2-1/2 months today!

So, it's been another month with this chunky monkey and he is doing so well! We are so proud of him. He had his two month appointment last week and weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds, 8-1/2 ounces and is almost 25 inches long! He is in the 90th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height. Apparently he gets his weight from this mother and his height from his father :). He also got 5 vaccination shots which weren't so fun, but he was a real trooper. The doc gave him another clean bill of health which we are, again, so grateful for.

He is smiling up a storm these days and we act like we just won the lottery every time we see it. It is awesome. He is also kicking like crazy. We've kind of made a little game out of it. He gets real focused and so intense and pushes his legs (one at a time, as if he was walking) against my hands. It is hilarious. He is so serious about it. He's also making all kinds of new noises. Just when we think he's about to cry or fuss, it turns out he's just talking and has discovered a new "word". It's so fun to encourage the noises and have conversations with him.

I'm happy to report he is sleeping pretty well. The past three nights he's slept at least 7-1/2 hours straight. It's close enough to 8 hours that we're considering it "sleeping through the night". It sure feels like we're getting more sleep, which is so nice.

We had a great visit from 4 of my college girlfriends over Memorial Day weekend. It was so great to see everyone and introduce them all to J. He made a good friend that weekend since my friend Stacy brought her little boy, Reid, who is only 5 days older than J. It was so fun for the girls to get to know the new men in our lives.

Well, J and I are about to run out for a bit, so I should get going. 'Till next time...

Love to all,
M, T & J

12 pounds of pure joy

I can't believe our little man has been with us five and a half weeks now. We've been quite busy with fun visitors and big events. He has been such a little trooper.

We had a great visit with Grandpa R and Grandma M. Now that their grandchildren have doubled on the Jansen side, their trips to CA have become even more busy. Cousin J had his 7th birthday party on Saturday at a park in Encinitas. We took J to it and enjoyed the magician that performed. It was so entertaining and the kids were so cute! It is hard to believe cousin J is 7! Sunday was A's baptism. We are so honored to be her Godparents...it was a beautiful service and both babies did pretty well keeping it together through the whole thing.

J had his one month checkup and is still going strong. As of last Wednesday he weighed 10lbs, 10oz and was 22 inches long. I just had him weighed today at a mommy group and he now weighs 12 pounds!!! What a chunker! The doc had said he is in the 75th percentile for weight, height and head circumference. She said it is really rare for a baby to be perfectly proportioned like that, so of course, I am just beaming with pride (even though I know it really doesn't mean anything). I am also happy to report he is sleeping for 3 to 4 hour increments at night now. He is still gassy as ever, but we've started giving him gas drops and that seems to be making a difference. I had heard that those drops are no more effective than water, but I swear he seems to do better when he takes it.

I finally did get a quick little smile the other day and it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can't wait until he shares that smile with all of you. The pic above captures the start of one, but the real deal is awesome. It is amazing how such a small little person can have such a huge impact on your life. We are looking at everything with fresh eyes and it is so incredibly wonderful. I am so in love with our little family.

Sending all our best,
m, t & j

Three weeks and going strong!

j is three weeks old today and just now coming down off the high of spending time with his grandma and grandpa murf, uncle michael and great aunt mrose. it was so nice to have my family in town for awhile. i'm pretty sure they were quite fond of our new little addition to the family. j was like a little hot potato between them all. it was great.

last doctor's appointment, he weighed in at a wopping 9lbs 8oz, well past his birth weight. we are thrilled he is eating so well. i'm really happy with our pediatrician. i bring her lots of questions every visit and she always makes me feel better about everything. the doc says he is looking really good. his one month appointment is next wednesday...he gets his first immunization shots. i'll probably cry more than he will.

j has definitely found his voice. while his cries are still pretty cute, he is very vocal when it comes to grunting. he makes these loud grunting sounds that crack up me and t most of the time, but every now and then they become concerning because he seems like he is in pain. i've asked the doctor about this and she said it's nothing to worry about. he is sleeping some during the night. every once in awhile he'll give us a good 2 hour stretch which is so nice! some days he is pretty alert for a good part of the morning and afternoon, but does take a few naps here and there.

i'm anxiously awaiting his first real smile. he gives fleeting fake smiles when he's doing some damage in the diaper, but i'm holding out for the real deal. his eye contact is getting better and better every day. it seriously melts my heart when he looks at me. he reacts to my voice and to t's, but doesn't necessarily follow our voices yet.

okay, i think that's it...let me know if i'm not giving you some info that you want to know!

lots of love,
m,t & j

HE'S HERE!

Born: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 (I was induced at 8:30am Monday morning at 8:30...you can do the math).
Weight: 9lbs, 2oz
Length: 20 inches

Wow. What a ride this has been. I've heard it over and over again from my parents and friends with young ones, but man, this kind of love just wipes you out. It is the most intense feeling I've ever felt. I find myself just staring at him in amazement of what a miracle life truly is.

So far, everything is going pretty well. Definitely some highs and lows, but that was expected. You guys who told me this was hard were right! It's been just over a week and I feel like we are learning new things every day and things we thought we had finally figured out are constantly changing. It's like a gargantuan, never ending puzzle. But the challenge is invigorating much more than it is frustrating.

J had a moderate case of Jaundice (very common). He was under the lights at the hospital for our second day. We had to do a phototherapy treatment when we got home. The home care unit of the hospital delivered this blanket of florecent lights that wrapped around him and plugged into the wall. He was wrapped in the blanket Thursday afternoon through Monday morning. He had to be in the blanket 23 out of 24 hours of the day. Needless to say, it was a little bit of a struggle having him tethered to the wall like that for so long.

Happy to report he is back to good health and now free to cruise around the house. His first doctor's appointment was Monday and the doc said he is looking good. He is already back up to 9lbs...thankfully he is eating well.

The past two nights have gone pretty well. I got at least two 2-1/5 hour spurts of sleep, which has been WONDERFUL. Thank God for adrenaline!

We are so excited to have my mom and dad visit this Saturday and my brother join us next Thursday. I can't wait to introduce J to the rest of his family!!!

Okay, time for another feeding!

Love to you all,
M, T & J

March 20, 2008

And...we're in the home stretch! Waiting on pins and needles for this little guy to make his grand entrance. Last Friday was my last day of work for the next few months. Such a strange feeling after working such late nights for so long. It's so nice having this time to relax and really think about the enormity of what is about to happen.

I'm still managing to keep pretty busy...trying to fit in last minute errands and organizing stuff while T is at work. It definitely makes the every day trip to Target a little more interesting when you could turn into Niagra Falls at any given moment.

My cousin S and her two girls are here vacationing-staying in downtown Carlsbad, just minutes from our house. We had them over for dinner Monday night and I met them for lunch today. So nice to have family around!

Last night T and I went out for a nice dinner and watched a movie. Advice given many times over from friends and family who haven't been able to do that for quite some time because of their little ones. It was really nice. T gets Good Friday off from work, so we are excited to spend the day together tomorrow.

Our last doc appointment was last Wednesday and the doc said everything looked good. It was also our last ultrasound, so we got to see his chubby cheeks one more time on screen (see above). I haven't made much progress in terms of dilation or effacement...still under a centimeter. Our next doctor's appointment is tomorrow at 4:45pm, so we'll see how things have progressed. If he doesn't make his appearance on Sunday, we will likely induce on Monday, but we'll see what the doc says tomorrow.

T's sister, K, gets into town Saturday to celebrate Easter and the eventual arrival of our little guy. We're also looking forward to visits from my Mom, Dad and brother the first couple weeks in April.

It's so hard to believe this little monkey in my belly will soon be in our arms!

Okay, that's it for now. Thanks so much for all the phone calls and the love. We'll keep you posted!

Love,
M&T

P.S. I love that me and Brad Pitt are tied for who the baby will look like in our little survey to the left :).

February 12, 2008

Just 5-1/2 weeks left and the countdown is on! I must sound like a broken record, but I cannot believe how fast this has gone. Today we had our 34 week checkup and ultrasound and once again we're so happy and feel so blessed to report everything is going really well. It is such a relief to know that it's not just me that is growing :).

According to the technician and the doctor he is still growing 2 weeks ahead of schedule and based on his measurements, he's weighing in around 6 pounds! We are so looking forward to meeting this little chunky monkey that keeps kicking and karate chopping my insides. The ultrasound not only proved he is and will be a big baby, but he's got a good head of hair, too. You can actually see his little whisps in the pic above. Seriously, so incredible. We'll go back in two weeks for another appointment to see how much more he's grown and find out if we'll need to schedule an early induction. (!!!)

It was a big day today as some of our furniture also arrived. Our glider (thanks M&D!) and the crib are here and the dresser should get here the end of this week so we can spend the long weekend preparing a nice little bedroom for our baby boy to rest his head.

Thanks again for all the love and support. One of the best parts of this whole thing is thinking about introducing him to all of you. He will be so loved!

I'll check back in after our 36 week appointmet to give another update.

Lots of love,
M&T

January 8, 2008

Today was our 29 week appointment. Can you believe we are already 2/3 of the way through this? T left for a short work trip this morning, but thankfully my aunt MR was able to join me. I'm happy to report it was another successful appointment. Our little prize-fighter is weighing in at over 3 pounds and measuring two weeks ahead of schedule! Apparently mommy is well fed :). The technician told us he has a rather large noggin, which is no surprise considering the massive brain he surely inherited from his brilliant parents.

All joking aside, we are so thankful for this incredible miracle of life and do not take anything for granted. Your thoughts and prayers have certainly guided this pregnancy and we are eternally grateful to all of you for your love and support.

Till our next appointment...
M&T