Jack's Day Out

Today marked Jack's first excursion out of the house for a non-doctor related outing. Today was Jacob's 1st birthday and we could not miss it. Afte a 2.5 hour prep, we were on our way. Jack slept for the first hour we were there, but then he was wide awake. He and Jacob met for the first time and even shared a diaper change, as you can see in the photo.

Jack did very well for being around larger groups of people. He then slept the entire way home, including a trip to Jewel! We had a great time and look forward to many more trips out into the world!

Jack Lifting His Head!

Jack @ Four Weeks

Jack is in the middle of his fourth week in the world, and he is making great progress. He is eating well and sleeping well and playing very well. He is becoming a pro at lifting his head and it will only be a matter of time before his is walking and driving and teaching Latin and making millions of.....sorry, got ahead of myself there.

He is a great baby. We love him so much. He is going on his first outing outside of the house this weekend, so stay tuned for more photos!

Guess Who?

WARNING: This is what happens to Taylor after having 'existed' on 3 hours of sleep at a time for the past four weeks...(interesting that the fatigued Taylor looks quite a bit like Alex wearing Elton John's glasses).

10 lbs

This past Monday, Jack had his 1 month/4 week check up. At the weigh-in, he measured 10 pounds exactly! Big boy!

Oddly enough, he measured 21 inches long, which is 1 inch shorter than what he was at the hospital the day he was born. Silly little conehead!

He is doing well, eating like a maniac. He is up to 3-4 ounces per feeding. This kid is gonna be a big one!

Jack Laying Around

Jack Swings

Jack Tummy Time!

Jack Sleepyhead

Jack loves, loves, loves to sleep. He likes to sleep while he is eating. He likes to sleep while he is burped.

He has his days and nights mixed up. We are working on straightening that out by stimulating him during daytime and keeping interaction to a minimum at night. Luckily, Jack is not a bawling crier, so once he is fed or changed, he is generally good about going back to sleep.

He sleeps through pretty much everything: TV, the Dyson, Newt climbing the doorjambs, the coffee grinder, etc. But, if you put a plate down to hard or tip over an empty soda can, he will jump a foot out of your arms.

Kids are amazing. And bizarre.

2 Weeks

Today I had my two week check up with my OB/GYN (due to the c-section).
I am healing well, and can start doing a little more around the house or about town.

I have also dropped quite a bit of weight...enough apparently to have shocked my doctor when he came into the exam room. "I would not have recognized you if I'd seen you out and about! Your swelling has really come down, you look like a different person. Wow, the change is remarkable."

Maybe the doctors say stuff like this to make new mothers feel better, but I don't care. It was good to hear it.

Getting in a car and driving around in nice weather like we had today (72 degrees and sunny!) it felt good to be out and about. Since my mom was home watching Jack, I decided to extend my outting a bit longer after my doctor appointment.

I'd had my eye on these Puma shoes (or what I like to call 'airport' shoes) for quite a while now...actually, since my 8th month of pregnancy...they are a cross between ballet and gym shoes. I know it sounds weird, but they are supposed to be comfortable, easy to put on and take off (hence good for the airport), have good support, and are made of breathable material so your feet don't stink.

I decided to stop by Field's, or what is now known as Macy's. Unfortunately, they do not carry the assortment of of these Puma shoes like Nordstroms. So the next visit will be there. But for now, I was just glad to be back in a mall, not suffering from bloating, or painful feet, or just plain drag down fatigue, and definitely not waddling any more, so I wandered around the store browsing before going back home.

When I got home, I wished I had come home sooner to my little Jack! He was awake and spending quality time with my mom in the livingroom. Why had I been out so long?! I missed him.

Technically, I'd been out 2.5 hours. In my heart/mind, it felt more like 5 hours. I'll have to bring him to the mall with me next time and introduce him to the importance of stylish, good quality shoes and the Baby Gap. :-)

Big Day of Firsts!

Saturday was a big day for Jack! He did a lot of things for the first time!



Jack took his first nap in his crib! Here is the video monitor to prove it! He liked it very much. Surrounded by his Snoopy stuff, he slept for a good few hours.




He played on his playmat for the first time! He really liked it. He also played with his cousin Ellie for the first time! She was so helpful to show Jack how to use the different toys!




He used the bouncy chair for the first time! Mostly, he sat and stared in a confused manner, but he did seem to be comfortable!








He used his swing for the first time! It put him right to sleep (but not when I tried it again at 4:45am....sigh). Taylor thinks the lowest setting is too fast, but I thought it was fine.







He took his first walk outside in his stroller! It was a nice day, but he was still bundled up tight with the visor covering his face. He slept the whole trip....double sigh.








He took his first nap with Dad! Well, technically, I slept and he fidgetted around. Triple sigh.









He took his first bath. Did he like it? See the video in the post below and judge for yourself. Quadruple sigh...

Jack's First Bath!

Jack Eating!

The Cord Falls Off!

One of Jack's first milestones happened today: his umbilical cord stump fell off! He is now a "real boy!" His circumcision is almost fully healed and his jaundice is almost gone. He has gained back all the weight he lost the first week and is now over 9 pounds! He is eating well and sleeping....he is eating well. Jack is a very good baby. He cries, but only out of necessity (hunger, poopy diaper, etc).

Taylor is doing well too, but she still has discomfort from the c-section. Hopefully Mom and Jack will be 100% by the end of next week.

Tomorrow will be Jack's first full bath. Pictures will follow promptly. Stay tuned!

Jack's First Week!

Well, we are home and as settled in as parents can be with a newborn. We are tired and stressed and emotional, but all in good ways. Jack is getting better with breastfeeding by the day.

I want to take this opportunity to say a few things:

THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who has been there for us this week. Wany and Jae you guys are phenomenal. EJ and Tim: thank you for the encouraging words every step. My Mom and Dad, you guys will never know how much you mean to me. Sam, you too! Oma, you are the best person to have around when we are hungry or need some help. Thanks to every other person who emailed, visited, or sent their support.

APOLOGIES! I am so sorry to anyone I snapped at in a sleep deprived stupor. Sorry to everyone whom I did not offer to hold Jack, I was so out of it I didn't even realize the cordial offer of that (come to think of it, that apology goes to every person, since I didn't offer anyone the chance to hold Jack!).

Enjoy these photos. There are hundreds more coming!

Ode to Alexander The Great

To my husband:

Thank you, a million times over, for everything you've been to me this past week.
But mostly, thank you for the socks, and letting me go on my tyraid about bottles and nipples even though I know nothing about bottles and nipples. :-p

I love you.

Fidgetty Jack!

Another Jack Video!

Sleepy Jack!

He's Here!!!!

Jackson Andrew Maidy

Born September 25, 2006
7:41 AM

8 pounds, 10 ounces
22 inches long.

Photos will be posted soon!

The Guy's Guide to Surviving Pregnancy, Childbirth and the First Year of Fatherhood

I just finished reading this short book about Michael Crider's experiences with his first child. It was more of a humorous memoir than a guidebook, but it did put a lot of my feelings and fears at rest. I now know that I am not the ONLY one worried about dropping him when he is an infant!

The author even has a chapter about their cat and the interaction of the pet with the baby. Funny stuff! I laughed at multiple points because I have experienced the same things with Taylor's pregnancy.

But, talking to friends, family, reading books, and even conversing with Taylor does not put my anticipation, fear, and excitement at rest. I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about what kind of dad I will be. I wonder if I will even be able to do this job. I worry about what I will do when I have to take care of something so small. SomeONE so helpless.

But, I can't wait to try!

I am looking forward to....

Two more days of work...well, actually, 1.5 days since I have a doctor's appointment Friday morning.
I am looking forward to sleeping in during the morning while Alex gets to go to work (tehehehehe!).

I am looking forward to not answering questions like, "how are you feeling?" or getting comments like, "wow! you're big! you look like you dropped!" or "any day now..." as if I'm not aware of the fact that I am going to give birth in the next week or so.

I am looking forward to being in a comfortable house where the AC does not break down like here in the office. I am looking forward to having access to water and ice not contaminated by little white floaty things which I cannot identify like here at the office. I am looking forward to not having to smell cheap purfume someone here at the office insists on drinking of bottle of every morning (this by the way, nearly killed me during the 1st trimester). I am looking forward to saving a little money in not having to fill up my gas tank once a week for work. I am looking forward to not sharing the road with yahoos who certainly should NOT have been given a driver's license. I am looking forward to not having to put on shoes. I am looking forward to my next doctor appointment (9/22) to see if I've made any progress since last week.

Will I miss the office? I'm sure I will at some point. Some mother's who have gone through this before even went as far as to claim that 6 weeks into my leave, I will WANT to come back to work. I don't believe this in the slightest. How could I WANT to leave our little Jack 6 weeks into my leave? That's just crazy talk.

The Calm Before the Storm.....

This was taken outside of the church where Taylor's cousin got married last week. Notice the smiles. Notice the belly pushed to the limits.

Any day now...

Week 38 and 4 days

No change in progress. Still 1cm dilated, 30% effaced. Sigh.
But then again, while everyone else has been predicting Jack would be early, I have felt he will be a week late.
He'll come in October and I'll be uncomfortable for another two weeks yet. Just have to keep my eyes focused on the finish line and the prize at the end of this race. So far, I'm not doing a very good job of focusing on this though....tehehehehe.

My blood had an elevated level of glucose. So Monday, I take a fasting glucose test. This means I eat nothing after midnight Sunday. Go in Monday morning to get my blood drawn, go home, eat breakfast, then come back 2 hours later and get my blood drawn again. I'll have my results in 24 hours. At this point, the doctor's are not too worried about the glucose since I'm so close to my due date as it is. They are just erroring on the side of caution, just in case.

I'm almost hoping they'll tell me they have to induce even though I've been against induction from the beginning. The last weeks of pregnancy are challenging.

Maybe I'll pass some time by repacking my hospital bag. I realised we packed for everyone's going home outfit except me! What the heck was I going to wear back home? The hospital gown? Also, I need to pack extra toiletries. May have to make a trip to target for some empty plastic containers, and the Korean store for an extra loufa (aka skin scraper).

Swelling

My body is on the war path.
It is only just past noon and both my ankles have swelled up like crazy!
This usually does not happen till much later in the afternoon, like around 3pm.

But I'm excited as I've heard other mother's tell me that shortly before the on set of labor, the ankles swell up...and stay that way all day long. I am hoping this is one of those true sayings.

I'll know for sure tomorrow during my doctor visit exactly what my body has been doing for the past week. I am praying for progress.

I know I have less than two weeks to go till due date, but it seems like forever! Also, 95% of babies do NOT arrive on their due date. I'm hoping Jack is early.

Close

It is getting close. 9/25 is getting close.

I have two more weeks of work left, and then I am done with the office till 1/2/07. There are quite a few people at my office who believe Jack will come earlier than later. We'll see what happens.

I am excited, nervous, anxious, nervous....did I mention nervous?

I complain a lot about how uncomfortable I am at this stage in the pregnancy. I have not slept through the night in months, my lower tummy hurts and stretches, I have to pee every 30 minutes, and walking or just plain getting around has been slow and at times painful. And if one more person asks me how I am feeling (mostly people at the office) or when my due date is (again, mostly poeple at the office who've asked me a million times before and never bothered to remember my answer) I am going to punch them in the head.

But deep down, in spite of my complaints, I'm glad to be where I am.

I cannot believe that 9 months is drawing to a close, and I will finally meet our son, Jack. I will finally be able to look into his face, touch his hands and feet, and see exactly how much hair he has on his little head. I can't wait to smell him, and cradle him and look into his eyes. I can't wait to hear him cry. I know I will lose it the first time I hear him cry.

My next doctor's appointment is 9/14. We'll see what kind of progress I've made by then.

How cool are these CDS?!?!?!?

Almost as if they knew I was having a child, the Music Gods shine down upon me with this catalog of kid albums. All are lullaby renditions of great bands! And, coming soon: The Cure, The Beach Boys, and Tool!

I have included a handy link to the amazon.com site for these CDs. Click the images to go check it out!

A Day at the Office

A day at the doctor's office that is...sigh....and I mean all day.

My appointment for today consistsed of three things: ultrasound, non-stress test, and my regular 37th week exam.

Ultrasound went very well. Got more profile shots of Jack's face. He is growing well. The ultrasound tech. told me that there is a 10% margin of error (high or low) as far as weight goes but these were the figures she would put Jack at this time. He is at the 75th percentile for his gestation, and is anywhere between 6 lbs. 14oz and 7 lbs. 2oz.

37th week exam: not much to report here. I am still 1cm dilated, and 30% effaced. NO changes from last week. However, dilation or how much a woman is dilated is not indicative to when she will go into labor or how easy/hard it will be. Still, I wanted to hear that I was still progressing along. Maybe next week's exam will prove to show more progress.

NST (non-stress test): Last week I had to sit there in room hooked up to the NST machine for 45 minutes (test should take 20 minutes). Today I was hooked up to it for a good 1.5 hours. Jack wasn't doing very much. His heart rate did not very (acceloration/deceloration) but stayed at a constant between 137 - 144. What they wanted to see was accelorations in the 150 - 160 range and for the accelorations to last about 15 seconds minimum.

I was fluctuations in his bpm, but not long enough, or the numbers high enough. The nurse even gave me some fruit juice to see if that would liven things up with Jack. It didn't work. I think this is because I hadn't had a real breakfast before coming to the doctor's office. Just some juice and a sliver of left overs from last night's dinner. I will not make this mistake again.

Finally, they asked me what I'd planned for the rest of the day and if there would be any way I could come back later in the afternoon to do the test again. Forturnately, I was able to skip work altogether. They told me to go home, eat lunch, run a few errandds and/or walk around a bit and come back in the afternoon to do the test again. So that is exactly what I did and I went back to the office.

This time, he was too active from lunch. He kept moving around, so the monitor had to be moved around. Or I'd have to move because my hips hurts, or my sciatic nerve was being pressed on, and then he would move position and the heart monitor would have to be adjusted again.

This went on for the next 2 hours. Finally, the doctor said the NST session was over and I could go home. They didn't see exactly what they wanted to see like last week, but they'd seen enough to assure that Jack was in no danger, and enough variation was seen to show he was being reactive.

My next appointment is 9/14 and 9/22. I am beginning to resent the NST tests.

Granny Annie!

My mother has decided to start her own blog chronicling her view as Grandmother to little Jack. She is still debating on whether or not to call herself Grannie Annie or Grammie Annie.

All I know is that at this point, she better make a decision! Today marks the beginning of Week 37, otherwise known as FULL TERM! Taylor's discomfort has grown by the day. She has her next appointment and ultrasound Wednesday. We shall see how much longer the little guy wants to stay inside!

PS: Here is Granny Annie's brand new blog!

Labor Day

As of 9/4/06 I will officially be 37 weeks pregnant. This is a milestone as 37 weeks is considered full term and Jack can come at any time thereafter. I think it's kind of funny that 9/4 is also Labor Day. Tehehehe!

37 weeks also represents the beginning of the end, the light at the end of the 9 month tunnel, the last leg of the journey...etc.

We are taking care of some last minute details for the big day this weekend. Other than that, we just plan on enjoying the long holiday weekend visiting family and friends....do as little as possible from now on as we'll never get a 'do nothing' weekend again for a long time after Jack is born.

Weekends will be filled entertaining/maintaining our dear boy and sleeping in will be a thing of the past.

The 41 Week Myth

So I'd believed in a big myth. First time babies are not on average, born 41 weeks into pregnancy. I got it straight from the doctor's mouth today.

Reality is, once the 37th week is reached, birth can happen at any given time. So where did the 41 week figure come from? Who knows, but my doctor assured me that 41 weeks is the longest he'd let a pregnant woman remain pregnant. He said at that point, the placenta's service as provider for the baby is on it's last legs, amniotic fluid becomes less and less, and the baby runs out of what little precious room it already has! Not an ideal enviornment. Can I just tell you what a relief this information was to me? It was like a light at the end of the tunnel with a finite time frame attached to it! No more than 41 weeks! Another piece of good news, on average, babies are born between 37-39 weeks. Woo hoo!

Additionally, I am seeing my doctor every week now till delivery, which makes me feel good - brings a sense of 'progress' to it all. Today's visit to the OBGYN was no exception as far as progress was concerned.

I get a non-stress test (NST). This involves hooking me up to two kinds of monitors - one to detect contractions and the other detects/records Jack's heart rate. The results are recorded on a graph sheet with peaks and valleys representing variations in Jack's heart rate - accelorations/decelorations. Variations between the two states are what the doctors are looking for...as Martha Stewart would say, "it's a good thing.". The whole test is meant to last 20 minutes but today it took 45 minutes because Jack was moving around so much. We had to re-position the monitor three times. He's always been a busy body. The doctor reviewed the NST results....Jack passed with flying colors! I also had 5 small contractions throughout the test. To me, these felt like mild tightening of my tummy. Not painful at all.

Next was my internal exam. I did not enjoy this last week. It wasn't painful, but more uncomfortable. But today, not only could the doctor feel Jack's head was down, but also discovered I am 1cm dialated, and 30% effaced! Jack's at -3 station. Apparently, this is also a good thing and I'm right on target considering this is my first pregnancy.

My co-workers are now on full 'baby-watch'. Alex is very excited too. He's freaked out, but in a good way. He's also one step closer to Jack with every bit of progress that is made.

Wonder what kind of progress there will be next week? Next appointment includes the last ultrasound of Jack - this should give us a good idea of how big he's grown since four weeks ago! Maybe we'll see hair again....

Are we there yet?

This is week 35. From this point forward, I will be seeing my doctor once a week, and getting a non-stress test which is a 20 minute monitoring exercise. It's just to make sure everything is A-okay inside now that I am nearing the end of my pregnancy. I had an internal exam this Monday. I am not dilated, but the Dr. could feel Jack's head. He's head down and he's moved down (engaged) which is a good thing.

Jack's room has been tidied up a bit more - the wonderful shower gifts we got have been stowed away in the closet, the phone tree has been sent out, and I've organized Jack's collection of clothes by month/size. He still needs more of this and that and Alex and I are putting that final list together. We bought some more sleepers/jumpers with footies this week that were a 0-3 month size (the ones we received were for older month/size).

Strolling through Babies R Us this time around was fun. We indulged in our craving to buy outfits....eh-hem....a Halloween costume. Alex couldn't pass it up....he had to have it. Jack will be a little cow for Halloween this year. Isn't it cute?

Along with the excitement of D-day comes the discomforts of late 3rd trimester blues.

I have stopped sleeping. I think I average about 3 hours every night. No position is comfortable to sleep in. For a while I blamed our mattress, but let's face it....at 35 weeks, no mattress is going to feel comfortable....or pillow for that matter. I go to sleep with a bunch of pillows around me, and I wake up with a bunch of pillows on the floor next to the bed.

Oh, and I'm also wearing a wrist splint due to pregnancy induced carpel tunnel in my right wrist/hand. I've been trying to live as a left handed person for the past two weeks. Not an easy thing to do. Where is Ned Flanders' Leftorium when you need one?

Jack's head is on my bladder so I get up 3 times a night to pee.....but it takes me forever to get myself out of bed to go to the bathroom and then to get myself back into bed to try and sleep. I think I may resort to sleeping sitting up on my couch as sitting seems to be the only position tolerable these days. All those nights yelling at Alex to get up from the couch and sleep in the bed....and now I will be committing the crime of falling asleep on the couch. I hate it.

Week 33-34 Belly Shots

Week 33:
At the surprise lunch-shower thrown by Taylor's coworkers.



Week 34:
At Ellie's 3rd birthday party at Brookfield Zoo.

Ellie Jelly Belly!

Happy 3rd birthday to my cutie pie niece!
YOU DID IT! You made it to three! Hooray!

We love you very much!

Love -
Uncle Boo and Emoh

Baby Shower Photos! (2 Weeks Late!)

Here is a brief selection of photos from the fantastic baby shower! Thank you to everyone who came and especially to the organizers! Wany, your food was beyond amazing!

Let's Play!

Last night I asked Alex a question: "Am I still pretty to you now?"

His response: "I'm not playing that game with you, Taylor."

I wish he would have played that game. I'm not feeling particularly pretty these days (which is why/when women ask this question) and I don't think it would have killed him to just reply with a "yes" along with some other kind words.

Men are thick. Sigh, shaking of head, sigh.

Footprints

We felt Jack's foot last night.

I'd just gotten into bed for the night, and as is his routine during this time of night, Jack started moving and stretching.
But on this particular night, the stretching felt stronger, so I put my hand on the spot where I felt his movement. Viola!

I felt the tiny outlines of a foot! Alex felt it too. It was a way cool experience.

So far, we've identified his butt and one foot. :-)

Behold! The Voice of......Dad?

We have attempted playing music for Jack. Headset on the stomach, playing CDs of various kinds. We tried The Beatles, Mozart, some jazz, etc. It is hard to tell if Jack is reacting to it or not. It also is not the most comfortable setup for Taylor, either.

Yesterday, I (jokingly) put my lips on Taylor's stomach and began talking in a deep voice to Jack. Mostly, I was repeating his name and making very deep sounds. After half a minute, he began moving. The more I spoke, the more he moved! It was amazing!

And, these were not the same old movements from months ago, either. Before, the movements felt like the tip of his fists pushing straight out. Now, the movements feel like arms and legs kicking around and sliding in the tight, confined space. It is still hard to fathom the fact a real person is in there.

Crazy.

The Lift

I have started using the elevator at work.

I can no longer climb the stairs to get to the 2nd floor of our office building.

I no longer sleep through the night with trips to the bathroom sprinkled here and there. Once I'm up, I'm up....I cannot fall back to sleep. Every position is getting uncomfortable whether I am sitting on the couch, or getting ready for bed or driving in the car, or sitting at the office like now.

It feels like I am sitting on a bowling ball or incubating a huge egg the size of a bowling ball...not comfortable. Walking is a tricky thing now as my legs won't go as fast as I want it to. I remember being in a lot of pain after a good jog, or work out, but that is nothing compared to the all day long achiness I feel now.

My right butt cheek is sore. Jack's head has moved down (which I am happy about as he's been in the breech position before) but his head has moved down towards my right butt cheek and is pinching my nerve.

At night when I sleep on my right side, he tickles me when he moves (goofy kid). When I stand or sit up, his head presses on my bladder and I immediately have to use the restroom....not a good sensation when you can only 'walk' at 0.05 miles per hour.

I'm getting sleepy now too. I nap after dinner for about an hour, then get up, watch some TV, then back to bed at 10pm. Remember the good ol' days of the 1st trimester? Yeah, the fatigue is coming back.

Poor Alex....he does so much already and now he's just gotta keep doing more around the house. And I wish I could say he only has to do them for a little while longer, but I know that won't be true. I'll need even more help once Jack arrives. I don't know how single parents do this thing.