BMOC (or big man on campus) literally!

Check that looker out. He is definitely doing a great job growing. Last week we took him for his one month check up and he weighed 10 pounds 9 ounces and was 22.3 inches. That puts him in the 69th percentile for weight and 74th for height. I'd say that's not too bad. The doctor said he was nice and proportional and apparently eating quite well. Each week we try to get to the breastfeeding clinic at the hospital for weight checks. Last week he had gained 7 ounces, which is pretty darn good. The clinic has really helped my confidence when it comes to nursing. I know that he is eating enough. The nurses are great resources to help me know what to do. We've been giving one bottle a day though so he won't hate it too much when I go back to work. Willie did a great job with Jonah's first bottle.

Below is Jonah's bassinet. It has been used now for three generations. My grandma used it with my mom and uncle, my mom and her cousin used it with my siblings and I and are cousins and now I'm using it with Jonah. It got a new coat of paint, new pad and bedding made by my mom and it works great. We think it was originally from a hospital. We are slowly getting the sleeping thing figured out. If you can't tell by the photo, it seems like he'll be too big for it in no time. 

 Jonah currently spends most of his day eating and sleeping, but stays awake more and more every day. He is great about lifting his head and loves to look around.

(Jake likes to supervise!)

(Holding your head up is hard work!)

It's fun to watch him recognize voices and look towards the person talking. Great-Grandpa comes to visit us a lot and love to hold "Tyrone". Last week he wore his Great Grandpa t-shirt so we could get a picture.

(I think they both are!)

(Doesn't that look comfy)

Two weekends ago we made a trip to OP to visit Jonah's great-grandmas. He is very lucky to have so many great grandparents.

(Jonah and my grandma)

(Jonah and Willie's grandma)

(Jonah and Willie's aunt)

Last weekend Jonah took his first stroller ride. Check out the awesome hat. He's so snuggled in. I don't think he could move. :)

Finally we've been enjoying some snow days around here. Since Grandma Jana and Grandpa Pat are a teacher and principal they have gotten to participate in numerous snow day slumber parties at our house. We live in the town where they work and since Grandma hates the snow/ice, etc. they have been staying with us. That way if they have school they don't have to drive far and if not they can snuggle Jonah all day long. It's a win for all of us.

(Jonah doing a let it snow dance....)

(while wearing his let it snow suit. It worked grandma and grandpa got a snow day!)

(Grandpa can multi-task)

(Jake and Lola had to snuggle as well. Lola barely fit.)

And finally to end the post, just because it's so cute and because it seems to be Jonah's favorite place to fall asleep....

Welcome Jonah Tyrone

So this post is a little past due, okay a month and two days past due. On Christmas Day I went into labor and delivered the most precious little boy. Jonah Tyrone was born at 1:01 pm on December 25, 2010. He weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces, was 20 3/4 inches long and had a 14 inch head. It seems crazy that he is already over a month old. Jonah is just the best thing to ever happen in our lives. We couldn't have received a more perfect Christmas gift. We've slowly been learning about life with a baby and trying to get him figured out. Right now our days consist of diaper changes, feedings and sleeping with some tummy time, reading and snuggling mixed in. Here are some photos from Jonah's birth.

A Little Recap...

A lot has happened in the past two and a half months. Most importantly our beautiful boy was born. But before we get to that how about a little recap of what went on before birth day.

October:
In late October I found out I had gestational diabetes. What a pain. My endocrinologist put me on insulin and I learned how to eat a low carb diet. Boy was that hard. I never realized how many carbs are in almost everything. Counting my carbs was hard, grabbing whatever to eat is way easier. Knowing that eating right and taking my insulin correctly was so important to my baby being born a good weight and with good blood sugar was motivation. Since giving birth I've been able to stop the insulin and sugar checks and will go for another blood glucose check. With hope I will be diabetes free.

My wonderful sister and mother threw us a great baby shower on October 31, inviting our friends and family. We had the event at Johnny Carino's at the Legends in KC. It was so nice and our guests gave us some wonderful presents. We ate good food and had cake. Tiff planned a couple of games. One where you guessed what was in some baskets and then baby gift bingo. Here are some photos of the day...

My super coworkers also threw me a shower one day after school in November. We were once again blessed with many wonderful baby items.

November:
Starting in November I had to go for weekly biophysical profiles. Basically that's a jazzy name for a sonogram. Every Wednesday (until our baby came) I went to the hospital and they did a sonogram that checked the babies breathing, tone (opening/closing fists, flexing, etc,), movement, and amniotic fluid. They also did a cord doppler reading each time. It was pretty exciting to see the baby each week. It's crazy to think that the first time we saw our baby he was super tiny and then during each the BPPs each week his face would take up most of the screen. It was pretty amazing to see his hands and feet stretch and move and his little face.

I took a second birth class during November. This one at the hospital. It was in the evening so Mom went with me. This class was a little more in depth with what actually happens. It was interesting for my mom to go with me. Though she took a lamaze class back in the day, they didn't go through the same kind of info. Taking another birth class made me feel a little better about our big day.

One thing that was super important before our little one's arrival was some new wheels for Willie. Though the Trans Am is a fun ride, it's not really great for a little one. I'll pass on trying to get a car seat in the back seat of that thing. Willie's other ride was not all that reliable and got a whooping 11 mpg. Oh, yeah! And again, not the easiest vehicle to get a car seat in. So a new vehicle it was. Criteria was that it had to have four doors and get better than 11 mpg. Willie decided he would rather have a new truck and sell the old one than two cars. We ended up with a Toyota Tacoma. Dark grey, 4x4, 4 doors. It's the first brand new car Willie has ever owned and I think he deserves it. So far it's been great in the snow. We sold his old truck so we don't have too many vehicles.

Thanksgiving was a fun time as my sister Tiffany and her husband came to visit. We enjoyed our time with them.

December:
This was a month of getting everything finished up. We finished up the major baby shopping and room decorating. It was fun to get things organized. A team effort by Willie, Mom, Dad and I finished the dressers. Then we got to wash and put everything away. There are still a few things left to do, like getting some photographs for the walls and building a shelf, but I think the room looks pretty great. Mom helped me put together a crib quilt that was the inspiration for the room, limes and teals with sea turtles. As a Christmas present Mom had it quilted together. It was fun to work on it together and it got finished in the nick of time.

I also finished up the semester at school. Though I didn't get as much ready as I had hoped, I ended the semester with everything graded! And I don't have to go back until after spring break! YAY!

December also brought my brother Nate home. It was exciting to see him after so many months of him being in Australia.

It's hard to find time to write on this blog when it's so easy and way more important to snuggle a certain someone all day long. Our Christmas story will be posted soon.