One week old

Jack turned a week old yesterday (is that possible?!). I've been terrible about pictures the last week...even though I'm a photographer I can now understand why the second child gets jipped in baby books and photos. I'm going to TRY to do better, I really am!

Here are a few of our first family photos:

These kids have the BEST Daddy in the whole world. Even though Layla doesn't seem to care at the moment:

A great picture with Grandma and Grandpa Barton. 

Jack's kind of a big deal in the Barton family. So far he's the only boy to carry on the Barton name (Uncle Chris needs to get a move on LOL). 

Layla has been the BEST big sister. She is so sweet with Jack and watching them together just melts my heart. Here she is reading him a book.  He lifted and turned his head TWICE just to hear/see(ish) her. He's SO strong!

And here's a quick video to document the fact that, at one time, they really did love each other. :)

Last of My Orange Shirt Pictures

I can't believe Jack has been here for a whole week already. It is starting to feel "normal" to have 2 kids...we'll see what happens after help leaves though. Haha. Jack is doing great, he had his first doctor's appointment yesterday weighing in at 8 lbs 10 oz...he's gaining an ounce a day but was there any question he wouldn't reach his birth weight soon? That butterball sure likes to eat!

Layla has been doing great in the role of big sister. I'll post another blog soon with some sweet pictures of them. She's been a huge help, her favorite job so far is to get diapers out of the box and stock up his pack 'n play and room with them. Cinderella, Cinderella....I know but we don't tell her to! She just does it. I love her.

We decided to take our last orange picture on my due date (today). So here we go!

And a quick recap (I'll do a better one later!):

Jack's First Days Home

It has been a VERY busy last few days at the Barton's. Adjusting to 2 kids has not been bad so far, but we've had lots of help from my Mom and Bob. Here are some pictures of a few milestones we hit in our house this week:

First up, Jack's first bath. Layla was pretty curious why we had to give him a bath on the counter. Hard to explain the cord and "wee wee" situation to a 2 year old little girl. LOL. He really didn't like it, but I think Big Sis was even more upset than he was! She didn't like to hear him cry like that and we had to explain over and over that we weren't hurting him. Poor babies. 

Next up, first snuggles at home:

Another big milestone in our house is Layla's first "go" at playing Nintendo. We have thought about busting out Wii bowling for awhile, but didn't want to do it because we didn't want to not be able to help her with it when Jack got here. Turns out this is the perfect time to introduce it! Layla and Daddy have had some fun times playing Mario, Mario Cart and Donkey Kong. She doesn't get it, but soon enough we'll be having bowling parties and Mario Cart marathons. I can't wait!

And last but not least, our Elf came the day after Thanksgiving! Layla wasn't too sure about him at first, she avoided the foyer most of the day. LOL. But after awhile of talking about him she was totally into it. So far he's greeted her in the foyer, hid in the Christmas tree and today he got her snow gear ready to play outside!

We have so much fun, can't wait to see what next week brings!

Jack is here!!

After days of contractions, our sweet baby Jack decided to wait until his scheduled arrival to come into the world. Jack was born Tuesday, November 20th at 7:44 am.

I've never been so nervous for something in my entire life. I didn't sleep at all the night before (expected) and had to report to the hospital at 5:30 am for prep. I was shaking the whole time but kept it together for the most part. I even got to walk into the OR! The staff was amazing and so supportive until Bryan could get back to me right before they started. The doctor had Jack out in less than 10 minutes, he screamed JUST like his sister. :)

Jack's first picture:

They warned me he might not cry because csection babies have a harder time with their lungs and such...but he was screaming before the doctor could even tell us he was here!  

Mommy getting to see him for the first time. My first thought- he looks just like Layla did. My second thought- My God he looks big!

Jack weighed 9.0 lbs and is 19 3/4 inches long. What a CHUNK! I can't believe how much he looks like his sister.

They whisked him away while they finished up with me. I waited for a few minutes in my room for Bryan and Jack to show up but time just kept going by. Finally a nurse walked in to let me know that they were keeping Jack for observation because he was having a rough time breathing. We went through this with Layla so I didn't think much of it. Finally Bryan stopped in and very calmly told me things were fine, he was fine but that they needed to watch him. A few minutes later our pediatrician came in to explain that because he was struggling to keep a steady breath, I was Strep B positive and his glucose levels were low, they were going to keep him for at least 4 hours to make sure he stabilized.

I was crushed. That means I would have to wait to see him again, wait to nurse and basically just sit by myself in a room for 4 hours. After all the trouble I had with Layla's eating issues, I would have just gotten up and walked to the nursery to fed him had I been able to feel my legs. LOL. But 4 1/2 hours later I was able to hold my baby boy for the first time. It was love at first sight and I forgot all about those 4 hours of waiting.

My recovery has been amazing. I can't believe how good I feel compared to after I had Layla. I was so ready to leave the hospital and now, 4 days out I'm barely taking any pain meds. I'm in love with morphine even though it made me itch like a crack addict. I'm in love with the old man anesthesiologist that walked me through everything (seriously I wanted to just put him in my suitcase and take him home...ADORABLE!) and I'm so so SO thankful for a great doctor that took the time to do things the right way. What a difference it has made, I worried for 9 months and feel the biggest sense of relief now that things are over.

Jack has been nursing like a champion. In fact, the nurses wanted him to teach night classes to all the other babies on the floor. So far he's been an amazingly good baby- he eats well (as in, he's a huge porker and LOVES to eat), he's a fairly good sleeper, he's content and we've been able to introduce a pacifier and bottle with no problems. Thank you GOD for prayers answered. I know that sounds ridiculous but this has really helped us bond and helped this transistion to a family of 4 go SO much better than I thought.

And then there's Layla. I was so scared for her and so anxious that she'd hate being a big sister. Once again she has totally taken me by surprise. She absolutely LOVES Jack. She's head over heels and has been such a big help already.

Here she is in her big sister shirt and her totally fake smile. LOL. I love her.

Holding hands for the first time, she was so into him squeezing her fingers.

Giving Jack the blanket she brought him. 

Jack brought her a camera. She told me it was the "best present EVER"! 

She was very concerned about the tube on his foot (used it to check is oxygen). 

 

Kisses for her little brother. :)

This was the second day she came to the hospital. She didn't want to hold him on the first day but was totally into it here:

We even got a cute video!

And here is Jack ready to go home on Thanksgiving. The blanket and bear were gifts from big sister. 

Christmas spirit is here!

We decided to decorate the Christmas trees today since we might be a little busy later on this week. Layla was so excited to see the tree come up. She's going to be totally into Christmas this year...and I LOVE it!

Here she is after putting a few ornaments on the tree. She kept saying "I did it!" and was so excited she could pick her own branch and stick them on.

So happy to help decorate. This smile didn't leave her face the whole time

Then Mommy tried to stage a photo of her smiling by the tree...of course she wouldn't look at the camera, give me a "real" smile or put her hands down. LOL

Then it was time to decorate the kids' tree. There is A LOT of pink on this tree but Jack got a little bit of blue and green in there. ;o) PS- I could not get ANY bigger!

Grandma coaxed L into giving Mommy a few hugs. They didn't last long but they were SOOOOOO sweet. 

Tomorrow is a big day! I hope Layla has enjoyed her last day as the only child. ;o)

Santa Parade

I can't believe Layla is almost 3 and this was her FIRST parade. I have no excuse really other than we don't get a paper and literally have no clue when things happen around here. So yeah, no excuse...parents of the year going on 3 years in a row. Anyway, yesterday was Midland's Santa Parade. I THINK there is another one of these when Santa actually comes to the Santa House but since we live in a cave...I can't be sure.

This was a big deal because she's getting old enough to "get Santa" which is SO. MUCH. FUN. I love it! She's also into candy, which is good because she got approximately 25 pounds of it.

We found a pretty good parking spot and although we were going to try to meet up with some of our friends (sorry Elliots!) we ended up just kicking it on the curb because I couldn't bare to walk 2 blocks. Being 38 weeks pregnant in cold weather with a coat and shoes that don't fit is NOT fun. I could have been in the parade, as a blimp.

Layla didn't get it at first. Here's Grandma running her out into the road (formally known as hot lava) to see the start of the parade:

And of course she covered her ears during the sirens. She was totally into seeing the "fashion police" that pulled Daddy over though...I love her. 

The candy was thrown in MASSIVE amounts. I've never seen anything like it, but then again I haven't been to a parade in I don't know how long. She got everything from Tootsie Rolls to Snickers (SCORE!!) and was SO excited about the candy that I don't think she even saw 90% of the parade. 

More candy! 

And here it was- the moment we've all been waiting for...SANTA! Please see my HUGE belly in the background LOL. It was so cute to see her waving and smiling at Santa.

Santa is the real deal around here. They don't mess around with Santa in these parts. I can't wait to take her to the Santa house. She told us that she was going to sit on his lap...we'll see how it goes. ;o)

38 weeks...almost there!

I can't believe how fast the second pregnancy goes. As miserable as I am right now I thought time would slow down...but it only seems to go faster! Thursday early morning I woke up with lots of cramping and contractions and I was pretty convinced Jack was going to be making his debut a little early. Nope! He listened to Mommy and has decided to stay until I'm ready...Tuesday at 5:30 AM is showtime. ;o)

Tomorrow is our last day as a family of 3. I don't even know what to think about this. It feels so weird to be welcoming a new baby (normal??). Part of me feels like this isn't really even happening. The room is done, swing is out, bottles are washed and my stomach could not possibly stretch anymore...but I just don't think I'll believe it until I see him.

Layla is totally psyched. She's ready to meet Jack, tells us she wants to hold him and will kiss and hug him. I might be more anxious about seeing them for the first time together than I am about actually having a csection at this point. And for those of you that know how anxious I am about the surgery, you know this is a big deal. I hope things go smoothly, I hope she loves him at least for the first few minutes and I hope that going from a 3 person family to 4 is going to be a lot easier than I think.

We are going in on Tuesday knowing NOTHING about Jack. I have no clue what he looks like or even have a guess on weight. We haven't had an ultrasound since 18 weeks and only got a 3D at our 9 weeks...so weird compared to our weekly "meetings" at the end with Layla. I don't expect him to look anything like Layla, but then again I never expected Layla to look like Layla so maybe we'll end up with another blonde hair, blue eyed child? LOL. I hope he's happy, healthy, screams like his sister when he comes out, nurses well (PLEASE GOD) and goes easy on us.

We took my last orange shirt picture yesterday. I was so glad to fold that puppy up. I can't believe how HUGE I am. I know I'll be glad I did this in a few years but geez...it is hard to squeeze into that shirt for the last time. It's even harder to edit the pictures...no need for 100x zoom this time. LOL.

So pray we have an EASY delivery, good recovery and a happy/healthy baby to bring home to Layla on Thanksgiving. And pray for Layla as she takes on the VERY important role of big sister. And for all our family coming to visit and traveling over the next month to see us (we are SOOOO grateful!). Good bye belly, hello baby...one more day!