4 weeks!

"I'm so happy to be free of all of my chords and back with my brother and daddy again!"

Jack is already starting to look healthier! He is 8 lbs,1 oz and 20 inches. He has started giving us a couple of beautiful half smiles a day! I can't imagine life without Jack now!

We've been in Munchkinland:(

Jack and I just got back today from spending the last 4 days in the hospital. My sweet baby got RSV, which is rough on little ones and very scary on a 3 week old, 8 pounder! We are pretty sure that he caught it from James. The weekend before Christmas, James had a bad virus and slight pneumonia. We had spent the whole weekend keeping them separated...James and Josh on one side of the house, Jack and me on the other.

Jack started sounding congested a couple of days before Christmas, and then on Christmas Day, he developed a bad cough. We had our friend who is a doctor check him out on Christmas evening, and he told us that it was not in his lungs and that if it got worse to call our doctor the next day. Sure enough, Friday morning, I noticed him breathing faster. We went to the doctor that afternoon, he took one look at him, and sent us to the ER to have him checked out. They confirmed that it was RSV.

Thankfully, Jack did pretty well for his size. They told us on Saturday that Jack was on Day 2 and that Day 3 would be his worst day and then he'd start to get better. Jack surprised all of the nurses and started getting better after Saturday! We had to stay until today, because he was having trouble keeping his oxygen level up. I can't tell you how long I stared at those numbers, hoping it would stay in the upper 90's!

We are sooo happy to all be home together today and extremely thankful to God that he's doing better. I'm also thankful for the time I got to spend with him. I would not have chosen this, but one blessing that came out was that I got to just sit and hold him, stare at him, and bond with him over those 4 days. I'm also very grateful for Josh, my mom, and my dad rotating coming up to keep me company and watching James, and Elizabeth and Bryon watching James and making him have so much fun that he forgot all about him mama and brother that he was missing!

Here is a picture of "Munchkinland" as they call it.

It was such a cheerful place, and the nurses and staff were so friendly, which made our stay much more bearable. They made me one proud mama by making a big deal over him, and two different nurses commented on how expressive he was compared to other newborns. He has this cry that just breaks your heart, and one of the respiratory therapists, who was a tough looking woman, said he was trying to play on her sympathies to get her to stop, with his pitiful cries and faces. As one of the nurses walked us down to our car today, we ran into another nurse who said, "Aww, Lindsey (our nurse) is sad because her boyfriend, Jack, is leaving." She was slightly embarrassed, but I of course did not mind a bit!

James and Jack's newborn pics

Audrey requested that I post some pics of James and Jack together as newborns. This was fun looking back and comparing! I definitely see some resemblances, but I think they have their own look. They both are an exact mix of Josh and me. It's kind of hard to compare, since James was 2 lbs heavier (a big difference on a little body), so it'll be interesting to see later on how much they look alike! They definitely look like brothers, though!

James


Jack


James


Jack

(I don't know why he looks so red here)

James


Jack

A few things...

Jack meeting Nana Anna!

I wanted to post some neat gifts I've gotten from having Jack... Great ideas for those looking for creative gifts for friends/family having a baby.

Here are the letters that Amber made for Jack! These are some of the cutest letters I've seen! She is so, so talented and creative, and I can't wait to hang them up over Jack's crib! She also did James', which are now up in his big boy room. I will post a picture of them one they are up and we move Jack over there.


Here is the bracelet that Suzanne designed for me! Take a closer look, and you'll see that it has the names "James" and "Jack"! I love wearing my boys' names on my wrist!! I wear this thing all the time and smile every time I look down at it.


Here is the "Sleepy Wrap" that my mom got me as an early Christmas present. I highly recommend this one!! It is so comfortable and distributes the weight evenly around your body. Jack absolutely loves it and gets immediately calm when I put him in. I'm so excited about being able to have free hands for James and the many other things I need/want to do, while being close to Jack. It has many benefits for the baby, too. Click on the link to read about it if you're interested in getting one.

2 Weeks

Doing what they do best...James is talking and Jack is yawning

Jack is two weeks old today! Here is a list about my little, little man...the newest love of my life!

1. Jack weighs 7 lbs now! He dropped to 6 even when he was 3 days old and has gained a pound in the last 11 days! Yea! Such a good feeling to know that he is eating well.

2. He is 19.5 inches long. 10th % for head, weight, and height.

3. He is a pooping machine. I think that God's sense of humor in letting us know that all is well with his bowels (see earlier posts if you don't know what I'm talking about). The first 24 hours, he had about 5 dirty diapers, when they're only expected to have around 1-2!

4. He is a big time cuddle bug. If he is swaddled, he is happy. If he is snuggled up against you, he is good for a really long time!

5. I think we have another angel baby. He seems to be so relaxed, calm, peaceful, and easy going.

6. He likes to be sung to. He gets completely still when I start singing.

7. He has given us some 4 hour stretches of sleep at night, but at night he usually eats every 2-3 hours and then goes right back to sleep. We have had a few rough nights, though, when he won't stay in his bassinett. This wouldn't be so bad, but his big brother has regressed and is also having sleep issues, so we're getting up way too much right now!

8. He has the sweetest voice and makes the sweetest little sounds. He has cooed a few times and has the most pitiful, soft cry.

9. He started tracking when he was just a few days old! He is starting to look lovingly at me and focus more.

10. He has strong neck muscles and likes to move his head around.

11. He has the sweetest, softest, best smelling skin that I can't get enough of!

12. He has the tiniest little facial features and just looks like a little baby doll to me.

I'm so thankful to God for my little Jack!

These are a few of my favorite things...

About Jack!

Just a random post, because I was having fun taking pics of my little guy earlier today. We sometimes jokingly call him "Dimps", because he has several little dimples on his face! I can't wait until he's smiling and we get to see them more! Now we just have to catch them in quick doses during his sleeping or gassy smiles.

He has a big 'ol adorable dimple on his left cheek that I saw right after he was born and got so excited about. I can just picture him as a tall, dark, and handsome man with a big dimple when he gets older! Here he is showing it off for the camera.


I also love this sweet little dimple under his lip. My mom says it was God's last little stitch. He has more, but I will have to wait to capture those until later.


I'm crazy about these precious hands. They are so sweet and tiny and perfect! Actually, he has big hands and feet for his size, but they are still so, so tiny!


Can you tell what a cuddle bug he is? He just melts me when he gets immediately calm every time I hold him like this.

Sip n' See!

Thursday night, my friends threw me a wonderful shower for baby Jack! It was held at Amber's house, and was originally going to be a baby shower, but it turned into a sip n' see, since Jack came on the original shower date! It was so much fun to get us both dressed up and go out with my little man to celebrate his life! It was such a special night that I will always remember, and I'm so thankful to my friends for putting it all together for us! You guys did such a wonderful job!


The hostesses


Thanks, Kelly for taking this picture that I love so much!

Big Thanks and Labor Story

First of all, I don't know how I'm ever going to find the time to blog or space in my brain to get decent thoughts out now that I have two kids! I've tried this several times, and I'm just going to get it out as best and fast as I can!

I am so, so grateful for the love people have shown us during this time! Our friends and family have the biggest hearts, and I'm overwhelmed by their love and selflessness. Between
-Amber watching James before and after MDO last Tuesday (starting at 5:30 am!!)
-my brother-in-law Bryon taking out all 4 kids to a birthday party that night
-Kimberly watching James the next morning so Josh and I could have some alone time at the hospital
-Kimberly bringing her camera and taking some hospital pics for me
-my mom, dad, and sister joining Josh and me all day in the labor and delivery room and helping me through the pain (I might have left Josh and my sister with some bruised hands)
-Amber and Melissa decorating our yard for an exciting coming-home from the hospital

-friends from church bringing meals
-my dear, dear sister who has been incredible in helping me since I've been home...in so many ways
-my wonderful mother who has been with me this week and done so much to help me that I can't thank her enough
-friends and family who've shown love to us in so many ways in celebration of our newest little gift from God

I can't thank you all enough!





Okay, the labor story will have to come later! I gotta go feed Jack and eat lunch! More to come!

My Sweet Boys

Here are some pictures of the first time James held Jack.





James has been so incredibly sweet with Jack! He is crazy about him and talks about him all of the time. The first thing he wants to do when he wakes up is see him, and he wants to just kiss him and touch his soft skin all day long. He will talk to him and ask him questions, like "You take a nap, baby Jack?" I think he really appreciates his cuteness, because he says things like, "Awww, wook at his widdle toes!!" in this soft, high-pitched voice, and then things like, "He's so cool!" , "I love my baby brother", and "Awww, he's SO sweet!". He also likes to take care of him. He says that he needs a blanket, paci, etc., and when Jack cries, James will pop up and say, "I gotta check him!" We're trying not to push Jack on him and let him feel free to express how he really feels, but it's nothing but love at this point. I'm sure that will change, but it melts my heart watching them right now.

My biggest fear right now, though, is that James and his solid, active, 2 1/2 year old body will accidently hurt Jack. I'm going to have to watch him like a hawk, but it seems like everyone has a story of what the big sibling did to the little sibling.

James has been acting out a bit since Jack has been home, so it's been a little bit of an adjustment there. He has been throwing things across the house, which he never did before, getting into anything and everything, and has been louder and crazier than ever. I'm ready for him to settle down and for things to get back to normal with him! I hear that it does very soon, so that gives me some comfort! We do have moments when he is his sweet, normal self and he'll come up and just want to "snuggle Mommy" or kiss me over and over. I have really enjoyed getting to lay down in bed with him and hold him in my lap better.

I want to blog about my labor story and a few other things, but I need to go eat! My mom is home with me this week and has taken James out to the mall and Jack is sleeping, so now's my chance!

A few pics

I love this first picture, because you can see how long his eyelashes are.

James loves to snuggle with whoever is holding Jack and kiss him over and over.  



Meeting Uncle Michael and Aunt Jilinda!

More pictures!

We are home and getting settled into life as a family of four! Here are some more pictures of our first couple of days.