Like Father Like Son

Jake is taking after his daddy.  For the last 3 months, we have practically lived at the ENT.  Tim has averaged about one trip there a week.  Jake has tagged along for almost all of those appointments and waited so contently while daddy has his nose, ears and face checked and rechecked.  Today, it was Jake's turn.  Jake his is very own ENT appointment today.  Last month, Jake had an ear infection that was quite persistent and changed our lives.  Before the ear infection, he was sleeping 6-7 hour stretches at night, he ate very well and was gaining weight like a champ.  Since the ear infection, he is up 3-5 times each night, went on a brief nursing strike and over the last two weeks, did not have a significant weight gain.  I have taken him to the doctor, nurse practitioner twice and express care twice.  I have been told, "babies cry, didn't you read the manual?"  Throughout all this, I have "just known" something was not right.  Well, I got my validation today, although I would rather have not been right in this situation.

The appointment started with Jake failing the hearing tests in both ears.  While he does have some movement in his left ear drum, he has none in the right.  He has fluid in his right ear and unusual pressure in both ears.  The appointment ended with me scheduling an appointment at the surgery center.  Jake will be getting tubes on Thursday.  From everything I have heard this will make a positive difference in many areas so for that I am looking forward to it.  But I am not looking forward to having my little guy put under for the procedure.  I am even less excited about not being able to feed Jake after midnight.  I will be taking one hungry and cranky baby to that appointment but we should have one of the earliest times that day.

While, this is very common, it is not so common to put tubes in a baby at only 5 months old so please keep us in your prayers.  I am sure Jake will not be too phased but this is no fun as a momma.

On a positive note, Jake is getting so big!!  Time seems to just be flying by.  He now has two teeth and has discovered his rolling over can get him all the way across the room.  He loves to grab everything and put it right into his mouth.  He has started eating oatmeal and will be adding some fruits and veggies in a couple weeks.  It seems like he does something new and amazing everyday to remind me how blessed I am to be able to stay at home with him and watch his develop.  I am so thankful for my husband who works so hard to make that possible for us.

Four Months in a Nutshell

The past four and a half months have been such a whirlwind, I have not made any time to catch on this blog. I would like to think this entry will be the start of much more frequently posting but I cannot make any promises other than to do my best to stay more on top of the updating.

I cannot even describe what an awesome kid we have on our hands.  He is so incredibly strong.  By three months he was rolling over in both directions (although since then, he has boycotted the back to front roll).  He loves to stand up and even take steps while you hold his hands.  He can also sit up on his own for short periods of time.  He is equally as smart.  He loves to examine things that have small details on them like strips or the wrinkles on your hands.  His favorite spot to play is the exersaucer.  He can push, pull and play with every toy on it and he is great and spinning around to try each one.  He loves to be read to and even turns the pages for me.

Jake's favorite spot to play.

Jake reading his indestructible book.

In July, Jake took his first very long road trip.  We left from Topeka and headed to Memphis to spend time with Tim's family for the Fourth of July.  Grandpa and Mimi have a pool so Jake got to go swimming (aka floating) for the first time.  From Memphis, we went up to Iowa for my cousin's wedding.  We we gone for seven days in total and Jake is now an official road warrior.

Jake at 2 months old.

Jake in the pool.

In August, Jake's Aunt KiKi (my sister) moved to Vermont to attend a master's program at Vermont Law School for the next year.  This was extra sad because she will miss a lot of big milestones in that time.  We do get to Skype with her.  Jake is starting to get used to seeing his KiKi on the screen.  We are looking forward to having her home in December.

Jake and I love hanging out on the porch.

Jake is now more than four months old. I am so blessed to be able to stay home with him because he gets so big so fast.  He has grown almost five and a half inches since birth and has doubled his birth weight.  I know I am biased but he is just the cutest baby I have ever seen.  He is so chatty and has the greatest belly laugh. I just cannot say enough about how amazing he is so I will wrap this up by sharing a few more super cute pics of my little man.

Jake on his baptism day with Pastor Lange.

Jake loves bath time.

Jake cheering on the Huskers at his first game.

Jake enjoying some tummy time.

Overdue

No, I am not overdue...this post is.  Jake Robert Phillips was born on May 1st, 2012 at 2:50pm. He was 7lbs 8oz and was 20" long.  He spent about 24 hours with us before he was taken to the NICU to receive IV antibiotics for a possible infection.  Luckily, the antibiotics worked and he never got sick.  He spent 5 days in the NICU which was very hard on us, especially on momma.  I was up and down from the maternity floor and then back and forth from home to spend as much time with him and we could and to breastfeed him as much as possible.  It was rough, both physically and emotionally but the 5 days came and went and Jake came home with us on Monday, June 7th.  He is such a sweet and handsome baby.  He hardly cries and makes some many amazing faces. I cannot describe how truly blessed we feel.  I am just so in love with him.

Just a few minutes old.

Snuggled up in the recovery room.

Poor baby in the NICU.

At home, before bathtime.

Playing catch up.

Oh my, a lot has happened in the last couple weeks.  On April 10th (my birthday), I went to the hospital because there were some signs that maybe my water was breaking.  They checked me all out and I was not going into labor.  Unfortunately, my first two blood pressure readings were high...very high for me.  Because of this, and a few other symptoms I was having, they admitted me to run more tests for 24 hours.  Not exactly how I wanted to spend my birthday at all.  Luckily, my blood pressure stayed down after that and the rest of my tests came back okay, so I went home the next day but my doctor put me on bed rest.  Now bed rest might sound awesome but it is not really that great.  It's so much laying around that is sucks away any energy that I might have had.  By the third day, I was already miserable.  Last week, I felt sick all week.  Headaches everyday, stomach pain and of course no energy.  I went to my normal appointment on Wednesday and a routine check-up brought up some potential concerns.  I was put on the monitor and the baby looked great but my doctor ordered a bunch of tests and lab work to find out what was going on.  On Friday, I had a sonogram of my gall bladder and of Jake to check his growth.  I went back to the doctor and they put me back on the monitor and when it was all said and done...everything was fine!  After all that, Jake is healthy (almost 7lbs) and right on track and I am still hanging in there.  I am still just hanging out at home but I have added a little more activity which helps keep my energy up and makes me feels better. My doctor wants me to get to 38 weeks, which would be next week, and then she may induce me.  Knowing that everything is fine has been such a stress relief.  I feel much better in general but I am still very ready to have this baby.  I am tired of being pregnant and so ready to meet Jake!

The final countdown.

I still have 43 days until I am due but I have decided to go on maternity leave no later than May 4th...as long as I make it that long. That means that when I updated my work calendar for April today, I could officially start counting down the days until I am unchained from my desk. You would think a desk job would be ideal when you are pregnant but nothing makes my back hurt more than sitting at my desk all day. On top of that, now that I am getting very large, I am running out of vertical belly space and my rib cage is killing me, especially when I am sitting and everything is more compact. I am so uncomfortable (to put it nicely) that I am down to working 32 hours a week. I stay home on Wednesdays to get a "rest" in the middle of the week. Last week was my first short week and it was nice. It does nothing for the back and rib pain when I am at work but that break in the middle makes it easier to get to the weekend for sure.

I will be 34 weeks tomorrow and I know I really have 6 more weeks to go but I am so ready to have this baby now. Partially, due to all the pain but also because I am dying to meet him. I want to see what he looks like, what color his hair will be, what his personality will be like...I am a very curious person so the waiting is killing me. It's the old idea that the closer something gets, the further away it can feel.

I think we are pretty ready for him to come home. We need to give the house a good deep clean and put up the last set of blinds and the valances in the nursery but other than that we are ready as far as the house goes. We have just about everything we need for a newborn. At least I think we do. I am sure he will come and we will realize we needed something else but there will be lots of people to run to the store if needed.

We finished our 4 week birthing class last week. I actually really enjoyed it but I won't miss getting home so late on Thursdays. I really liked our instructor. She was energetic and very knowledgable. I can definitely say I am more prepared for labor but not really less scared. Okay, maybe scared it not the right word. I am just having trouble connecting the concept of labor and delievery to me. I can picture us with our baby but I cannot picture myself going through labor. I really don't know why. I do know that I am going to try to go natural. I am not ruling out the epidural but I am not planning on having one. This pregnancy has not been a cake walk so far so I think I can handle delievery. We shall see...hopefully soon!!

It's finally done...well, almost.

So after months of work (and lots of days of doing nothing), the nursery is finally done! Well, almost. We have another set of blinds to install and the valances to hang. We also have our wall storage to hang and fill, which we should have done today, maybe Friday. But other than that, we are ready to show it to baby Jake...and you!

This is the view from the hallway door.

This is the view from the living room door. Millie insisted on being in the picture.

Here is the crib with the bedding.

The is the decal above the bed. I love it so much because it is one of my favorite books with the plane for Tim! Plus I got it on etsy for only $10.

Here is a close up of the bedding. It is very simple, which I love. I am not into anything too bright or things covered in animals, cartoons and characters. I have always wanted the room to be very sweet and calm...cute without being "cutesy." Of course when Jake sleeps in it, it will be stripped down to just the sheet but it's fun to see it all done up for now.

This is the dresser. The soccer ball is a piggy bank from Tim's parents. We definitely racked up tons of soccer and football things but the soccer ball bank will be a lifelong keepsake.

Here is the changing table. I got the plain baskets from Target. I like that they give things a home and keep the shelves from getting cluttered...hopefully.

Here is the quite comfy glider. Sometimes I go in there and sit here just to relax.

This is the finished closet. I am very happy with the result. It is a much better use of the space than when we started. It still has lots of storage space as well which is nice for the things we got but don't need in the first couple months.

Finally, I had to highlight these baskets. I got them at Michaels and I am so happy. I cannot tell you how many stores I went to looking for baskets...not to mention all the baskets I looked at online. These fit perfectly and are the cute but not "cutesy" I was going for so I LOVE them!

T-Minus 10 Weeks and Counting

I did it! I managed to cross the 30 week mark. I have really been looking forward to getting to 30 weeks. It feels so much closer now. 10 weeks or less! I am so ready. Well, physically ready that is. My back is still a mess my belly has been giving me new aches, pains and cramps everyday. We still have a lot to do to rally be ready, though. All the nursery furniture is put together but it has to be arranged and we need to get a mattress for the crib. All the clothes I have often so far are in the closet in bags so I need to wash those and start putting them away. My baby shower is this weekend so hopefully we will be much closer to be ready for Jake to come home. I am really looking forward to the fun the 3 of us will have!