Picture Overload!

Last picture as a family of two

First picture of Jacob!

Getting to hold my son for the first time!

Admiring our baby boy

First picture of our family of 3

Josh holding Jake for the first time (I love this picture)

Grams holding Jake for the first time

Baby mohawk!

Grandpa with Jake

Grandma with Jake

Passed out baby boy, he had a hard day!

Trying to get him to wake up to eat, we were unsuccessful

Sleepy naked boy

Thinking while daddy holds him

Jacob Gregory has arrived!

Jake was born at 8:39 this morning after only 7 hours of labor! He is 8lbs 8oz (still waiting on his length) and has a head full of dark brown hair and a great set of lungs already! He came out screaming. Josh and I are doing great as well. Very emotional and very happy to finally see our son. I will post some pictures soon as well as the whole birth story (for those of you that want to know all the nasty details). For now we are relaxing while Jake is getting cleaned up in the nursery. I will update soon!

Happy 1st Birthday Jacob!

Sweet baby boy,

I cannot believe that it has already been a year since you made your big arrival! But I cannot imagine our life without you. I love waking up and seeing you every morning and I cherish our time together when I put you down for the night. It has been so amazing watching you grow and learn. Before you were here I never realized how much one little boy could change my life. You made me a mother and I can't imagine a more precious little boy to love.

I adore watching you smile and watching how you light up when you see me or daddy. I could spend all day with you in my lap cuddling and seeing your little face. I love watching you find your blankey and cuddling with it. I love listening to you chatter away in a language that only you know, but I can't wait to find out what all you have to say. I love when I can understand you and am constantly amazed at how much more you say everyday.

You have gone from a helpless little baby to a toddler that loves his independence. I wish I could bottle up your cute little laugh and take it with me because it always makes me smile.  I love your hugs and (attempts) at kisses and that you think it is hilarious to attack me and daddy. I love that you can fall down and not cry, but when you do cry you want me. I love the dance you do when you see me or daddy come home.

You are such a precious gift in our lives and I think God for you everyday. I can't wait to see how you grow and change in the coming year.

Love,
Mama

38 Weeks

Yesterday we went to my 38 week appointment. The doctor said everything looks great and it looks like Jake has dropped more. She showed us where the top of my uterus is and where he is sitting...about 6 inches below that! She checked me and said no change as far as dilation or effacement, which I was slightly bummed about due to all the contractions at the beginning of the week. I was sure that something had been happening. But the doctor did say she didn't think I was going to make it to my due date.

We actually thought we might be headed to the hospital on Tuesday because I woke up with contractions that were 3-4 minutes apart and they didn't go away when I got into the bath tub. But about 45 minutes after they started they just stopped. And I haven't had anymore timeable contractions since then. So we are just waiting! Which means a few of the guesses on Jake's birthday are already out! It seems like most of the guesses are in the next 9 days or so. I still have my guess as to when he will show up (but I am not sharing!). If you still haven't guessed do it now!

I had one more shower this week. It was at work (and they were really glad I didn't go into labor before it happened!). It was wonderful. I wasn't expecting much, but everyone was more than generous! We got a lot of cute outfits and more great stuff off the registry that we needed. Although we did get a few things that aren't really helpful, like a giant box of disposable diapers in size 3. I'm sure we can find someone that needs those though, So we got all of that stuff washed and put away too. But the nursery is a little messy now so we have to get in there to clean it up this weekend.

Side note: Big congrats to Kathleen and Mark on the birth of their baby boy, Austin, last Friday! Kathleen hasn't posted any pictures on their blog yet, but it is on the side of our page, The Goff's. I have seen some pictures though and he is a cutie! I can't wait until Jake gets here so they can meet!


Weekly Update

How far along? 38 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +35lbs (yea for less water retention and swelling!)
Maternity clothes? Almost exclusively maternity clothes except lounge clothes, this is not changing anytime soon
Stretch marks? Still nothing...please let this continue for another 2 weeks!
Sleep: Still kind of variable. But mostly I am sleeping pretty well still, except when I have painful contractions in the middle of night
Best moment this week: My shower at work. It was great and everyone was so generous!
Movement: He goes back and forth between very little movement and and lots of squirming
Food Cravings: Milk and cereal
Labor Signs: YES! Lots of contractions Sunday night, Monday night, and Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning I thought we were going to be headed to the hospital because I was having contractions 3-4 minutes apart! But I am still 1.5cm dilated, still 50% effaced
What I miss: Not pulling up my scrub pants every time I stand up. I think I outgrew them about 4 or 5 weeks ago, but I will continue to wear them once a week because I like wearing scrubs.
What I am looking forward to: Jake deciding it is actually time to come out! Not that I haven't been excited, but all the contractions earlier this week made me more excited for him to come out and less patient!
Weekly Wisdom: A warm bath is wonderful for contractions!
Milestones: Ummm....really the only milestone left is Jake's birth!

Jake's Update
Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Apparently I was more lazy than I thought. Here ya go April!

Baby Watch 2010

So at our house we are officially on Baby Watch. Not that this means that Baby Watch won't last for 2 weeks though! But I have been having contractions, the real kind, that actually are a little painful (so much for not feeling braxton hicks meaning I wouldn't feel regular ones!), off and on for the past two days. Last night and tonight I have had periods where they are timable and about 7-8 minutes apart for an hour or so. But it seems that during the day they are just completely random and not timable at all. As of now we are still timing tonights contractions, but the orders I have from the doctor are call when they are 5 minutes apart and 1 minute long for 1 hour. So we are just waiting to see if they get closer together, more intense, or if they just stop like they did last night.

I am hoping these either result in labor sometime soon or stop happening so frequently. If this lasts for 2 weeks we might be in for a tough couple of weeks! Although if it does last for 2 weeks I am assuming real labor will be fairly short because I refuse to believe that these contractions are not causing any dilation or effacement!

Pictures of Our First Baby

Cosmo doesn't get talked about too much on here and because I figure she probably won't get talked about a lot on here anytime in the near future I figured I would share some Cosmo pictures! She is our first baby and is beyond spoiled and loved. She will be 6 years old next month and for some reason we still call her a puppy and think of her as a puppy. I think she will always be our little puppy. We always think about how she is going to handle having a "human puppy" (what we tell her Jake is going to be) in the house. I think she will be fine because she has a way of working herself into your lap or arms no matter what else you may be doing (or holding). And hopefully she will eventually come to enjoy having him around!

Cosmo using my belly as a pillow

Passed out puppy!

Hanging out in her sweater, she loves wearing her sweater when it is cold!

Trying out the sling with her. I think she enjoyed it a little too much!

Full Term! (37 weeks)

I had my 37 week appointment yesterday. Everything looks great! I am having some swelling in my feet and ankles this week, I am hoping this clears up like it did over Christmas. I was running a lot of errands this week so I think being up so much contributed to this. The dr said I am a good 1.5 cm and still 50%. She asked if we had everything ready to go. Which we do! So he is welcome to come as soon as he is good and ready. Whether that is in the next week or a week past his due date. We just want him to be healthy. Although we are getting anxious to meet him! But I still can't believe how close it is!

This week I went and interviewed a couple of pediatricians. Josh couldn't go because of the times the pedi's could meet, but I relayed the info back to him and we picked one. So that is all done finally! We will just have to call the day we get out of the hospital and set up an appointment with the doctor.

We are to the point that when we go somewhere that is far from the house (and more on the way to the hospital) we are taking the carseat and hospital bag with us, just in case! I don't want to be 30-40 minutes from home and closer to the hospital and have to come back home to get that stuff if I go into labor while we are out somewhere. Although we aren't doing too much right now that is that far away.

Weekly Update

How far along? 37 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +38lbs! (Holy water retention! And it shows in my poor ankles and feet, hopefully it goes away soon)
Maternity clothes? Almost exclusively maternity clothes except lounge clothes, this is not changing anytime soon
Stretch marks? Still nothing...please let this continue for another 3 weeks!
Sleep: It has been variable this week. For a few nights I woke up in the middle of the night and was wide awake and couldn't get back into a deep sleep. Then last night I slept great, but I am super exhausted today!
Best moment this week: Getting the last big thing checked off my to do list
Movement: Definitely a lot less movement. He likes to shove his butt in my ribs when I am relaxing at night though!
Food Cravings: Milk, I drank a gallon in a little over 24 hours!
Labor Signs: Still a lot of contractions, but nothing painful. 1.5cm dilated, still 50% effaced
What I miss: My right foot and ankle not being swollen
What I am looking forward to: Oddly enough going into labor, right now it sounds exciting to go into labor spontaneously and not knowing when it will happen
Weekly Wisdom: Everyone thinks pregnant women are going to deliver in the next few days when they have a big belly
Milestones: Reaching full term!

Jake's Update

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3  pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz

And just so you can see the difference between my feet! Look how swollen the right one is.

36 Weeks

Don't forget to vote on Jake's birthday, weight, and height! I added the link to the right side of the page.

Weekly Update


How far along? 36 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +33lbs (according to the dr's scale (mine still says 31)...and the remainder of weight posts will be from there as well)
Maternity clothes? Almost exclusively maternity clothes except lounge clothes, this is not changing anytime soon
Stretch marks? Still nothing...please let this continue for another 4 weeks!
Sleep: I have been waking up about once a night just to turn over most nights. Lately I have also been waking up about 10 minutes before the alarm goes off (or would if it was a work day) and have to pee really bad and this is usually accompanied by one really strong contraction
Best moment this week: Seeing Jake one more time on the u/s
Movement: This has slowed down a great deal. Still moving but now he has some days he is more active than others and he is running out of room so it is mostly rolling
Food Cravings: Fruit snacks
Labor Signs: Some much harder contractions, usually just one once a morning. 1cm dilated and 50% effaced
What I miss: Having enough clothes to properly layer!
What I am looking forward to: Getting all the last minute things taken care of
Weekly Wisdom: Don't get overly excited about dilation at this point. You can walk around dilated for 3 weeks without actually going into labor.
Milestones: Having weekly OB appointments

Jake's Update

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (or over closer to 7!)(like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement (that daddy will be changing  :) ).

Guess Jacob's Birthdate!

And his height and weight! We are now at the point where Jacob can make his appearance anytime now. We set this up so everyone could add their opinions on when they think he will be arriving and just how big he actually will be.

I had my 36 week appointment today and had one last growth scan to check on how big he is. Right now he is measuring 6lbs 12oz (+/- 1lb) and I am 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. The dr said I could go early or he could hang out until my due date, still a guess at this point.

A few more tidbits of information to help you along:

Brooke was 10 days early, 7lbs 11oz and 20.5 inches long.
Josh was 10 days early, 8lbs 8oz.

So go now and take your best guess!

One Month!

That's right, 30 days until Jacob's due date! (No guarantees that he will be here by then!) I am just hoping all of this cold and snowy weather will be done by the time he gets here! I really don't think it would be a fun drive to L&D in snow and/or ice! I think some of that Nesting stuff has kicked in. But only once in a while. I am waiting for it to kick in full force so I can super clean and super organize!

We got Jake's Baptism scheduled this week. One more thing to check off the To Do list. We are going to the Baptism prep class on Saturday (of course it is going to be about 15* Saturday morning, boo!) from 9-1. We figure it is easier to go before Jake is born.

Now we just have a few things left on the list, and I would like to get them all done sooner rather than later. (Sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball that would tell me exactly when he is going to come so I KNOW when this stuff has to be done by! Although I have my own guess as does Josh.)

I moved the stuff that is left to do to the top but I like seeing everything marked off, so I left all the other stuff on there!

To Do:

Order more diapers (need about 8 more)

Schedule baptism
Get diaper pail for nursery
Pre-order annoucements
Make call list for after Jake is born
Find pediatrician
Get diaper detergent
Finish nursery
Finish Jake's wall letters
Order glider
Pre register at the hospital
Sign up for childbirth class
Go to childbirth class
Start buying diapers
Set up furniture delivery date
Schedule 3d/4d u/s (We decided not to do this)
Schedule newborn pictures
Install carseat bases in cars
Set up baby equipment
Pack for hospital
Wash baby clothes
Wash bedding

Happy New Year! 35/35 Today!

Happy New Year! Last year was fabulous and full of great new experiences for us, but we are so looking forward to this year! I can only imagine what great things are in store for us this year! Starting out with the fact that we are having our little (or big) baby boy this year and quite possibly by the end of this month (but hopefully not until Feburary!).

Speaking of that upcoming event, today marks the 35th week of my pregnancy which also happens to mean we only have 35 days left until Jake's due date! 35 days?! Weren't we just at 100 a short time ago?! I feel like it time is going really quickly, not to mention how busy we have been lately. I don't think that will slow down anytime soon either.

We will be spending the day today and tomorrow taking down all of our Christmas decorations and getting the house back in order. Hopefully it will stay that way until Jake gets here. Just a few more things to get done to have it all ready.

Weekly Update

How far along? 35 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +30lbs (no weight gain this week, and less water retention!)
Maternity clothes? Almost exclusively maternity clothes except lounge clothes, this is not changing anytime soon
Stretch marks? Still nothing...please let this continue for another 5 weeks!
Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well most nights. I have been a little more tired lately though. I also have noticed that if it is a day I am sleeping in I wake up a little after my normal time to get up and have to pee, although some days I ignore it and go back to sleep. I usually pay for that with a very sore bladder!
Best moment this week: Celebrating the beginning of what is sure to be a a very eventful year!
Movement: Constantly, although he likes to be shy when others try to feel him move and he is not a huge fan of having his feet messed with
Food Cravings: I kind of feel like I am back in the first trimester, I am getting nauseated at times and craving sour things off and on. But generally my appetite has greatly decreased in the past week and there are some days I am not even really hungry
Labor Signs: Nothing really, just a ton of Braxton Hicks
What I miss: Being able to wear my cute shoes, I didn't think I would be super comfortable in them at this point so I went with the more comfortable option instead of the fashionable option *sigh*
What I am looking forward to: My dr's appointment next week, and the u/s that goes along with that
Weekly Wisdom: Sometimes there is such a thing as too much water and it seems to cause more swelling that being a little more conservative with my water intake
Milestones: Officially being in the year that Jake will be born!

Jacob's Update

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Pictures! And yes this is a maternity shirt...very few maternity shirts are actually long enough for me, annoying.