This photo was taken when we were still in the hospital and I was still wearing my wedding rings on a chain around my neck for fear they would get stuck on my finger. While breastfeeding, Jack’s little hand reached up and clasped my rings at which time I had R snap this photo…
For me, it represents everything.
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Here is Jack at 1 week old…(February 2, 2012)
*please pardon typos and grammar errors; this post was written in the middle of the night…
Of course, Jack spent the first 5 days of his life in the hospital with me while I recovered. We spent time getting to know each other, negotiating breastfeeding and generally settling into life together as a family. Naturally, we kept falling more and more in love with our little guy.
Here are some memories and photos from his first week…
He met both sets of Grandparents!
First, Grandma and Grandpa B through the nursery window on his birth evening…
And Grandma and Grandpa K the next day…
Did you know our boy is named after his two grandpas? My dad is Jack and R’s dad is Larry (Lawrence).
In the hospital, Jack was such a good boy — sleeping well and looking so darn cute all the time. We took photo after photo after photo! Here are some of my favorites from Jack’s first few days…
When we were released from the hospital, we were so excited to take Jack home. He was so much smaller than I expected that none of his clothes fit, so his “going home outfit” was slightly over-sized. He slept the whole way…
Upon arriving home, Jack got to meet Marceau the cat. So far, they don’t mind each other, though Marceau bolts when Jack cries. Here is one of Marceau’s first sniffs…
During Jack’s first visit to the pediatrician, the doctor expressed concern over Jack’s jaundiced appearance and his lack of weight re-gain so we were sent to get him checked out. They checked Jack’s bilirubin level and since it was relatively high, he was prescribed “light therapy” to help prevent problems with jaundice. Fortunately, we didn’t have to take and leave him at the hospital for this treatment, but instead were able to treat him at home. Jack spends all his time on “biliblankets”, which work to rid Jack of his excess bilirubin. To read and understand more about all of this, click here. Being new parents, I admit, we were very stressed out about this treatment and spent a great deal of energy worrying. He has to be exposed to the light 24 hours a day, except when feeding. Negotiating his sleeping with the lights took some time. Here are a couple of photos of Jack glowing from his biliblanket treatment…
In addition to the light therapy, we had to get Jack eating more in order to hopefully increase his weight gain, which was very slow going. It was suggested that we supplement Jack’s eating with formula, which felt devastating to me. Thankfully, I had a helpful heart to heart with my friend, Liz, who reassured me that adding formula didn’t mean I couldn’t breastfeed successfully (bless you, friend). We supplemented Jack’s meals with formula from time to time and remain hopeful that he will ultimately be exclusively breastfed at some point. Here is R feeding Jack some formula (which luckily, we had gotten as free samples)…
So, as you can see, it was an eventful first week for our sweet Jack during which we learned he is an extremely patient boy.
Here are some other things about Jack from his first week…
Jack loves to suckle for comfort.
Jack does not love having his diaper changed whatsoever. He screams through the whole process, sometimes until he is red in the face.
So far, his nicknames are:
From Mom…
– Boo-goo (sometimes Boog, for short)
– Jack-boy
– Munchkin Rumpkin
– Pumpkin Rumpkin
– Squeaker
– Cherub
From Daddy…
– Buddy
– Little Man
– Little Monkey
– Rutabaga (when he roots for breastfeeding)
His favorite hand gesture is ‘The Fist Pump’…
And for his final week one image — Jack got his first milk mustache on the day we left the hospital. Can you see it?
We love you, Jack and are so happy to have you at home with us!
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At 4:54pm on January 26, 2012 our boy, Jack Lawrence, arrived almost three weeks early weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces and measuring 18 inches long…
He is adorable, smart, brave and patient and keeps getting compliments on his beautiful head. Here is our detailed birth story…
Jack arrived by caesarean birth due to my ever-increasing high blood pressure. On Thursday morning, I went for a normal, weekly check-up, but my blood pressure had gotten progressively higher over 3 appointments, and on that morning was reading uncomfortably high. I’ll never forget how quiet and thoughtful my doctor got as he decided how to proceed…
Since I was still working (with just two days left before an intended 2-week nesting break), he said, “Ok, why don’t we make yesterday your last day; we’ll have you stop working, rest, and you’ll come back and see me again tomorrow afternoon. The great news is that you’re 37 weeks and so baby is full term, but I’d like to see if we can get a few more days before we consider induction”. I remember replying very calmly, “Ok”, but inside I was thinking, “WHAT!?”. Even though I was otherwise asymptomatic for Pre-eclampsia or gestational hypertension, my doctor decided to send me to labor and delivery right then for an ultrasound and a non-stress test for baby and ongoing blood pressure monitoring for me. My doctor, R and I all expected the hospital visit to be a precaution, but after some monitoring showed my blood pressure was increasing despite medication to lower it, they finally told me, “You’re not leaving here today without delivering your baby”.
Those words rang out so loud, it was stunning and unbelievable. Unfortunately, at 37+3 weeks pregnant, I wasn’t dialated at all, so inducing labor would have been a major, uphill battle paired with my rising blood pressure. My nurse even said to me, “usually I am all for supporting a woman in her choice to labor naturally and birth vaginally, but honey, even with an epidural, pain causes spikes in blood pressure and you can’t afford to have those right now.”
Suddenly, all the labor preparation I had been doing with R was unnecessary and I was having surgery. Thus the caesarean I had been really hoping to avoid. I cried and R held my hand and told me I was brave.
Once it had been decided to move forward with the caesarean delivery I went through every emotion: laughter (at the fact that I had no hospital bag and I arrived at the hospital in a “cute outfit”), tears (as I accepted the method with which I would give birth), anger (at the idea of the method with which I would give birth), disappointment, elation, curiosity, fear, surprise, shock, denial, exhaustion, worry, excitement, etc, etc, etc. And my husband, bless him, was so present with me for all of it.
While this is not an attractive photo of me, it begs to be included because it shows that I was trying my hardest to wrap some things up at work with my phone while being prepped for surgery. I think you can see every emotion mentioned above in this photo…
Once the time came to get things started, R changed into his awesome surgery outfit, which I specifically requested him to capture a photo of, and he did…
My nurse, Jenny, was amazing and talked me through every step of the prep process so that I could stay on top of what to expect. Having never had any surgery before, I admit I was slightly terrified. Without my magically supportive husband, it all might have been too much. However, despite being petrified, when they allowed R to join me in the OR and he wanted to take my picture, I tried to keep my sense of humor…
My experience in the surgery was painless, reminding me that my imagination is powerful and the whole caesarean birth went by more quickly than I expected. Not too long after my lower body went numb, I heard a loud cry at which time, R reached his camera up and over the blue curtain and captured this amazing photo…
(don’t worry, not too graphic)
Then, the assisting doctor came around the blue curtain and showed us our boy for the first time. This was my first view of Jack Lawrence, which I will never forget…
R went with Jack to get cleaned up and to help cut the cord. He cried intensely with his strong little lungs and I listened with joy over his being healthy…
Finally, after he was swaddled up tight, R brought Jack over and we had some divine first moments of family…
After surgery, I was wheeled into the recovery room to wait for feeling to return to my lower body and pretty soon, here came my husband and my son. Here I am getting to hold my boy for the first time. It was intense love at first touch…
I love you, RJ, my husband, and Jack-boy, my son. You are my everything.
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