Happy (Belated) Birthday Jacob!

Our sweet, funny, amazing, goofy, smart, adorable, lovable baby boy is no longer a baby. We officially have a toddler on our hands now. Jacob turned one (almost a month ago already, due to my poor blogging skills...) and I have no idea what happened to the past year. By all accounts it was the most interesting, most stressful, most fun, most difficult, most exciting, most amusing, most sleep-deprived, most adventurous year I think I've ever had. There were tears, laughter, mistakes, learning, growing, moving, challenges and love. More love than I've ever known possible. Becoming a parent really does change everything. And in ways you will never understand until you become a parent. 

I created this fun poster to help showcase Jacob's first year. 

Also during Jacob's first year, he has already lived in three different places (in three towns even and different parts of the state!), been to Nebraska and Minnesota in addition to his home state of Iowa, has visited a zoo, gone for some tractor rides, loves looking at himself in a mirror, looking at pictures of himself or watching videos of himself. He has developed an adorable belly laugh that I cannot get enough of. He's made new friends at two different day-cares, both of which have been great. He loves to go swimming and making noise - any kind of noise. He loves to eat and can make the funniest faces. He went as both Charlie Brown and Jake from State Farm for Halloween because we couldn't decide and he spent is first Christmas at home with just Mom and Dad. He's also already been to a Wartburg Outfly and Homecoming, so he's well on his way to becoming a Knight. And that cute little cone-head he was born with turned into an even cuter perfectly round head. :) 

Jacob is already a spoiled kid and had two birthday parties! We had one in Minnesota and then another one a week later in Iowa. I figured it would be easier for family and friends this way. And Jacob was blessed by everyone that came and helped out. We are so grateful for you all. The birthday party theme was of course, Goodnight Moon, after Jacob's favorite book! As much as Jacob loved the cake during his cake smash photo shoot, he wasn't into it at either birthday party. For his credit, he was probably tired and overwhelmed with all the people and a different schedule though. He did want to eat a lot of the fruit though, and I know I should be thankful my son wanted the fruit rather than the cake, but where's the fun in that? :) 

Jacob also had his one year check up and of course, is still a healthy baby! And he's finally a well proportioned boy! :) Haha! He weighed 23.3 lbs (81%), is 30 3/4 inches tall (83%) and his head was 18 3/4 inches (87%). In the 80% for everything - first time that's happened! He also got some more shots which I was nervous about because Austin couldn't get off work to be there with me, but I successfully distracted him with the "Hot Dog Song". 

Jacob is getting closer and closer to being able to really walk on his own. He has taken his first steps, but won't go more than a half a dozen steps before sitting back down or falling over. He's great at standing unsupported though. And those first couple of steps he took? They were towards mama, but I was also playing the "Hot Dog Song" on my phone, so I'm not sure I can take the credit. :) He also loves to talk a lot, but we're not hearing any real words yet. Although he is getting closer I think. The other day it sounded like he said "yeah" to a question we asked him and last weekend, it sounded like he was trying to mimic the words "I love you". 

We also successfully quit nursing. I was actually very surprised at how well Jacob did with this. I had been slowly weaning him, cutting out feedings until we were just nursing at night before bed. But Jacob started taking a bottle instead with no problems! In fact, we've even stopped giving him bottles already and just use a sippy cup. The doctor had told me at his appointment that he'd like to see Jacob not using a bottle or his pacifier by 18 months. So the bottle is done but I think his pacifier might be a bit more of a challenge. Although, I generally just let him have it in the car and at nap and bedtime. 

Jacob has also started cutting his molars and it has not been fun. I think this has been much worse than his other teeth. He seems to get fussy at random times but especially at meal times. When he's normally been such a good eater, now it can be a give or take. Although he does like things that he can crunch, probably feels good. And he also loves to eat whatever we're eating. So my food is no longer my own... I better get use to sharing! :) 

In other news, Jacob and I got to spend the week of July 4th up in Minnesota with my family. My sister Meg was down on vacation too and she was able to get in a lot of Jacob time, which is good because we don't get to see her much now that she lives up North. :) Austin was able to come up and join us on Thursday and it was nice to finally have him there too. It was a perfect week of relaxing and spending time with family and friends that we don't get to see nearly enough. 

Writing this also reminded me that in mid-June, I had my 10 year high school reunion! I don't think I ever mentioned that here so I'll do it now. It was so great to be able to see those friends again. Some of us were able to get together a day early and brought the kids and husbands (if they weren't working) for some nice family time. And there sure are a lot of kids when we get together now! :) Then at the reunion, it was great to just have some fun adult time with no kids! After that, I realized how much I miss my high school friends but how thankful I am that we can still get together, even if it's just once a year, and it's like nothing has changed. We also had a great time going over old yearbook pictures and memories! Always a good time! 

And finally, we're moving! Again! I know, shocker. We found a two bedroom apartment in Lisbon and will be moving around the second week of August - let us know if you're available to come help. ;-) It's a little smaller than where we've been, but it's nice and super close to work for me - only 8 minutes! And it's only 20 minutes for Austin. Hopefully within a year or so, we can start looking for a house to buy. It's about time we try to settle down in one place, right? No? Maybe. We'll see. :) 

9 Months Old

Note: I wrote this blog shortly after Jacob's 9 month check up, but never published it because I kept forgetting to get his measurements from the note at home to put in there! And now my baby is almost 11 months old! Oh well, better late than never! :) 

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I haven't been as good about keeping on top of this! But my little baby isn't such a little baby anymore. Jacob is 9 months old! He's officially been out in this world longer than he was inside of me. Crazy. And he's changing so much, every single day. I was just telling Austin last night that I feel like even in the past two or three days, Jacob has made huge strides in learning new things! It's such a fun stage to watch him learn, figure out new things, see how proud he is of himself and praise him for it all! :) 

I mentioned in the last post that Jacob had gotten sick and had an ear infection. Well that wasn't the end of it, unfortunately. At the end of that week of him being sick, Jacob picked up a separate stomach bug at daycare. It hit him on Friday night and he was throwing up quite a bit. We didn't even try any foods - just a lot of breastmilk. And then on Saturday night, it hit me and by Sunday, AJ. It took us all down. I have to tell you, that those 48 hours or so that all three of us were sick, were some of the worst. I've struggled quite a few times as a mom - we all do. But during that time of sickness, I didn't know if I would make it. It was that bad. Luckily(?) Jacob was still under the weather so he didn't need quite as much attention from us, which was good because we would not have been able to give it. But, thankfully, it passed. And we survived. And it took a good while for Jacob to really get back on track. When we had our follow up at the doctor, he still had an ear infection so we got some stronger medication for him. He seemed to like this one better and it finally knocked out that infection. But it took a couple weeks before he was back to eating normally again. 

At Jacob's 9 month check up, he did great! He did actually develop a rash over his body just like a day or so before we were suppose to go to the doctor so we were glad we already had the appointment scheduled. We also decided that "googling" baby rashes is not a great idea... ha! We were trying to figure out if it was from new foods we were trying with him, new laundry detergent or different water... we weren't sure. Luckily, the doctor told us it was just a post-infection rash that babies can get from being sick. It doesn't itch or bother Jacob at all and would go away on its own. Other than that, he is a perfect and healthy baby! His weight was 20lbs 4oz (67%), height 28" (33%) and head 18.5" (92%). Not really any weight gain from his 6 month check up but I think he lost some weight being sick and not eating like he normally was. So, a great appointment and no shots! 

Like I mentioned above, Jacob is in a really fun stage! He's learning so much! He's figured out how to clap and loves to make noise! He's still very much experimenting with his mouth and vocal chords and it's so fun to listen to him make all that noise! Although, maybe not when we're trying to watch TV. :) He also has really figured out some of his toys and it's so entertaining to watch him play. 

And we officially have a little mover on our hands. Jacob has finally figured out how to really move around. His crawl is a little unique and sometimes he'll crawl on one knee and one foot... silly boy. But he can effectively get across the room to get a toy or to come to mommy. :) And we're also quickly realizing how much more he needs to be watched and what types of things we can't leave laying around. Jacob has also been getting much better at standing without any type of support. You can see the determination on his face and he's working on his balance and sometimes he'll hold his breath! :) But he's able to stand by himself much longer. He can also pull himself into a standing position. He's done this in his crib, climbing up on Daddy or holding on to your hands. And when you walk with him, he wants to sometimes let go of your hands but don't quite have that balance yet. It won't be long before he'll be up and walking though! 

Jacob has also cut another tooth! His top right front tooth has peeked through and the left one is close to following. Hopefully this will help ease some of that teething pain, but he has been a biter lately. He bites our arms, fingers and he's biting while nursing. This is a behavior that we're having a hard time trying to stop, but we keep working at it. But I have to admit, with the biting during nursing, I have an internal struggle about continuing to breastfeed. I want to make it a full year, but I hate the biting and am so tempted to quit. I don't have enough in the freezer to get us through June and I also hate pumping so I don't think I'd have the drive to just exclusively pump. So for now, I continue to nurse while trying to teach my son the word "no". I must add, it doesn't help that when he hears us say no he tends to smile, giggle and try to continue doing whatever it is we want him to stop doing. Like, Jacob currently has this strange obsession with throwing himself backwards. He does it when he's on the bed or couch. But he also does in the highchair. Another behavior we're trying to stop. Oh, the joys of parenthood. :) 

Some other fun facts about Jacob: He LOVES the book "Good Night Moon". I mean, loves it. Every time we pull it out, he does his little hand grabbing motion and bounces in his seat. In fact, one time I just started reciting the book without it in the room with us and he looked all around trying to find the book! He also loves to help turn the pages! Bath time is still a favorite activity, especially trying to drink the water these days... He still likes the song "Six Little Ducks" as well. 

More than anything though, Jacob ADORES himself. Okay, so I don't know he really loves himself or just really loves that baby he keeps seeing in mirrors or on our phones. :) We started showing Jacob "the baby" in the bathroom mirror after his bath each night. He would get so excited to see this baby every time! And now, anytime there is a mirror, he loves to see the baby! And when we pull up old pictures or videos on our phones, he will just watch them or stare at the pictures, getting excited. But when we put the camera on so Jacob can see himself, he gets the most excited! He's a fan of selfies. :) It's too cute. 

Jacob is still a great eater. We've tried some fancier foods recently. Still a lot of chicken, but we've had corn chowder; minestrone; braised beef; veggies and cheese sauce; potatoes and peas; chicken with sweet potato and apple; potatoes with leek, carrot and peas; tomato, cauliflower, carrot and basil; and pasta and butternut squash, tomato and cheese. Very fun! And Jacob definitely eats better than Austin and I. Haha! We're also slowly starting to work on letting Jacob feed himself. He does great with puffs and these little biscuits called Mum-mums. But we need to start with small pieces of veggies or fruit for him to pick up by himself.  

Jacob has also slowly been getting better about sleeping. He's not always as fussy when it comes to going down for a nap or at night. It use to be where he had to be rocked or in the swing to fall asleep, or nursed to sleep. But he's been able to put himself to sleep just laying down some times. Austin even sent me a picture of Jacob sleeping on the floor in the living room - he had fallen asleep while playing! That has never happened. He still wakes up to feed at night so I haven't started any real sleep training yet - no point until I know he's capable of sleeping through the night. And when he does wake, he normally eats pretty good so I know he's still hungry. I'm not sure how exactly to start weaning these, maybe try feeding him more during the day or try offering a bottle of just some water at night? That'll be our next adventure though. 

Also, if you have some time, please check out our vimeo page! (link on the right sidebar) If you love videos and love Jacob, you'll love our vimeo page! :) There are plenty of videos to watch, as Austin pointed out to me the other day... 2 pages of personal videos and 9 pages of Jacob videos. I didn't see the problem! 

And in non-Jacob news (boring, I know). I've been at my new job for almost a month and so far I'm really loving every minute. I've really had to jump in with my feet to the ground and start running. It's a busy time of year with planting season soon starting so I've been thrown into a lot and have been kept busy. But I love it! I love being busy, I love learning new things, I love having a lot of projects to work on. I'm still getting comfortable with all the jargon and equipment but that will come in time. But I think this is going to be a really great fit for me. I've talked a lot on this blog about my calling and trying to figure out what I want to do and I have to say, I think this job is a step in the right direction. And that feels great.  

Our Six Month Check Up

The time has come for another doctor appointment check up! This is Jacob's 6 month check up. Six months! I have absolutely no idea where the last six months have gone! And can I please have them back? (Okay, maybe not...)

Jacob's doctor's appointment was held on one of the colder days. Normally, Austin and I both try to go to these appointments but because of the time, Austin couldn't leave school early. So it was just me. I decided that this needed to never happen again. Ha! Normally, Austin will drop Jacob and I off at the door so we don't have to walk. This would have been perfect on this cold day! The walk from the car was long and very cold! Plus, Jacob is a big baby. So him plus the weight of the car seat - uff-ta! It really didn't help matters that I was feeling sick and weak myself that day either. So I made a mental note to always schedule his appointments as late in the day as possible so Austin can come along!

Other than that though, the appointment went well. Jacob is measuring right on track! He now weighs 19lbs 12 oz, which puts him in the 85th percentile. His height is 27.25 inches (70%) and his head is 18.25 inches, which puts him back up to 100% there! :) The doctor asked if we were able to fit shirts over Jacob's head and I mentioned that I had just tried to put on a turtleneck that was 12 months but it wouldn't fit over his head. The doctor said he wasn't able to wear turtlenecks until he was a teenager and all of his shirts as a baby had cuts to fit over his head! So he told Jacob that he was probably going to be a doctor with that big head of his! :) Everything checked out great and we go the go ahead to start solids! He also had some more shots, but again, they weren't nearly as bad as that first time and I was able to handle it. :)

Jacob is growing like a weed, and I'm not talking about just his height or weight. The kid is getting smarter every day! He's a great sitter, when he wants to be anyway! Sometimes he likes to just fall over backwards or face first into the pillows around him. He still isn't crawling, he can scoot backwards a little bit though. But mostly, when you put him on his tummy, he'll just roll over. He still loves to stand though, so we're working on doing the motions of walking. Maybe he'll walk before crawling like his daddy did!

Jacob has started to whine if he wants attention or can't reach a toy he wants or he leans forward and rolls over and wants to be set back up. He does this little fake cry. So we're working on him figuring things out for himself. We let him "cry" for a bit to try and get what he wants himself, without our help. My first instinct is to automatically help him out - pick him up or get the toy he wants, but I know he needs to learn to do it himself!

He also has his two bottom front teeth - so cute! But so painful! Teething is not fun for the little man! And you have to be careful putting fingers in his mouth now because those suckers are sharp! Sophie the Giraffe has become one of Jacob's favorite toys right now. It's so easy for him to grab and he loves to chew on it. He'll also put one of the legs in his mouth, bite down and then pull it out. It really is a great toy for any teething baby!

Jacob also received a lot of new toys for Christmas! What a spoiled baby! :) And it's been fun watching him play with those new toys as he figures them out and what they do. He's great about being able to pick up certain toys, reaching out and grabbing new toys. He has one toy that is a dinosaur that has balls that bounce from the inside. Well Jacob has figured out since he can't quite reach inside to grab a ball, he'll grab the side of the toy and tip it sideways to get inside! Such a clever boy!  

Like I mentioned above, we got the go ahead to start solids with Jacob. We've been pretty excited about this and Jacob has definitely been ready. He loves to watch us eat and will often try to reach out and grab our food! I also decided that I wanted to make all of our baby food. I liked the idea of knowing exactly what I was feeding Jacob. We have the Baby Bullet and Steamer and it worked great! Austin and I spent a couple hours over the weekend making different types of baby food and freezing it. It was actually a lot of fun and something we enjoyed being able to do together. We made carrots, pear, apple and sweet potato.

The first food we tried was carrots. Jacob made a lot of faces and it took some time getting use to the taste and texture, but after a couple of days, he is eating them like a pro. We also tried banana and this was much better for Jacob! After just two days, he is eating them up! I think we're going to try the sweet potato next!

Otherwise, I know we're only about a week in, but other than the freezing cold, 2014 is off to a really great start for our family!

Four Month Check Up

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to update the blog... even though I've had a lot to say. Or a lot that I could say. Or want to say. :) But between a baby, starting a new job and life, things get put to the back burner. But I did want to do a quick update after Jacob's four month check up! So here we go! 

Jacob is still a "perfect" baby. Meaning, his numbers are all looking great. Although I'd argue he's perfect in all ways! :) He weighed in at a whopping 17lbs 11oz! At four months!! His cousin weighed around 17lbs at 9 months! So I'd say he's getting well fed! Ha! His weight is in the 86 percentile. He's 25 inches long, 38% and his head is 17 inches, 87%. He's had a bit of a cold for a while and so the doctor showed us how to properly clean out his nose and man, did he have a lot of snot up in that little nose of his! And Jacob was not a fan of having his nose suctioned out! haha He screamed pretty hard, but he can breath so much easier now! He still has a bit of a cough and hopefully that gets better soon. He also got his four month shots and these were a lot better than at 2 months. For one, Daddy got to help hold him down so Mommy didn't have to! But he didn't cry nearly as much, maybe he was still traumatized from the nose suctioning! 

The doctor also gave us the go ahead to start some rice cereal! So at his evening meal, we add a tablespoon of rice cereal in with some milk, so not a lot. But we feed it with a spoon, which is a messy ordeal! But he'll get the hang of it soon! I was hesitant to want to start with the rice cereal and when Austin asked me why, I confessed it's because I feel Jacob is growing up too fast and I want it to stop! :) But I know that just can't happen.

Jacob is becoming more and more fun to interact and play with every day. He is still a little talker, telling stories to whoever will listen! Although sometimes he picks some very inopportune times... like 5:30am! But it's a lot of cooing, blowing bubbles and raspberries, and a lot of vowels sounds. It's so fun listening to him try and communicate! He also loves to be upright. He hasn't figured out his balance yet to sit by himself, but he's working hard at it. Sometimes he'll get it for a second or two before tumbling over! He also LOVES to stand! He, of course, can't do this by himself yet either but has the leg strength to stand up and even help himself stand up. He just squeals whenever you let him stand. 

He still loves mirrors - he'll just look, smile and talk to himself in that mirror all day long! He also has really gotten the hang of grabbing toys and blankets. Before he would just hold his arms out and try to grab things by putting his arms together but now he knows how to reach out and grab hold with his hands. And he's grabbing all sorts of toys and bringing them to his mouth. The doctor said he was starting to teethe! Nothing through yet but it might not be long! So he just loves playing with all his different toys. And he's really figured some of them out too, pulling on certain ones that vibrate or make noise. He also has this spinning ball toy, one on each his activity chair and activity table that he knows how to spin and play with. I just love watching him as he learns and figures all of these things out. 

He's also still great at rolling. He'll roll to his sides a lot when he's playing on his back. During tummy time, he'll roll to his back a lot quicker. He still isn't always a big fan of tummy time, especially when we try to keep him from rolling to help strength those muscles and maybe start moving towards crawling! He's also found his feet. Putting them up in the air and grabbing on to them, or trying to grab them and then trying to put them in his mouth. He hasn't figured out if he can actually do that yet or not. 

And Jacob still gives the best, award winning smiles that can just melt your heart! I love picking him up at daycare and once he sees me, he just gets this huge smile on his face! Or when he hears his dad talk, he'll just smile and smile! No matter what else is going on, his smiles always make me smile. 

So that's about it for a Jacob update! And that's about all I have time for right now! Hopefully more soon! 

Two Months Old

Jacob is officially two months old! I'm not really sure where the past two months have gone but they've gone quickly! We've finally settled into a routine here  in our new home and that makes things easier with Jacob. There are certainly days that are still hard because Jacob is changing and growing every day! But we're learning to adjust better. 

With Jacob being two months old, that means we were back at the doctor for his two month check up! This was our first appointment with our new pediatrician and I think we're really going to like him. The great news is that we were told we have a "perfect baby"! Everything checked out great with Jacob and he's right on track. He weighed 12lb 9oz, which is in the 55 percentile. His height was 60% and his head a whopping 100%! Big headed little guy! :) The bad news about this appointment is that Jacob got his first shots. This was probably harder on mommy than it was for Jacob! Luckily the nurses were great and it was over fairly quickly but when they stuck him, his eyes shot open and he was crying so hard he couldn't catch his breath! It made me cry! Austin told me I'm not allowed to watch Jacob's face the next time he has to have shots! But once they were done and we fed Jacob, he was just fine. He was a little fussy the next couple of days but nothing too bad. 

Jacob is definitely growing and changing every day! Towards the beginning of August, when he was around 7 weeks, he rolled from his tummy onto his back for the first time! He did have to have a little help from mom and dad because he was on the edge of a folded up blanket and couldn't get over the little bump. And he hasn't rolled over since then either because he's not a fan of tummy time (as you can see from videos on our vimeo site!) and I can only listen to him cry a little bit before having to make it better! He has also rolled from his back to his tummy once as well! This was recently, at 9 weeks old. I put him on the ground to change his diaper, went to the bathroom quick and when I came back he was on his tummy! I was very impressed and I think Jacob was a little startled and not sure how he got there! Haha! 
Jacob also loves to sit up so he can look around at the world. We often prop him up on the couch or hold him on our knees so he can see everything around him. We did buy him a little seat with an activity tray but he's not a huge fan of it yet I think because it doesn't have a full back like he's use to having from sitting on the couch. He's also interacting more and more with us every day! We get a lot more smiles out of him and every time I see one, it literally melts my heart! We haven't gotten a full giggle from him yet but it's probably going to happen very soon! You can tell he wants to laugh! 
I think he's also starting to want to reach out and grab at things, he hasn't yet but I think he wants to. He'll hold on to certain toys or blankets if you help him. He also wants to put things in him mouth, again toys, blankets and his fists or fingers! :) Every day it's something new and a different adventure. And I love it all! 

I still don't have a job but I've had a good number of interviews so hopefully something will work out here soon. As much as I know I need to go back to work since we need the money, I really wish I could stay home with Jacob. I'm not sure I'm ready to leave him yet! But I've been fortunate to have been able to spend so much time with him! 

Austin, on the other hand, is in full swing at school. Last week was a little different because the school had early outs every day due to extreme heat. So while it made things a little difficult because Austin didn't have full class times, it might have helped with the transition of starting school again. He's busy learning what his 100+ student choir is capable of and helping students determine their voice parts. He's also getting adjusted to teaching 3rd and 4th grade again, something he hasn't done since student teaching. And finally, starting to get ready for the fall musical. So he has plenty to keep him busy! He has also realized how much work this year is going to be since it's a new school and a new program. Like anything, it's going to take time for him to find his pace but soon I know he'll have a success program on his hands, like he did at Riverside. 

A couple of weeks ago we were finally able to make it down to Tipton and introduce Jacob to most of Austin's family. We had a big birthday party on Saturday for his grandma and a family reunion on Sunday. So we were definitely busy! But Jacob did great. Although he is at that stage where he's recognizing faces so it is taking him a while to warm up to people. He might be a little use to his mommy as we spend the most amount of time together. :) 
This past weekend we went up to Minnesota for another family reunion. Again, we had a great time and kept busy. Jacob did great, once he got use to all the different people. :)  

Jacob's grandparents (on both sides) are definitely loving all the time they get with the little man! And we love making sure he has time with them! And it's been awesome being back so close to family, or at least closer than we were! It's made things easier too, especially when we've needed some help babysitting so I could go to job interviews. 

I think that's about it for us at the time. More later! 

3 weeks old

My little baby is three weeks old already! I can't believe how fast time is going by - the weeks and each day! Every day seems to slip by me so quickly! Especially when I spend most of each day just staring at Jacob. Watching him sleep. Watching him during play time. Watching him watch me. I love to just watch him. 

But a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. Other than the fact that our little man continues to grow and change every day! Just after my last blog post, Austin left us for a few days. He headed over to Dike where he joined other teachers and administrators from D-NH to go to a conference in the Cities. He left on a Saturday and didn't return home until late Wednesday night. We've been apart before so this was nothing new, but this was the first time we'd be apart with Jacob around. And I have to say it was really hard to say good bye to him. Although I'm sure my extra hormones didn't help anything! I wasn't worried about having help with Jacob because my family was coming down to help. But it wasn't the same without Austin around. I didn't know how much I loved having him around and helping with Jacob until he was gone. Plus, I didn't want him to miss having that time with Jacob. If you were to ask him, he would probably tell you that it was hard for him too. Although it was good for him to go and meet some of the new staff he would be working with and conferences are always good for professional development, but we sure missed him around the house. We did skype every night so he could still see Jacob and so Jacob could hear Austin's voice. And we were glad to have him home again! 

Once Austin was home again, Jacob and I each had our two week check-ups at the doctor. Jacob's appointment was first and he did great! Unfortunately his appointment was right around feeding time so he got a little fussy towards the end but it wasn't too bad. He's continuing to gain weight and was up to 9lbs 3oz! The doctor said he looked good and didn't have any concerns about anything! His next appointment won't be until 2 months and by that time we'll be over in the Cedar Valley so we're currently in the process of looking for a new pediatrician over there. 

My appointment also went great, although Jacob kept stealing all the attention of the nurses and Dr. Platt! :) I was told I was looking good as well and was given permission to start lifting some heavier things, but not to over do it. After my c-section, Dr. Platt sent part of my placenta to get tested to see if it was infected and at my appointment we were told that the results had come back and it was infected. This would explain why Jacob had a fever when he was first born. It also means it was a very good thing we had the c-section and we did it when we did. Although this wasn't at all what I wanted, I couldn't be happier with Dr. Platt and we completely trust her judgement. She made sure that Jacob and I were both safe. 

One of the things I was so nervous about having a c-section was the recovery time. But I believe that Dr. Platt did such a great job and because of this, my recovery has been easier than I expected. I have to remind myself that I did have major abdominal surgery! I would completely forget because I felt so great. I think it also helped that I had such amazing family and friends helping me out from the beginning, including Austin of course! I still get a little sore sometimes, but overall, feeling great! I also have to laugh because back in March when my dad broke his foot, I remember telling him to listen to the doctor and just take it easy! Stay off your foot, let other people help you out, etc. Well it turns out I am more like my father than I thought. :) I would try to do a lot of things around the house when we first got home and Austin had to "yell" at me and tell me to take it easy! I'm lucky to have a man who cares about me so much! 

Jacob is now three weeks old. Every day he's growing and changing so much! And overall, he's been an amazing baby. We really have been blessed! His feeding schedule has been pretty consistent as well, which has been good. However, he's hit his three week growth spurt and has had some cluster feedings - where he'll get hungry every hour, hour and half. And he'll feed for a lot longer as well. I have to tell you, this has been exhausting for me. And it also makes me so grateful for his normal feeding schedule! He also seems to be a little more fussy during this growth spurt. Normally he's such a good baby that only cries when he's hungry, needs his diaper changed or has a bubble or something. But right now he's been harder to calm down. I'm hoping this will end with his cluster feedings! But even his fussy times now are nothing compared to what it could be, and for that I'm thankful. It does test your patience though! :) Last night was pretty great though as Jacob slept for six hours! Austin rocked him after I got done feeding and put him down so I could go to sleep and then was blessed with six hours of sleep! During a normal night, he'll feed two, maybe three times. As much as I loved getting those uninterrupted hours of sleep, I'm not sure I want that to continue every night. I think because of our time in the hospital with Jacob's low blood sugar, I get nervous if he goes too long without eating. I'd rather wake him up and feed him so I know he's getting food! Plus I'm afraid if Jacob doesn't feed more at night that it could affect my milk supply. If Jacob continues to sleep well at night, I'll probably try to get up at least once to pump to help my supply. 

Austin and I are also both learning what Jacob wants. We're learning what different cries mean, if he's just fussing or if he's really hungry. When he really gets to crying really hard, it has this quiver to it. Austin hates hearing it and wants to do whatever it takes to make it stop. I, on the other hand, find it a little amusing because Jacob just likes to be dramatic. :) It mostly happens during bath time which Jacob doesn't like. We're still doing sponge baths right now so maybe once we actually give him a bath where he can sit in water, it might be different! 

Jacob's also getting stronger every day! He does great at holding his head up by himself at times and is able to do it longer and longer. We've also been doing tummy time, which he's awesome at! He does best at lifting his head when we have him propped up on the boppy or a pillow. He's even been able to lift and turn his head from one side to the other to follow our voices sometimes. When we put him on his tummy flat on the ground, he doesn't do the best at lifting his head, instead he tries to roll over! And I think he's going to do it before long! He can roll his top half to his side but he hasn't gotten his bottom half to do the same. But he's moving those legs so I know it won't be long! We've also been doing a lot of play time on a play mat that we have and he's starting to focus on some of the toys that are hanging in front of him. Or at least it looks like he is! He's also been really finding his voice these past couple of days. He likes to grunt and almost growl sometimes! But he's making other vocal noises as well and it's so fun to listen to! He also makes the best faces - both while he's awake and sleeping! I can't help but laugh at them sometimes, they're so adorable and funny! 

In other non-Jacob news, we finally have a place to live! We found a cute and small two bedroom house in Reinbeck, Iowa which is just 10 minutes south of Dike. It's a very small town so we'll do most of our major shopping and stuff in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area but the price was right for a house! We're planning on moving the first weekend in August so if you're available, you can definitely come help us! :) Once we get over there and settled some, I'm going to start looking for jobs again. Although, if we could manage it, I'd love to just stay home with Jacob but we need the money! Austin starts school on August 15th with students starting the 21st. I think he's anxious and excited all at the same time! 

Overall, I think we're falling into a great routine as a family. And we couldn't be happier. It has been a transition and we're still learning and still gaining patience every day. But we also couldn't be anymore in love with Jacob or with this new life. I love being the wife of an amazing father to my son and I love being a mother to the most perfect son! :) 

The days after...

After Jacob was born, it seemed like we lived in that hospital. We were there for almost 6 full days. I wasn't sure we would ever leave! But a lot happened those days we were there. 

Throughout that first day we started to try and breastfeed. This was something I really wanted to do for Jacob. All the books tell you that it can be difficult and it takes some time. And they were right. We were having a hard time. At first he was having problems even latching but then he got the hang of that, but wouldn't suck. We met with the lactation consultant who worked with us but without much luck that first day. After a while we started using a shield which seemed to help. We were told not to worry too about it too much because Jacob's stomach was so small right now anyway that he'd be fine. 

My parents and sister stayed all day and got to spend some time with Jacob. It was great to have them there because while they were busy holding him, Austin and I got to get some sleep in! And boy, did we need it. Around noon on Wednesday, I was treated to a foot and leg massage by the massage therapist at the hospital and it felt amazing! And then, with much help, even got out of bed to shower! Those first couple of steps felt so weird! First off, I didn't have a big baby belly anymore. And second, I had been bed bound for a little over 24 hours! I was very wobbly at first! But the shower felt amazing. 

Everything throughout the day was looking good. All of our checks and tests were great. Right after birth, Jacob scored a 9 in the APGAR test. I can't tell you much more about that first night because everything was such a blur! 

On Thursday, June 27th, Jacob was scheduled for his circumcision that morning. We got an update before and after that everything had gone well. After his recovery, they brought him back in for us to spend some time with him. Before and during the procedure they give him sugar water and this caused him to be pretty sleepy throughout the day. It made trying breastfeeding difficult. We were having luck again using the shield but he would latch and only suck for a very short amount of time before falling asleep. Again, we were told it wasn't a big deal and that we'd keep trying. 

Thursday night is when things started to get a little interesting. First we had to switch rooms because they had a full house at the hospital and need our birthing suite. Our new room was much smaller and didn't have the pull-out couch for Austin to sleep on. There was only a pull-out chair which wasn't nearly as comfortable. So Austin decided to head home that night and sleep there. We were keeping Jacob in the nursery at night and just having him brought in for feedings. I was still working hard at breastfeeding but I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. 

Around midnight the nursing brought Jacob in and hold me was a little jaundice so they had put him under the warmer for a while. I tried breastfeeding again but wasn't really successful. Over the course of two hours, Jacob only managed to suck around four minutes. He would latch, take a pull or two and then fall asleep. Luckily I had an awesome nurse helping me through all of this. At 4am, I hand expressed some milk/colostrum and we were able to feed it to Jacob by syringe. The nurse put her finger in his mouth and would wait until he sucked before feeding him - trying to make sure he would connect the two. This really seemed to help make things click for Jacob. After that, he was able to latch and fed for about 7 minutes - the longest yet! 

A couple of hours later, the morning nurse came in to tell us that Jacob's blood sugar levels were low. They like to see a newborn's levels between 50 and 100. Jacob's was in the low 30's. So they had us feed him 17mL of formula. I wasn't too excited about this as I really wanted to just breastfeed, but I knew Jacob had to eat. Before our next feeding that morning, we met with the lactation consultant, Rita, again. She has much more patience than either Austin and I but helped us get Jacob to latch without even using the shield! And then he even fed for about 15 minutes! We were all very excited! We were so proud of Jacob at this point. 
Shortly after he got done feeding, our pediatrician came in to talk to us about some concerns she had about Jacob because of the jaundice and low blood sugar levels. She wanted me to pump every two hours so that we could see exactly how much milk Jacob was getting at each feeding. But first, she wanted to give him some formula again because of the low levels. This happened right after we just got done feeding Jacob and the lactation consultant was still in the room with us. I was feeling pretty frustrated at this point because we had just had a great feeding with Jacob and I wasn't sure he needed the formula. I wanted them to check his blood sugar again to see if my feeding had been enough for the little man. I wanted the reassurance that I was doing my job. I could tell Rita (the consultant) was feeling the same way and she was vocal about it to our pediatrician. They really butted heads on it and it put Austin and I in a bit of an uncomfortable situation as new parents who really don't know what we're doing. That was extremely frustrating. 
In the end, the formula was given to Jacob. I was going to be pumping every two hours, before each feeding, and we would feed Jacob with a bottle. If he wasn't getting enough with my milk, formula was going to be supplemented. They were going to be checking his blood sugar levels every hour and run some blood tests to see if the low levels were being caused by an infection or something. While I did have some concerns about Jacob going back and forth between a bottle and straight breastfeeding, I also like the reassurance of knowing exactly how much he was going to be eating each time. No parents want to hear that something is wrong with their baby so we were willing to do what we needed to do to help make him better. 

So this is how our Friday continued. Jacob was getting his blood sugar checked every hour and I was pumping every two hours for feedings. The good news is that I was pumping more than enough milk for each feeding and we didn't have to supplement with any formula. The bad news is that when they would come and prick Jacob's heel to test the levels, my poor baby would just scream and cry. It's a horrible thing to have to watch and probably was more traumatic on Austin and I than on Jacob! He would calm down pretty quickly as soon as it was over and was able to cuddle with mom or dad. But every time the nurse came in and started messing with his foot, he knew what was going to happen and would start to cry again. Every blood sugar test they did however was great! His levels were never below a 50 so we knew he was doing great and getting enough milk! 

On Saturday, June 29th, we were told they were going to use the day as a trial run. The feedings had gone so well all day Friday and through the night that I could stop pumping and go back to just breastfeeding. They were still going to keep checking his levels though to make sure he was getting enough. We were also still doing a strict two-hour feedings. So before each feeding, they came in to check his levels again. All day Saturday his levels were still great! Never dropping below 50. And breastfeeding was getting easier. 

Later in the day, Austin's parents were able to come and visit, along with his sister and brother-in-law and their 7-month old. It was fun for the cousins to meet and I think they're going to be great friends as they grow up together! :) Again, it was great having family there and fun to watch them hold and interact with Jacob. 

Also as the day went on, the blood sugar tests got harder and harder.They kept pricking his little heels and were having a harder time getting blood. Hearing his cries was absolutely no fun. Finally we asked if it was still necessary for checks every two hours since his levels had been so good and luckily the nurses and the pediatrician agreed. They still wanted to keep checking but it would be every four hours. 

On Sunday morning we finally got the go ahead to get discharged! We were going home! Again, all of Jacob's levels checked out great and the blood work came back with no signs of infection. The pediatrician decided that the poor little man just probably didn't get enough to eat those first couple of days. We were glad to hear nothing else was wrong. As we got all of our discharge instructions, I was getting more and more excited to go home. We had been there long enough! One of the nurses walked down to our car with us to check our car seat and help us load everything up. 

As soon as we were good to go and Austin started to drive away, I suddenly became very anxious! It was real. We were leaving the hospital. We had a baby. We had this other life to be responsible for. Such an overwhelming feeling, especially since I was still excited! 

Austin's parents were there to help us get settled in at home and even let us get a quick nap in before they left. It was a great help, especially since we knew it would probably be a long first night at home. And it was a pretty long first night. We had bought a video baby monitor and Austin decided he wanted to set it up to watch Jacob in the bassinet, even though it was right next to the bed. I admit I made fun of him a bit at first but once it was bedtime, I was thankful for that monitor! It was an extra reassurance to be able to watch him sleep, otherwise I'm sure I would have been standing over his bassinet all night!  But we survived the first night. And every day things get a little easier. We're learning as we go and Jacob is sure teaching us the things we need to know! :) 

Since we've been home, we've had family and friends here helping us out. It's been great having them around and they've really been a huge help! It's making the transition easier as well. But soon, it's going to be just the three of us. But I think we're going to be okay. :) My friend Amanda came down for a couple days and cleaned our entire apartment for us! It was cleaner than I think it's ever been! Austin's parents came and helped us get a ton of things packed up before our move later this summer. My family also came down and is helping me around the house while Austin is away. Austin had the opportunity to go to a conference with Dike-New Hartford with some other teachers so he's currently in the Cities for a few days. It's nice to have family here so I'm not by myself. 

We went back to the doctor on Tuesday for a 48 hour follow up with our pediatrician because of the problems we had in the hospital. Luckily, Jacob passed with flying colors. He had already gained back and passed his birth weight! He was 8lbs 7oz! The jaundice was completely gone and he looked great. It was a relief to hear and helped calm my worries some. I felt better after leaving the doctor. 

And so here we are. Living each day as it comes. We've fallen into a pretty good routine. And Jacob's eating schedule is pretty good so far as well. He's a pretty content baby and makes things easy on us. Let's hope it stays that way! :) We also fall more and more in love with Jacob every day! And it's fun to see how much he changes every day! You can't tell much by looking at him, but looking back at pictures from his birth, you can notice differences. He's also just a fun baby to watch sleep. He makes the funniest faces. And the funniest noises! We couldn't be happier!

Our Birth Story

Monday, June 24^th, 2013

June 23^rd was my estimated due date and it was also the day of the largest full moon of the year. Unfortunately, this didn’t help jump start my labor. So one day past my due date, June 24^th, we had a doctor’s appointment. I was still progressing but fairly slow, not much progress from our last appointment the week before. Dr. Platt decided to do a membrane sweep to see if that would help get things moving. We scheduled an induction for Thursday, June 27^th if Baby Z didn’t decide to come earlier.

After the doctor’s appointment, I was feeling pretty crampy and I started to feel some pretty irregular contractions. These were the first contractions that I had really felt. I wasn’t really feeling any Braxton Hicks or anything before then. These irregular contractions continued throughout the evening and night.

Tuesday, June 25^th, 2013

At about 1:00am, I started to feel some regular contractions. They were lasting anywhere between 30 seconds and a minute and half, happening every 4-6 minutes. We had been told at our appointment that baby was most likely sunny side up, so facing the wrong way. Because of this, all of my contractions were being felt in my lower back. After about an hour of contractions, Austin called the hospital to tell them what was going on and they suggested that we head on in. We were able to watch a really sweet lightning show on the drive in. Although I don’t think I was able to enjoy it as much as normal since I was breathing through contractions every couple of minutes.

We arrived at the hospital at about 3:30amand right away I was hooked up to monitors to watch contractions and check the baby’s heartbeat. The heartbeat was great and the contractions were still regular. I was still slowly progressing at this point. I did spend some time off the monitors which meant I was able to walk around but I was feeling some pretty intense back labor. Around 5am, Dr. Marshall (the other doctor in our office and the one on-call that night) was called and told about where I was at. He gave the go ahead to let us stay at the hospital. It was official – we were going to have a baby! This was a relief but also a little scary that after nine months of carrying this baby inside, we were going to be meeting him/her soon! It was go time!

Shortly after 7am I decided to start some IV pain meds, after six hours of back labor. I really don’ handle pain well so I was pretty proud of myself for lasting that long. I received that every one hour for three hours. During those three hours I was able to get some sleep but towards the end of each hour, I would feel the pain getting intense again. Around 11:00am, I decided to go for the epidural – something I was always open to having. :) So the anesthesiologist came up to set the epidural. She also put a new IV in my right hand because the one on my left had fallen out. I have to admit that getting the IV put in my hand hurt worse than getting the epidural. I had progress a little bit more at this point but still fairly slow. Once the epidural set it, my contractions were reduced to barely noticeable. I started to feel more pressure in my lower abdomen at this point, but nothing painful. I was also able to take some longer naps now, which was great! I was mostly being woken up by the nurses to check on things. My contractions and the baby’s heartbeat were still doing great.

Around 1:00pm, Dr. Platt came in to check on us. She decided to break my waters to help things keep progressing. She said everything was looking good and that hopefully I would start progressing a little bit more quickly now. After a couple of hours however, my contractions started to slow to about 5 minutes apart, so pitocin was ordered to help. I was given the lowest dose to start out and see what would happen. My contractions started to get a little closer together but the pitocin dose was upped by one around 5:45pm.

Around 7:00pm I started to feel more pressure with each contraction. There was no pain, just the pressure. At 9:30pm, Dr. Platt came back in to check on me and wasn’t too impressed with my progression. She decided to switch to an internal monitor to help gauge the strength of each contraction and to help determine if more medicine is needed. At 11pm, I had progressed, but very little.

Wednesday, June 26^th, 2013

At 12:00am, we did another check and I had progressed a little more. I asked for a boost in my epidural because I was starting to feel some sharp pains in my lower back again. At 12:50am, Dr. Platt came in and told us that it was time to start pushing! After about 30 minutes of pushing, I was able to take a break. What I didn’t know until hours later was that during the pushing, the baby’s heartbeat had dropped to the 80’s. Luckily, Austin knew better than to tell me this at the time it was happening because it definitely would have made me stressed and anxious.

At 1:45am, Dr. Platt came in to inform us about her concerns for the baby and mom. I had actually fallen asleep for a bit so I was a little bit shocked because I didn’t know that anything was wrong. But after I got done pushing, baby’s heartbeat shot up to the 180’s/170’s. Baby also wasn’t descending properly and was still not in the best position. Baby was getting stressed during the pushing and from the medicine. So Dr. Platt recommended that we move forward with a c-section and because we didn’t want to take any risks for myself or the baby, we agreed. A c-section was definitely the last thing that I wanted. Not only because I wanted to experience the miracle of birth, but because I was scared of the procedure and the recovery. But Dr. Platt was great about walking through each of my concerns with the procedure. Austin was also great about helping me stay calm throughout this time.

We decided to call our parents at this point to let them know we’d be heading in for the c-section. We definitely thought the extra prayers would be helpful and help calm me down!

Around 2:15am I was taken back to get prepped for surgery. Austin was allowed to come back for the procedure and sat by my head the entire time, keeping me distracted from what was happening. Having him talk to me the whole time was exactly what I needed.

At 2:48am, Jacob Alan Zaruba was born into this world at 8lb 6oz, 20 ½ inches long. Austin was actually able to take a look over the curtain and he was the one to tell me it was a boy! I love that he was the one to tell me that news! A few seconds later, we heard Jacob cry for the first time. I think it was at that time, it became real. Our baby was here. And his cry was an amazing sound. Austin went to Jacob as they did their tests and he was able to cut the umbilical cord. After he got done with that, he turned to look at me and even through his mask, I could see the smile on his face! What a proud dad! Austin left with Jacob to go to the nursery as they finished their tests on him while surgery was finished with me. Finally, around 3:15am, Jacob and Austin came back to the room where we were able to be a family for the very first time! It was love at first sight. It’s hard to believe that in a matter of minutes, our entire lives had changed. Our focus had shifted to this tiny baby, who we were now responsible for. What a whirlwind of emotion!

Looking back, the rest of the day was a blur. It was in all honesty, the longest but most rewarding day of my life. I had been in labor for about 26 hours. But at the end, I was awarded the most beautiful baby boy. And I could not have done it without Austin. He was by my side the entire time. And even while I was sleeping, he was awake, too anxious and excited to sleep. He was supportive in all the right ways, getting me everything I needed and encouraged me when things got hard. I am so proud of the man he was that day. He could not have been a better husband to me.  And now everyday I’m falling more and more in love with these two amazing men in my life. 

Closer and Closer!

It's almost Baby Month! It's hard to believe, I don't know where these last 8 months have gone! Last week we had a doctor's appointment and we had our last ultrasound before the baby comes. This was basically just to check the growth, do some measurements and make sure the baby was in the correct position - head down. Everything looked great! Baby is head down and measurements were right on track! The doctor estimated the baby was weighing in right around 5 1/2lbs. So if the baby gains about a 1/2lb a week from here until my due date, that would be about a 7 1/2lb baby! Again, all just an estimate, but that's a size I'm okay with! :) I also had the Group B Strep test done and that came back negative so no antibiotics during the birth. So, overall the appointment was great and things are progressing already. During the ultrasound as well, we tried to get another look at baby's face but again, it had a hand up there the whole time! Throughout this entire pregnancy, every ultrasound has shown a little hand in front of the face! The doctor made a comment that this is probably how the baby is going to sleep when he/she arrives! I don't doubt it! But I am eager to finally get a good look at this little one! :) 

That appointment was also the first of our weekly visits! We're now at the doctor's every week until this baby comes. So we had another appointment yesterday! This was just a quick belly check - measuring right on track at 36 1/2 weeks! And listening to the baby's heartbeat, which was in the high 140's. So everything is great! 

Now that we're basically a month out and that the baby could come early, we spent some time this past weekend making sure we have everything ready for when this baby comes! We got the bassinet set up in the bedroom. Looking at it, it's hard to imagine that soon a little baby will be sleeping in there! I also got most of the hospital bag packed! I just need to add a couple more things and then some clothes for Austin as well. One thing that we meant to do, but didn't get done yet, is install the car seat! Need to make sure we know what we're doing before this little one arrives! 

I also have a small list of things to go and buy that I would really like to have or need before the baby comes. Hopefully we'll get that done this weekend. And finally, just going through all the amazing things we got from baby showers and sorting out what we need right away and what can be packed until we move. 

Austin finished with school last week, or at least with students. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been any less busy! Right now he's been spending a lot of time working on the choir CD and getting that finalized. Riverside is actually doing a Celebrate Riverside day this upcoming weekend and Austin will be there, along with the new director they hired, to showcase all the amazing accomplishments the choir had over the past year and sell CDs. It will be his last hurrah at Riverside, so a bittersweet day for sure. He's also been busy packing up his office at the school and I'm amazed at how much stuff he's accumulated over the past three years! 

A couple of weekends ago, we traveled to Dubuque for my sister's graduation from Wartburg Seminary! It was pretty awesome to see her graduate after four years of hard work! I'm excited to see where the next phase of her life will be! It was also nice to spend some time with family while we were there, even if it was just a short trip. Although I must also say, that this trip was my last before the baby comes and I was very excited about that as well! Long car rides have just gotten too uncomfortable for me! It's nice to know I don't have any long drives until after the baby comes! This past weekend, Austin went back to Tipton for a friend's wedding. It's never fun being apart from him and I was praying the whole time he was gone that I wouldn't go into labor! But I think he had a nice, and again short, trip back home. It will be nice once we move to be closer so that these short trips won't be as much of a hassle - especially since we'll have a baby to bring along! 

So that's about it for us. No big plans now until this baby arrives! I'm hoping now that Austin is done with school, he'll be able to do some more packing around the house for me. :) He'll also be doing some voice lessons up until the baby comes. I'm also still working and plan on working as long as I can. Although it is getting a little bit harder every day! As the due date gets closer, I'm becoming more uncomfortable. I've also had some of my morning sickness return, which isn't fun at all. Let me tell you, it's a lot harder to bend over a toilet at 8 months than it was during my first trimester! Ha! I'm also have more and more heartburn when I lay down to sleep at night, so that's been keeping me up as well. I know, I know - the lack of sleep is just preparing me for when this little one is here, but I'd sure love some sleep now! :) 

Update time!

Just another quick update! We had another doctor's appointment this week and unfortunately Austin couldn't come with me since he was teaching. But it was a quick check-up again - weight, blood pressure, belly measurements, baby heartbeat, etc. And everything looked great! It had been awhile since we had an appointment with our doctor, we had been seeing the other doctor due to the ultrasounds and scheduling. But yesterday I was reminded how much I love our doctor. She's just super friendly and nice! She also makes me feel really good about myself! :) She kept saying how great I looked and that my ankles weren't even swollen, etc. It was pretty nice to hear! I also wanted to record the baby's heartbeat for Austin since he couldn't be there. And the little stinker kept moving around while we were trying to listen and then was pushing the probe away when we did finally find it! Such an active little baby we have! While she was measuring my belly, she kept saying that my belly is definitely all baby! And she was pretty certain that the baby is head down and even fairly low - which is great!! 

We go back to the doctor next week already! Must mean we're getting closer... :) Next week we'll get our last ultrasound to do a growth check. They'll be checking to make sure everything is still on track and to give us a rough estimate of the baby's size. 

In other news, we went to Tipton last weekend and had a fabulous baby shower! It was great to see people and again we were blessed with a ton of fun baby stuff! We were also able to go to a Cedar Rapids Titans game and see Ariel dance - which was really fun! On Sunday we headed back early because Austin had his End of the Year Awards banquet for the choir. It was a fun event and he had a lot of awards to hand out - which is great! It was also an emotional event because parents and students took some time to say thanks to Austin and let him know how much he'll be missed. There were definitely a lot of tears. 

My co-workers have also been pretty amazing and threw me a baby shower at work this week! Austin and I are so lucky to know such awesome people! The shower was a lot of fun with games and food and again, great gifts! We are so grateful for everything!! 

I've also decided how glad I am that this baby isn't due any later in the summer. Before getting pregnant, I had fairly poor circulation and was always cold! Like crazy cold, especially compared to Austin who was always warm. Since getting pregnant and the increase in blood flow, I'm always warm, if not hot! Even more so than Austin in some cases! Well I don't think I ever appreciated that being cold versus hot was a better option - at least in my opinion. I've hated being so warm all the time! It's been very uncomfortable. Early this week, we had some really warm days - in the 80's and 90's! And our air conditioning at our apartment wasn't working. Well this was not good for this pregnant lady! :) Luckily, we've gotten it fixed (or at least we hope so!) and shouldn't have that problem anymore. But thankfully this baby will be here soon and before it gets  any hotter around here! 

We've also had some questions about our next step, when we're moving, etc. We don't have a lot of answers right now. We definitely aren't moving until after the baby comes. I didn't want to mess with finding a new doctor, especially when I really love who we have now. Our plan is to move towards the end of July, that way we will still be able to have our follow up appointment with our current doctor. We don't have a place to live yet but I've been looking. A lot of places are open right now and so I'm waiting for some to open up with an August 1st move-in date. Right now we're looking at the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. It's just a quick drive over to Dike and has more options for us. I also don't have a job. I haven't really been applying to too many either. I'll start applying to more in June and July. 

I think that's about it for now! More updates when I have them! :) 

Hello Third Trimester!

For whatever reason, for both Austin and I, it seemed like our time between our last doctor's appointment until now has been forever! And yes, there was an extra week in there due to my traveling but it felt much longer than it actually was. We sure to like being able to see this little baby or at least hear the heartbeat! :) But because of my traveling, we ended up having two doctor appointments, just a week apart - no big deal to us! 

Our first appointment was Monday, the 25th. At this appointment we had a 3-D ultrasound to get pictures of the baby's face. Well apparently this baby is going to be stubborn like both mommy and daddy... :) Baby Z kept both hands in front of it's face the whole time! At the very beginning, it even had a foot up there as well! Maybe it just didn't want to be photographed today! The doctor did measurements and everything is measuring perfectly, which is great! He kept going back to try and get picture of the face, but nothing. We tried talking and getting the baby to move, and it was moving, just not the hands! :)

I've said from the beginning that this baby is going to come out talking, something it'll take after it's father... ;) Well one of the first things we saw at this appointment was the baby with it's mouth open in a little "o". Already practice talking in there! 

Here are some pictures from this appointment: 

This is about the best we could do for a face shot. It's a side profile, you can see an ear, an eye, some of the mouth and of course that hand up in front of the face!

See that fuzzy stuff? That's hair on our baby's head! :) 

This picture makes me smile but it's really hard to see. It's a straight shot of the baby's face. There's a small arrow pointing to a black hole - that's the baby's mouth, wide open and probably talking away! :) 

The nice thing was since we were going to be back at the doctor's in just a week, they said we could try again to get some better pictures then! 

Our next appointment was just this past Monday. At this appointment we again were going to try to get some pictures of the baby face, but the biggest event at this appointment was my one hour glucose test. This is a test to check for gestational diabetes. Basically they make you drink these orange drink full of sugar and then an hour later, take your blood to check that your body is processing sugar correctly. If you fail this test, you then have to go back in for a three hour test. 

I have to tell you I was dreading this appointment. I don't always do the best with drinking weird drinks and I'm definitely not good with getting my blood drawn! So needless to say, I was nervous. But I will admit that the drink was not nearly as bad as I was expecting and it was pretty easy to drink. Then getting my blood drawn, I lucked out and got someone who really knew what he was doing and again, it was pretty painless. And then we had to wait for the results. 

I got the call the next morning and I'm happy to report that I have passed the glucose test!! :) I can't even tell you how happy this makes me! I did not want to have to go back for the three hour test. Any time I don't have to go the doctor, I'm going to take it! So I'm one very happy pregnant lady! 

Back to the appointment... we did try another 3-D ultrasound to get pictures of the baby's face. All day before the appointment, the baby was moving around so I was really hoping we'd have better luck this time! The nurse also joked that after drinking the sugar drink, maybe that would get the baby moving! Well, instead we got to see our stubborn little baby! It still had a hand up in front of the face, along with the cord. And then the little bugger kept moving it's face towards my back. So we unfortunately didn't get any pictures. This baby just really wants to surprise us when it arrives! :) 

They did check measurements again and it seems that this baby is growing at a fast rate! At the time of the appointment I was 28 weeks and 1 day along. The baby, however, was measuring at 29 weeks and 2 days! I've joked all along that I didn't want a real big baby, but it's not looking too good for me! :) The doctor said they'd keep an eye on the size though. We'll have another ultrasound closer to the due date to check for growth. 

Overall, things with the pregnancy have been going well. I haven't had any complications or any real problems, and for that we are very grateful. I am, of course, dealing with a variety of the "fun" symptoms that come along with pregnancy however. But I suppose it's all just part of the package! :) 

The baby has continued to be on the move inside of me! The movements have been getting a little bit harder but still pretty constant at times. I have to say, this is one of my favorite things about being pregnant. Now, I won't say that if the baby is kicking away at me and I'm trying to sleep, but for the most part, I love it. :) It's still crazy to think a little baby is growing in there but the movements make it so real. I've actually gotten sad thinking about once the baby is born, I won't have those movements inside of me anymore! I will, of course, have the little baby to hold in my arms though! 

It's hard to believe but I'm now in my third trimester! Last leg of the race, I guess! We're now going in to the doctor every two weeks. We start our baby classes next week and soon we'll have to start getting things ready like our birth plan and packing a hospital bag! June is going to be here before we know it! I was just telling Austin the other day that it feels like this pregnancy has just flown by. But if you were to talk to me during that first trimester when I was feeling sick every day, I would have told you it could hurry up! Now I think it could slow down a little! :) 

Just another Baby Appointment

We had another baby appointment with the doctor earlier this week. This was a pretty quick and easy check up. Weight check, blood pressure, etc. We also got to listen the baby's heartbeat again! Still a strong heartbeat in the 150's! So everything checked out great.

We go back at the end of March for our 3-D ultrasound. They'll be doing some checking for any problems but this is also a great time for us to get some face shots of our little baby! :) Then at the beginning of April, it's back again for my 28th week appointment where I get to drink a "yummy" sugar drink to test my glucose levels. I can't wait for that... ha! And then, surprisingly enough, we're back at the doctor every two weeks! 

I'm at week 22 right now so we've officially passed the halfway point! And it's all going to be a downhill slide from this point out I think! And June will be here before we know it! 

This past weekend, Austin and I headed to Target to start a baby registry. This wasn't as much fun as I was expecting it to be and maybe I was just over-thinking everything. There were so many choices and options that I felt overwhelmed at times! Austin kept telling me that people will buy what they know works and not to worry. He's probably right... And then there just wasn't a huge gender neutral selection. A lot of things they did have for gender neutral were out of stock so we couldn't add them to the registry at the store, we'll have to go online to do it. Just a little frustrating, but not enough to change our minds on finding out the sex of the baby! :) But it was nice to have that task done. 

In other non-baby updates... We went to Minnesota this past weekend to spend some time with my family. I also went to a bridal shower for a very good friend of mine and it was great to see her as well. I've been busy at work trying to schedule high school visits and soon I'll be traveling quite a bit for my spring travels. Austin is of course keeping very busy with solo/ensemble contest coming up and has been spending many late nights working on a variety of things - which never pleases me when all I want to do is cuddle! :) 

Otherwise I think that's about it for us right now! Thanks for reading! 

Baby Appointment #4

On Tuesday, we had our fourth baby appointment with the doctor! And as with every other appointment we've had so far, this one was great! 

This appointment was actually our anatomy scan. This is where they really check everything on the baby out and make sure everything is growing and measuring correctly. There are two doctors in our office and these more in-depth scans are done by Dr. Marshall, the other doctor. So this was our first time working with him. Luckily he was great to work with and really explained everything that he was seeing to us really well. 

Before the scan, however I have to get my weight checked, blood pressure checked, etc. So after my last appointment, if you remember, I was told to start eating more desserts and start gaining some of that weight back. Well I've been trying, let me tell you! I'm probably the only woman in the world who gets on the scale every day praying to have gained weight! Ha! My appetite is slowly growing and I'm actually able to eat more food every time I do eat. And Austin is definitely helping with trying to "fatten me up" by giving me food all the time! :) So when I stepped on the scale at the doctor's office I had to ask - did I gain any of that weight back? The nurse said, some... almost two pounds. In four weeks I had only gained almost two pounds? Agh! I guess I just need to keep on eating! :) 

So back to the scan! All of Baby Z's physical measurements are right on track! Meaning, head, waist, etc. As of Tuesday and along with my due date, I was at 18 weeks and two days. The baby was actually measuring just ahead of that at 18 weeks and five days. So not a huge difference and it doesn't change our due date either. And while I'm sure this is a good thing, I don't want that baby to get too big in there! It can grow once it's out! :) 

Next the doctor checked vital organs. I have no idea how long you must have to study in order to understand what you're seeing on those screens, but he was great at explaining it all to us. First we looked at the baby's brain. Everything was in order, where it needed to be and everything accounted for. He looked at the spine and told us no problems, so no spina bifida. He was able to tell us the top lip looked great so no cleft lip. We saw the bones in the legs, which also were good, no clubbing or anything like that. He looked at the stomach, the liver and the kidneys and again, all perfect. And finally the heart. This was pretty cool to see. He was able to show us all four chambers, the heart was pointing in the right direction, all the values were there and the blood was flowing correctly in and out. The best part, he was able to tell us that he could rule out 95% of heart defects based on what he was seeing! Awesome! 

Again, the baby had a strong heartbeat, which we got to hear. It was right at 154 - but he told us to pay no attention to the old wive's tale about whether it's a boy or a girl based on the heart rate. So don't try to start making guesses! :) We are waiting to find out the sex of the baby so he made sure we couldn't see anything we didn't want to see. He did warn us at the beginning too that even if we think we see something, it probably isn't what we think. :) 

Showing us Baby Z's strong heartbeat :) 

The doctor was also able to switch over the 3-D scan for a little bit and showed us our little one's face! And although it maybe look a little creepy, it was pretty neat to see. :) That little baby is really taking shape!

This is the second picture we have with our baby in that "thinking pose"! It must be a pretty smart baby! :) Again, during the scan, our baby was moving around. I think it's always on the move! And it was even moving the hand around - almost like it was waving to us! :) I have begun to feel these little flutters in my stomach and at first I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was the baby or not. But it's happening more and more so I'm pretty certain its our little one. It's a pretty awesome feeling. I'm really excited for when the movements become more defined and Austin can feel them as well! 

My stomach is definitely starting to grow but it doesn't quite look like a defined baby bump yet - hopefully soon! :) But I can really feel it starting to firm up! And while this is definitely exciting, it is making it a little more difficult to sleep. And I can only imagine that it's probably going to get worse. :) 

We go back to the doctor again in four weeks for a regular check up and then another four weeks after that, we get to go back in for some more of the 3-D scans! We look forward to sharing more with you then! :)