Jake at 3 weeks

Just typing that title seems incredible. We've now moved into the stage where we're measuring Jake's life in terms of weeks rather than days, and the changes have only become apparent to me as I've returned to work. On the wall is one of the first pictures of Jake that I emailed to my colleagues just after he was born and you'd barely recognise him now.

The big changes that have happened this week on Jake's part are mainly physical. All his behaviours stay roughly the same, though I am writing this on the back of one of the best night's sleep I've had where he slept for almost 6 hours. It wasn't quite uninterrupted sleep as we both woke slightly panicking that something was wrong as he normally sleeps for 3 or 4 hours during the night at a time.

Anyway, I digress. Physically, Jake is starting to change shape. His face is becoming a lot rounder (which may be due to the 12 ounces he put on last week!) and while he spends less time resembling an old man, he's definitely progressing into his teenage years like the picture of Dorian Gray. His forehead and cheeks are covered with a light case of acne while if you catch the right light you'll see a fine wispy beard on his chin.

Fortunately, this means that the oils in his skin have started to work, meaning that his eyes are little less gunky (though it does make it look likes he's welling up at times) and the skin around his wrists and ankles isn't flaking as badly. This may be helped by the fact that we've taken to putting some aqueous cream on him most days as part of a mini baby massage.

For us, the big change in this week is my return to work. As promised, I'm going to make a separate post on this in the next day or two, but one of key differences is just how much Kelsey is learning about Jake while I'm away. I guess when it's both of us at home then you just get on with looking after him, while when it's just Kelsey at home she has to develop specific strategies to help her manage her own needs as well as his.

This was brought home to me when I got in last night, went straight for a cuddle and Kelsey recommended that I left him for a bit as he seemed to be enjoying his own company. I was desperate for a Jake cuddle, so I ignored her advice and picked him up, at which point he started to scream. I put him back in his cot and he settled immediately. This kind of knowledge is delightful as it helps Kelsey to feel more in control of her time at home with him.

Let's see what the next week brings as we've move closer to Jake's one month birthday! In the meantime, here are my favourite Jake pictures from this last week: