Phalen Family

Santa's a nice guy, Reba

2007-12-07T17:08:00.000-05:00

Jack is looking at picture from last year of Reba sitting on Santa's lap, crying. Jack's giving her the lowdown about Santa.

Guitar Jack

2007-10-29T22:01:00.000-04:00

Jack has fun playing on the guitar and trying to figure it out!

Reba & Elmo

2007-10-28T09:09:00.000-04:00

Reba enjoying Elmo's songs.

Real Gone

2007-07-07T15:02:00.000-04:00

Any Cars fans out there? Jack and Reba like to dance some of the songs. This is "Real Gone." Another favorite is Mack's song--or "Life is a Highway."

Doggie says woof

2007-07-06T21:49:00.000-04:00

Reba is learning to talk!

Reba's Crawl

2006-11-17T08:51:00.000-05:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Reba's Crawl
Video sent by phalen

Reba is 7 months old now, with 2 teeth popping through, and trying to learn to crawl.

Jack halloween 2006

2006-11-17T08:29:00.000-05:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Jack halloween 2006
Video sent by phalen

Bob the Builder

Blowing candles

2006-09-10T06:49:00.000-04:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Blowing candles
Video sent by phalen

Blowing candles out on his Elmo cupcakes!

Birthday balloons

2006-09-09T23:01:00.000-04:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Birthday balloons
Video sent by phalen

Jack enjoying his balloons for his second birthday today!

Jack with Reba

2006-09-09T09:09:00.000-04:00

Dailymotion blogged video
JackrebaSept
Video sent by phalen

Here's a video of Jack playing with Reba in her chair.

I did say it's time for a bath!

2006-06-15T09:15:00.000-04:00

After taking a cute picture of Reba, I was looking for Jack and found him here! I had been telling him it was time for a bath, but thought he was hiding from me. At least I know he can listen to me...

We'll miss you, Danny

2006-05-31T08:17:00.000-04:00

Reba's Smile

2006-05-23T11:24:00.000-04:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Reba's Smile
Video sent by phalen

Now 5 1/2 weeks old, I know Reba is smiling in reaction to us. At her month appointment the doctor asks whether she is smiling randomly and I told her that Reba is smiling, but I am not convinced it is random. I know it's early (at least compared to Jack) for that kind of smiling, but look at this video! She is growing (now 10 lbs, 7 oz at her month appointment) and we're trying to get into a routine. Enjoy the video!

Quick kiss

2006-05-16T13:14:00.000-04:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Quick kiss
Video sent by phalen

Short video of Jack's brotherly love for Reba

Reba's Arrival

2006-04-24T08:57:00.000-04:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Rebas arrival
Video sent by phalen

Reba has her own timing and did not wait to be induced as the doctor planned. . . Willie and I headed to the hospital around 2:00 am Sunday morning after Kristi came to take care of Jack. The contractions got progressively painful on Saturday and, after a couple of calls to some friends (including Reba's Aunt Beckie), I determined that these were actual contractions. So Willie finally got to experience the drive to the hospital with his wife in labor! Reba finally arrived at 11:14 am weighing 8 lbs, 6 oz and 21 inches long. Her dad was allowed to help deliver her and cut the cord! Because Reba did not stick to The Plan (being induced on 4/20), Nana was not able to see the actual delivery, but saw her very soon thereafter.

We're back home now and helping Jack transition into his new role as a big brother. We made great progress yesterday when he kissed her and then put his cheek to her lips so she could kiss him. Carter, of course, takes it all in stride.

More dancing

2006-03-25T20:09:00.000-05:00

Dailymotion blogged video
More dancing
Video sent by phalen

We were listening to Blue Beat before dinner and he was doing some spin-dancing.

Guitar dancing

2006-03-24T08:26:00.000-05:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Guitar dancing
Video sent by phalen

a sampling of Jack's dancing and a bonus of Willie's guitar playing

I'm taking another cue from Rob and trying out this tool to post videos.

getting ready for Reba

2006-03-23T20:19:00.000-05:00

No postings recently -- it definitely reflects how busy I am at work lately! Although I have to say Jack is keeping us busy, too. Jack just turned 18 months and passed his doctor's appointment with flying colors. He is the size of an average 2 1/2 year old! We've been telling him about his baby sister Reba Kathryn and he will point to my ever-growing belly, but the reality has not hit him yet. The doctor thinks Reba may also be big, so they are planning on inducing a little earlier than the April 23 due date. So we're also busy getting her room ready and sorting through Jack's old clothes to figure out what we need to get her. One more trip to babies r us this weekend and I think we'll be ready.

I've also just joined del.icio.us, so look for our links on the sidebar here.

back from Charleston

2005-10-11T20:46:00.000-04:00

We're back from Charleston and from all accounts everyone survived! Nana did a fantastic job with Jack, particularly since the day she arrived was the day he decided to start cutting his first molar. He was happily asleep on Nana when we got back (see our Flickr page for that picture), but of course once he woke up and saw us he cried inconsolably for a little while. Nana assured us that it only happened when we left and when we came back and from her pictures of his big smile, I believe it! Willie and I had a great weekend--we slept late and ate a lot! Many thanks to Nana!

Baby Phalen Part II

2005-10-03T17:53:00.000-04:00

As most everyone knows, we have another Baby Phalen on the way! We got the official news via the ultrasound 3 days before Jack's first birthday! The due date is April 23 and they have promised it will come earlier. I think Jack is going to have a ball--he is so busy and has so much energy that he will love having another playmate in addition to Carter. In fact, Carter may appreciate the diversion.

If you could look back at the posts and compare to my time entries at work, there would be some kind of inverse correlation. But I have posted new pictures at the flickr site and will try to post more videos soon, too. And I am sure we will have a report from Nana after she spends the weekend with Jack while Willie and I enjoy a two-person trip to Charleston!

Jack's one year check up went fine--he is about 23 pounds and the size of an average 18-month old. He has also moved up from him Infants class to Pretoddler class. They play outside a lot more in Pretoddlers so he comes up much more dirty and more tired. They only take one nap a day (on a mat!), but I think Jack is adjusting well.

3 more videos

2005-08-13T20:09:00.000-04:00

Here are 3 more recent videos:

1. Dancing with Ellen, taken August 12
2. Walking after Carter, taken August 12
3. Spinning while drinking from his sippy cup, taken August 7

Blowing kisses video

2005-08-13T08:38:00.000-04:00

The host site is working again: see the video here

Video: blowing kisses

2005-08-12T10:55:00.000-04:00

While Mom's host site is having some difficulties, I found this new site I thought I would try to post videos. I found it by googling "Flickr for videos."

Blowing kisses

(it took a little while for the page to load, but it did finally come through)

Walking and blowing kisses

2005-08-11T21:34:00.000-04:00

Jack is definitely a walker now! He has done so much in the past week and has just been walking further and further. If he sees Carter, he may get too excited, but he can usually stay up a while. His teachers said he needs hard-soled shoes now so he can go outside and walk around. You can tell Jack loves walking--the only bad side effect has a been a bloody lip. He seems to be in such a good mood now that he can move around and chase Carter. And last night we discovered he can blow kisses with a sound effect. At first I thought he was just biting his hand and moving it away from his face and that we could teach him to blow kisses since he was already making the movement. Once we blew kisses back to him he couldn't stop. But when we left his school today, I told Jack to blow his teachers a kiss (which of course he didn't do!) and told them what he did last night and they apparently already knew that talent! Miss Annie said they blow kisses there, so that's where he learned it. We have a good video of him doing that last night, so hopefully I can post it tomorrow!

Hufflepuff

2005-08-03T20:39:00.000-04:00

Remembering a conversation at the beach and (finally) getting to Harry Potter, I thought I would see what Hogwarts house I would be in. Willie and I were both sorted to Hufflepuff.

The sorting hat says that I belong in Hufflepuff!

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, and treat them just the same."

Hufflepuff students are friendly, fair-minded, modest, and hard-working. A well-known member was Cedric Digory, who represented Hogwarts in the most recent Triwizard Tournament.

C-O-F-F-E-E

2005-07-14T20:16:00.000-04:00

Jack's favorite CDs in his young music life are Sesame Street and this collection of Children's Songs. I have to say we do like the Sesame Street CD (I have caught Willie unapologetically happy-tapping with Elmo (track 11) because "it's a catchy tune" and I have caught myself singing "Don't wubba me or I will wubba you" (track 9)). And there is nothing like singing "Five Little Speckled Frogs" (track 10 from the Children's Songs CD) that will usually quiet Jack on the way home from daycare.

However, in our preparation for the drive to Cape Hatteras, we decided we needed to have a little more variety. So the latest cd to arrive from Amazon is Ralph's World At the Bottom of the Sea. On the first listen tonight, my favorite song (listen to track 3) is about how "M-O-M-M-Y needs C-O-F-F-E-E" and sings that "and tonight I think I'll have a little vino" (rhyming with capuccino). That's my kind of kids' music.

no baby hands were harmed

2005-07-13T21:45:00.000-04:00

No baby hands were harmed in the making of this video. We debated whether to show this to the world--but there were no tears shed, just Jack looking confused as to what happened. And he did get one hand out by himself... You also get the added bonus of hearing one of his famous snorts.

New technology

2005-07-08T20:02:00.000-04:00

We have just upgraded to a new digital camera--many thanks again to Granny for starting us out right with our first digital camera almost 4 years ago! The camera will be going to a good home to the Atlanta contingent of the Sinsinawa Dominicans.

The new camera will also do videos. Our test movie is of Jack playing "gently" with Carter. Carter is such a sweet dog that he just allows Jack to crawl over and bear-hug him.

Flickr Photos

2005-07-04T18:35:00.000-04:00

See the link above (and I added a permanent link to the right) to go to the Flickr pictures that I've posted--so far there is not anything new, but we have some of Jack on his first boat trip that I will post soon. This site was recommended by Rob and it is easy to use and I spent a fraction of the time on it than I did with my other efforts. I hope you enjoy them--and be sure to check back more often!

2005-07-02T23:06:00.000-04:00

Happy baby--of course, now, he has 6 teeth, but you have to love that face!

catching up

2005-07-02T22:15:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to find a way to easily and quickly upload our pictures to the web since we lost the software I used before when we had to wipe our hard drive clean. I just tried HELLO from Picasa and it looks like that may work--but I don't think I have that much space, so I can't post too many. Also, look at "Spring 2005" to the right--I have to see if I like that product, but it at least gets the pictures on the internet!

At almost 10 months old, Jack is pulling up, walking around furniture, and once in a while standing up without any support. I am afraid he will be walking soon! He has also survived his first bite from a classmate at school (and I survived my first phone call from his school when you think the worst!). He is laughing a lot of now and charming workers at stores by waving good-bye. He makes me feel like the funniest person alive when he laughs out loud and throws his head back when I don't do anything more but lick a spoon!

As soon as I figure out the easiest way to post pictures, I will let everyone know here. I must not be as savvy as my brother because I cannot get JAlbum or Snaplog to do what I want, but there must be a program out there for me...

2005-07-02T22:12:00.000-04:00

His Popeye face!

pulling up

2005-04-29T22:27:00.000-04:00

It is really amazing how quickly babies develop. Jack can stand with a spotter at the footstool for the rocking chair, but earlier tonight I put him down on his floor and he scooted to the footstool, pulled himself up onto his knees and then straightened his legs! We practiced again later and he can now pull up to standing. Then we were in the kitchen and realized that he had been scooting but now he was sitting. He had not been able to get himself to the sitting position before even though he could sit if we put him in that position. So a big night for Master Jack!

We have our computer back and I am working on the videos, so be sure to check out that page.

cheers for Jack!

2005-04-25T16:48:00.000-04:00

When I dropped Jack off at daycare this morning, I was telling Miss Annie how yesterday he was up on his knees and was able to move an arm forward to start a crawl, but then he would be back on his belly. As if on cue, he was up on his knees and moved one arm forward and then the other before he went down. I consider that a crawl! It was very exciting and Jack seemed pleased with himself when all the adults in the room congratulated him. A call to his daddy quickly followed!

p.s. You may have noticed there are attempts at new videos being posted, but we are having computer problems and our computer is at the shop, so I will fix the problems once we get the computer back.

on the move

2005-04-17T10:41:00.000-04:00

Jack is now very capable of doing the "army-crawl" and can go wherever he wants, when he remembers that he can. Baby-proofing is in our future, including things like taking up Carter's water so it doesn't get splashed every where. Two weeks ago he cut his first tooth and now he has two poking through--although not quite where we can get a picture yet. After our first weekend away from him while Willie was in a friend's wedding, he seems to be sleeping through the night more often. (Many thanks to Betty and Randy for watching Jack!) Check out the pictures!

almost crawling

2005-03-25T11:04:00.000-05:00

Now that he is proficient at pivoting around on his tummy, Jack has lifted his belly off the ground and gotten onto his knees. But then he doesn't know what to do next, so down the belly goes. It is going to be any day now that he figures out how to crawl and our lives will change.

He is starting eat solid food--so far peas are his favorite and pears are not. He's on his third ear infection and has pink-eye now. So he had to stay home 2 days this week and Willie split each day. Willie even confessed that he enjoyed himself!

finally an update

2005-03-04T11:35:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy past month for us. Mostly we have been dealing with all the ills from daycare. Jack has now had two ear infections and had his first fever weeks ago-we couldn't believe Atticus just now had his first fever! And Willie and I are coping with getting sick every time Jack brings a new germ home. I must say Jack is handling it much better than me and Willie. We also had a visit to Johnson City and a visit from Willie's parents. I finally put up the February pictures--use the link on the right.

Jack is moving around a lot more. He can pivot on his stomach so he can at least see different angles, although he can't really go forward yet. As a typical male, he is always reaching for the remote control. That might be the thing that will propel him to start going forward.

He has also started solid food--actually, only the rice cereal. Lately, however, he does not seem to want. The rejection seems to have coincided with getting a highchair.

Enjoy the pictures!

and now tears

2005-01-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

Two days ago saw Jack's first tear--that adds a whole new dimension to the crying! So far tears only come out of the right eye, but I'm sure it will progress soon.

I will be posting pictures soon--I've just been busy trying to adjust to going back to work. We are also coping with Jack's first daycare cold. Jack seems to be handling it much better than his dad and me. There's just no way to avoid the germs with all his slobber! Other than that, Jack is enjoying daycare and he is giving Miss Freda a "blowout" almost everyday as she reports to us!

Latest stats: (as of 1/11/05 and 4 months) 16 lbs and 28 1/4" long. "Wiggle worm" he was called this time when he wouldn't stay still on the scale!

More laughter

2004-12-08T13:25:00.000-05:00

Here is a sample of the smile that can really distract you from work! He is starting to laugh more, too. And he is ready to sit up by himself--in the pictures recently posted you can see how he will try to prop himself up on his elbow. He doesn't quite have the back strength yet, but he has the will!

editor's correction

2004-11-29T09:20:00.000-05:00

Time is not going by as quick as I thought -- Nana pointed out that Jack was only 11 weeks (not 12 as posted below) on Thanksgiving day. However, my 12 weeks of maternity leave are over and I start working this week from home.

Jack did great traveling and it didn't take us too much longer. The only necessity for traveling seems to be having a pinky finger for him to suck on. He lately prefers that to the pacifier and will hold on to my hand like a bottle.

We are seeing more and more how sociable Jack is. He loves to be around people and will often just sit in your lap and look around at the party going on. Yet another trait he gets from his father!

Note: more pictures are being posted.

more pictures

2004-11-24T09:25:00.000-05:00

I've posted more pictures. These include pictures of Nana's beautiful quilt she knitted--that we hope Jack doesn't get sick on. Of course, Nana made it so it is washable!

We also had the first visit with Santa at Lenox Square last Friday. Jack behaved himself extremely well. He didn't cry, but we couldn't get him to smile either. He just sat comfortably with Santa looking at all these adults clapping at him and telling him to smile.

Jack will be 12 weeks old tomorrow and he is changing before our eyes. We are trying to help him learn to sit up by sitting him up and having him hold his head up. He has to concentrate so hard to not let his head fall that he can hardly even smile at us. It looks like a bobble head. He is also being a lot more vocal and loves to make a gargling sound.

We take our first 5 hour car trip tomorrow so wish us well! Happy Thanksgiving!

to sleep or not to sleep

2004-11-13T20:54:00.000-05:00

Can anyone tell me why a baby will sleep almost all day one day and hardly any the next? Today Jack slept almost the entire day. He would wake up enough to eat, but other than he was snoozing. But yesterday and the day before, he refused to sleep. He was up almost the entire day, except for maybe a half hour nap. So we are still working on getting him on a schedule and to sleep longer at night.

Be sure to see the new pictures and videos!

the "moose"

2004-11-10T17:19:00.000-05:00

This is what the nurse and doctor called Jack today. Apparently he is a large baby. He is now 13 pounds, 11 ounces and 25 inches long. This puts him in the 100th percentile for weight and height for a 2 month old. He is also the size of an average 4 month old. So they think the breastfeeding must be going okay. Everything else checked out fine and he got 4 shots today. No hip dysplasia, which was a potential concern last check-up. He's been sacked out the rest of the afternoon (waking up to eat, of course).

more pictures

2004-11-08T13:21:00.000-05:00

There are some more pictures posted for Jack's third month. We can't believe how quickly he is growing. He looks so much older to us! He is being more vocal now and you can tell he wants to talk to us. He is sleeping at 6 hours stretches, but it is from 8 pm until 2 am.

Jack is putting up with the remodeling of the kitchen and dining room fine--Carter is the one who is distraught that his routine is being disturbed.

Be sure to see the picture of the beautiful quilt from Jack's Great Granny Hobson. It is hanging on the side of the crib right next to the quilt she made for me when I was born!

no more bottle!

2004-11-02T16:07:00.000-05:00

Jack and I seem to have successfully transitioned to almost exclusive nursing. After giving him some "tough love" he went over 3 days with no bottle. After that, he has had only a couple of bottles when he has been really tired. Surprisingly, it wasn't that "tough"--I guess it just took perseverance and being able to hear him cry for a few minutes.

He is still growing--we'll have his new stats next week. He is almost too big for the bassinet, but I am dreading moving him out of our room and into the crib. Even with the monitor, I'll feel like he is so far away. At least I have an excuse for a little while--we're painting the master bedroom and the nursery is just one of the rooms that we moved some of our stuff into.

Jack had his first visit to the polls today. He must have been the youngest one at our precint. It's always fun to see how people just smile when they see a baby.

all moved in

2004-10-22T16:10:00.000-04:00

Jack has survived his first move to a new house at 5 weeks. Paying movers is definitely the way to go. I think Jack and I had the easy part of coming to the new house early and waiting for the movers to arrive. Jack's nursery is all set up and it's the best looking room in the house right now. He is growing every day. I had to buy clothes for him for the first time and based on his weight and length, I am having to buy some clothes in the 6 month size!

While Jack doesn't notice anything different, Carter is quite thrown off by the move and all the boxes around. Our new house is probably 1/3 the size of our old house, so he doesn't have quite much room to wrestle with Willie.

I'm in the process of posting new pictures, but be patient. We don't have DSL for a couple of weeks, so it takes much longer with the dial up connection.

videos finally added

2004-10-15T17:41:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to Mom for letting us use some of her space on her server. Check out the videos in the link to the right. Hopefully everyone can view these okay!

All hail the baby bjorn

2004-10-14T22:05:00.000-04:00

For all parents-to-be reading this blog, the Baby Bjorn is added to my list of essential baby products. It got us through two house closings this morning without incident. Now that Jack and I are both more comfortable with it, he really enjoys it and he slept all the way through the closings and of course got many compliments on what a good baby he is! And, yes, to any doubters out there, we have now sold our house and bought a new one. We are moving this weekend and Willie has been a trooper by taking on most of the burden of packing us up.

Now for the other essential products to the parents-to-be...
the vanilla scented pacifier--this is what they used in the hospital and was the only one Jack would take at first. Fortunately, he dropped 3 on the floor while he was there and because they have such a concern about sterility, we could take those home. You can only buy them online from childmed.com.
waterproof pads--these have protected our bed, sofa, pants, car seat, and stroller from more than a few accidents.
the boppy with two covers--this goes without comment. As an added bonus, Carter finds it is just right for a pillow for him, too.
The Happiest Baby on the Block--the book by Dr. Karp. Willie is the master swaddler and the other tips in this book have offered many quiet moments. As a side note, the bathroom fans work as a great substitute for the shushing sound. I found myself nursing Jack sitting on the (closed) toilet today in our pink bathroom. Now at the top of Willie's long to-do list is adding bathroom fans in the new house.

Finally, Jack's latest stats: As of October 11, he weighed 11 pounds, 13 ounces and was 24 inches long.

like father, like son

2004-10-07T11:26:00.000-04:00

We finally have a comparison of Willie and Jack as babies--to my eyes, they look eerily the same. I figure people are only trying to be polite if they say anything about Jack looks like me. Time will tell, but at least during this first month, he definitely looks like his daddy.

Save the Jackalope

2004-10-05T18:42:00.000-04:00

Jackalope is Jack's current nickname--fortunately, we don't have to lure him with whiskey. He only has a fondness for one drink right now!

Re-reading the classics

2004-10-03T12:42:00.000-04:00

In re-reading some of the children's books in adulthood, I have such a different view of them. For example, I don't remember the Tawny Scrawny Lion as such a pro-vegetarian tale. Willie and I almost had a book discussion on its lessons--the lesson I took is that vegetarians (even if they do eat fish in their carrot stew) are more satisfied and then don't have to chase and eat all the animals in the jungle. I will definitely be reading that one again to Jack!

This week has had a few firsts. Willie spent his first alone time without Mommy-backup when I went out for dinner. Both seem to have survived the evening fine and I only made two phone calls home to check on the boys. And then (as payback?) Willie had to travel out of town so I had my first night alone with Jack. I likewise survived the night, although I was rather smelly the next day and enjoyed my shower when Willie came home!

I have added a few more pictures. We are trying to get one of him smiling, but he seems to stop once he sees the camera.

wake a sleeping baby?

2004-09-25T17:32:00.000-04:00

I've heard it said that you shouldn't wake a sleeping baby--unfortunately, the pediatrician doesn't agree. Jack is supposed to eat every 4 hours, even if we have to wake him up to make him eat. At least 2 or 3 times a day we'll have to do this--once in the middle of the night and at least once during the day. It's terrible to have to look at him sleeping so peacefully and then to try and wake him up. Willie seems better at waking him up than me. I think we just have to do this for the first month and I can only hope that he will still want to sleep this much the second month.

The past week was my first week at home alone with Jack and I think it went pretty well. He is getting better at nursing and we are slowly transitioning over to all nursing and no more bottles. But in the meantime, I still have to pump and by the time he latches on, nurses, eats some from a bottle if he is still hungry after I heat the bottle, and I pump, he seems ready to eat all over again. I don't know how single parents manage it; if I can get even one chore done a day, I'm proud of myself. I can't imagine the mess the house would become if Willie wasn't around to help.

I've posted a few more pictures in Gallery 1, so enjoy them!

how quickly a day passes

2004-09-17T21:49:00.000-04:00

I know everyone wants to see pictures, but I can't seem to find the time to even download the pictures yet! Jack and I are trying to get the hang of this and the day goes by so quickly just with feeding, pumping, changing diapers, changing clothes, doing laundry, and trying to eat something myself. Jack had his first doctor's appointment today and he has grown 1/4 of an inch so far and his weight is on its way back up. They declared him in very good health! Hopefully this weekend we can download the pictures we have taken and maybe even take some more. Keep checking back!

He's home!

2004-09-16T07:36:00.000-04:00

At about 11:30 pm last night we welcomed Jack to his new home! Yes, it is a ridiculous hour to bring a baby home, but we had to wait all day for him to be circumcised--needless to say, we are very grateful to be done with the hospital. He was circumcised at 9:00 and then we had to wait 2 hours to make sure he didn't have any complications from it. Carter was thrilled when we brought him home. He had been moping around for a few days, but now his tail is wagging again!

Strangely, Jack seemed to sleep through the night last night. I think it might just be the trauma of being in new surroundings. I woke up at every sound he made, changed his diaper once, even warmed some breast milk, but I could not get him to wake up. He finally ate this morning. And now he is sleeping again. I have a feeling he will wake up when the home health care nurse comes this morning for his antibiotic shot.

Welcome home, Jack!

Mom and son

2004-09-13T23:04:00.000-04:00

taking lessons from the pros

2004-09-13T15:53:00.000-04:00

Jack is still in the NICU, but doing better. He does not need oxygen anymore and his goal now is to be able to eat all he needs and continue to breathe at the same time. He is taking a bottle, but when he gets tired from that they finish his feeding through a tube in his nose. The nurse let us both feed him today, showing us the best way to hold him when he bottle feeds and to burp him. She even had to help us dress him. We are so timid with him. He must know that we are amateurs at this. Tonight I have a lactation consult, so we'll see if he takes to breast feeding.

Nana and Grandad Dave left today and Grandma Betty is on her way here. He is slowly getting to meet his large family!

back home minus one

2004-09-11T20:31:00.000-04:00

I was discharged today, but Big Jack has to stay a few more days. His "touch-time" was at 5:00, so we got to see him and talk to him before we left. Willie held him for the first time and I held him for a little while earlier today. He was surprisingly heavy when we held him--I can't believe he was that big and that I carried him around inside me for so long! Although we want to see him and touch him all the time, we can't overstimulate him or he will breathe too fast. They are expecting him to graduate to a non-critical care nursery tomorrow. They call it the "preemie nursery" so I imagine he may be one of the largest babies in there. When I figure out how to post pictures to this blog, I will attach a few pictures of him. He looks just like Willie--down to the same birthmark on his forehead. More news tomorrow.

done and done.

2004-09-09T17:21:00.000-04:00

Apparently the new prince has arrived! 9lbs, 9oz & 22 inches worth.

Hooray, and hurray for his mom and dad, too.
Plus the epidural!

Pix soon I'm sure.

Others born 9/9, from Tolstoy to Adam Sandler.

~Uncle Rob

on our way

2004-09-08T18:53:00.000-04:00

Just as Willie was peeling the first sweet potato for his mashed sweet potato and tilapia dinner, the hospital called and said they finally have a spot for us. So we are quickly eating some left over veggie chili and will be headed to the hospital! More later...

still waiting...

2004-09-08T09:45:00.000-04:00

The baby is now 8 days late and we have been on a waiting list since last night for the hospital to call us to come in for an induction. So our bags are packed and we are trying to be patient. I was really hoping to go last night because they had promised a sleeping pill.

On other fronts, we have a contract on our house and have put an offer on another house. As long as the home inspection here on Friday goes well (despite a leak caused by Frances that we are getting repaired), then by mid-October we should be in our new home.

We'll try to keep this page updated and send pictures of the baby whenever he finally arrives!

good luck pic

2004-09-07T12:20:00.000-04:00

big brother strikes

2004-09-07T11:57:00.000-04:00

initial changes seem to work. more may come if nap continues :)