4 weeks old

I'm a little behind on my posts. Here's a picture of Jacob on Monday, 4 weeks old. I'll try to post more picture and updates later.

3 weeks old . . . where does time go?

3 weeks old!

Jacob is 3 weeks old today, and fortunately I wasn't awake at 3:45am to celebrate his 3 week birthday. This week we were focused on gaining weight as he wasn't back to his birth weight at his 2 week check up. I'm happy to report that Jacob weighed 8 lbs, 6 oz. at his 3 week check up today! He gained 8 ounces this week, yay! He's also been letting Mommy and Daddy sleep in their bed for at least a few hours every night while he sleeps in his crib. We've had a semi consistent routine of a 10pm feeding, 1:30am feeding, and then 5:30am feeding; lets hope this continues.

In other Jacob news he still loves the outdoors and is instantly calmed when we walk outside. He obviously hasn't gotten used to life outside the womb since he's quite comfortable with the upper 90 degree temperatures outside. He also really doesn't like a dirty diaper . . . I think I mentioned this in a previous post but it's been confirmed. Who can blame him right?


We had a few firsts this week for Daddy and Jacob. Daddy was christened with spit up Saturday evening which gave us all a good laugh. He used the Baby Bjorn carrier which Jacob enjoyed, and he also got to do Jacob's first diaper change in a public restroom. We walked up to the ice cream shop the other evening and Jacob decided to fill his diaper while we were there so we made a quick detour into Fresh Market for a diaper change. Mark was a pro and Jacob was a happy camper once he had a clean diaper again. :-)


As for Mommy, she's able to wear her wedding rings again for the first time since March and happy that the swelling is finally going away! During the past week we also took Jacob to meet some of our co-workers. He slept through most of the visits by they enjoyed meeting him in person.

We're looking forward to our upcoming visitors; this weekend Mark's parents are coming to visit and next weekend Uncle Michael and Aunt Claire get to meet the little guy.

Hi bright eyes

Daddy Kisses

Good morning world!

Hanging out with Mommy

2 weeks old

My how time flies . . . Jacob is 2 weeks old today. I'm sure my parents are saying the same things as they celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary today! Today was Mark's first day back at work so Jacob, Bailey and I were on our own at home. (He did come home for lunch which we all enjoyed.)

Jacob had his two week doctors appointment this morning and although he still has a few more ounces to go to get back to his birth weight he's gaining pretty steadily. Today he weighed 7lbs, 14oz. Feeding is still quite the challenge but we continue to work on it and have another doctor's appointment next Monday to check his weight again.

It amazes me how much Jacob has changed in just two short weeks.

-Each day he is more alert and enjoys longer amounts of time looking at his surroundings. He will lay on his changing pad (after his diaper is changed of course) and happily stare at the quilt on the wall for what seems like hours (probably only 5-10 minutes).

-This weekend his "Aunt" Rachel came to visit and he played on his entertainment mat for the first time. He was quite mesmerized by the music, lights, and mirror.

-He also really enjoys a bath. We were just "approved" by the pediatrician today for an official tub bath because his belly button is healed; until now we've been giving him sponge baths which he thoroughly enjoys. As soon as his clothes are off and he has a clean diaper he just lays on the towel and grins, staring at us and the ceiling lights.

We're still working on getting our little night owl to sleep more at night, the last two nights we had a 3-4 hour block of sleep. We'll see what tonight brings.

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days.

Meeting my friend Brittany.

Bailey supervising Jacob playing on his activity mat.

Meeting "Aunt" Rachel.

Jacob with his frog from Cousin Kristen and CJ.

Happily sporting his bow tie (made by my friend Elyse)

Lounging in the papasan rocker.

In his favorite "tree frog" position with Daddy.

Our cute little guy!

Week 2

We've had a wonderful week as a family, getting to spend time together and getting to know our new little man. What a steep learning curve! The week sure hasn't been easy, especially when it comes to sleep, but we do have a really sweet, snugly little guy who's already growing too fast! It's been a very hot, humid and rainy week which hasn't been very conducive for walks. This has made us a bit stir crazy so today we decided to go to one of our local lunch favorites to get out of the house for a bit; conveniently it's less than a mile from the house. Here are a few pictures from the past couple days.

Cute little smirk after one of his meals.

One of Jacob's many late night faces.

Reading with Daddy.

Nanny B, just checking in.

Mark and Jacob at the Bagel Bakery

Jacob and Mommy enjoying a few minutes outside.

Hanging out with Dad.

Big Sister "B"

Bailey has happily taken on the role of big sister to Jacob and although exhausted still insists on knowing where he is and what he's doing at all times. Jacob's Great Aunt Susan sent us this comic strip the other day and I love it! I foresee quite a friendship in their future. Bailey wants to be right beside him all the time and is quite attentive to all his squeaks and peeps and cries. She's got a big job on her hands and isn't getting much sleep but has happily accepted her new role. The other night I went to check on Jacob in his crib and Bailey was lying right next to it. If it hadn't been the middle of the night I would have taken a picture but I'm sure there will be more to come. Here are a few more pictures of Bailey (aka Nanny B) and Jacob together.

Proud big sister

Tummy Time

Just making sure you're doing ok Jacob

Tummy Time

Making sure Mark has things under control.

Just checking on him.

1 week old

1 week old!

Jacob is one week old today, boy how time flies! We're enjoying quiet time as a family and learning more and more about the little guy every day. We tortured him with a quick photo shoot this afternoon so here are a few pictures from his one week birthday.

Sacked out after breakfast.

I gotcha Dad.

Looking at the light in his room.

A little blurry but so cute I couldn't resist.

A week of many firsts

As expected, this week was a week of many firsts for all of us. We came home from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, so Tuesday night was our first night home with Jacob. Wednesday morning he had his first doctor's appointment to check his bilirubin levels for jaundice. Late Wednesday afternoon we found out Jacob had to be re-admitted to the hospital for phototherapy because his bilirubin levels were too high and because he dropped a significant amount of weight in 2 days (11 ounces). It was a trying night for all 3 of us. We were initially told there wasn't a room for Mark and I to board with Jacob but we could sit in chairs next to him in the nursery if we wanted to stay with him. (Of course we did!) Fortunately by about midnight on Wednesday night a room became available that was attached to the special care nursery and the three of us were able to stay in that room the rest of the time. Jacob had to be in a crib under lights unless it was time to feed which was difficult because he didn't always like it but the nurses had many tricks up there sleeves to help comfort him. One of the overnight nurses that evening turned out to be a nurse I worked with previously at another hospital and having her familiar face around to help was a huge relief to me. She also helped us with breastfeeding which has been quite a challenge! Jacob's bilirubin levels dropped throughout the day on Thursday and after 24 hours of phototherapy we were able to come home once again. Although being re-admitted to the hospital was very difficult emotionally, I really believe it was a blessing in disguise. The nurses were all so comforting and supportive, and we got the help we needed to begin a path of much more successful breastfeeding. I came home ready to tackle Jacob's first night at home (round 2) with much more confidence. Since Thursday evening we've been enjoying the company and amazing help of my parents who took care of the us, Bailey and the house since their arrival on Monday. We've had our first walk and first bath at home, and are slowly starting to learn his personality. He makes the cutest facial expressions while he's sleeping; he loves going outside; he is very content in his car seat once he's buckled in and wrapped back up; he seemed to enjoy his first bath, and he does not like to have a wet diaper ( don't blame him)! Yesterday we went back to the doctor and she was very please with the improvement of his jaundice and his weigh gain. He gained 6 ounces so now weights 7 lbs, 8oz. My parents left to head back to Virginia this morning so today will be a day of more firsts as the just the 3 (4) of us. Here are few more pictures from Jacob's first week.

Jacob comes home (take 1).

Meeting his big sister Bailey.

Bailey and her new toy.

Jacob with Mark's parents.

Our family at home.

3 generations of Siburt boys.

First doctors appointment.

Soaking up some sun to help break down the bilirubin.

My cute little yellow snuggler.

Phototherapy.

Waiting with Daddy to be discharged from the hospital.

Jacob comes home (take 2).

Our cute little sleeping man.

First walk with the stroller (aka Bob).

Another family picture.

Sweet sleeping baby.

Bath time with Daddy.

Hello bright eyes!

Clean sleeping baby.

Hanging out with my Dad on the late night shift.

Enjoying the rocking chair with my Mom.