Friday, August 28, 2009

Photo Album

In case you just need to get your Jacob fix...

There are new pictures in our Picasa Photo Album of Jacob's first week. You can view them by clicking here or on our photo album link on the side bar.

Enjoy!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Perfect

Jacob had a doctors appointment yesterday. The doctor said that he was perfect. Of course we already knew that! He weighed in at 5lbs 15oz which is up from his discharge weight of 5lb 12.8oz. Jacob is doing very well. He sleeps a lot, all day and pretty much all night. I have to wake him every 3 hrs to eat and even then he is still very sleepy. He barely ever crys except during diaper changes when he is naked. He is so tiny we don't have many clothes that fit him. Even newborn clothes are too big and forget about 0-3mo clothes. I was expecting a bigger baby. I didn't know I needed preeme sized clothes.

Devin and I are doing well. The first night was pretty rough involving lots of crying on my part, screaming on Jacob's part, not feeding well, me trying to do too much and not waking up Devin to help, me falling on the stairs and just overall exhaustion. The last two nights have been MUCH better. Jacob has been sleeping between feeds which means I get 1.5-2hrs of sleep in a stretch. I am still tired and exhausted by the late evening. Family has been helping out, being at our house everyday to hold Jacob and allow us to get in a nap or two, making dinners and just helping out. We are so thankful for all the help. I don't know what we would have done without it.

And of course, can't leave the post without pictures!


Going to the doctors



A smile



Tiny hands

This is what he does all day

Hanging with Great-Grandpa

Snuggling

Sleeping at night all swaddled up in a miracle blanket (it works wonders!)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Jacob Jo




Welcome to the World!

Jacob Jo Jenson was born 8/22/09 at 2:51pm by c-section. He weighed in at 6lbs 4oz and was 19 inches long. Happy birthday beautiful baby boy!

So here's how it all went down.... I woke up at 2am on the 22nd bleeding for the second time this week. At 8am I called the on-call doctor to let her know about the bleeding and she said to come in and get checked out. I made breakfast and got our bags packed and in the car just in case and headed on into the hospital. We checked into triage around 11:00am. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor to monitor the baby's heart rate and my contractions. Right away the baby's heart beat dropped into the 90's and everyone was concerned. The doctor was paged and she came to check me out and the fetal monitor. I was still bleeding a little bit and a blood clot was found and removed. An ultrasound was ordered to try and find the source of the bleeding and then to decide what to do regarding getting the baby out. The doctor told me I wasn't going to be going home. Their concern was that the bleeding was coming from the placenta detaching from the uterus and in that case would need to get the baby out right away (ie c-section), if they found the placenta fine and the baby's heart rate remained OK then they might just monitor or induce, though the doctor said the baby was a long way from being delivered and it would be a long induction. Devin and I tried to wait patiently and pass the time playing sudoku on Devin's phone. Somewhere around 2pm just before the ultrasound people arrived I started bleeding again, and this time A LOT! The doctor was called stat and the nurses were all over in my room. It was decided that the best thing for me and the baby was to get the baby out and within minutes I was being wheeled down the hall into the operating room. It was all happening very fast and very scary. Since I didn't already have any pain meds on board they had to put me under and that meant Devin couldn't be in the operating room either. The operating room was crazy, nurses prepping my belly, the anesthesiologist getting me ready, the nursing trying to calm me down and Devin getting gowned and saying goodbye. I remember crying and trying to take deep breaths into the oxygen mask. The next thing I remember is crying in pain and finding out we had a son. It wasn't at all the way we thought the birth would be with neither of us really being a part of it. But we have a handsome, healthy baby boy in our arms. We couldn't be happier.

I am doing well. Up and about this morning, moving and walking. I am looking forward to taking a shower in a few minutes after I eat breakfast. Jacob is doing very well, sleeping soundly right next to me as I type. We will all be here until tomorrow.

Pictures coming very soon!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

38 Weeks - Our "I Can't Believe You're Almost Here" Baby

It's crazy to think that in just a matter of a few weeks or days our little one will be in our arms.

This week our little one is just getting ready also. He or she is shedding the lanugo (the coating on his/her skin) and is producing more surfactant (the stuff that will help the lungs not stick together when he/she takes the first breath). Our baby probably weighs around 7lbs and around 20-21 inches long.

At the doctors visit yesterday I was 1cm dilated and she said my cervix is softening. The baby has also dropped a little and she could now feel our baby's head. I think I maybe passed the mucus plug on Saturday. My doctor wants me to take it easy for the next few days because I had some bleeding yesterday morning and pass a pretty big blood clot. I had been doing a lot of walking, squats and stretches trying to get my body ready as best as I can, guess I'll have to put that on hold and relax on the couch with a movie and all the baby books I could be readying. I was hooked up to the fetal monitor at the appointment just to check things out and everything was good. Our baby was showing off by moving lots during the 20min check. I am having lots of braxton-hicks contraction, but no painful ones yet.

I guess we are just in the waiting game now. I am feeling ready as the crib has a mattress and bedding, the car seat is installed, the hospital bag is all but packed, we have a cradle in our room and an couple of outfits picked out for our baby.

Till next week most likely.....

Top 10 Things...

Top 10 things I am looking forward to not being pregnant...

10. Doing the dishes or my make-up and not having to stand a foot back from the counter

9. Having the dark splotches on my face go away

8. Being able to drink juice (it has too much sugar and makes my blood sugar too low)

7. Laying on my back

6. Doing anything without being short of breath

5. Putting on my shoes with ease and no pain

4. Not weighing 30lbs extra

3. Wearing regular clothes

2. Sleeping on my stomach

1. Holding our baby

Monday, August 17, 2009

Not Me! Monday


I can't believe the weekend is over and Monday is here already. Here's the chance to not feel bad about what you did or didn't do this week. It's Not Me! Monday.
I did not buy 2 kitkat bars (they were 2 for a $1.00), eat one on the way home and then try to put away the groceries before Devin could see that I bought it, which he did see. Not me. I don't try to sneak sweets into our house and keep them secret.
I have not packed and unpacked and packed and unpacked many more times my baby bag for the hospital with the outfits for the baby, trying to decide the perfect one and changing my mind so many times.
I am not SO excited that this is my last week of work! (until at least Jan when my leave will be up).
And I am not wishing and praying that the baby will come early!
That does it for another Not Me! Monday. Head over to MckMama's blog to see what she and everyone else has not been up to this past week.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Pictures

Just FYI. We finally updated our picture website with LOTS of new and old pictures. Check it out here.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Nesting

My Kitchen Aid got quite the work out today as I have been baking and cooking to get some things in the freezer for after the baby comes. Yesterday I made a big pot of white chicken chili for dinner with my parents and then froze the rest. Today I made 4 loaves of zucchini bread (would have been 6 but I ran out of flour) and 4 batches of pizza dough (2 for dinner tonight with friends and 2 for the freezer). I also made a blackberry pie and set out out berries to make raspberry jam tomorrow.


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

37 Weeks - Our Little One in Waiting

I wish I had an actual picture of our little one to show you, but not yet.

This week our baby is considered full term, though is still growing and gaining weight as the fat continues to accumulate. Our baby is also practicing for life on the outside, breathing amniotic fluid, sucking fingers and toes, blinking and wiggling around.

The doctors appointment this morning went well. I measured 37 cm which is right on track. I haven't gained any additional weight since last week. The doctor checked me and I am not dilated at all and she couldn't even feel our baby's head. It's safe to say our baby isn't coming anytime soon and I'll see the doctor again next week.

I am feeling more ready. We got the car seat and it is installed in the car. The crib mattress came today and is resting perfectly in the crib. I am trying not to be anxious about the birth as my body is perfectly made for this and our baby is perfectly made for us by our creator.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Not Me! Monday



Yeah for Monday's and another round for Not Me's.


I am still not counting down the work days I have left until my leave. 6 days! And I am not experiencing short timers syndrome. Nope not me!


I am not planning on packing my hospital bags this week, eventhough I have 3 more weeks until my due date. I am not getting anxious at all!

I was not at all looking forward to some rain today and was not a little disappointed when it turned out to be sunny and 75 degrees. Not me! I love the extreme hot weather, especially while 9mo pregnant!

I did not finally get around to cleaning my house cause we were having company over. And it did not take 4 days to get it picked up and clean.

I am not so very tempted to take my strollers out for a stroll, just the check the mail (which is about a quarter mile walk), eventhough I don't have the baby to put into the stroller yet. But haven't done it cause I don't want the neighbors to think I am weird.

Check out MckMama's blog for what she has not been up to this week along with everyone else. Feel free to join in, you can find all the details at MckMama's blog.


Sunday, August 9, 2009

Just in Case You Wanted to Know....

My ankles are back to normal size! No more kankles!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

36 Weeks - Our Little(?) Watermelon




36 weeks I can't believe it's almost here. The doctor said that at this point if I go into labor they aren't going to try and stop it. And that babies born at 36 weeks, go home with and when mom does. It is a great relief knowing our little one is just about ready to be born. Our baby weighs around 6lbs and maybe around 20inches long. Not much is changing with our baby besides gaining wt and maturing organs.

I am doing much better now that the weather is cooler. I am also back into nesting, or again maybe because the weather is cooler I can actually move around and do things. I am still not feeling ready for the baby. I have ordered but not received the car seat and crib mattress. I need to start practicing the breathing and coping techniques by putting my hand in a bowl of ice cubes for 1 min. I used to think I had a high pain tolerance but I am starting to doubt that at this point. I have gained about 30lbs at this point and my uterus measured 36inches at the last visit which is back on track, no longer measuring big. Now we are just anxiously waiting for labor to start and our little one to be in our arms.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Our Weekend




Not Me! Monday


The weekly release that I am not perfect and I don't have to feel guilty about it. Here are some things I did not do this week...

I did not go to Starbucks one day last week for the sole purpose of sitting in their air conditioned store. AHHHH!

My feet are not so swollen up that my ankles hurt by the end of the day. Not me. No kankles here!

Devin and I did not spend another weekend with my grandparents playing bridge.
I did not have a freak out moment when I though maybe my water broke (which it did not) and then start thinking about all the things we are not ready for yet! (car seat, someplace for the baby to sleep, no bag packed, haven't practiced the breathing, haven't washed any of baby clothes....) No way, not me. I am well prepared for this baby to come.
Another Not Me! Monday. And for those that care, baby Stellen did not end up flying to Boston and did not have surgery. They tried another combo of drugs. It worked, he has been out of SVT and was discharged from the hospital today. Check out MckMama's blog for details.