Almost 10 Weeks!

Our little guy will be 10 weeks old on Friday. It's hard to believe so much time has gone by already. And at almost 13lbs...he's really not that "little" anymore either.

The last 10 weeks that I have been able to be home with Jack have been great. I feel so fortunate that I could have so much time with him before heading back to work. But, all good things must come to an end, and this week is my first week back.

I actually worked my first shift on Sunday, which was sort of a trial run. John was home with Jack, and all went well. Tomorrow is the first day of day care. John and I met with Sue and feel comfortable with her, but it doesn't change the fact that I am nervous about leaving him tomorrow. I don't know how much babies do and don't comprehend at this point, but I just pray that he doesn't get afraid in an unfamiliar setting with unfamiliar faces.

Anyway, here are just a couple more pics of my "peanut."

This one was taken by Aunt Lisa when we were home for Christmas.
She got a lot of cute pics, but I think this is our fave!

Last week he had his first boo-boo.

Occasionally he gets really frantic with his hands,
and he managed to cut his nose with his finger nail...
I swear, I really do trim them, but they just grow right back.

He is becoming so animated.
In the last couple weeks, he has started to smile a lot, and his laugh is so sweet.

Welcome 2010!

Hello All. Another holiday season behind us...I had no idea what crazy was until this year. Experiencing holiday travels and festivities with an infant in tow is a whole different type of crazy!! Despite the chaos, we had a great time visiting family and friends. We started on the 23rd with a drive down to Philly. I had spent the day while John was at work attempting to get us all ready to go. Jack, however, was not very much a fan of that plan because that meant mommy was not very attentive to him. So after a lot of sweat and tears, we were on the road by 6pm and in Philly by 1130pm. Not bad for our first time traveling with an infant.

We spent 5 days in Philly with the Claypool clan. Having Liam and Ber with the two newborns was a lot of fun. Here are some cute pics from our Philly Christmas.

Jack and his new cousin Samuel Webb Kurtz ("Webb") on Christmas Eve.Jack's first Christmas morningNana and Papa Bill Bill with all the grandkids. Liam, Ber, Webb, and Jack.Webb KurtzPapa Bill Bill with Webb and JackMommy & JackToo much excitement...naptime for Jack.Alex, Lee, & Ber...aka the Galanii : )Uncle John with Liam, now almost 3, he loves, loves, loves his trains.Daddy and Jack were pooped after the Christmas morning festivities.Daddy & Jack with Maarten & Samuel Jacbos.

In a week of firsts for Jack, he also had his first trip to the park. It wasn't very snowy and not too cold, so we bundled him up and went to the park with Nana & Papa Bill Bill, Liam, Aunt Lee, and Ber. Jack seemed to like it. Here are some pics.

Aunt Lee & Ber with Daddy & JackNana Cis & Ber with Mommy & JackAunt Lee with John Berihu "Ber"

If we thought our time in Philly was a little chaotic with all the little ones, then we were definitely in for a shock when we arrived in Michigan for Christmas with my side of the family. We are up to nine grandkids in that family, with four new additions this year (the youngest just a couple weeks old...). It was hectic but still a great time. Here are some of the pics from Christmas in Michigan.

Ava...such a cutie.Aunt Sara with Landen & AidenUncle John with Landen...seriously one of the most photogenic kids ever!Jack loves his passie (how do you spell that??)Taylor with EthanEthan William Venema, just over a week old!Ava again...can't get enough of this little one : )Genna loves having her picture taken...such a cheese!At the end of the day, Genna and Austin decided they would make a little cash from all the food we had leftover. They put prices on all the plates and tried to get money from us adults...$5 for a Rice Krispy treat is a little rich for my blood... : )

Finally, after all of our festivities, we made our way back home to Rhody to the peace and quiet of our little home. Jack did amazing on his first plane ride. The poor guy spent 17 hours in a car seat on Sunday as we made our way home, and he barely made a peep. What a trooper!

I hope all your holidays were as enjoyable as ours!

New Pics...

Hello from Babyland...Sorry I haven't posted more pics of our little guy. Life since Jack's arrival has been great and strange and funny and crazy all at the same time. It's weird how I don't manage to get anything done besides feeding and changing diapers, and yet I feel like things are so hectic and busy at times. How is that possible?

At any rate, we are still enjoying him immensely. We especially can't wait to see the rest of the families for the holidays, so they can meet him, but also so we can meet our other two new nephews - Samuel - "Webb" - who arrived last week, and Ethan who should be joining us any day now!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Turkey Day! We hope everyone is enjoying time with family and friends to celebrate the holiday. I'm generally not the sentimental type, but I think it's appropriate to take some time to reflect on all the things that John and I have to be thankful for this year. John is healthy and cancer free, in this tenuous economic climate we are both in secure jobs that we enjoy, we have amazing and supportive family and friends, and we have been blessed with the most amazing, healthy, happy little guy.

Jack is three weeks old tomorrow - I can't believe it - time is going by so fast. He had his first doctor's appointment last week and had already gained 13oz since leaving the hospital. I guess we don't have to worry about whether or not he is eating enough.

We were getting a little worried that his cord stump took almost three weeks to fall off since the hospital told us it would take about 7-10 days. It finally came off though, so John and I were excited to give him his first bath last night. Well, someone should have clued Jack into the fact that this was supposed to be fun time because he HATED it. He screamed the entire time and even pooped in the water as a little thank you for the experience.

Jackson's First Week

It has been just over a week with our little guy, and John and I are loving every minute of it. We have so much fun just watching all the little expressions he makes, and laughing at the craziness of it all - like the 3am projectile vomiting or the involuntary peeing when the diaper comes off...

We are starting to learn his routine. In general, he is a pretty relaxed baby. He sleeps away most of the day and night, except for eating every three hours. His internal body clock amazes me...he literally wakes up almost on the dot to be fed. The one thing he does get pretty angry about is having his diaper changed. In fact, if he could live the rest of his life in a swaddle, I think he would be happy forever. As soon as we have to take away the layers of clothes and blankets, he starts screaming.

This week has been pretty laid back, with both John and I off work and many visits from family and friends. My mom & sister Becky flew out on Saturday to surprise me, and John's parents came out over the weekend as well. Throughout the week, Jack has met some of our other friends and family too. Here are some of the pics from the week.

Papa Bill Bill and Nana came the weekend of Jack's arrival, and Nana stayed with us for a few days to help out at home.

A surprise visit from Grandma and Aunt Becky! I couldn't believe that John was in on it and managed to keep it a secret from me for almost a week. We are looking to next weekend when Grandma comes back to stay with us for a week.

Brian, Sarah & Miles Bhuta with Jack

Brian Wildeman with Jack - thanks for the yummy meals!

John with Mason Wildeman & Jack

Aunt Jo & Olivia Calnan

Welcome Jackson!!

We are so happy to share the news that we are the proud and giddy parents of Jackson William Claypool. He was born last night (11/6) at 10:37pm. The delivery went smoothly (and actually pretty quickly), and he is very healthy.

He came out with a full head of dark hair weighing in at 6lbs 14oz, and measures 20 1/2 inches. So far he pretty much sleeps and eats, and we can't help but just stare at him endlessly.

John's parents came up from Philly yesterday, but because of the swine flu visitor restrictions, we are still waiting for them to be able to come up for a visit later this afternoon.

As for me I am a little sore, but actually feeling pretty good. I haven't been feeling sick at all since yesterday. I'm still trying to decide if the hormones really do go away that quickly, or if I'm just too excited about this little guy to think about anything else. Either way, I'm feeling great!

So we picked a few pictures to post, which we had attempted to email out, but I think the file sizes we too big, so here they are instead.

37 Weeks

Another doctor's appointment this week to assess the baby progress, but not much has really changed. I am still dilated to about 2cm, with not much going on by way of contractions this week. Since I am still getting very sick and have lost a little weight again, it looks like they are going to induce me next week (unless by some miracle I go into labor on my own before then). The ultrasounds show that Jack is a great size (up to about 6 1/2 lbs now), and next week will be an amnio to determine if his lungs are mature enough to start the induction. If so, we will be on our way to meeting our little guy!

At this point I am grateful to have an end date in mind. Being sick for nine months has been difficult, and now knowing that I just have to make it through one more week is a blessing.

In the meantime, I am still holding out a slight hope that I might go into labor on my own. My midwife has suggested some "at home remedies" to try to get things moving. She is also hoping that I might either go into labor spontaneously or at least that some of the tricks will help make my body more ready for an induction. Some of them are not so great (castor oil anyone?), while others are pretty nice (prenatal massage)... So now we just wait and see.