is causing him some pain sometimes. We're keeping our finger's crossed that he doesn't start waking during the night, but guess that our blissful last three months without a broken night's sleep is likely to end!

Jack's first picnic on Sunday in Battersea Park

I think this is a gorgeous pic of Charlie and Jack on our first picnic today (1 April). It was a gorgeous spring afternoon and we had a lot of fun chillin' out in the park and stuffing our faces at the same time... Jack is still on the same menu, so his food was still the same as ever... but he seemed to enjoy himself.

Jack and his first dip in the pool - babyswimming

We have just started taking Jack to baby swimming classes at our local group in Balham, south-west London.

Jack's first class was interesting as I'm not sure how much he enjoyed it. There were five other babies there some a bit younger than Jack and some a bit older. While some of the others seemed to cry a little bit, Jack seemed to cry throughout the class.

Even in our first class we dunked Jack - in other words, fully submerged him below the water for a few seconds. It's quite a heart-rendering experience as you watch their little face as you take them under, but it's very safe as babies have a reflex that stops them trying to breathe underwater.

The first class lasts for nine weeks and by the end of it Jack should be able to swim short distances underwater. How amazing is that. It's the next class today, so wish me luck. Hopefully he'll have a better sleep this morning before the class and this might mean that he doesn't cry throughout like last week. More baby swimming pics of Jack on flickr.

Jack is changing everyday

Everyday Jack seems to be changing - I've put some more photos of him on flickr from this weekend - but everyday he is doing new stuff, or making new noises. It's a really exciting time for all of us.

Is Jack starting to crawl?

Jack is now nearly three-months-old and his spending more time on his tummy.... and he's trying to crawl. He's obviously not crawling yet, but he's definitely getting much stronger and he can spend more time on his stomach, which I think helps him strengthen muscles in his back and neck.

Jack's sucking his thumb???

Jacks got really itchy eczema on his face - it itches most along his eyebrows. I guess its no surprise he has it, as I had exzema as a boy until I was about 18 to 20, but I hardly get it at all now. But can we treat it?? It's definitely very itchy for him and irratating especially when he gets tired.

There is some useful advice I've found from this article and this one on the ABC of eczema. But he is off to the Dr next Tuesday, so we'll see what they think he should use and whether there's something that can be prescribed..... Olive oil doesn't seem to be doing the trick at the moment.

Now is Jack sucking his thumb already?? Not sure whether its the thumb or thumb and fingers yet, but he is definitely self-soothing and we hardly ever give him a dummy now at all.

The first eight weeks - how has it been for us

A first-time-dad's account of the first eight weeks of our baby Jack's first eight weeks.

It's hard to distill it all to make sense, suffice to say that while you may not think that you'll ever get a good night's sleep again during the first six weeks of your baby's life... it does as everyone will tell you get better.

I remember the first four weeks, being absolutely exhausting not just because of the lack of sleep, but also as having a new baby for the first time is a stressful experience.

Having talked to friends and family, it's also true that every baby is different. We have probably had it quite easy with Jack, but there have been times when we have been at the end of our tether too, so if you get there, then you are in the same place as many, many other first-time parents.

A quick resume for us would be:

0-14 days - Jack slept a lot, but not at the same time as us.... so we were up a lot at night, probably feeding every two to three hours. This is hard work and your baby seems very fragile.

14-28 days - We were starting to get Jack used to when night and day was, but he didnt want to sleep unless he was cuddled... he was like this up to six weeks old really. However he was feeding better and drinking more... Jack was being breastfed at and Charlie was expressing her milk as well, so I could help out with some feeds. He would still need at least one to two feeds a night. In express milk terms he would have about 30ml in a feed - not a lot.

28 days to six weeks - this was over Christmas for us and Jack definitely started to understand the difference between night and day. He was sleeping better at night, although he was still going to sleep most times when he was held. This is the stage when for us every time he sensed he was near his moses basket and being put down he would scream.... this meant a lot of rocking and singing to get him into a deep sleep so we could get put him down. A lot of the books tell you not to let him fall asleep in your arms and if you can avoid it, then it's worth it, but in our experience this wasn't going to happen.

For us, Jack was being fed primarily by formula and he was staring to drink more - about 60-70ml of milk a feed, but he was still quite small, about 10lbs.

Towards the end of this period we started to feel that he was sleeping better at night - sometimes he would go for a five hour stretch in one go... brilliant. However, he was starting to show signs of collic..... normally in the evening at about 8pm till 11pm. During this time, he would howl and he was hard to find ways to stop him.

So we were getting a better night's sleep, but dreading the evenings, when dinner would normally mean passing Jack from one another around the table as he cried.

Six to eight weeks old - Jack was sleeping better at night, and was generally happy during the day. He started to smile at us... at about four to five weeks. Collic like symptoms still evident at evening time, but we decided it was time to put him down after his bath and feed in the evening at about 7pm.... to start he hated it. We would spend one to two hours singing and rocking him, before he would tire himself out with crying ......and fall asleep.

THEN we found the secret of the hair dryer........ if we put Jack down and put Charlie's hair dryer on he would settle and sleep. It was amazing. He had the odd blip, but generally it worked really well.

He was now starting to eat over 30 oz of milk a day.. and feeding about six to seven times a day. Normally he would have a dream feed - one when he was still just about asleep at about 11pm. In this feed we would try not to wake him at all, so he would only have his nappy changed if he needed it and probably wouldn't need burping... why because when they take a bottle when nearly asleep they don't take in hardly any air.... He would then wake again between 3am and 4am. This was pretty good.....

And so we are roughly where we are now... he's still on a true "Gina Ford" style routine, but a three-hour feed rota as the "baby whisper" recommends and it seems to be working pretty well and we now more relaxed as we get a good break in the evening to have our meal and watch a bit of telly.. what a treat!

He is still sleeping in his basket in out room and the next step is to move him to his own room in the next week.

and so a hairdryer is giving us some piece and quiet

Yep.. you wouldn't believe it, but while this first-time dad was doing some surfing about colic and baby health I found somewhere that said try running a vacuum cleaner to soothe your baby, the low-level humm might help.

Sure enough we tried a hair dryer and yes it has worked pretty well and certainly seems to soothe Jack when he gets irritable in the evening...so far so good.

Of course, he still knows his moments to play up and when his godmother Tamsin came round the other night, he decided it was time to take no notice of the hair dryer and screamm his little head off... and hence dinner was a slightly truncated affair..

Baby colic .. and Jack's evening cry

You can't quite see it, but Jack's sleep suit is embossed with the words I'm loud and I'm proud.... this has been very appropriate for him in the past few nights.
He is now nearly seven weeks old, but he seems to have a very grissly evening slot when he shouts the house down and nothing you do can shut him up. Is he colicky?? Eventually he goes to sleep. To be fair he has been sleeping longer through the night - it's just getting there that has been a bit of a struggle...
Any advice then please let us know ... I guess he could have a bit of colic, but that seems to be a fairly unscientific problem with no solution how to cure it.. I've found this article and this one. Hope they help ... for us we'll try anything to soothe home a little, although it does seem that my wife Charlie is far better at this than me.

Jack, Josh and Oliver

Jack, Josh and Oliver
Originally uploaded by joel72.

I think this is the first New Year's Eve when I haven't got absolutely hammered and can actually remember everything.. how times change. Well with a little baby your options are somewhat restricted. So we went over to a friend's house for dinner. We had a great time with them and their little one's and managed to guzzle a couple of bottles of bubbly to celebrate in middle fo the crying!! So here's to a great 2007 and to Jack's new friends Josh and Oliver

Grandma, Jack and his bottle, Sam and Charlie

Grandma, Jack and his bottle, Sam and Charlie
Originally uploaded by joel72.

First-time dads can get really snap happy and I hate to think how many photos we have taken of Jack now.. but they are all worth it. It's like keeping a big diary I guess. I think we have about 60 photos uploaded onto flickr, which is a great website where you can let your friends and family have access to your photos, once you have taken them. We only bought a digital camera about two weeks before Jack was born - definitely worth it if you haven't got one. Particularly as they are so handy and small now that taking them into hospital etc is no hassle and you wouldn'y want to miss the chance of taking those first pics of your little baby.
Anyway must go as ours - now six weeks old - is just waking up. Back to work tomorrow after two weeks off with my wife and son, which has been lovely. We've had a great time and Jack is really changing all the time... it's amazing how fast they do change and I'm lucky to have had the time off work to have witnessed it.

A baby's first month- a first-time dad's view

As a first-time parents this is what we have experienced in our first month:

1) the first three weeks are really hard work.... don't let anyone lead to you believe anything else. For one you don't really know what are you doing and your baby will cry and there is no way you can work out what it is wrong with them. Sleepless nights are a given - we were up every couple of hours to start with and it was exhausting. I'm sure every baby is different, but our experience was that if you could feed them enough - then that really helps in getting them to sleep for a decent length of time that you can have a break. This might mean topping your baby up with a bottle to start with - expressed breast milk in a bottle was a massive help to us in getting Jack to have enough milk. So tip one is to buy an express milking machine to make sure that your baby gets enough breast milk in those first few weeks.

2) Infacol: we have found this really helpful in getting Jack to bring up wind. We have been using it from day one on recommendation from some friends and it seems to have worked really well in helping him burp.

3) A good tip for easy nappy changing that I read was to unfold the clean nappy under your baby so that you can remove the dirty nappy and the clean one is already in place. This helps to speed up the process, which is pretty important if your baby hates having their nappy changed as ours did. And remember if its a boy point his winky down and it'll save you lots of wet baby suits and cot sheets.

4) Try to get them to go to sleep in their cot - and not in your arms when you want them to go to sleep. This can be hard to start with - Jack always preffered sleeping in our arms than the cot. But you have to get them in the habit otherwise they won't sleep without being cuddled.

5) Buy a Baby Bjorn or a similar baby sling so you can you get your baby out in the fresh air. They are so easy to use and far quicker than getting the pram out all the time.

Taking the baby outside is great for his snuffle

Papa, Charlie and Jack
Originally uploaded by joel72.

It's been great this Christmas for a first-time dad with an urge to take digital pictures... but we have got some great images all stored on Flickr, so everyone can see them.

We weighed Jack today and he is now over 9lbs - he is growing pretty fast and he seems more robust than before.

What's also been great over the Christmas break has been to have the time to take Jack out for some walks in the fresh air. He still gets a bit blocked up, particularly in the evening, so getting him outside for some fresh air really seems to help unblock him a bit. Here we are going for a walk with Charlie and Jack in the Baby Bjorn - these are brilliant and well worth buying - and Charlie's dad, Dennis.

We now wish we had travelled to Norfolk with the Baby Bjorn and not lugged the pram back as well - it's so easy to use and really great for the little one as they just seem to snuggle up to your chest and sleep.

Charlie and Jack with his new toys

Charlie with Jack's new toys
Originally uploaded by joel72.

Jack got lots of new toys and baby suits and clothes on Xmas day.. we can't wait for him to grow into them all. He'll be more fashionable than his mum and dad when he does. It was a lovely day though and really made a first-time dad proud.

Jack Garner - on his first Christmas

Jack Garner - on his first Christmas
Originally uploaded by joel72.

Jack's first Christmas was at his Granny and Pops at their home in Norfolk at Godwick. We had a lovely time and he was as good as gold all day. I love this picture of him in his lovely my first Christmas suit - how sweet...

baby Einstein ... Jack in his for first time

baby Einstein ... Jack in his for first time
Originally uploaded by joel72.

There's always something to be concerned about as a first-time dad and if it's not Jack's nasty spots, it's his cold and stuffy nose, his fluctuating bowel movements. However, he has been recently weighed and is right on track having put on quite a fwe opnces to now weigh 8lb and 60z. This is good news and despite al our worries shows that he is doing really well and he looks happy in his baby Einstein... for the first time for him and the first-time dad. Not sure he looks convinced about the vibrating seat in this picture, but it is appropriately named as you need to be an Einstein to put it together.

Jack with his nasty spots

Jack with his nasty spots
Originally uploaded by joel72.

One thing that we have been worrying ourselves about recently have been these little spots that have suddenly sprung up on Jack's little face. At first the worst fear was that he may have menigitis, but he hasn't had a fever and the spots go clear when pressed. But what are they - it seems from doing some research that they are called toxic erythema and are to do with the hormones in his mum's milk. They should go as soon as they came, so the health visitor said and are nothing to worry about. In fact every baby from our NCT class seems to have had them just in time for Christmas! But at least they are nothing to worry about and by looking at the responses to my question on yahoo they are pretty common.

The NCT class reunion

The NCT class reunion
Originally uploaded by joel72.

We had a great time last week meeting up with the rest of the NCT class for our reunion. It was hosted by Katherine and Spencer in their lovely home in Wimbledon. It was great to catch up with everyone and find out how they are getting on and share experiences and concerns. Although the NCT classes themselves were good - they're not cheap at £200 - the most useful thing we have found is the networking and making friends with a new group of people who are experiencing something completely new for the first time too. So well worth doing for that alone - all the stuff we learnt I think went right out of the window when Jack was born, but I think it probably does help to prepare yourselves for what might happen and what to expect.

Jack's new admirer

My sister and her daughter Ellen, who is just nine years old, visited us recently to see our new baby. It's amazing how kids are so obsessed by babies and probably girls more than boys. My niece Ellen was really taken by Jack and it was so sweet to see her with him and wanting to hold him etc... it was soo sweet and a really touching moment.

Bottle feeding our newborn baby Jack

There was cause for celebration in the Garner household the other day when the health visitor weighed Jack and he has been putting on some weight. Born at 6lb 12oz, Jack now weighs 7lb 8 oz. A good weight gain. He is being fed on breast and expressed milk via a bottle as well and occasional top-ups on formula. So all bases covered really. From what little we have learnt so far feeding is the key to him being happy and also keeping him quiet and content for longer periods of time. At the moment he is feeding every two to three hours, with the aim to get him to feed every three hours and sleep for an hour between feeds. It's hard work though as he doesn't always want to follow our plans. In the past few days he has wanted to feed almost constantly, so we hope that's him going through a growth spurt. Anyway we are healthily obsessed - I hope- by him putting on weight at the moment and I guess many first-time parents would feel the same.