Jacob - Two Months Old!

How has a whole month passed since my last post?! Jacob is already two months old (as of yesterday!)
He continues to delight us and fit perfectly into our family. In fact, I think how it was before he came along is becoming hazy already. :) Sophia has been such a great big sister...really embracing her role. Two favorite moments that really showed me how much she loves him! 1) We were at a friend's house and when it was time to go, I had my friend hold Jacob while I got Sophia situated in the car. She got very concerned that we were going to leave him at her house and said, "no!! Baby Jakey come WITH!" 2) Yesterday they were playing together (she was putting stickers all over his shirt while he sat in the swing.) He LOVES her attention and was smiling a storm up for her. after a while, he started fussing because he was tired and needed a nap. I picked him up to put him in the Ergo and Sophia protested, "no, Mama! Jacob back down in the swing!" She wasn't ready to stop their play time! I love it. It is fun to see them interacting more now that he is following eye contact so well and smiling.

 Adorned with his sister's flower stickers :)

Dr. check up this month:
Weight - 14 lbs 4 oz - He is a sturdy little guy! love love his "rubber band" wrists and chunky thighs. He is wearing 3-6 and 6 month clothing. Even a few 6-9 mo sleepers (gerber brand though so it hardly counts! those run so small!) would be in size 2 diapers, but we have him in our one size cloth diapers and it's going great!
Height - 25 inches

*Jacob is smiling a TON. He is so handsome and his whole face lights up. We love seeing his personality coming out!!


*Unfortunately, he has reflux. it is sad to see him in pain and struggling for relief as well as a bit annoying to have everything covered in spit up (making laundry hard to keep up with). He nurses well which is great, but spends most of his awake time being burped and spitting up. He soaks at least one burp rag each feeding and often he (and Mom) need a shirt change after. I am already dairy and gluten free because of thrush issues, so I don't think its my diet. Gripe water has helped a bit. the biggest thing is just keeping him upright after feedings and burping. LOTS of burping.

*He nurses every 2-3 hrs during the day and 2-3 times at night. Probably 8-9 ish times a day. He gets a diaper change each feeding and like his sister, doesn't poop but maybe once or twice a day. sometimes not even that. HE TAKES BOTTLES! PTL! After Sophia always refusing them, I think we are amazed still at how nice it is to have that option. Plus it is neat having Eric get to bond with him in a new way too.

*We are thrush free!! yaaaaaayyyyy

*He has started to coo and babble!!! It is adorable. He was chatting with Eric tonight - such a sweet little voice! I asked him tonight if he was ready for bed, and Eric and I both started laughing when it sounded like he said "noooooo"

*He loves to stare at ceiling fans, the mobile on the swing (although he really doesn't like the swing, he does like the mobile), lights, anything hanging above him. He also likes our colorful "Italian landscape" painting in the living room. I remember Sophia liking the vibrant colors too


Mr. Blue Eyes! There is just no way these are turning brown! I think I have finally accepted this surprise! They sure are a beautiful blue!

*Jacob likes his bath...doesn't get one every night mostly due to me being tired and it not being necessary. He likes the water pretty hot/warm and does NOT like being cold afterwards. I try to have some fleece pjs and a blanket to wrap up as soon as I take him out. The nights he does get one, it is after Sophia goes to bed and just before I put him down.

*He HATES the car. Almost always cries himself into a sweat wherever we go. It is sad to see him so sad! Sophia is pretty tolerant (fell asleep one day in the middle of his screaming! I was amazed), sometimes she acknowledges it by singing him "Jesus loves me" to make him feel better, saying "almost there, baby. two more minutes", or my least favorite, yelling "STOP!!!" She usually does her own thing though, reading books, looking out the window, singing songs, eating snack, etc. We look forward to the day Jacob is a little happier to ride. The WORST time for him to be put in the car is right after he nurses. I think the milk is still so heavy on his tummy and it is painful for him. The BEST time is either right before he eats (? he usually stays asleep? so strange, you'd think him being hungry would bother him) or right after he falls asleep for a nap (the only time I can transfer him and have him stay asleep).

*Very happy to be held by anyone and everyone during his awake time! He will charm anyone with a smile and be very content (although, better have a burp rag handy! He spits up multiple times while awake. always). When sleepy, he does best in mama's arms. :) Mama does not mind this one bit!!

*He is starting to find his hands! So fun to watch the discovery process unfold.



*He has recently started getting put down for the night around 8-8:30 pm and will sleep a 4-6 hr stretch, eat around 1:30 am, go back to sleep until 4-4:30 am then have a hard time going back to sleep after this feeding. He is usually back asleep by 5-5:30 and sleeps until 6:15 am. I have the hardest time during this 5 am waking knowing he isn't really fully up for the day, but the big chunks of sleep are done for the night. I never understand why he is so fussy or awake during that second am feeding. At 6:15 ish he is up for the day and has awake periods of about 45-55 min before he goes back to sleep. He is still taking most (if not all) naps in the Ergo during the day, but I am starting to try to put him down for at least one nap a day to start the transition to being on his own. He still co-sleeps with me most of the night, but has started taking that first and longest stretch in his bassinet (which is in our bathroom master closet.)

 happy Mama!

 Love my kids!! Look at how beautiful they both are!

 Going for a ride in our new double stroller! Eric and I both love it already! And the kids enjoyed it too! Our princess up front and little prince smiling away at his first stroller ride.

Sophia giving an affectionate hug! They are buds already and I am beyond THRILLED!!!!

Jacob, we love you! Sophia's prayer this week has been "Thank you God, for baby Jakey and Mama and Cici and Daddy. AAA-men." so sweet. We do thank God for our little family!

Jacob is one month old!

On Saturday, Jacob officially became one month old! His current weight: 12 lbs 2 oz, height: 24 inches. He is wearing 3 mo & 3-6 mo clothes


We have had quite the month! The first week was spent fighting a stomach bug in our house...of which Sophia, Eric and I all caught. Thankfully Nana was here and stayed healthy to nurse us all back to health and help us survive that first week! OY. Also Jacob has stayed healthy which was our biggest relief! At one week old, Jacob got circumcised, which I won't lie, was a little traumatic for this mama! But all went well and within a week to 10 days, he had fully healed. Oh and we both got thrush! UGH! At least I could identify it much sooner than Sophia's newborn experience and though we are on another round of meds (going on 4 weeks), it is getting better each week.

Here are a few things we are learning about our precious son as we get to know him better!


*Jacob loves the Ergo. LOVES. He is in it at least 80% during the day. It is one of the only methods to get him to fall asleep (and stay asleep) for naps. Did we mention he loves being it? I'm so thankful for it and that it leaves me with free hands to care for Sophia! She doesn't seem to mind him on me all the time either... don't know if she is just used to my big pregnant belly before he came out or what but it isn't a hindrance for our time together for him to be tucked away in it.

*He hates being swaddled! He will cry, fuss, squirm, wiggle until taken out. It is surprising to us after how much Sophia loved her swaddle but of course he is reminding us he has his own personality/preferences! :) They are fun to discover! He really likes his hands up by his face and them not being tied down


*He enjoys and is calmed by the bath. But I have noticed he does NOT like being cold so he likes the water kind of hot (still cooler than I would like MY bath but for a baby, it is pretty warm!) I try to go as quickly as possible once he is out in the cold air, drying him off and putting his PJs on, then wrapped up in a fleece blanket. :) It has become our nightly bedtime routine... after Sophia goes to bed and he nurses... usually around 8-8:30 pm or so. We are still trying to establish a rhythm - each day looks a little different.


*He loved the car when he was a few days and even a couple of weeks old, but now he really doesn't tolerate it unless we are moving (and even then is a toss up). Red lights or stops are not so fun... Sophia does a good job tuning out his crying, she can usually keep singing along to the music cd, reading her books, looking out the window, or eating her snack unaffected. Every once in a while, she will yell, "The baby's sad!" or "Where's his Paci?!" like hello, can't you guys hear him?? but she doesn't usually seem irritated at him, just wondering why we aren't helping him stop.

*Jacob loves to nurse, suck on his paci, and has even taken a bottle (big news in our house after Sophia never accepted anything besides Mama!) It is nice to have him soothed by eating or the pacifier. 

*He is a good eater! He has trouble keeping up with the milk flow and often gags, chokes, and unlatches during let down. I usually burp him after the first few min because invariably he has taken in a bunch of air. He spits up VERY frequently and pretty continually through the day. It doesn't matter if its been 10 min or over an hr since he ate, he will continue to spit up after each feeding. We go through a lot of laundry :) but he is gaining weight well so the Dr said it is more about symptom management and finding what soothes him best. He does seem to have some gas or tummy pain which is sad to see. He grimaces and scrunches up his legs, arches his back.... gripe water, burping often, and gentle massage has seemed to help some.


*Sleep has been a hit or miss the past month. Mostly miss. :) I think because of the gas and spit up, sometimes he wakes up prematurely during the night. At one month, we have stopped night diaper changes unless I know or smell that he has pooped because we cannot get through a diaper change without major spit up which leads to outfit change at which point he is FULLY awake and it is difficult to get him back to sleep quickly. His pooping isn't every diaper anymore (growing up so much already!), so even after not being changed for 8 hrs, it is usually just really wet. His longest day time nap usually coincides with Sophia's nap and that is awesome. So nice to get needed downtime during the day, even if he is still on me or being held, it is restful

*Jacob has an extra fussy period where he really cranks the volume for anywhere from 30 min - 2 hrs. It started off around 11p-2a (the early days when Jacob and Nana watched downton abbey together) and has slowly worked backwards... now it is usually 7-10:30p range. Sometimes I am so tired and head to bed to prepare for a long night ahead and Jacob & Eric hang out while Eric plays video games and wears headphones to drown out some of the volume :)


*He has deep blue-ish, gray eyes! I keep waiting for them to turn brown! Never dreamed of anything but dark brown eyed children so it will be yet another way he surprises us if they stay blue-ish! Plenty of time yet to see what color they will end up

*His hematoma (head bump) magically went away at exactly one month! We were told by two different pediatricians it would either take a month or two OR a year or two for it to fully round out so it is nice that it has happened so quickly and without any jaundice issues

*Jacob is smiling!! We don't have any shots on camera and it is still really surprising to be given the gift of him flashing one but we love it!! Can't wait for MORE! Since he has been a bit fussy in general, esp with the thrush and gas, his smile is that much sweeter to see.



*Seeing Sophia and Jacob interact is my FAVORITE! It is so fun. Sophia loves to help me change his diaper, give him his thrush med or gripe water (she is in charge of wiping his mouth if anything runs down his cheek), burp him, hold him, find his paci (and shove it in his mouth). :) She really has embraced her big sister role so well. If I leave the room to grab another diaper or burp rag, I will ask her to help me "watch" him and she will lay down on the floor right next to him and protect him until I get back (which is usually only 30 sec max). This was one of my greatest fears - how she would handle him getting our attention, crying, being needy, but the Lord has surprised me such a pleasant way. Sure, she still throws a tantrum for attn and will get into mischief while I am nursing and she KNOWS I am "stuck", but all in all, she has been such a champ and loves Baby Jakey already. She wants him to come on walks with us and be in the car with her... I am so thankful they have each other now. :)
jacob getting his face wiped above and going for a ride around the house below :) he has a very eager to help big sis!

Jacob's Newborn Photos

Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart."

We love you Jacob!

Sophia's 2 year Photos

10 days before Jacob was born, we had some pics taken of Sophia in all her two year old glory :) I am so glad we have a few snapshots of our little family of 3 before we joyfully became a family of FOUR! I love having a late pregnancy pic as well (besides the ones I take in the mirror). Such a special season of life we are in!

Birth pics

Still working on getting my birth story in writing... but until then, here are some precious first photos of Jacob's BIRTH-day. Obviously we didn't get any of the birth itself - none of us saw it! Eric did get a peek of his head coming out (after I requested that he flip the car light on to check) but the rest were taken after we arrived at the birthing center. I felt so great since the birth was so fast! I wish I could bless every pregnant woman with a 4 hr labor. Granted it was definitely hard work, plenty of momentary pain (back labor again!), and still healing 2 weeks later but compared to my long 22 hr saga with my sweet Sophia?! What a blessing the shorter labor was!
Since Sophia was happily playing with Aunt Meg and her beloved cousins, we took our time recovering, bonding with Jacob, and eating a late breakfast at the birthing center before going home. It was nice to still be home by lunch time. We got a few more hours of rest at home before Meg brought Sophia back and pizza for us all for dinner. It was a whirlwind day that kicked off a very crazy week! We are so glad Jacob is here and can't imagine our family without him!

He's here! And what a wild ride it turned out to be!

Precious first footprints...