First Outing

On Sunday, Jack had his first official outing out of the house with a trip down to Mokena to Grandma and Grandpa Luchansky's house. He did great on both car rides and snoozed the entire time. The visit was also special because Jack got to meet 3 of his cousins! Unfortunately, the Ristich clan was out of town but the Quirkes were able to come over and hang out with Mr. Jack. The kids were super sweet and cute with him, especially Max who was a big help burping and feeding him when Andrew and I stepped out for a few minutes to run some errands. Can't wait for the Stiches to meet him too! It was very nice for all of us to get out of the house together and I'm looking forward to the end of cold and flu season so we can start getting out regularly.

In other Jack Jack news, he is a growing boy! Andrew got on the scale with him at my parents house and we estimate he is closing in on 9lbs! It's definitely noticeable too as he has a major belly on him and is really filling out some of his newborn sleepers these days. He is also sooooo close to smiling! I swear he has smiled at me a few times already so just waiting for it to be consistent and a full on toothless grin to confirm for sure :) Can't wait for that. 1 more thing to note b/c I'm a freak and have to, but when Jack is freaking out during a diaper change one of the things that calms him for a minute is me singing Kelly Clarkson's new song "Stronger." My baby does love Kelly after all!!


playing with Mr. Clyde Frog



from the look on his face I think it's clear he loves Valentine's Day



heading to Mokena

Mini Me

We came across some baby pictures of the two of us...I'll let everyone come to their own conclusions as to who Jack looks like...but pretty sure the title of this post says it all :)

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?!