Jacob: 2 Months

Our sweet little boy is already 2 months old! He is a great baby. 11 lbs 7 oz and 24.5" at his checkup :) 90% for his head as well, of course. He gets acid reflux once in awhile, but he is pretty consolable most of the time. He also has pretty bad cradle cap, but we are working on it! He loves laying on his little jungle gym and grabbing at the toys. He also loves napping on momma... especially at 5am :) That's ok with me though, because I now know how fast they grow! He was sleeping 7 hrs straight for 3 days in a row right when he hit the 8 week mark, but he's back to about every 3.5 hrs now. Hopefully we can get back to the longer stretches at night soon! He smiles a lot and squeels with happiness, it is the sweetest!!

Jacob- 1 Month!

Our sweet boy is one month old already! Seems like yesterday we were coming home from the hospital. He is a great baby. He is usually content and very consolable when he cries. We are usually up every 3 hours at night to feed, but last night he went 4 hours and was only up twice :) Let's hope that continues! He weighed 9 lbs 6 oz and was 21.5" long... 40cm head circumference which is in the 90%! Go figure :)

Claire is also doing great! She is adjusting well... give baby kisses all the time! She has only tried to smack him a couple of times... so far. She is still very busy and always is getting into something. 2 nights ago I had my first minor crisis... Ben is back to work so I'm on my own. Jake was pretty fussy (which is rare) so I gave him a little gripe water and was nursing him. He started to calm down... just as Claire pinched her finger in the pantry. I jumped up and put him down real quick (started screaming immediately) and went and grabbed her. Her diaper was leaking... so I went and changed her real fast since Jake was screaming pretty hard. I just put her diaper on and left the onesie off. I grabbed him and resumed nursing. All was well.... until I turned around and Claire was standing there butt-naked waving her diaper in the air while dancing to whatever commercial was on TV. Good times!!!

Jacob 1 Month

My little loves :)

Welcome Jacob Lincoln!

Our sweet baby boy finally decided to make his appearance on June 25th :)

I had an ultrasound and doc appointment on Monday June 24th, and all looked good. I was dilated to a 2-3 and was 80% effaced. We decided to induce on Friday if he hadn't come yet. Well, on Tuesday I took Claire for a stroller ride out back, and on our way back up to the house I had a couple of light contractions. I told Ben, and he asked if he had time to go get a load of dirt from my parents' house. I said oh yeah you definitely have time. That was at about 6:00... and from then on, contractions were every 5 minutes apart. They weren't really painful yet, but they were close together right off the bat. His mom and grandma were on their way up here already, so that worked out good for them to watch Claire. Ben got back, I jumped in the shower real quick... and we were ready to go! As we were headed out, I said that I wasn't sure if we should go so soon because they weren't that painful yet... and Ben's mom said I should go because they were so close.

On our way in, we stopped at BK... I was starving and knew I couldn't eat once I got to Munson. I just had a side of fries and shared a strawberry shake with Ben. We got to the hospital at 8:00 and got right into Triage. I was at a 4 already! They admitted me and got me into my room at 9:00. The Tigers were on and Ben and I were joking about if I could have the baby by the time the game was over (I think it was in the 3rd or 4th inning). When I got to the room and the doc came in, I was at a 6! Wow... Contractions were getting intense. The doc asked if I wanted an epidural... I told him that I was going to wait it out a bit longer. He said I should decide soon. I was still managing. Shortly after (probably about 10:00), I hit transition and was at a 7-8. WOW. I got the shakes bad and felt like I was going to puke fries and strawberry shake. I said, "OK, I want the epidural!!!" So the nurse ordered it and started an IV (Took 4 tries to hit a vein...). Doc came in a bit later and said I was at a 9-10 and by the time the epidural took effect, he would probably be here already. So... no pain meds for me!

At 11:05, we got to meet our precious baby boy! Jacob Lincoln weighed in at 8 lbs. 5 oz and was 20.5" long... and PERFECT.

I was shocked at how much faster he came versus Claire. 5 hours of labor vs. 21... The second one definitely comes faster! My recovery was better in all aspects, except for the after-pains which I did not really know about... They started on day 4 and lasted 3-4 days. I got these 15-30 minute cramps that were quite painful... I had to lay down with a heating pad for a couple of them because I could barely move. Thankfully those are over! Jacob is a great nurser and has quite an appetite! Nighttime sleep has been rough, but the past 2 nights have been much better. He has went 3.5-4 hours between nighttime feedings :) Let's hope he keeps that up!

We are so blessed.... Our little family of 4 is doing so great. Claire is adjusting well and loves giving baby kisses! God sure has blessed our family!!!

Jacob 10 days old

40 Weeks!!!

The due date has officially arrived! I'm actually writing this one day late :) Feeling pretty good! The sciatica is gone, so I am much more comfortable. Just the normal back pain when I sleep, which is tolerable. I've been having on and off contractions, but nothing major. We were really hoping to have him by this weekend so our Pastor (who was re-assigned) could dedicate him before he left... but it doesn't look like that will happen. Hopefully we get to make it to church tomorrow! Keeping this one short... come on baby boy, we are so ready for you!!!

40 Weeks

38 Weeks... Full Term!!!

Officially full term with Baby Boy!!! I am ready...

Still having back issues, but not quite as bad as last week. After my doc appt, they referred me to see a physical therapist. I just happen to know a great one, Stacey Walton :) so I got ahold of her and got things set up. She's been over 3 times to do exercises and stretches with me. I think he's been dropping, and thankfully coming off of my sciatic nerve. I'm still being very careful walking since my right side is still pretty bad. Waddling/limping around... but not as bad as before. Last week, I had many strangers run up to me asking if I needed help!

Ben's grandma came up this week to help me out with Claire. I'm not supposed to be lifting her... it has been really nice having her here to help! Plus I get to sleep an extra 30 minutes in the mornings :) I only have 1/2 day of work Monday and Tuesday, then I'm done... wow. Bittersweet. I don't know if I'll be coming back after my 1-year leave or not. I love this place and working here, but I have to do what's best for our family. We'll make that decision when the time comes!

Any time now, baby boy!

36 Weeks

Less than a month left!! Baby boy is growing and doing great. Mamma has had a rough couple of weeks, but hanging in there... A couple weeks ago, I had to have by toenail on my big left toe removed due to a lingering infection that just wouldn't go away :( Not so fun. Went to my primary doc first, and she sent me to a specialist... who pretty much told me immediately that it would need to be removed. So he put 5 numbing shots in it (which were awful) and then started working on it to take it off... and then it got super painful when he got near the infection, so he put in 2 more shots, then took it right off. I was instructed to soak it in epsom salt then pour hydrogen peroxide on it and cover with band-aid and Neosporin... well, I definitely was not able to handle the soaks or peroxide for a couple days. Ouch. It is better now, and my check-up went great and the infection is gone.... phew. So, this past Wednesday I woke up and my back was not in good shape. I think I may have slept on it wrong... I had a doc appt that day and he said to take Tylenol and use a heating pad. Well, that didn't help much and my back was worse on Thursday. I could BARELY WALK. Each step was excruciating. When I was sitting or laying down still, I was fine. I think I pinched my sciatic nerve. Yesterday was really bad too... and I had to walk into Munson for my Materinity Stay Appointment and barely made it. Went to my great friend Stacey's house last night (she's a PT) and she worked on it for me and did some adjusting. She put tape on it too to try to straighten things out. Still gimping around quite a bit today.... but the pain isn't shooting down my leg like it was before. Trying to rest and stay off my feet as much as possible. I still have 4 weeks left and have quite a bit of training to do with my replacement, so I have to get better!!

Claire is doing so great. Talking more and more, and doing a little bit of signing too :) She knows "more" and does it when she's eating. She helped her Daddy mow the lawn this morning and is out shopping with him right now so I can rest. She is still taking 2 1.5-2 hour naps a day and sleeping 10-12 hours at night. Can't complain one bit! She just starting kissing my belly... it's the cutest thing. Love that little girl so much. So excited to add a baby brother to the family!

36 Weeks

34 Weeks

Only 6ish weeks left!!! This pregnancy is flying by.

We had another ultrasound on Friday to re-check Baby Boy's kidney... the one side is still slightly enlarged. They are functioning properly, so that is great news. Doc said this usually goes away on it's own, but it's something our pediatrician will have to monitor when he is born. I have faith that the Lord will take care of it! All else with Baby Boy is perfect :) His weight was estimated about 5 lbs 6 oz which is right on track. It was pretty funny.... he kept grabbing his boy parts during the ultrasound. Such a boy :) Also, looks like he's going to have some chubby cheeks! Can't wait to meet this boy!

Claire is doing great. She is really developing her personality lately! Her vocabulary is growing as well... she says mama, dada, baba, bye bye, hi, all done, BUCK (so funny, she points to the buck on the wall), and she even tries to say Haley.... and she tries to repeat things I say. She also tries to brush her hair when I hand her a brush, and she's getting more helpful when it's time to change clothes. One of her new favorite things to do is fling food off her tray and onto the floor after I cut up small pieces for her... which is always fun. She's growing so fast! I have so much love for her, it's hard to put into words. She is such a blessing.

Ben is still working hard down in GR all week, and weekends sometimes. Last week he worked every day, and came home Sunday evening. Long hours for him... but we're managing. He'll take a couple weeks off when Baby Boy gets here. I had to get my big toenail ripped off last week due to a lingering infection around the nail that just wouldn't go away.... no idea how it got there. That was painful. Hope I never have to go through that again!

Had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! Could have done without the snow, though. Serously... snow on May 11th and May 12th. Ridiculous. Ben's birthday was May 12th. We didn't do anything too special, but I got him some new jeans and made him a blueberry cheesecake :)

Counting down the weeks!!!

32 Weeks

34 Weeks

Baby Boy @ 34 Weeks