Jacob's First Month

Jacob's first weeks were a busy time for all of us!  He would go around 2-2.5 hours between feedings during the day and about three hours at night.  He would wake up HUNGRY to eat! We never had any problems getting our little one to eat. . . when we went to the Dr's office, we found out why!  He grew an inch in the first two weeks of his life!  They insisted on measuring him again just to make sure that they had measured correctly :) He was back to his birth weight by two weeks and everyone was so proud!  At the time, I was a little overwhelmed by how much he wanted to eat, but I now see that the poor boy was just LIVING in a growth spurt!

Here is a cute pic at 2 weeks.  We don't get any smiles yet, unless he is sleeping.

Stephanie Mondragon (the teacher I taught with at Bunn for 3 years) came with her sweet baby girl Julieta Corrin.  Juli was born 7 weeks before Jacob and we hope they'll be great friends!

Here he is at one month!

Loving my little munchkin!  I would sit and hold him for hours and just watch him sleep.  He LOVED to take naps in our arms.

Family shot before going over to the Martin's for a delicious dinner. 

All buckled up and ready to go.  It is hard to believe how small he was then!

Papa Stan with his two sweethearts.  Mom and dad came in to visit and go to Madeline Ray's fundraiser.

Emily, Jacob, and Chloe going for a walk.  Emily was saying "no no!" to Chloe and teling her to "sit down".  Em didn't like when Chloe got ahead of us on the walk.

The walk made Jacob sleepy and he decided to take a nap.

Jacob was NOT happy for this photo shoot!

Family shot at Madeline's fundraiser.

Three generations and a happier Jacob :)

I don't know who loves the snuggles more!  We love you soooooo much Jacob Isaiah!  Already you have given new meaning to our lives in only one short month!  We can't wait to see you learn and grow and pray each night that you will know how much God loves you!

Nana comes to stay!

As soon as my mom left, Brett's mom hopped in the car to come visit.  And by "visit" I mean HELP. . . big time!  She jumped in right where my mom left off, washing bottles, cleaning, and cooking us some delicious food.  She even cooked some extra so that my freezer would be full of easy dishes for when I was  on my own for dinner.  Jacob would nap in her arms for hours, and I don't know who looked happier!  On the nights before Brett would work, Jacob got to see Nana's smiling face in the middle of the night.  It really was so humbling to see how happy the grandmas were in the middle of the night.  I definitely took inspiration from Sylvia's sweet talking to Jacob when I was so exhausted I thought I couldn't even converse with a wall!

I am so thankful to have such a kind and loving mother-in-law!  I called her two or three times on her way up and was so sad to see her go on that Sunday.  She could tell when she arrived that I was READY for reinforcements!  I am so blessed to not only have a wonderful grandmother for Jacob, but also a friend in Sylvia.  Brett and I loved having you here to spend such special days with us. . . we were so thankful that you were able to take the time to get to know Jacob and love on us!

Jacob's First Weeks

Jacob's first weeks at home passed quickly and with lots of support from family and friends!  I wrote 20+ thank you notes for all the delicious things that people brought us to eat.  Jacob was a great baby from the very beginning!  He took good little naps and would go at least 2-2.5 hours between feedings at night.  We let him sleep in our room in the pack-n-play so that we could keep a close eye on him :)

 He loves the tommee tippee bottles, but sucks it down so fast that he makes himself cough!  We tried different bottles and nipples, but the same thing always happened.  That little one was LIVING in a growth spurt!  He grew an inch and a half by the time he was 2.5 weeks old!  Every time he ate his bottle, he acted like he hadn't eaten for days.  The cutest part was when you would go to burp him.  He didn't like to burp b/c he didn't want to stop eating!  He would cry until you laid him back to eat again.  Once he started getting a little stronger, he would throw his body backward while you were trying to burp him so that he could get on with his eating.  Ha!

 Mom did a little photo shoot when he was a month old.

 Taking a nap while mom and mimi clean up the house.

 Soooooo tired!  Mom already loves me soooooo much!

 Family shot!  We feel so blessed to have our little one :)

 Mom and dad are so proud!  I'm almost back up to birth weight!

 Papa Stan could stay right here all night and day!

 Having some snuggles before Jacob goes down for a nap.

 Going out to celebrate our four year anniversary (above).  Sylvia was so sweet to babysit for us so that we could celebrate our anniversary at a steakhouse in Zebulon.  Four years together August 25, 2011!

 Happy tired parents!

Emmy Jean likes to snuggle with whoever has Jacob in their arms!  "Up please!"

He still hates baths, diaper changes, and most of all. . . changing his clothes.  He is almost always a chill and happy baby, but when changing his clothes. . . watch out!  He loves to take naps in people's arms and will sleep sooooo much longer when doing that.  We normally have to wake him up to feed him if someone is holding him.  He is great (even at church) and took good little naps while people were singing.  Around one month, I put him on the Babywise schedule and his day became very predictable.  He is such a joy and will melt our hearts with his little smiles while he sleeps!

Mimi stays to help!

My mom, affectionately known as "Mimi" to the grandkids, was a LIFESAVER during those first 2 weeks of Jacob's life!  She was faithful to come help at the hospital, giving Brett a much needed short break when he had a moment.  Not only did she help Brett take care of Jacob, but also me, since I was out of commission there for a couple of days.  When we arrived home, she jumped right in helping to wash bottles, clean up the house, cook, and feed/diaper baby!  Everyone that came to visit said "It doesn't look like you have a newborn here!"  I would tell them that it was thanks to mom!  On the nights before Brett would go into work all day, she would wake up and help me with the middle of the night feedings.  Brett was so appreciative to even get 5-6 hours of consecutive "sleep" (he still woke up with the baby crying. . . just didn't have to get out of the bed.  :)

The best part of having her there was the bond that it created between us.  Mom and I have always been close, keeping in touch even from NC.  Most my life, I have been known as the independent one, even from when I was a baby.  Well. . . let me just say that motherhood has changed that!  I wanted Brett and I wanted my mama EVERY second of those first few weeks.  They both listened to me as I would become overwhelmed at times and were the BEST encouragers!  Mom could especially relate and remember her first days as a new mom and was so patient with my ramblings.  I feel even closer to her now that we share the same job description and can't believe what she and my dad did to keep me alive and happy all those years!  :)  I love my mama and can't even begin to say what it meant to have her there for me during those important days.  Jacob, Brett, and I love you so much!

Coming Home!

Getting our little one home was quite the adventure!  To get out of the hospital, like 10 different doctors and nurses have to sign off (okay, I'm exaggerating, but it felt like it!)  Then, Brett went to take all our stuff and get the car while mom and I got our last things together.  The nurse pushed me out of the hospital with Jacob in my arms and we were off to our new adventure of being parents!  We couldn't believe the world thought we were ready!

The ride home took an hour and forty five minutes, though we could normally do it in 35.  We had to stop to get my pain meds for the c-section and drive SUPER slowly because my poor stomach could feel every bump in the road.  Did you know that the interstate is actually bumpy too?  Now I can't feel them, but that first day was rough.  Then, 15 mins from our house we hit a torrential rain storm.  Brett was having to squint through the windshield and have the wipers on full blast.  We finally made it home and stopped a second to rest on the fouton.  It was so nice to be back at our house, although I had liked someone else doing the cooking!

Here's the proud parents!  We were already so in love with him!

Taking a rest in his newborn napper.

Emmy wasn't sure about mama having someone else in her arms.

Mom held Jacob for hours that first week and helped me get some naps during the day!

He liked his swing from day one (or it was really day six).

First bath with Jacob!  He screamed the entire time :)  He didn't finally start liking his baths until like 6 wks.  Mom helped with this first bath letting us know what to do b/c I was so worried I might bathe him wrong!  Now I know they aren't breakable :)

Our Sweet Pea

Hospital Stay

Our stay at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, NC was truly wonderful.  The staff was super friendly and took time to really get to know us.  We especially bonded with two of the nurses who took time to get to know our families as well.  The food was amazing for me and the nurses took great care of Jacob.  Someone from Wake Forest Pediatrics would come by each day to see him, and other than him being a little jaundiced, he was a perfectly healthy baby!

The hospital really encouraged "skin on skin" time to promote a healthy start to feeding.  As you can see, it was one of the sweetest parts of our day together.

Jacob loved to sleep in his daddy's arms from the beginning.  We would hold him for hours in the hospital.

This was his first "checkup" and Brett snapped a picture to show me.

Here I am taking a rest with my sweet baby.  I was EXHAUSTED from the laboring and then the surgery and would literally have to sleep every time Jacob did or I would crash!

Brett brought me flowers for being a new mommy!  I loved them and only recently threw them away (at 3 months).