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!

Sorry for the delay...

Wow, I have really been slacking in the blogging department. It has been almost a whole month since I have said anything. Jake continues to get bigger, although I still feel like my stomach stays the same size. Tim says I show more and more everyday but I think I still just look fat. I have not really gained any size in my lower body though so I am very front heavy with sticks for legs. The front heavy is what is killing my back and nothing has changed in that department other than getting as used to the pain as I possibly can. I have added a few more aches and pains but they are not as intense or consistant as the back pain.

The carpet in the nursery was installed last week and it looks amazing! We also got all the furniture put together and the ceiling fan moved from our bedroom to the nursery. I promise I have pictures that I will get posted very soon because it all looks so great. Now we just need to start accumulating actual baby items, like a car seat, stoller, baby moniter, diapers, bottles, etc. and we will be set. Our baby shower is coming up so hopefully that will help.

Tomorrow, I start my third trimester and I could not be happier. The 2nd trimester goes the slowest by far and being able to say I am in the 3rd trimester makes me feel like I am in the home stretch. I am very ready to meet baby Jake. I had the glucose test on Friday and it looks like that went well although I have not gotten the official word from the doctor yet. Today, I have to get a Rogam shot. Since I have a negative blood type, if the baby is positive, I run the risk of developing antibodies that could attack the baby. This shot prevents that. I hate shots but I am sure I will be just fine.

Yesterday, my mom, Tim and I went to the open house at the hospital. We got to tour the maternity floor where I am having the baby and see the breastfeeding clinic. It definintely made me more excited to have him but it still feels very far away at this point. Hopefully, the next 85 days (or less) will go by quickly. But then time can slow back down so we can enjoy our little guy as long as possible.

Oh me back!

One summer, my dad worked as a maintenance man at an apartment complex. This was a great job for him since he loves to be outside and ever since we moved back to Kansas, he has missed having a pool to take care of. At that job, he worked with a man who was a bit lazy. He would call my dad and to let him know that my dad would be doing all the work that day pretty frequently and blame it on back pain. He was foreign so he would come out as, "Oh, me back!

Since about November, most days that is all I can think...oh me back!! It started out at mostly just sciatica which was much easier to deal with. While it will send terrible shocks down my leg and has caused me to almost fall down the stairs too many times to count, it usually passes fairly quickly. I can deal with the sciatica with little trouble. It is this somewhat new back pain that has quickly made a name for itself...unbearable!

It is an almost indescribable pain in the center of my back. It is much worse during the week at work. I can usually get to about 11, maybe noon before it rears its ugly head and stays with me the rest of the day. I have been to the chiropractor, tried different stretches, Tylenol...I even have a new chair with one of those mesh back supports hooked to the back. Outside of spending the majority of the day laying down, nothing helps. My doctor has restricted some of my work activity and limited the amount of weight I should be lifting but it has really made no difference. I am trying my best to be a trooper. I know being pregnant is not a cake walk and I do not want to come off as a whiner but it makes most of my days pretty miserable. I keep hoping it will get better but I know the reality is I am only going to get bigger and this is only going to get worse. I welcome any new suggestions on how to manage this pain.

Shopping spree!

Tim and I went to KC today for a little shopping spree. We went to Once Upon a Child and then the Legends. We ended up with quite a haul, most of which was on sale. I also had gifts cards from Christmas to spend at Motherhood Maternity. Between the Motherhood store and Old Navy sale items, I ended up with 4 shirts, a pajama top and pajama bottoms so I am quite pumped. We also found some awesome deals for baby Jake:

This onesie is obviously my favorite! There was a whole stack of them at Old Navy and they were on sale so I was ecstatic! He will be ready to root on the Huskers come fall.
We also got this super cute polo onesie and jeans on sale at Old Navy.
I did not even know they made button up onesies but I was pleased to find this little number on sale at the Gap.
We got this airplane shirt at Carters. Since Tim has an aerospace engineering degree, Jake just had to have an airplane tshirt!
I got this skeleton shirt for $4! Not only is it great for Halloween but it can be his Nebraska Blackshirts shirt too!
We are finding a lot of cute onesies on sale but poor Jake may have no pants to wear so we got these great khakis at Carters on sale.
Here is the start of our haul from Once Upon A Child. I was so excited to go after the great things we found at the store in Memphis. Unfortunately, the Overland Park store was a bit of a let down. About 3/4s of the store was all girls clothes and other items. The baby boy sections were nearly bare and full of onesies and no shorts or pants. We did find a few cute things like these two onesies and these tiny swim trunks from Grandpa and Mimi's pool!
Here are two more onesies we got. The onesies were all $1.50 each!
This sleep sack is so soft, I would not mind sleeping in it!
Cute little onesie.
Tiny baby shoes. $1.50 each!

My terrible blunder.

I want to take a moment to issue a very sincere apology to my step-parents, especially my stepmom, Laura. In my last post, I failed to thank them for their role in the nursery and I feel terrible about it. My parents divored when I was 10 and 11 and while that effects everyone differently, I have grown up to see it as a true blessing in my life. My mother and father both married such wonderful people that have only added to the amount of love and support in mine and my sister's lives. We truly could not have been luckier.


Many children of divorce are left jaded and skeptical about love and the establishment of marriage. Seeing the relationships my parents have with their current spouses has left me able to believe in true love and allowed me to be open to accepting that love into my life when I met Tim.


Once again, I am very sorry for the omission in the last post. I love Laura and Anthony very much and I never want them to feel that I am not thankful for everything they do and have done for me.

Nursery Transformation: Part One

Thanks to my mom, the front bedroom has begun the transformation from junk room into baby nursery. As you can see by the before pictures, the room was painted a "bright-as-the-sun" yellow. What you can't see is how poorly it was painted. Whoever painted this house before did a terrible job.

First step is paint and thanks to my mom, the nursery is painted! We went with a very light blue called "First Frost." It looks great with our tan and brown bedding. My mom is a meticulous painter so the pictures cannot even do justice to how amazing the room looks with just the new paint.
I saw a picture of a nursery closet online with and shelves multiple clothing bars so Tim and I have been working for a couple weeks to come up with a plan to give this closet a makeover. It was truly a challenge. The doors of the closet did not fit properly so we took them off. The more we got into the planning, the more we realized there is nothing conventional about this closet. With the 2 by 4s nailed to the wall, the uneven floor and shelf and strange dimensions, we definitely had our work cut out for us. I think the finished project looks really good and it will look even cuter when it is full of tiny baby clothes, books and fun baskets.

Our next step is the carpet (again, thanks to my mom...and Anthony too). We have picked it out and we have someone coming to measure the room tomorrow for the install. It will be a few weeks before it is all installed. I am really looking forward to that because that carpet is so gross. Also, thanks to my dad, all our nursery furniture is already here. Our dining room is full of boxes for the crib, dresser, changing table, glider and ottoman. I am excited to put those together and see how they will all fit in the room.

I do want to take this opportunity to say thank you to my mom, dad, stepmom, Laura and stepdad, Anythony for making this nursery happen for us and for Jake. Without them, the room would not be as wonderful as it is going to be in the end. I will keep you all posted!

The 5th month.

Today I am 5 months pregnant, not that it really means much since everything is measured in weeks. (I will be 22 weeks tomorrow.) I feel like I should look a lot more pregnant than I do and it bums me out a little. I know I must sound crazy for wanting to be more pregnant and I am sure I will be eating these words later when I am huge and miserable but it would be nice to feel like everyone knows I am pregnant. I am in that "is she pregnant or just fat" phase and it feels pretty crummy. I also feel like my belly has not changed at all in like a month when it first got round. I just think I would feel more comfortable with all these changes to my body if I had an obviously pregnant belly to go with it.

On the brighter side, we (and by we, I mean my mom) have started painting the nursery. Our bedding is tan and cream so we picked out a very light blue for the walls. I think it looks awesome but I am dying to see what it looks like on the walls. I took some before pics which I will post later so you can watch the tranformation. Our nursery furniture has started coming in so as soon as the room is painted, we are replacing the carpet and then we will be able to put furniture together and actually starting seeing the room come together. I can't wait to get all the big stuff done so I can start adding little details and hanging up clothes. I think having an actual nursery in the house will make it seem so much closer than it feels right now.

21 weeks

How far along?: 21 weeks and 3 days
How big is your baby?: 10 and 1/2 inches or about the size of a carrot and 3/4 of a pound. Total weight gain?: about 10-12 pounds
Sex: It's a boy!
Maternity clothes: I am in love with my maternity jeans but I am not so in love with the options in the shirt department. I still prefer my adidas hoodies but when didn't I? I did get some shirts from the Gap so I am branchin out a bit.
Movement: I officially felt Jake move on New Year's Eve! I may have felt it before but I was never sure but I am sure now. Ever since then I feel him all the time. It is a very weird feeling like being poked from the inside or little bubbles popping.
Sleep: Eh...it's not bad. I got a great leg pillow for Christmas which definitely helps. I have to most trouble trying to roll from side to side and I have never been one that can stay in one position all night. I would say Tim's snoring keeps me up the most. :)
Best moment this week: So much has happened in the last week or so. We found out we are having a boy, gave him a name and I felt him for the first time. Other than the back pain, this has been the best week so far!
Food cravings: nothing too crazy. Probably just a little more of the things I have always loved like Chick-fli-a and pickles!
Labor signs: no but my stomach does cramp up a lot which is not fun.
Belly button in or out: still in.
What I miss: not being so tired in the afternoons and my back not killing me while I am at work.
What I'm looking forward to: We just picked paint colors for the nursey and my mom is being so kind and painting it for us! I can't wait to see that room tranform.

21 weeks

Happy New Year!

Well, it's officially 2012! That means we are that much closer to meeting our son! Let me start off by revealing the name that we have chosen. Tim and I have always wanted a family name and have really had one favorite for a boy since we found our we were expecting.

Our son's name is: JAKE ROBERT PHILLIPS. (Yes, it is just Jake, not Jacob.)

Jake not only comes from my maiden name (Jacobsen), but it is also the nickname for both my dad and grandfather. I was named after my grandfather so it feels so wonderful to also name my son after the wonderful man I did not get to meet. Robert was Tim's grandfather's name and is also his father's middle name so we are tying both families together.

Today, Tim and I braved Babies R Us and Target to create our baby registries. I knew it would be a bit of a challenge but this was so much harder than the wedding registry. Numerous times I just stood there a bit dumbfounded about all the things we need for this little guy. It is so much easier to decide what type of kitchen items we wanted. Picking what kind of bottles, baby monitor, swing, etc was definitely overwhelming but I think we managed to do a pretty good job. I did have to come home to clean it up a bit online. Some of the items we picked at Babies R Us were cheaper at Target so I tried to make sure to register for the better deals. It helped that we had already picked out our car seat, stroller, pack n play and bedding so we were a bit ahead of the game. It took us about 3 and a half hours to get through the registry process at both stores. I will say, both Target and Babies R Us give you very nice gifts and samples when you register. We got some awesome coupons too! If you want to take a peek at our registries, here are the links:

Babies R Us

Target

Both registries can be found under both my name and Tim's.

Finally, I have to share the awesome gift we got for Jake from my dad and stepmom (Ish and LoLo) for Chirstmas. Baby Vans so he can be just like them. They are just too cute!!