Visit to Work

I went up to school for the first time and introduced Jack to all my coworkers and students. It was a great outing, and Jack did wonderful. It was great seeing my students, and I think they enjoyed meeting Jack. We had a question/answer session, and it was really funny to hear their questions. I will be back at work in one month from today. It is sad to think that I'll be leaving my baby so soon. It is going to be hard.

Quality Daddy Time!

John's favorite thing is to snuggle with Jack which works perfectly when he gets home from work. John's tired, Jack's tired, and the rest is history. Here are some pictures I've snapped of Daddy/Son time.

3 Weeks Old

 Our sweet baby is already 3 weeks old. We went to church that morning, and again, Jack took it like a champ! That evening, our good friends, Julie and Allen, brought over dinner and spent some time with us. Julie made this delicious cinnamon roll thing and PIGS IN A BLANKET! I love my friends! It was great getting to spend some time with them. Jack really enjoyed it, too! He slept right through it all :)

Good Friends

We had another wonderful visitor this weekend. Janiece, one of my good college friends, drove in from Austin to meet Mr. Jack.  We had a wonderful time catching up while Jack slept. We were also able to cook a great dinner and dessert while we continuously passed around Jack keeping him happy. Janiece was also able to sleep through most of the night - I worry about our visitors since our guest bedroom is the closest to the baby's room. I loved having her here, and Jack did, too!

I've got a belly button!

John and I have been anxiously awaiting Jack's cord to fall off because it STUNK! We were cleaning it with alcohol like we were supposed to, but this thing got worse each day to the point I could smell it when changing him. On Monday, it was barely attached so I knew the big day was coming :) At the 3:00 feeding on Tuesday morning, John called me over to let me know it was gone, WHOOP. It was stuck to his shirt, and I gladly unstuck it and threw it away. Oh, happy day - my baby now smells good.

Jack - You are a miracle. It is amazing how God can provide for you for 9 months through your belly button!

Two Weeks Old

Our Sweet Baby turned two weeks old, and I hate how he is already changing and growing. I need to make sure to cherish every day with him because as cliche as it sounds, he will be grown before I know it.

We had our first major outing today. We managed to get up and make it to church ON TIME. I was proud of us! It was a big eye opener, though, to realize that no longer do we need an hour to get ready but 2 1/2 hours :(

After church, the Anzs came to visit. I told Heather that she must make it within three weeks or I was revoking her visiting rights, and she made it in two! Then John and I had the rest of the afternoon with just us (and baby of course), and it felt great. We can do this.

On our way to church

 Heather & Nathan

 Jack - Can you go ahead and stop growing?

More Family

John's Aunt Sharon and his cousin Kendall drove in from College Station Thursday night to meet Jack. 

Back to the doctor...

We had Jack's one week old appointment today. He weighted in at 7lbs 9oz and was 20.5 inches long. His weight and head circumference were in the 25 percentile and his height was in the 50 percentile. He did not enjoy the heel prick, but who would? He slept like a champ in the car which let John and I run a few quick errands.

Jack - My prayer is that you will continue to grow big and strong not for this world but for the Lord.

1 Week Old

Jack,

My how you have managed to grow in just one short week. I've learned a lot about you so far and a lot about me and daddy! You HATE getting changed especially in the middle of the night after you have peed through your clothes! You love being snuggled close and doing the "daddy drop". You are a fan of the paci, and I am thankful for it when you are screaming. You are a great sleeper at night, so far - THANK YOU. You are a pretty good burper. I call them "man burps" already so I can't imagine what they will be like when you get older :) You are one strong baby. Everyone who has fed you, burped you, or changed you agrees. You also love your hands. AND you have already stolen mommy's and daddy's heart.

Daddy and I work well as a team. I have learned that even though we don't have a clue as to what we're doing, it works.  I love holding you close horizontally and daddy loves holding you close vertically. Daddy doesn't always feel confident in what to do or how to do it, but he just needs encouragement. I never remember to close the wipes. Daddy has a really hard time waking up in the middle of the night. Although it has only been a week, I feel like I've been your mommy forever.

I love you yesterday, today, and forever,
Mommy

Good Bye Gigi

My mom was my saving grace this first week of Jack's life. She stayed the whole first week with us and made sure I took it easy so I could recover well. She was amazing. Toward the end of the week, I began to get super emotional just thinking about her going back home. It is not often that I get to spend this much time with her. Maybe I should pop out babies more often!!! I think she enjoyed her time here even with getting peed and spit up on,  waking up in the middle of the night to help with the screaming, waiting on me, and my hormonal tears and attitude. It was not easy seeing her leave. This girl loves her momma and Jack sure loves his Gigi.

Jack - Gigi adores you. I wish you could have seen how much she just stared at you.

Visitors, Visitors, and more Visitors!

We had lots of visitors on Saturday (2/11) to see our precious Jack. It started out with Kandice and Jason Duke. It was wonderful catching up with them since the last time we saw them was when their 3 year old was just months old. We shared birthing stories, received some great advice, and just caught up.

Then, we had Sandy, Kip, and Katrina come (John's aunt/uncle). This was their first visit to our house so we were able to show them around and also show Jack off.

Next came Ginger, David, Robyn, Jake, and Nana (my family). Jack is Nana's THIRTEENTH great grandchild, and I will say that she sure knows how to calm babies down. She has the touch! Ginger also successfully changed Jack's diaper without him crying several times which is practically unheard of. Ginger took us out for dinner (our first outing besides the dr.) to Fuddruckers and hung out.

After today, I would say Mr. Jack is one loved child.

Jack - Never forget how loved you are. You are a precious child of God who has blessed mommy and daddy with your life.

Photo Shoot!

We love taking pictures of Jack! Here are some from 4 & 5 days old :)

Daddy Time

On Friday, my mom and I decided to run a few errands and leave John with Jack. John was able to capture our sweet baby even after 3 outfit changes and uncontrollable crying! You'd never know there was some difficulty based on this picture.

An Adventure of a Day

So we scheduled an appointment for Jack to go to the pediatrician because he wasn't eating very much, and he was having some VERY runny poopy diapers. On our way, we experienced our first wreck which was very scary in the fact that my 4 day old son was in the backseat. We were in the middle lane slowing down for a red light when a truck from the left lane decided to switch lanes. I saw him coming and was able to honk but not able to stop. Luckily, he was pretty much at a stand still so the impact was not as bad as it could've been. My back door wouldn't shut, and my car had to be towed. I'm so thankful no one was hurt and that my mom was with me and John was driving behind me.

We finally made it to the pediatrician about 30 minutes late and a bit frazzled! He checked out fine, but he had dropped a pound since he was born. It was time to start supplementing!!

Jack - We were lucky today. God was watching over us like always :)

1st Bath

On Wednesday (2/8), John and I decided it was time for Jack's first bath at home! We got everything ready, plugged in the space heater in the bathroom, and gave the camera over to my mom. My favorite part was when we were supposed to be "sponge bathing" him due to his umbilical cord, John decided to dump the whole tub of water over his stomach! Ooops!

Overall, I think we did pretty good with our first bath, but Mr. Jack hated everything about it!

Jack - I hope you learn to love bath time like your cousin Luke :)

Going Home...

We woke up Tuesday morning excited and nervous about going home. We got up nice and early (thanks to Jack!), got ready for the day, and hung out with Papa (my dad) and Grams & Pops (John's parents) until it was time to go. 

 

 Getting ready to leave!

 In the car on our way home.

 My family was at home waiting to capture the moment on camera!

Jack - Our life together as a family is now in full swing. We can't wait for all the adventures you are going to take us on :)

Just Another Hospital Day

So Jack did not like that hospital crib thingy. He wanted nothing to do with sleeping in it which made John and me a little nervous about the whole sleeping in his crib when he gets home thing. I did well on waking up to feed him, and he latched on quickly. John and I switched off sleeping with him in our arms and managed to get a little sleep. I took my first shower which was a little scary for some reason and even went on a walk around the hallways. We spent that day mainly with family and a few friends.

Hanging with all the boys!

The Long Awaited Day

I went to bed Saturday night thinking there was no way that Mr. Jack was going to come any day soon even though Tim was confident I was going to have a baby that night. I woke up needing to go to the restroom at 5:30 Sunday morning. When I returned to bed, I told John that I THOUGHT I was having contractions. It is hard to know if you are having them when you don't really know what they feel like! We began timing them while we talked about the possibility of what this might mean. They were lasting 20-30 seconds every 5 minutes. After about 30 minutes, we decided to go tell John's parents who just happened to spend the night that night. They shot out of bed ready to go to the hospital, but I calmed them down, took a shower, and ate breakfast before leaving for the hospital around 6:40-ish. I managed to grab a quick shot before we left the house.

 At this point, my easy contractions were beginning to be really painful, and all I could think of is John...drive faster! We got to the hospital and checked in about 7:00 a.m. I was already at an 8 when they checked me in triage, and I was quickly given a room while the pain was getting more and more. They hooked the monitors on, made me sign all these papers, and finally the head nurse was called in to start my IV. I couldn't get my epidural until 10 minutes AFTER my IV was in so I was breathing through these rough contractions while grasping John's hand and pleading for that epidural! Quickly after my IV was in, my water broke at 8:08. I asked then when I could get my epidural, and the news they gave me almost sent me into tears. There was no time for an epidural, no time for pain medicine in my IV, no time for my mom or sister to make it into the room with me because they were still hours away, no time for a doctor to even deliver. Mr. Jack was ready to enter this world. 6 minutes after my water broke, at 8:14, Jack was here delivered by 4 amazing nurses. I couldn't have asked for anything quicker. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 15 oz and was 20 inches long. John and I were both in shock as we stared at Jack. The doctor did finally arrive in time to stitch me up. John's parents were there to hold him, and my mom made it about an hour later followed by my dad. Throughout the day, Jack was loved on by 28 different family and friends. We knew that this little gift was loved not only by us but also by those who love us. As we look back at that day, we realized that as much as John and I like to plan and as much as that day didn't go to plan, God had a better plan than we did! Isn't that always true, though? 

 

Our first family photo!

Some amazing friends!

Jack - you could not be loved more.

Almost there

I was given the same advice from several different women: capture pictures of you before you have the baby so that you remember how big you were! I decided to take their advice. Here are the pictures :) Can you tell that I'm ready??

 Here is John's pregnancy picture. He managed to gain ZERO sympathy pounds...