2 Weeks Old

Here we are at Jacob's second week of living in the outside world. Little Man is doing great! He had a check up on Friday and weighed in at 5 lbs 9 ounces (1 ounce up from birth and 4 ounces in one week).

He has been sleeping a lot better too. The doctor's first question upon entering the room was how much sleep are Jennifer and I getting. We must have looked fantastic. She suggested that after Jacob's evening feast that Jennifer go to bed and I give him a bottle at the next feeding. I stay away from the bedroom with the monitor and do a little TCB (taking care of business) until 2 am when Jennifer gets up to feed him then and then at 6 am. Jennifer gets a lot more consecutive sleep and I get sleep period. On Christmas Day we started a new schedule with him too so between that and our sleep shift plan, it has been going quite well.

He really is a good little baby. The times that he has been up at night were because of tummy problems. Not a whole lot bothers him otherwise. He is very content and happy. He began holding up his head for about 5 seconds at a time and can move it left and right. He has some good leg strength too. So that is the latest report, now here are some new pics!

Christmas 2007

They don't call it the most wonderful time of the year for nothing. As Jennifer and I enjoyed one last 'plentiful' Christmas from each other, Jacob was visited by the "S Man" (Santa not Superman...though that would be really cool). I must say, for only being around for a few days Jacob really stocked up!

Anyway, here are all of our pictures from Christmas Eve and Day 2007! I am sure there will be more between now and next Tuesday, but if not Jacob hope everyone has a fun and safe New Years Eve!

A Father's Love

Every human faces trails and adversities in their life. Hopefully when it is all said and down, we can look back and learn from it. A week ago, my wife and I welcomed into this world our first child. He weighed in at only 5 lbs 8 oz but seemed healthy. About 14 hours after he was born though, he began to experience problems with his breathing. His respiratory rate would sky rocket and plummet in the course of one minute. He was eventually taken up to the neo-natal unit (the intensive care unit for babies) and hooked up to oxygen, an IV and monitors. Obviously a stressful site for any parent.

The next day as I was getting ready, I began/continued to pray that he would improve and be able to come home soon. I thought of him connected to all those different things and how much trouble he was having breathing. Then I began to think God for all the prayers He had already answered. For the baby, for a healthy pregnancy, for a fast delivery, for good doctors and nurses who were taking care of him.

It was then that I began to ponder how God let His son endure such pain. He sent Jesus into this world knowing the horrendous pain He would endure. I could no longer fathom how a Father would allow their son to face such suffering. Not just the agony of the cross, but to take on all the sin of the world and its punishment. The perfect Son of God....born so small and innocent would one day be ridiculed, beaten, whipped up to the point of death, had nails driven through his wrists and feet, spit upon, and hated. I prayed asking how God was able to do that. All I could think was if it were in my power I would never let any harm came to my child. I love him too and to see him in such pain would kill me. I would do anything to take his place.

Then my eyes were opened to a truth Ialready knew, but now could fully understand. God does love His son, yes. But God loves us too. We are God's sons and daughters as well, and He could no longer watch us live in such pain and darkness. God did what most parents can only think about doing in that situation...He took our place. He took our sin, our punishment and our death and gave us the opportunity to wipe the slate clean. That is how much God loves His children. He loved us enough to take our place.

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:11-13

See, while Christ's death and resurrection does cover everyone’s sin, not all will be forgiven. We all must choose to accept this gift. We choose through believing that Christ is God's son, that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross and rose from the grave three days later. Knowing that Christ paid the price for our sins, we must ask Him for forgiveness. He will freely give this gift; you must simply believe and trust in Him. I can offer anyone a free gift, but it doesn't mean you have to accept it.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and that your greatest gift will be from your Father.

Originally Posted @ Robert's (New) Land

Transitioning

Things are still going well here. Little Man is trying his hardest to get use to no sleep...oh wait, that's us. He sleeps really well during the day, but obviously has his A.M. and P.M. confused. We have had two late nights so far.

His doctor appointment went really well. He still weighs 5.5 which is good. Better than losing weight. The little stinker slept through the entire ride there, the check up, the visit with Jen's co-workers, and the ride home.

He is a very happy and alert baby who loves kisses from mommy and daddy. Most of all, he is a cutie that hardly cries. I've of course posted some more pictures for you all. I included some pictures we took of the snow outside. I'd normally post them at my other blog but know most of you don't go there, thus you ave to work thru them here to see Jacob :)

We were able to come home today from the hospital! Jacob is doing well and now we are all just trying to adjust to this newest chapter of our lives. Tomorrow I need to go buy Jacob some premmie (sp?) clothes because the porr guy was swallowed up by what had already been bought for him.

Unfortnatly, I am beyoned exhausted so this update is short. I mainly wanted to post some new pictures. I will try and put captions on them soon.

Day 3: Back in the Act

Little Jacob had a much better day today. We went up this morning and he was all ready for breakfast. He fed extremely well and did so for about 40 minutes. We came back down to the room and weren't here even 20 minutes before they called and said he was hungry again! He is still off his IV and Oxygen and his respiratory rate is continuing to improve.

I headed to the house today and was greeted with a nice thick layer of frozen solid ice in our drive way. I spent a few hours chipping through that. It was great because I could barely get the car in. Luckily I was far enough in that I wasn't sticking out into the street, but I wasn't going anywhere else. By the time I was done, I had soaked through two shirts and the winter coat I was wearing. I was glad that I went home and found it yesterday though instead of when we bring him home. I grabbed us a few extra outfits while there and got back to the hospital around 4:00.

This time I was greeted by my little boy. They had released him from NICU and Jennifer had just finished feeding him. As I mentioned before, he has been really hungry. He would sleep just a little while before waking back up to eat. I later found out from the nurse that the antibiotics in his system make him an eating "madman". So that should wear off soon. Jen will be feeding him throughout the night. We are still waiting on the results from his cultures which will come in at 1am. If those are negative, then we should be able to go home tomorrow!!

Not many pictures today I am afraid. I took 2, but you can't really see him in either. Since we were in our room, I did more video instead. I won't be able to put that on here till 1) we are home and 2) until I have time to download, edit and format it. I am sure when we head home though there will be plenty of pictures to post!

UPDATE: It is now a little after 5am. I took Jacob down the nursery around 9:30 after being fed and he was returned to us at 11:00, ready for more grub! Jen fed him and I changed him and put some fresh clothes and linens on him and returned him to the nursery. We figured he'd be back shortly, but to our surprise we woke up around 4:15 and hadn't seen him in a while. I headed down to the nursery and Jacob had been sleeping since I dropped him off. He had just started to stir when I arrived in fact. So were we glad for the few uninterrupted hours of sleep. He is eating pretty well as I type. The cultures came back negative too so we will hopefully be out of here before lunch!! Negative cultures also resulted in them taking his IV needle out of his hand. They had left that part in just in case. He was very happy to be rid of it.

Day 2: Natal Intensive Care Unit

Jacob's second day was spent in the Neo-Natal Unit which is one floor above us. As mentioned in the last post, he was taken up there around 1 am so they could monitor his breathing. They took a chest X-Ray and there was fluid in his lungs. This is more than likely from a delayed transition. Most of that fluid usually comes out during labor...little Jacob was just too anxious to join mom and dad. Probably cause he knows how much fun we are.

He still had problems eating until his 11 am feeding when he ate half an ounce of formula. Then at 2 pm feeding he ate 30 cc (out of 40) which I think was 1 1/2 ounces (or maybe just one ounce) and kept it down. So that plus his IV is very good. They have taken him off the oxygen and are winging him off the IV. If his next feeding at 6 goes well the nurse said he will get to come down for a visit! So that made us happy. Breathing is doing better. The rate still jumps here and there but it is much improved.

Not sure when we will get to head home. I am guessing Wednesday or Thursday, but it all depends on Little Man. I'd rather him be 100% than be at home. We will be able to stay until he is, probably in our same room.

UPDATE: The above was typed around 4pm. We have since been upstairs twice and Jacob keeps improving. I fed him another ounce of formula and he was very alert and seemed happy (happy as a baby can be anyway). Jen rocked him to sleep and then a short while later we took some friends up to see him and he was still doing well. I will post another update tomorrow.

Day 1: More Pictures

Jacob's first full day is in the books and it was a busy one. He is currently up in the neo-natal unit (they took him up around 1 am). He still has some fluid in his lungs and his respiratory rate keeps going up so they wanted to give him just a little oxygen. They will keep monitoring him up there for the rest of the day. He also has an IV to feed on so his little body won't have to stress too much to eat. The doctor says he is just taking his time to transition from womb life to the outside world.

We visited him around 6 this morning and he seemed fine, just hooked up to a bunch of things. His color was really good and shortly before we left he woke up and was very responsive to us. We were able to sleep some last night, but aren't caught up yet. Stress and sleep don't usually work well together.

Check back here for more updates. For now, here are just a few more pictures I was able to take yesterday before the excitement began.

PS - His hair looks red in the pictures but is actually very blond. The flash seems to give it a red tint.

Jacob's Arrival!

Quick Hit: Jennifer woke up after 30 minutes of sleep at 11:30 pm having a very painful contraction. We timed it out and they were going from 4 to 6 minutes apart. I loaded the car up and called the doctor. They said we could wait awhile, but we went ahead and left. Started snowing as we arrived.

Jennifer was dialated to 2 cm still and we thought we'd be there a loooong time. 1 hour later and still no change (just horrible contractions). 1 hour after that and surprise, she was 9.5 cm. The doctor could barely get his gloves on before little Jacob came into our world at 4:54 a.m.

Baby and mom are both doing great. He weighs 5.8 lbs, is 19 inches long, and is currently receiving his first bath. We still haven't slept and are currently fielding a few phone calls and eating breakfast (why does hospital bacon taste so stinking good???). Anywho, I just wanted to get pictures up real fast so everyone can see this beautiful baby.

We are at Newton Wellsley Hospital in room 565. More updates/pictures to come.

Week 38

Well there was a major change this week at the doctor's office. Jennifer is now dilated (2) and we set a date to induce (December 18). Of course there is still the very real possibility that he will come before that. I'll do my best to keep you all posted on here. I do guarantee that I will post pictures on this blog the day he is born (the hospital is wireless) so you will all be able to see him right away. I will post video on here as well but that may not be till we get home as I will want to do it on the desktop. This blog will also be my way of informing others of his stats (weight, etc) so feel free to pass along this web site if anyone is asking for pictures. Speaking of pics, to the left is probably the last pregnant picture of Jen and Jacob!

Week 37

These pictures are actually from 3 or 4 weeks ago, but I just recently received them. They are the only pictures we have from any of her showers and they were taken on a cell phone so quality isn't that great, but it is better than nothing.

We have another doctor's appointment this afternoon so we will be sure to update everyone of how that goes. Jennifer has been having more contractions with more severity, but they are still irregular.

Also I noticed most of you never looked at the previous post so be sure to check it out too :)

Week 36

36 weeks down...4 to go? Essintially Jennifer is a "ticking time bomb" (as I lovingly call her) so who knows how much longer! Either way, it is close. Both mom and baby are still doing great. Jennifer is still working and hopes to until he comes (though she said today that if he isn't here by the 24th that she won't go in...me thinks she just wants some Christmas vacation).

Jennifer had her final two showers the last few weeks. One was from our church and the other from the office she works in. The one from her office happened today so I am not too sure what all was received other than a high chair. The church shower produced a diaper genie and a play pen which is cool. The grandparents have also gone into over-drive. Meme and Paw-Paw sent out the stroller/car seat and a bath tub for Jacob.

Jacob's room is busting at the seams with goodies! The only thing that is missing is a baby. We are hoping he will go another two weeks simply because it will be good for him and I will be done with my bachelors degree then (whoo hoo!). Speaking of me, I haven't posted a picture of my progress lately. Keep in mind that the stress of the new addition, work and my senior year all plays into it. I mean, Jennifer get a bump and everyone oooos and ahhhhs. I get a bump and people give me a disgusted look. Whatever. Judge for yourself.

It's not that bad really. I feel the blue makes me look slimming! Anyway, I am going to try yet another new way for you all to see our pictures. Hopefully a little slideshow will be below this sentence. Finally, I was required to create a website for my web design class. It turned out pretty darn well if I do say so myself. I am going to try and figure out a way to put it online (one must have a server to host a web site) so check back for that. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Maybe by the next holiday we'll have a new addition :)

Week 33 1/2

Here we are looking at the final 6 weeks of pregnancy. Hard to believe that it went by so fast! Jennifer took a few more ultrasound pictures this week. Little Man is still doing fine and looks healthy and on track. He is weighing in around 4 lbs. 6 ounces.

Jacob's room is coming along nicely. We have it almost the way we want it. We are still looking for an area rug. We know what we want, just have been unable to find it. And of course we are still in need of several baby related items. As of this time, we are legally unable to bring Jacob home, and if we did he'd have no mattress to sleep on.

Hopefully some of that will be solved this coming weekend at

Jennifer's second baby shower. We are hoping for one more after that from the doctor's office she works in, but that is just speculation.

Jacob dreaming of Christmas

I'm not sure what is floating around his mouth, but if I were him it would be annoying.

Already doing impersonations...just start humming the theme to "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" for this picture.

Below is a clip I had to make for my video editing course. I thought it would be appropriate to put on Jacob's blog. Be sure to turn off the music player at the top of this blog in order to hear the video.

Week 31 1/2

Here we are, staring down at the remaining two months of pregnancy! Things have been getting crazy as we entered our last trimester. Jen is having trouble getting comfortable in bed and is experiencing acid reflux. We found a nice combination of pillows that seems to help her. Jacob keeps up his routine of being "laid back" (the term lazy is not allowed). He likes to push his little bottom into Jen's upper stomach. I gave him his first "woogie" the other day.

It has been a busy few weeks here at Baby Central. Two weeks ago we received our changing pad, cover and a few other wonderful items from Uncle John, Aunt Amy and cousin Reagan.

We also found a very large box full of goodies from Nana and Papa Joe. This box was complete with personalized burp clothes, tons of clothes, a "lovey"and other great items including a Superman blanket for me (or Jacob as people keep insisting)!

Uncle Jason and Aunt Sheri also sent us a cute package of sport footsies!

Oh, and I turned 27 on the 13th but this is Jacob's Land not Robert's Land (for those of you who may have forgotten of that marvelous land)

This week we received two very large packages with some assembly required. From Nana and Papa Joe we received our crib and from MeMe and Paw-Paw we got a beautiful Glider! We put the glider together Friday night and it remains in the living room because Jen enjoys sitting in it so much. Saturday evening we got the crib put together very quickly and both look great!

I have decided that I will no longer attempt to post all the new pictures here. It takes a long time to do so and I know as we get nearer to Jacob being born (and forever after) there will be a ton of pictures to share. All that to say that I will now post them on a site called Picasa Web Albums. You will just need to select the links I provide to view the pictures.

To see pictures of the crib, click here.

To see pictures of some of the gifts we received, click here.

Who Will Jacob Look Like?

Just for fun, Jennifer and I broke out our baby pictures the other night to see if Jacob had any of our features. We know what we think, but what do you think? Leave you comments by clicking on the "Comment" button below!

Week 27: Changing Table

Last weekend we finally got around to putting Jacob's changing table together (special thanks again to Nana and Pappa for the great gift)! I thought it would be fun and nice to share a video other than just pictures. Jennifer ask that this not be sent to or watched by non-family members (other than you Bryan..."Just don't make fun of me," says the pregnant woman). I am not sure how the quality will be (because I had to do it differently so it would fit on here), but a better version will be included on the Jacob DVD next year! And yes, each of you will receive a copy. Don't forget to turn off the music player (located on the right side of the screen)! Enjoy!

Week 25

Jennifer had here latest check up this past Tuesday and everything was great! Jacob is 1 pound 11 ounce and Doc said he should be able to "distinguish body parts next time" by touching Jennifer's stomach. To this I believe I replied "how weird" but I am pretty sure I just imagine being in the examination room because I am largely ignored. I read that that was normal in most cases. The Doc is super nice anyway.

We received Jacob's changing table this week too from Papa Joe and Nana! You know you're in for a long day when a package comes labeled "Box 1 of 2". I will try to take pictures as we go along. We also bought him a nice little book shelf, I just need to paint it. Jennifer is excited that the room has stuff in it. His closet is starting to slowly fill up too.

Now, the real reason you all come here...pictures of little man!

I am the great and powerful Jacob! Out cold.

Sleepy boy, just like his daddy. All comfy and safe.

Blowing a kiss to all his family back in Texas! Big yawn or "HULLABALOO!" ?

Here are some new items we bought over the last couple of weeks. Gotta love Baby GAP and yes Amy, even Old Navy.

Jennifer just realizing where babies come from! My beautiful wife and child.

Week 22 1/2

Back again with another Jacob update. We are fast approaching week 23 (Wednesday) so I thought I better post some new pics of everyone for you all. Jacob is still doing fine. Jennifer feels him kick every now and then, but for the most part he is laid back. I haven't felt him kick yet, but decided to keep talking to him anyway. Jennifer says it is because my voice relaxes him, but I think that is just a nice way of saying I bore him to sleep.

Next doctor's appointment is September 11 and will be the first one I will be able to go to since summer June. We might try and get another 3-D picture while I'm there. Hopefully by then they won't scare me so much.

Jennifer is doing fine. Still no horribly odd cravings. She is eating pretty healthily in fact. We finally finished registering and were happy to get that behind us. While it was a nice experience, it was more stressful than I thought it would be. Why do there have to be so many bottles? I will file that question alongside the 'why is Smurfet the only female Smurf'.

We have even received a few gifts in the mail which is always a fun surprise. We have also bought a few items of our own. Seeing as how we would be showing you guys these items if we lived nearby, I thought it wouldn't be too weird to post a few pics of them on here. But first, we will start with the star of this blog, Jacob!

Sucking his thumb perhaps?

Pretending to be an astronaut.

Cute baby foot.

Yes, this one scared me, but Jennifer assured me he looks fine.

Ahh, this one looks more normal.

Now lets check out some of those gifts!

We picked this up the day we finished registering. Something to wear to the park when it warms back up!

But before it warms up, Jacob will need some blankets. This one, however, pretty much means he has to be born by Christmas. Otherwise he is already out of style.

I bought this for Little Man while I was in Martha's Vineyard from a store called Black Dog. Apparently this is a very popular place and they only have stores there. Other babies will be sooo jealous of him.

My favorite present so far! Though the season will be over, perhaps Jacob will be able to root with daddy as the Aggies play in a bowl game! My best friend (and one of my many lawyers) Bryan and his wonderful wife Jill sent us this package complete with Aggies shoes and onesie (sp). She also made us some great towels with Jake's name on them! Whoooop!

Jeanetta, Terry and Tori also bought us a great collection of must have baby items! I do not include any pictures of it now because I have no clue where it has gone to and Jennifer isn't here to tell me. Rest assured we love it though!!!

And finally it is time for the Belly Watch, brought to you today by Mustard! Mmmm that's tangy!

Jennifer and Jacob!

Sweet fancy Moses....I swear to you it's mostly water retention!

Don't wet yourself laughing. Today's post was brought to you by the letter "J"!

"J" is for Jacob, Jennifer, Joel, Jerri, Joe, Jeanetta, John, Jamy and Jeagan!

Week 20

These pictures weren't taken at the same time, I am just behind on posting them. The pics of Jennifer are from a week or two ago. Please note the wonderfulk blue color I picked out for the basement. The pics of Jacob were from last Tuesday. The fun thing about Jacob's picture is that Jennifer tells me (though it doesn't show up in the picture well) that he had his hands behind his head and his legs were lifted all the way up to his head as well. Obviously a child who knows how to relax. Jennifer is still doing well. She is feeling Jacob move around more. She is kind enough to let me talk to him every night. I say nice enough because (despite her insistence) I speak into her belly button...like it's the portal to Jacob. We sing songs to him and talk to him about different things (our days, favorite things, so on).

Only one craving so far and thankfully it's nothing weird (not to me anyway since I have beendoing it for years). She loves mustard. She came home one day wanting mustard with Fritos (a very happy moment for me). She hooked it up with cheese dip today along with the Fritos (nothing I would have thought of, but it was tastey).

I will get a more updated picture of Jennifer soon. Hopefully this week.

Week 18

More pics for all your baby looking needs! My new favorite picture! In about 15 years, he'll be sitting like this on his bed - feet on wall and an IPOD super nano on his head.

Head on the right side - profile.

Ditto.

Week 16 (delayed)

As you all know, we are in the middle of a move so these blogs are a bit delayed. Jen hit 17 weeks today, but the following pictures are from last weekend. Jen had a doctor's appointment today and everything was fine. Jacob's heart rate is doing great (155) and he is still as active as ever. A complete stranger asked Jen is she was pregnant because she is "glowing" which is very true. Very pretty. Hopefully the kid will take after her...but not too much since it's a boy, because then it would just be odd. It's a spine and head. Looks like those things that attacked Neo in Matrix. Jacob's legs. Ah what will he do with these one day? Stand up against injustice? Run for a touchdown? Kick daddy from whence he came? Cute little baby foot (upper left). One of my favorite pics so far. -------------------------------------------------- Jen is starting to show! Robert is...what the?!