Jacob's 4th week - 8 lbs 10 oz

It's been a week and Jacob has gained another pound! Typical weight gain for his age is 1 oz per day, but Jacob is an over achiever like his mother and he has more than doubled that! He weighed 8 lbs 10 oz before eating, ate about 2 oz, and weighed 8 lbs 11 oz afterwards! He's about 21" long.
Jacob 4 weeks old (7/30/09).

Jacob wanted to eat every 1.5 hours this past Monday, and I barely had time to take a bathroom break and eat between feedings, never mind sleep. I think he had a growth spurt and he's slowed down on eating just a little bit since then.

When he's full, he pouts his lips.

Jacob's eyelashes and eyebrows are growing and becoming more defined. His hair is super soft. He has a lot of hair like his mom and he has his dad's hairline. He has his dad's lips, and I think he has his mom's nose and eyes. Jacob makes a lot of facial expressions, and when he squints he looks like his mom.

Jacob with Aunt Lucy getting upset because he's hungry.

Uncle Paul and Aunt Chris showed us the 'proper' burping technique last Sunday (patting up the back with a cupped hand in an upward motion), and it works great! Poor baby recently started spitting up and I didn't know why.

One funny thing I didn't expect is hearing food as it's being digested during breast feeding. You can also hear bowel movements (when he passes gas)!

Jacob (4 weeks) upset after his daily bath because he's starving!

3 Weeks - 7 lbs 11 oz

Jacob turned 3 weeks this past Thursday, 7/23. This was my original (40 week) due date. Now he's weighing in at 7 lbs 11 oz, and he's about 20.5" long! As I mentioned before, he is a very good eater. Manuel's mom said Manuel was eating 8 oz at one month old, and this baby seems to be on his way to consuming a similar level.

I'm doing okay myself. Getting more sleep some days that others, but night is the hardest because I am actually sleepy during those feedings, which are every two hours and can last more than one hour, leaving less than an hour for me to 'rest' between feedings! Sometimes 40 minutes of breast milk is not enough and I have to supplement with a few ounces of formula! My foot swelling is finally gone, but I am afraid that my size 7.5 shoes might not fit any longer and I might truly be a size 8 now. I'll have to sit down one day soon and try on all my shoes to confirm. My hand swelling is also gone, but I still have some numbness in the finger tips of my right hand. The doctor said my hand numbness might last 6 weeks, but I hope it goes away soon because it feels odd! Other than that, I'm doing great and enjoying my time home with my new baby.

After taking one week off work, Manuel had to return. He comes home during lunch every day and holds the baby for hours in the evening. He also runs errands, washes dishes, and does as much as he can to help out. He's a very happy and good dad and husband!

Thanks to Jacob's Aunt Socorro and cousin Reyna, who spent the past week with us. They were very helpful with cooking, household chores, and watching over Jacob while Michelle napped during the day.

Family Photos with Jacob

I can't believe Jacob is already 18 days old! Jacob’s umbilical cord finally fell off on Saturday at day 16 (I guess I wasn’t putting enough alcohol at the beginning). We took some family photos:

Thank you to tía Elim for the beautiful baby blue blanket! Jacob 16 days old.

Jacob in his crib.

Jacob with mom and dad in his room.

Jacob's grandparents, Manuel and Dolores, visiting from Victoria, Mexico.
Jacob's grandma Elsa and aunt Socorro.
Jacob with Great Grandma Eva.

Jacob's tío Armando, tía Anna, and primo Antonio drove from Reynosa, Mexico, to meet him this past weekend.

Jacob with his cousin Antonio (5 years).

Jacob's second week

Jacob is eating very well and growing fast! He was born 6 lbs 3 oz, we left the hospital two days later and he weighed 5 lbs 11 oz, and on day 15 we went to the pediatrician and confirmed he was up to 6 lbs 13 oz! Jacob also grew from 18" at birth to 20". We had to do a few extra screening tests because there was some slight jaundice (high bilirubin in blood), but Jacob is eating well and we're opening the window shades to give him some extra sunlight. The pediatrician said he's doing great, especially with the weight gain!
Jacob's profile at 12 days - notice the growing belly and double chin.

Jacob loves his baths and he's very cooperative until we turn off the water.
Jacob's Great Grandma Eva gave him a bath at home (9 days old). Cousin Jenni and Aunt Lucy watch her technique, but don't dare try to help!
Abuela Dolores helps with Jacob's bath (13 days old).

Jacob has had many visitors, including our friends Danae, Frank, Amelia and Elliot (he was playing games on the iPhone) Quijano.

Jacob 9 days.

Jacob eats every 2 to 3 hours, and at night the feeding is more frequent and the quantity is larger. He has day and night mixed up.

Jacob with mom after a feeding at 10 days.

Jacob explores his bouncer at 11 days.

Manuel’s parents were with us all week, helping with many things including cooking, setting up Jacob's crib and other baby accessories, and allowing Michelle to nap during the day!

Abuelos help take Jacob for his second bilirubin screening test (15 days).

Jacob has been a wonderful baby, not fussy and only crying when hungry or wet. We are enjoying every moment (except maybe some of those the all night feeding extravaganzas)!

First week with our baby

We made it through our first week with baby Jacob thanks to help and support from family and friends. He is doing very well - eating, sleeping, and having very frequent bowel movements. We struggled with breastfeeding the first few days, and we supplemented with formula for a few days after leaving the hospital, but we're off the bottle and the milk is flowing! Jacob is eating and I think those cheeks and belly are growing. He also seems to be longer because that newborn sized shirt no longer covers his belly!

He is such a good baby...we are truly blessed. Manuel has been very supportive as we adjust to life at home with the addition to our family, and he is very happy to be a dad. My in-laws are visiting from Victoria, Mexico. They have been very helpful with watching the baby (so I can nap), preparing meals, and keeping the house tidy. We've had many visitors, and we welcome our family and friends - just call first : )

Jacob's first days

We've had some funny experiences over the past five days with baby Jacob. He's eating well, sleeping a lot (although he likes to be held after the first hour) and he slightly opens an eye occasionally to see if he's still in someone's arms. But he's not spoiled! He doesn't cry much unless e's hungry, has a wet diaper, or wants to interact (and he likes interaction mostly at night).

We were happy to head home from the hospital on Saturday, staying two nights, but we had great care and help from the nurses. Manuel and I had the car seat properly installed and ready to go but we laughed because we forgot the exact steps on how to strap Jacob in, but I think we figured it out. We also packed him in with blankets to support his head, as instructed in our 'buckle up baby' class.

Grandma Elsa and several others helped us give Jacob a sponge bath on Sunday, and he loved the water! His eyes were wide open and he only cried a bit at first.

My sister Socorro has been a great help over the past several days, and she was our photographer for some family photos.

Welcome baby Jacob!

We welcomed baby Jacob into this world on Thursday, 7/2/09, at 7:18 p.m. He weighed 6 lb 3 oz and was 18" long. He was born three weeks early, but full term at 37 weeks. I met my goal of having a natural birth, but the pushing phase was the toughest because it was just over 3 hours! I had some medicine to bring down my blood pressure, magnesium, and it also slowed down contractions which is potentially what dragged out the pushing phase. But everything turned out great in the end. Jacob was crying at first, but he had his eyes wide open and was just looking at us for several hours after his birth.
We had lots of visits on Friday, and thank you to Uncle Moses and Aunt Gaby for taking this picture.

It all started on Thursday morning. I had my usual several restroom visits through the night, but I couldn't fall asleep again after 6 am due to discomfort on each side with very minor contractions. Just before 7 am, I ran back to the bathroom because I felt a gush of water coming and I was pretty sure my water had broken! I also am pretty sure I saw the mucus plug, which was about as gross as it sounds, but there was no mistaking what it was... So Manuel and I calmly got ready in the morning and prepared our stuff for the hospital (thank goodness we finished packing my bag on Tuesday night). I called the doctor when the office opened at 8:30 and we headed to the hospital to validate my water had broken. Sure enough, we were admitted and the contractions progressed. Around 1:30 p.m. my doctor checked me out and was shocked to see I was 9 cm dilated (of 10 cm) and the cervix was 100% effaced, so labor progressed quite quickly. My blood pressure was continuing to increase, so I had some medicine to help bring that down and it also slowed the final phase of labor. I started pushing at 4 p.m. and baby Jacob arrived at 7:18 p.m. I saw it all in the mirror, and let me tell you seeing the head come out was a crazy thing but it was such a relief because I was completely exhausted physically.