I LOVE BEING JACOB'S MOMMY!


Jacob has been home for 2 weeks now and I'm loving it! It is so wonderful to finally have him home where he belongs. He is doing great. He eats every 4 hours (thank you nurses for putting him on that schedule) and doesn't vary too much from that. Here is an update on some of the things that have been happening the past 2 weeks.


EATING: he is a good eater. He takes about an hour to eat (sometimes an hour and a half - uhhh!). I have to burp him half way through the first side and then when he is done with that side and then half way through the next side and then when he is completely done and sometimes a couple of more times just to keep him awake enough to get enough food to last him. He is nursing well. I still have to use the nipple shield (when I try it without, he just doesn't get enough). He has started spitting up these past couple of days. I can't tell if it is a normal amount or a ton - it has been too long since I have been around a newborn. He is sticking to his eating schedule. He varied when we first got him home, but now he eats at 9am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm, 1am and 5am. Sometimes at night he eats early or a little late, but during the day he is like clockwork (plus during the day I can hold him off if he wants to eat early; at night I just want to go back to sleep so I feed him). It can be hard to hold him off, but sometimes he wants to eat just to snack and I did that one day and will never do it again - we were both miserable and he didn't get a full feeding at all that day. I must say I am proud to say I haven't had to give him any formula since he has been home and I don't have to pump after I feed him anymore. God has really blessed me with helping my milk to come in and keep up with Jacob's demand.


SLEEPING: he is a loud sleeper when he is falling asleep. He sleeps great during the night and OK during the day. Today I am trying something new. I fed him his breakfast and then went for a walk and then put him down for a nap. Normally he just falls asleep whenever he wants, but I want him to get on a nap schedule. Sometimes he doesn't nap until after his dinner and I want him to be a good nap taker when he is older. He has been in there for 45 min now and hasn't cried, but hasn't fallen into a deep sleep - no big deal. We'll see how this goes!


BATH: he loves his bath. He freaks out a little with so much space around him, but I put my hand on his belly and he calms right down and seems to really enjoy it. Yesterday when he was all clean, I was trying to let the plug out in his tub and he was just laying there with his legs wide open and he eyes closed - he was ready to nap right there in his tub! He has peed only once in the tub (I considered the water to pee ratio and decided not to run more water) and he pooped a little once, but thankfully it was at the end of the bath.


WAKE TIME: I love his wake time. He is becoming more alert and looks around. Yesterday he sat in his swing for 2 hours and then I took him out and he just laid on my legs and looked around. He makes the greatest shapes with his mouth. I love watching him!


SOUNDS: he has a scream that could break some windows. This kid can scream like there is no tomorrow. He only cries when he is gassy or hungry so it is not too nosy around here, although he makes other noises to make up for it. He likes to imitate baby animals with his grunts. So far he can do a baby dolphin, baby horse, and baby sheep (that one is his favorite). The sounds that make us laugh the most are the sounds that come out of his rear. Too bad there isn't a competition for the noises baby gas sounds because he would win. He can toot-toot with the best of them. They are sooooo loud (thankfully not stinky). He just makes us laugh. He arches his back and moves around and then lets it rip. If he is fussy because of gas, he lets out a scream and then lets one rip and is just as happy as can be.


SICK: we had our first sick day on Monday. He is more gassy than a full term newborn so he is fussy a lot. I give him medicine after every feeding to help with that, but some days he is just a mess because he can't release the gas. Monday he was backed up and I was sick with my allergies and sneezing all day. We were 2 peas in a pod. Thankfully, my brother came by and held him while I did some chores (we had our house sprayed that day to get rid of the roaches in our kitchen. I had to empty all of my cabinets in the kitchen for them to spray and had a little left. I have been working on putting the kitchen back together and hopefully will be done today. Man, I have a TON of cabinets!) and my mom came by later and held him. He didn't sleep well Sunday night either so we both were really tired and not feeling well. Thankfully he slept great Monday night (and so did I), had some BLOWOUT diapers (yuck, yuck, yuck – he wore 3 outfits that night!) and we both were feeling almost completely better yesterday!


DOCTORS: he has been to his pediatrician, the eye doctor and a developmental doctor so far and they have nothing but GREAT things to say about him. He is doing amazing and did amazing in the hospital. When he was in the hospital I kept asking God to help Jacob just amaze the doctors with how well he was doing and God answer my prayers so much more than I could have expected. The coolest thing happened at the developmental doctor's appointment. He was testing what he called Jacob's "taste". The doctor had made him mad checking everything else and then the doctor held Jacob where he could see me and his entire demeanor changed - he recognized me and that comforted him! It was so cool to see. The doctor said that for about 2 years Jacob will have 2 birthdays - the day he was born and his due date. All of the milestones we should count from his due date, but so far he is on the fast track.


MOVEMENT: this kid moves a ton. I can't imagine what he would be like in my belly! He is a very good stretcher. He can hold his head up. When you put him on your chest, he arches his back and holds his head up and looks all around. The other day I put him on his belly to sleep in the living room and started trying to put the kitchen back together. He started crying and I just let him cry a little (I'm trying to do that more. He is a good self-soother so I'm trying not to mess that up) and when I went in there he was on his back with his arms and legs freaking out and really big eyes- he looked like a stuck turtle. I felt so bad. I forgot that he can roll over and just thought he was fussy. Lesson learned there!


So, that is the update so far. I love being his mommy, I love holding him, I love our conversations, I love him!


I read a lot of blogs and wonder why people go so long between posts, now that Jacob is home I understand. It is so hard to get everything done. He demands my attention and when he is not demanding it, I love to still give it to him. I might not be posting much, but if you come to my house you will see that so far I have done a good job of keeping it picked up and clean (I even make my bed everyday and have kept all of his stuff organized!). I think the hardest thing to do has been writing my thank you notes from my shower - not easy to do with a baby at home. So, if you haven't gotten one yet, they are coming soon!


I'll post some recent pictures soon! He is starting to scream now (he thinks it is lunch time)...off to be his mommy!