Due Date!

Yesterday was Jack's due date...and tomorrow he will be 6 weeks old. Crazy sauce! I think I say it at least twice a day but I think it is just impossible to think that he should just be making his appearance into the world now. I can't imagine what life would have been like these past 6 weeks without him around. To celebrate his due date, Grandma Susan and Grandpa T came up to visit for the afternoon and then Mommy and Daddy went out for some margaritas :) Happy almost 6 weeks Jack Jack - thanks for giving us 6 extra weeks to love you!

Here are some recent pics of the little nugget.

Valentine's Day outfit from Grandma Paulette

enjoying his first Super Bowl game - he had 1 too many MGDs

floating head

hanging out with his sister, Lucy

sweet baby

Butterball

Just got back from Jack's 1 month check up. The kid weighs 7lbs and 1oz! We were hoping he would gain an ounce a day, which would have put him at about 6lbs 8oz but he went gangbusters on us and I couldn't be happier! We've noticed he's gotten bigger and filling out in his cheeks and tummy but I was so surprised when the nurse read the numbers I asked if it was right and if she needed to do it again! So proud of the little nugget. He also grew an inch and is 20 inches long. I asked the doc how he would rank in percentiles and she charted that even WITHOUT doing his corrected age he falls into the 2 percentile for all 3 stats (head circumference - didn't ask about that one, weight and height). She seemed very pleased with that! He got another Hep B shot and took it like a champ for the most part and everything else checked out just fine. We'll go back in another month.

Can't believe it's already been a month since Jack was born...and also can't believe that he's supposed to still be cooking away in my belly. We are so lucky that he decided to come early so we could have all of this bonus time with him and so fortunate that his time in the NICU was short and "easy" for the most part. We are all slowly starting to settle into life as a family of 3 and each day seems to get a tiny bit easier and I feel a bit more human like each day. For instance, today I was up, showered, with make up on and a cup of coffee by 9am - unreal!

A few other things to note about Jack on his 1 month bday:

- he is starting to focus in on whoever he is "talking" to. Seeing those blue eyes stare up and look at me is the most amazing feeling ever and just about makes me cry everytime. This month we are going to work on tracking objects and smiling which would be 2 big ones.
- he does really good with tummy time (which takes place mostly on Mommy when napping on the couch) and is able to really pick up his head and change sides back and forth.
-he's in a big boy bath in the sink and does really well with them. Much calmer than the sponge baths.
-he takes a bottle usually once a day late at night (thank you Daddy) and takes over 3 ounces everytime.
-the noises out of this kid are hilarious. Well, his burps and toots are funny...the grunts, squeals, and whines constantly in the middle of the night when we're trying to go to sleep aren't so cute but I hear those will subside with time.
- he does a pretty good job napping throughout the day. He's about 50/50 in the swing and bouncy, but does a bit better on his activity mat or the couch next to Mommy. But his favorite nap spot is on Mommy (which is Mommy's favorite nap spot too).
- he's still in newborn diapers and clothes but at the rate he's growing, maybe not for much longer!
- I've gotten sprayed quite a few times in the past few days alone. Twice in 1 day, 2 changes in a row. Fun times.

Here are a couple pictures from his 1 month photo shoot.

he looks so tiny in this chair!

gaining ground on the football

Love you, pumpkin! Can't wait to see how you change this next month!



4 weeks!

Happy 4 weeks old to my little Jack Jack! Hard to believe he'll be a month old this week already! He's now been home longer than he was in the hospital and it's crazy how that time spent there seems like a very distant memory. Jack is doing great at home. We're anxious for his 1 month check up appointment on Friday to see how much he weighs now! He has retaught himself how to take the bottle again and usually takes about 3 ozs down in no time. In the NICU the most he ever took was 2 oz so that's a great sign for us that he's growing! Also good signs are that he's filling out his newborn clothes better and is starting to get some adorable chubby cheeks and a double chin :)

This past weekend we had a lot of visitors. Jack's Crete Aunties came up for a visit on Saturday afternoon and we had a lot of fun. Then that night, Grandma Susan and Grandpa T came in to visit for Andrew's birthday and to watch Jack so we could get out and have dinner which was great. Pretty sure Andrew had a harder time leaving than I did, as he was rushing me out the door so we could be back for his next feeding and jumped in to assist with a diaper change as soon as we walked in upon our return! It seemed so nice and normal to be sitting at a bar having a beer, but also so strange when I stopped to think about the fact that my son was chilling at home waiting for us to come back. Crazy what a difference a year can make! On Sunday, a few of Andrew's friends came over to meet the little nugget too. Busy weekend, followed by a visit by Auntie Amy this morning!

That's it for now - I'll be sure to update again later this week with Jack's 1 month stats and a few photos!

Settling In

We've survived the first week home! So far things are going pretty well. From what I hear, Jack is a pretty typical baby - super easy to take care of during the day (very easy routine of eat, sleep, pee/poop) but can get a little crazy at night. He seems to have a hard time settling down after his 9-10pm ish feeding which can be quite trying and challenging for Mommy and Daddy, but does a pretty good job of going back down during the early am feedings. I certainly miss my old friend Mr. Sleep, but catching a quick nap on the couch snuggling with Jack isn't a bad way to catch up on a few Zs at all. He's doing a great job eating although he hasn't been able to take a bottle like he did in the NICU, which is odd. I'm not complaining that he is doing so well nursing at all, it would just be nice to know we have another feeding method for back up, or to allow Mommy to leave the house for a bit...or have a glass of wine :) But that's ok, we'll get it figured out again I'm sure. I think I love this little nugget more and more every day. He's getting even cuter and more alert and does funny faces and burps and sneezes that I seriously crack up at every time. It's so fun watching him grow and change every day.

Jack has his first visit the pediatrician yesterday! He now weighs a whopping 5lbs. 10 ozs and is 19 inches long. The doctor was impressed at his size and how well he did in the NICU for a preemie so that was nice to hear. According to the doctor everything else checked out great too and we'll go back for a weight check in 10 days. Sure would be great to see 6lbs on the scale so we'll be working hard on that over the next couple of weeks.

Finally, here are some pictures of Jack's room, which we finally completed last night by hanging his name decal.

Week 36 - Welcome Home Jack!!

Here we are at week 36 - don't know what size fruit he would be this week or how much he should weigh, because none of that matters since he came HOME today! After 12 full days in NICU Jack was discharged today and we couldn't be happier! It was a very long day - we got there at 10:30am and finally got home around 5:30pm tonight. It was a mix of emotions walking out of there today. I was so excited, nervous, proud and scared all rolled into one. We are so very thankful for all of the nurses and doctors that took such wonderful care of Jack over the past 2 weeks and a part of me (a very small part) will miss all of the smiling faces and helpful and encouraging conversations. We really lucked out working with such a great hospital.

Jack is doing great! He now weighs 5lbs 6oz (1 ounce over his birth weight) and is getting cuter and cuter by the minute, which I didn't think was possible. He is awake for longer stretches at a time and when he is, his eyes are more focused and alert. I've caught him staring at me a few times and the feeling it gives me warms my heart in a way I never knew was possible. He still loves holding hands during feedings, diaper changes and the dreaded bath time and he's also found his thumb successfully a few times. He's doing a great job eating and for such a little peanut he has some pretty loud and hilarious burps. To say that we are so happy to have him home is the second biggest understatement of the century, and we can't wait to see how he continues to change and grow right before our eyes!

Here are a few pics of Jack's Homecoming!

Last picture in the hospital

After his first car ride

HOME!

Hanging with Daddy

And Mommy

Just for fun, week 35 - where's the baby?!









Little Jack

It's about time I sit down and spend some time updating/bragging about "Jack the Baby"! In his 8 days in the NICU he's been a rockstar! Presently he is off of oxygen completely, his breaths are getting more and more stable and consistent, he's starting to eat from a bottle and nurse and he is getting upgraded to a new big boy crib tonight! In order for him to be cleared to go home, he needs to have 3 days of weight gain, consistent full feedings while keeping his breathing steady and maintain his body temperature. He still has a ways to go, but everyday he's been taking a step in the right direction so we are confident we'll be bringing him home sooner rather than later.

You always hear about parents giving advice to "take in every moment" with your baby but we all know how hard that can be with the chaos of daily life. 1 good thing about having a baby in the NICU is that you have no other choice but to take in every moment with your child. The time we spend with him is our only time to bond with him right now, so we pretty much just spend hours just holding him and staring at him while he sleeps. He is just about the cutest/sweetest little baby ever. He smacks his lips in his sleep, holds on to our fingers for dear life, stretches his head & neck out like a turtle, has super stinky poops, and has mastered the Live Long and Prosper sign with his hand. I realize these are all normal things that all newborn babies do (with the exception maybe of the last one) but right now we can't get enough of them! I also can't get enough of being able to help give everyday care to him. The nurses are great about making sure we are learning and practicing with him so every visit we change his diaper, take his temperature, give him his bath and now that he's eating we'll be able to help give his bottle too. It always gives me a warm feeling to imagine we are at home just being a little family. Granted, I'm sure when I am changing 12 diapers a day vs. 3-4 a day that warm feeling will wear off quickly, but we are so fortunate to have Jack and his health I don't think we will ever take anything for granted. Even though it is tough and sad to have him in the NICU vs. at home with us, we really do thank God every night that we are in the position we are in and that he is doing so well. There are so many other babies and families in the NICU that aren't as fortunate. Some of Jack's old roommates suffered from seizures, had shunts in their heads, fractured femurs from severe premature birth...and one baby has been there for almost 7 months. Being there and seeing so many other families really puts everything into perspective. At the end of the day, our son just has little lungs that needed a bit longer to cook and fully develop. He's receiving excellent care and is making progress every day - we can't complain about that.

Here are some pics of the little nugget. I'll hopefully post a ridiculously cute video of a viscious case of hiccups soon too :)

No more nasal tube for oxygen!

Happy New Year...and Happy Birthday Jack Harold!

Happy 2012! It's been so nice to have a few quiet days to usher in the start of a new year - psyche! We are happy to report that on Monday, January 2nd at 11:55am our baby boy, Jack Harold Noble, entered the world at 5lb 5oz, 18.5 inches long at 34 weeks and 2 days :) To say that we were surprised at his arrival is the understatement of the century, but I think in the long run it helped me cope with labor and delivery better if that makes any sense. I feel like I would have spent the next 6 weeks reading into every ache or pain, or stalked the mommy blogs for stories of long and traumatic deliveries to get me good and anxious for the big day, but this way I didn't have any other choice but to just go with it. I want to get the whole story down so that we always remember, though I think this one will be hard to forget!

On NYE, after a rousing game of Illiniopoly and a viewing of "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" we went to bed around 1am. Around 2:30am I woke up to some pains in my abdomen. I was able to doze through them a bit, but woke up again at 3:30 and they were a bit more consistent and happening every few minutes and my tummy was tightening and bulging in places every time. It was at this point that I started to realize they were contractions...but as I hadn't even experienced one contraction prior to this, surely they were just Braxton Hicks contractions. As the time went on so did the contractions and finally at 6am I woke Andrew up and told him I thought I needed to call the doc. Spoke to the doc on call and he said to give it another hour and if they were still happening to go ahead to l&d to get checked out. So, for the next hour we kept telling ourselves that no way this was it, but as the handy contraction calculator kept tracking the contractions at 2-3 mins apart we half assed packed a hospital bag and set off for the hospital.

They brought us in to l&d and got me hooked up on the monitors and confirmed that I was having contractions. Ok no worries, surely these are just some random ones that will go away I thought. Then the resident came in and checked me and said I was dilated to 3cm..and this was the point where the fog officially set in. She said that they would continue to monitor me and that there was a good chance the contractions would stop but her gut was telling her "this was it." Holy shit. She explained that b/c I was at 34 weeks, the baby's lungs were well enough developed that they wouldn't do anything to stop the labor, but they wouldn't do anything to speed it up either. So we just needed to wait it out and see what happened. Over the next couple of hours I dilated to 4 and the contractions slowed a bit. Well, they didn't ever really slow, they just moved lower to where the monitor was no longer picking them up so the nurses told me they weren't happening anymore so they decided to take me off the monitors and move me to a room for overnight observation.

We moved into a reg room on the same floor around 3pm and I was told that if I started to have contractions again to let the nurse know. Confusing, b/c I thought I was still having contractions...but ok. So for the rest of the afternoon and evening when a nurse came in I would explain the cross between a bad period cramp and gas cramp pain I was having and was told that there was nothing I could take for that b/c they ddin't want to mask any "real labor" pains. 1 nurse even appeased me and put me back on the monitor but again told me they weren't real contractions b/c the top of my uterus wasn't contracting at all. So I continued to suffer through these "mystery pains" until about 4am when my new nurse (and knight in shining armour) decided to put me back on the monitor and MOVE THE DAMN BELT LOWER to where the pain was happening. And lo and behold, guess who was having contractions?! The resident was then called in and confirmed I was at 6cm, and they were moving me back to l&d and more importantly meant I was ready for an epidural!!!!!

All I will say is that whoever invented the epidural is my hero. And I will also say that those women that can make it through all of labor and delivery without one has my respect for life x2. Once getting the epidural I was finally able to get a few hours of sleep before they broke my water followed shortly by another check around 10am that I was ready to start pushing. And finally at 11:55am I heard the word from Andrew's mouth "it's a boy!"

Jack was quickly taken over across the room for observation by the NICU team and I was only able to hold him for about a minute before they took him downstairs to NICU. I'll never forget his sweet little face the first time I saw him - he was so perfect and adorable. I mean really adorable! I had finally gotten the 3 things I always wanted in a baby: a boy named Jack, with a lot of hair and with the Kobler family crooked toe!

I'm spent after writing this entry so I'll follow up on Jack's condition and pics in my next post but, he's doing great and is one tough little nugget! Welcome to the world, Baby Jack - we love you so much it hurts!!!