Jack - month 4

4 months ago we were kid-less. 4 months ago I thought that I knew what love was. 4 months ago I thought I was handling a lot (boy you can handle a whole lot more than you think). 4 months ago I felt that I was in touch with what "being a mom" was (yeah...I was totally wrong on that one)!

The experience of motherhood and being a parent has been great! Its also constant. Its like you are at a theme park on a really fun ride...however the ride never stops. Its a fun and joyful ride but it is constant. Jack is such a great kid to be on a constant moving ride with. Yes, he has his moments of less than angelic...but I wouldn't trade this little life for anything. 

He is getting into the stage just at the end of last week where he really smiles back at you and really is engaging. I wouldn't trade the first 3 months of low-response infancy for anything...but its great when your kids respond to you. He loves to "talk" and have conversations. He is already quite the poser for the camera :). So yeah...we are having fun with him. 

Picnic at the park with our little guy!

That grin...I melt!

Started using our bumbo this month! 

Jack has two new friends this month - Josiah Simms 

and Jude Scrimpshire. I hope these "J" guys are all going to be best buds like their moms! :)

Family vacation to Ocean City, NJ and Jack's first time at the beach!

Jack with his cousins, Katelyn (3) and Daniel (5)!

I love this boy so much!

-Funniest story of the month - 

We are at the beach in NJ. Just packing up for the day and getting everything back to the boardwalk. Christopher is pulling the stroller through the sand with Jack and all of our stuff in it. When we get to the boardwalk I notice something on his diaper bag in the basket of the stroller. It looks like seagull poop (they were out like crazy that day). However, this poop looked very similar to ... JACKS! I finally put it all together that Jack and the rumblings of the stroller through the sand caused him to poop through his diaper, swim shorts, two paddings in the carseat, and through the holes where the seat belt for the carseat go, onto the diaper bag. When I say it was the biggest mess to clean up...its an understatement. We had to strip him down, strip the carseat, wash everything, and get it ready for flying the next day. Thank God it happened near my sister's house so we could clean and wash all the stuff. 

Ok so onto the details of #babyjack this month!

• Highlight of the month - Jack took his first plane ride, boat ride, and subway ride this month!
• Jack visited New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania for the first time!
• He is still in swaddles...we tried the whole one-hand-out-of-the-swaddle-trick for a while and he was not sleeping good at all. After two weeks of putting up with a cranky/crying baby I experimented and put both hands back in the swaddle...haven't turned back...this kid loves his swaddle
• He still sleeps from 8:30-7:00ish. He sometimes wakes up anywhere from 5:30-6:30 but he is just chilling in his crib. We never go and get him till 7:00. :)
• He is moving out of 0-3 months clothes this week and on into 3-6 months. His shoe size is still 1. However, its the summer and we never put shoes on this kid.
• Still in size 2 diapers! We love pampers wipes and diapers the best!
• He is still going through about 8 diapers a day! ($$$)
• He is holding his head up like a big boy for sure. 
• This month he started using his bumbo!
• This past week he has found his feet and loves holding his feet in mid-air! :) 
• He rolled over for Christopher about 3 weeks ago...last week in NJ he rolled over for everyone and we caught it on video! :)
• Tummy time is going great now! He likes it a whole lot more than he did last month!
• A new skill that he is picked up this past month is blow outs (aka poop all up his back). Lets just say this kid could win a prize for how much he poops a day. 
• His schedule has stayed the same since last month. Since 10 weeks old we have been on the same schedule...going strong! #Babywisemom
• We will go to the doctor next week to get his measurements (and more shots) :(

Ok that is all...Until next month!

Jack - month 3

Our little Jack. Wow this is an exciting journey. 

He makes motherhood such a pleasant and fun experience. I told someone this month that being a mom is like a huge shot of adrenalin. I never knew that the feeling of being a mom to a little guy could bring such wonderful emotions, feelings, and joyful moments. No, its not bliss every moment of every day...but I miss him so much when I don't see him for more than a few hours. Having a child makes love seem so much richer and deeper. I want to love him so much. I want to love my husband so much. I want to love my family so much. I want to love my friends so much. Children really do bring joy! It's also crazy how excited I am for people who are pregnant or planning to have kids... they are in for the best days of their life. :) You really do think that you have a pretty great life, but then kids come along. I think one of the best things about being a parent I have learned is how petty and stupid all of the "BIG" things I use to worry about were.  I don't want to even think about those stressers/drama anymore...all I want is health, strength, and wisdom for my family. Gosh - this half empty girl has turned into a sap! :)

Christopher and I have tried really hard to make the most of every day with him. I have probably over did it with posting pictures almost every day to social media...but I cant help it. There are so many friends and family who I want to share him with every day and I am not able to except through photos. Its the fastest and simplest way to share him with others...without taking mommy and Jack time away from him. :)

So enough sop about me and motherhood... onto the news about Jack!

He went to the zoo for the 1st time

• Highlight of the month - on his 10th week birthday - he started sleeping 9 or more hours through the night. We haven't looked back people. Its a beautiful thing!
• He is in his own bed in his own room.
• He is still in swaddles...I don't think we are ever going to give those sleep sacks up. AMAZING!
• He is still in 0-3 month clothes and size 1 shoes.
• We have moved up to size 2 diapers on his 11th week of life! :)
• His smile is AWESOME! "Smiling is his favorite..." (ELF quote!) :)
• He loves to talk to people. His cooing and ahhhing just make me melt.
• He is getting to be quite the porker...I love the rolls, dimples, and creases on his elbows, wrists, thighs, and ankles. So sweet!
• His favorite hobby is peeing in the tub water. Good news is...we are done with peeing on people while changing his diaper...thank the Lord.
• He is still able to fit in the bassinet part of the stroller. Not to much longer and we are going to have to pull out the big boy attachment to the stroller!
• In his 12th week we have seen some major head holding skills. 
• The only thing he really doesn't like I have picked up on...is tummy time. He is even happy on his tummy but you can tell he is frustrated with it. 
• Crying - the kid hardly ever cries. Its awesome. If he is crying...mommy is a wreck (ask Christopher) because something is seriously the matter. He cried during a nap the other afternoon and it just tore me up because he is such a good sleeper and I had no idea why he was crying. 5 minutes into his crying he was back to sleep. I am thankful for a husband who normalizes the few moments where Jack cries (Babies cry...what a concept)! :)
• He goes through about 8 diapers a day as opposed to 10-12 the first 2 months.
• His schedule right now 
• 7:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
• 8:30 nap
• 10:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
• 11:30 nap
• 1:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
• 2:30 nap
• 4:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
• 5:30 nap (this nap we are about to lose because he is just restless and awake in his crib for most of this nap :)
• 7:00 wake up and eat and play for 1.5 hours
• 8:30 down for the night
• 9:45 - mommy goes in and wakes him and gives him a "dream feed" so he sleeps till 7am. Its working wonders!

Until next month!

Jack - month 2

So our itty bitty baby has turned into quite the big boy.

It is amazing to see the changes from photos from when he was one week to eight weeks old. Jack is definitely stole his mama and daddy's heart.

2 month photo

2 month photo

The big achievement I think for Jack this month is his sleeping 6+ hours. Wow..knowing that the sleepless nights have ended and that I feel more like a regular human...is almost indescribable. I will take those 6 hours any day!! Its like the old 9 hours...you have no idea what you are missing until its gone...that is for sure.

Jack in his cocoon sleeping so good!

Jack is also really into his hands. Its almost like every picture I take his hands are somewhere inches from his face. He has really enjoyed sucking on his entire fist, two fingers, and his thumb! All of the above...precious! :)

Loving those hands!

Lets see what else is new about Jack this month:

• He went to the YMCA - Y Play twice this month already
• He is in 0-3 months clothes as of this month
• He is in Size 1 diapers as of this month
• I believe he has put on about 3 lbs for sure...I will know for sure at his 2 month checkup this Wednesday.
• Mommy has cut two of his fingers clipping his nails --- not good days for me. 
• We have had many outings to friends houses, restaurants, stores, church
• His nick names he has picked up our "Big Boy"and "Buddy" for now... Its more in the high pitched "Hey Big Boy..."  and "Hey Buddy" when we are trying to get his attention
• Attention - he definitely likes to stare (He takes after his mom on this front) :)
• He is loving books right now
• Bath time has gotten a whole lot more fun now that we have the right bath tub. The one we registered for was a nightmare...we had to breakdown and get the big plastic "thing". :) I think he might be an olympic swimmer...he is quite the bath time kicker.
• We are teaching him to grasp things...
• He definitely is not a cryer...hallelujah. He IS a grunter though. :) His noises crack me up...its almost like a donkey meets a grandpa sound. Quite amusing.

Loving his tummy time!

Oh the many faces of Jack!

Oh the many faces of Jack! Christopher says he looks like me when he is angry...HA!

Oh the many faces of Jack!

Oh the many faces of Jack!

Jack - month 1

Where do I begin...

I feel a part of a secret society or a very elite club that until you are in the club you really can't understand what its all about. PARENTHOOD. MOMMYHOOD. Those words didn't always seem attractive to me...now I can't imagine not having those "claims to fame". 

I thought that I might do a weekly post on our little baby Jack. However, that was a little to ambitious. I think once a month is going to be a stretch. :) 

Jack is an incredible little guy. As his pediatrician says every time he sees him "Jack is great...he is just great"! He really is. He loves to eat, he loves to sleep, he loves to POOP, and his favorite thing is seeing how much stuff he can pee on in one day. 

Thats the life ya know? Eat, sleep, bowel movements! :)

God definitely knows what he is doing when he makes infants (understatement of the millenium...I know). But really! He knows how much new moms and dads can handle. And eat, sleep, and bowel movements is enough. Then as you become more comfortable...other things get added on...good and bad! I can already see that Jack is becoming more and more alert in his old age of 1 month. :) He is starting to zone in more on stuff. I think he recognizes me and Christopher now. I probably am wrong...but we like to think that at least!

Its crazy to think this little guy was in my belly! The left photo is 2/21/13 - delivery day. The right photo is Jack at 2 weeks old (3/7/13)

Jack loves to be swaddled! 

Lucy has been on a lot of people's minds. She is doing pretty good being a big sister. She has got to go to the dog park once. :)

Papa and Nonna came to visit from February 21-28th. Jack was a fan of all the attention and love that these new grandparents showed him. He is the first grandchild for them.

Grandma and Poppy came to visit from March 1-9. This is there 3rd grandchild...they love being grandparents. Jack is a fan for sure!

This is Jack's friend, Creed. He is 6 weeks older than Jack. There dad's have decided they are going to start a band one day. :)

This is Jack's friend, Paxton. He was his hospital neighbor...and born on the same day. I love this picture of them both in their sleep sacks. :)

This is the man that I am so proud of. Christopher has been a GREAT father. I love and adore when he melts for his little boy. Something that neither of us never would have thought would happen has happened. In real life, I am the disciplinarian and the hard core, "Things have to be done this way only" personality. Christopher is the layed back, relaxed, and not stressed personality. You would think that would make me the disciplinarian of our family and Christopher would be the parent that gives in. WRONG. I have more patience, love, and tolerance for this 8.5 lbs of life than anything else on this earth. I am completely smitten and Jack does no wrong in my mind. Christopher 

Jack's Birth Story (2/21/13)

Like all bloggers that I follow...they seem to all have a birth story post where they share the details of the day their bundle of joy arrived.

So here goes mine.

Thursday, February 21st, 2012

2:00am - something really strong happens that awakens me. Its a contraction. Oww... I tell myself I will wake Christopher if another one comes soon. Apparently another one did not come because I went back to sleep. :)

7:00am - up and getting ready for the day. I remember going a little bit slower and having a little bit more "pregnancy pain". I push through it and get my shower, wash my hair, make breakfast. I kept feeling pains in each of those above chores but didn't think much of them. Something that I think is hilarious (looking back)...when I got ready...I decided that real work clothes were not going to be in the plan for this day...so I wore instead a t-shirt that had the word "Exodus" on it (pun intended) and sweatpants and sneakers would be my work uniform for the day.

9:00am - Christopher and I both make our ways to work. We drove separate cars like we normally do in the morning even though we work at the same place. I arrived first and just remember feeling a little off. Saw a few people in the office. Helped move some copy paper that our IT guy was reorganizing next to our new copiers. I remember talking on the phone with a few people and seeing a few staff but it all is kind of a blur. I knew something was off for sure.

10:00am - my friend Amanda works next to me and she got out of a meeting around this time. I went into her office and asked what the difference between a real contraction and a fake contraction is. At this point, neither of us thought that this was the real thing happening. Rather, the over paranoid person I am was asking a question that was interrupting both of our work-flows that morning. However, work was the last thing on my mind. She told me to go get my laptop, come in her office, and she would time my contractions since that is the only way to know if they are real...consistency.  After her timing about 4 or 5 contractions at 4 minutes apart I could tell she knew this was the real thing. She called Christopher's office and said that everything is fine but that he needs to be wrapping up his work pretty soon and that we need to go to the hospital.

11:00am - still at work...now everyone is in agreement that I am in real labor. The contractions had gone down to 3 minutes a part and were lasting 30-45 seconds. I was in pain and still trying to talk through them. 

11:15am - left out the back of the offices down the hill so that we didn't alarm anyone at work. I couldn't get to the car without having a contraction. "Baby Phillips is coming soon" I began to think. However, first things first. I know they dont let you eat at the hospital and I have heard you need to get something in your stomach before going to the hospital. So Christopher drives us through the drive through of Wendys to get a frosty, fries, and burger. Mind you...contractions happening the whole time. :) 

11:30am - arrived at home. Start laboring on the floor. Can hardly talk. Definitely cannot eat the food we just bought. Christopher is running around gathering our hospital bags and last minute items that we had to pack. I can barely pick myself up off the ground (sweet side note: Lucy stayed with me and cried/wimpered when contractions came...dogs DO have feelings). It was definitely getting harder to talk and the pain was getting stronger. I tell Christopher that I dont want to go to the hospital premature so maybe lets just try and walk around outside for a little bit. I couldn't get down my 12 ft driveway without having  a contraction and running back into the garage. We both decide its time to go...but wait. "Babe I have a library book that is going to be overdue if we dont take it back now". Christopher in his kind and understanding way...drives to the library on the way to the hospital to make sure that my library book is not overdue...I really am unbelievable (the things that you are worried about in the most important times in your life). Christopher decided to get on I-65 from Harding since that was closer to the library; however there was a bad accident so we had to turn around on Edmondson and go back to Old Hickory Blvd to get on 65 and get to the hospital. Let me just tell you..that might have been the worst car ride of my life. Yes, it definitely was. See...before when I started a contraction it helped to get on my knees and bury my head into the couch, floor, chair, etc. When you have to remain buckled and look semi-sain in a car seat... you want to go crazy! Christopher did a wonderful job of driving safely and reassuring me that we were almost there. :)

11:45-12:00ish - We arrive at the hospital. We pull into the 30min "delivery" parking spot. Christopher says he is going to go get a wheel chair. I say we do not have time for that. We get into the check in station at Baptist Hospital and there is another pregnant lady who has a scheduled C-section that she is checking in for. I am on the other side, on the floor, and probably making the worst noises ever. Christopher informs the nurse that my contractions are about 60 seconds apart and that we need to get checked in quick. The lady started moving quickly when she looked at me on the floor. At one point, I remember her saying something like "you all waited to late to come the hospital". Seriously? Do I get a do-over? No, just get me an epidural quick! :)

12:10 - We arrive in a delivery room via a wheel chair. Two wonderful nurses who have 40 years of experience probably combined probably start prepping me. They check me and I am at 5cms. The call for blood work and the anesthesiologist happens quickly and at the same time. For me to have been able to get an epidural even was a miracle because "I had waiting to long..." WE KNOW! :).  It wont happen again...this was our first rodeo. :)

12:45 - This is a complete estimate of time... I definitely was not paying attention to the clock anymore. They had to override my labwork results to get the epidural going. All of that happened pretty fast. My doctor came sometime at this point to check me. Conveniently he was already downtown at Centennial Hospital about to start a surgery. I believe the story goes that he had to delay that surgery when he realized how fast Mr. Jack was coming. I think by 1:30 when my doctor came I had gone from 5 to 9 cms. It was insane. 

4:00pm - we start the pushing process. Something that was great about my doctor that just brings tears to my eyes everytime I tell this part is that he stopped everything right before I began to push and asked the nurses and Christopher and me to all hold hands. He prayed over the final part of my delivery that it would go smooth and easy and that there would be no complications. Yeah...I know. It was awesome. about 8 pushes and 10 minutes later, Christopher caught our sweet boy. 4:16 the moment our lives changed forever. 

We were so blessed to have great nurses, a great doctor, a smooth/easy labor/delivery. I have told so many people that I know that prayer is the only thing that got us through this life changing experience. Throughout my whole pregnancy I never had any huge fears or concerns.  My parents were praying, my family was praying, the prayer warriors of my church were praying, and of course Christopher and I prayed. I know prayer doesn't necessarily make things perfect or make things go "the right way"...however prayer does make the most important thing the center of your focus. We know that we are truly blessed by the ease of this first child. 

This photo was taken at about 5:30 after little Jack had nursed and had skin-to-skin contact for about an hour. I could not be more thankful that God gave us this little boy. He is an answer to many prayers.

Up next..."Jack - 1 month old"!