Jacob's Skin Colored Again!

No longer is my son a giant speckle, he looks like a sweet, clear skinned baby. The pictures still make him look a little bumpy, but the redness is gone and so are almost all the yellow crusty flakes. I called the dr. this morning and they said if the rash is gone not to use the cream. Eczema can be caused by dry skin, so I'm looking to find a good baby lotion for sensitive skin. I'm thinking Aveeno or Eucarin or something like that. Natural and dye/scent free. I am so pleased with how much better he looks!

Eczema

I took Mr. J to the dr. yesterday after his rast stared looking leaky around his ear. We were given a prescription cream for eczema. After 2 treatments he already is looking so much better!

Before


1st Treatement


2nd Treatment


3rd

Jacob's 1 Month Update

I can't believe it's been a month already. Here's the latest news on Mr. J!

* We had to move the shoulder straps up a slot on the car seat, so he must be getting taller!

* He is very alert after his bath time and uses that time to talk - he's making all kinds of ooh's and ahh's instead of just crying!

* At 3 weeks and a day, he got a HORRIBLE case of baby acne as well as cradle cap on his face. But I don't want to skip pictures but please excuse that he looks like the 'before' picture of a Proactive commercial!

* He started smiling at us!!! YAY!!!




Here's Natalie's smile for reference!

The Church Lady

Ryan and I tried a church today, as we are trying to find somewhere that we can have Jacob baptized before too long. Natalie went with us to the actual service, which is different than our old church. She used to go to kid's church, so sitting for an hour I was a little nervous. She was good though - she liked listening to the songs. Then came the children's message. I wasn't sure if she would go up there by herself, but she ran up no problem. She listened well, and then the pastor said they would each get a whistle shaped like a cross to take home (he was talking about how Jesus will come and they should tell people about it). Well he said they had to work for it, and had them all sing a song together. The whole church sang and Natalie spun around and around in circles. Everyone was laughing at her impromptu dance performance. The pastor loved it, and picked her up and said she is an example of how excited everyone should be about church. After the children's message, he brought her up several more times in the sermon and at the dismissal. In a small church, you know our visit won't soon be forgotten!

Children's Logic

Natalie was talking to Oma this morning. Oma said she was going out to lunch with friends. Natalie then said (with a giant smile on her face) "We should go out to lunch with our friends too!". I told her they were busy and she said "All the daddies should go to work so the mommies can stay home with the boys and girls and go out to lunch". Cute!

Jacob's New Tricks

Here is my little man working on lifting his head and following objects with his eyes and ears!

Fun With Crayons

I have decided I want Natalie to be crafty like me. So the other day, we melted down her old crayons so we could make some fun new ones. Plus I had scored some good deals on crayons earlier so I had new replacements for her to open. Here's how they turned out! We just peeled them, broke them, and put them in some old mini muffin tins and baked for 20 minutes at 120 degrees.

Jacob's Hospital Pic

www.cherished-memories.com

hospital code B41
unique id 15273

What 3+ Hours of Leaf Blowing Gets You

Ryan loves trees. His favorite part of being in Virginia was all the trees. Now we live in a house with a lot of old, mature trees. I didn't think he would still love them after today, but he says he does. He says he can't wait to jump in the pile. By the way, there are still leaves on both sides of the house, on top of all the bushes from blowing them off the roof, the driveway, and the trees. I don't know that we will ever get them gone! We're really not sure if we are going to bag them, burn them, or stare at them and hope they magically remove themselves. Wish we were still in VA where they came by and sucked them out of the street!

The car relocated to the pile so you can have a reference point.

2 Week Appointment

Little man is doing great - I'm going to post some pictures later today! He is up to 8lb 5oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Eyes and mouth looked great and so do his hips. Our doctor said he has not seen any H1N1 cases at all this week, so he thinks it's over in this area. He also doesn't reccommend the vaccine for us since none of us have a history of respiratory conditions, and he said he'd like to see how it does this year since it's the first go around. Jacob is still losing some of the skin coating and hair he had when I was carrying him, but that's ok. I don't go back until his 2 months - guess they trust me!

2 Weeks

We've had Jacob for 2 weeks. It's amazing how the time flies! Jacob is doing well. According to my scale, after weighing myself with and without him, he's an even 8 pounds. We'll see how this compares to his doctor appointment tomorrow. He should have a growth spurt at 2 weeks, which would explain his little fussy day yesterday. He wanted to eat a lot more often. He still only gets up once a night after we go to bed. Jacob is a happy, satisfied little man!

Natalie is getting up a lot more in the middle of the night unfortunately, and is having lots of mini meltdowns. We're trying to spend some time playing with her one on one to help her adjust a little better. She does love Jacob thought and always wants to help! We did have a good day so far today, and if she naps she gets her last sticker and is going on an ice cream date with daddy tonight!

I've gotten back to work on sewing and sent out a few orders this week, as well as started a few new projects.

Who Doesn't Want To Snuggle

Look at how cozy and warm Jacob looks. I know I'm tired from Natalie not giving us the extra hour of sleep. I'd love to cuddle up in one of these!

Being A Mom of Two

Wow, what a week it's been since little Jacob arrived! Natalie loves him and being a big sister. I forgot just how little and sleepy newborns are. And boy, does Natalie look B-I-G! She had a kid head and kid legs. No more baby left in her! We've been staying home as much as we can, although we did make the trip home to be there for my Grandpa's funeral. Other than that we're trying to find a routine and make sure the kids both get some time to themselves with us. Unfortunately Natalie has been fighting naps since about a week or two before Jacob was born. We are going to try giving her stickers for every nap, and after a certain number of stickers we're going to take her to pick a toy at the store.

We aren't going to let Halloween pass us by - we went to a party today with some of the mom's I've met. Natalie had a great time trick or treating, and Jacob just slept. And ate. And slept some more. I think we are going to try to go downtown tonight. You can walk through the stores and they pass out candy for the kids. Tomorrow there are a few churches and carnivals around town too.

Who Do We Look Like?

Natalie, Jacob and me in the same outfit. I was 7 lb 10 oz, Natalie was 8 lb 2 oz, and Jacob was 7 lb 8 oz. Any resemblance?

Jacob's Story

Ryan and I woke up and got to the hospital about 6am on Wednesday the 21st. Around 6:30 or so, my doctor broke my water. Around 8 am, nothing had happened so we were allowed to walk for about 20 minutes, then come back to be monitored for 20 minutes. Still nothing was taking place, but my parents and Ryan's dad came up with Natalie. We visited for a bit and then I took another walk. I only got about a lap or so in before I started getting pretty painful contractions. We toughed them out for awhile and the nurse said I wasn't really changing at all and might have to start pitocin. Mind over matter must work, because the contractions kept coming and I asked to be checked again and to get the epidural. It was around 10:15 and I think I was 5 centimeters. Well around 12:15 and lots of yelling later, I got the epidural and was at a 7. By 1, it was 9, and at 1:36 I was a 10. By the time the nurse got the bed ready and the doctor arrived, Jacob was born easily at 1:54 pm.

His cord was up over his shoulder, down his back, and wrapped around his right leg, then his left, then his right again! Ryan said it looked like a pretzel, but I didn't really get a chance to see it. He was healthy and happy so that's all that counts. No birthmarks, no conehead, everything was great. I felt much better this time. I leared that epidurals usually go in your vertebrae at an upward angle, but my vertebra only needed to go straight in and that's how I ended up with the headache last time. I did have a lot of tailbone pain trying to sit and stand so I got an x-ray yesterday and it's not broken again like last time, in fact it might actually have been pressured into a more normal position. So it's probably sore now just from being bumped around and laid on in the bed. I am so thrilled that I might recover much faster this time!

Jacob had his circumcision today. They didn't numb or do a pain block, nor does he get any Tylenol. Poor little man. It looks really painful, but the nurses say it's healing up so far and the worst part is over for him.

His sister is in love with him and oh so proud. She sang him Happy Birthday in the hospital and everyone started crying. Anytime she sings he just stares at her. She's going to be a great helper for him!

In other news, Ryan drove my mom to meet my dad to go see my grandpa in the ICU. He had a fall yesterday and has some bleeding in the brain. Please pray for him and hopefully I can update soon.

Jacob Ryan Windle

Since the WIFI only works in the lower level of the hospital, it has been requested that I take the computer to the cafeteria and post of Jacob's arrival. He was born October 21st, at 1:54 pm.

WEIGHING IN AT 7 LBS 8 OZ....STANDING 19" TALL...THE NEWEST CAGE FIGHTER TO THE WINDLE CLAN....JACOB "THE LITTLE MAN" WIIIINNNNNNDLE!!!!

Here's the challenger in his pre-fight sweats.


Preparing for his bout with his fighting gloves on.


Posing at the pre-fight press conference with the current Super-Lightweight Champion, Natalie "The Big Sister" Windle.


Pictured here with long standing manager of the Windle clan, life trainer, medic, and cornerwoman, Kimberlie "The Strong Mom" Windle.


Not yet pictured is trainer, fight coordinator and referee Ryan "The Big Bad Dad". It has been difficult to gain pictures as a multitude of paparazzi have been in and out of the locker room and not all cameras have been confiscated.

More to follow as life unfolds. We're very thankful to have him here and everyone who has and will touch his life.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

I'll have 2 kids tomorrow, it's only a day away (hopefully, if it works before 11:59pm)!

I'm still a little frustrated that I was not induced on Monday when I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart for 3+ hours. Now I have nothing...but maybe that will change by the morning.

My parents and Ryan's dad are here waiting and passing the time. They will also be helping take care of the Big Sister and dog. Everyone is ready to sing Happy Birthday to Jacob.

I just hope I can sleep well. I wanted a suprised arrival this time, but I'll be setting an alarm and getting to the hospital at 6am it looks like as of now. Ryan will be in charge of uploading pics, but I'll be updating Facebook as much as I can :-)

Early Labor

I went to the hospital this am with frequent contractions. After a few exams and an hour to walk I didn't make any change so they sent me home. I have been told to rest and eat light meals, and come back when they are strong enough that I have to stop walking or talking! Maybe he'll still make it out before Wednesday's induction.

Date Night

Ryan and I went out with the Girlfriend's group here tonight. We had a great time chatting with the other mom's and dad's. We ate a lot of spicy mexican, and Jacob is now allowed to be born! Here's a picture of our last night out as a couple before Jacob comes (and a belly shot).


Natalie attended babysitting at the church while we were out, and she had fun too. She said there was no boys and she didn't hit or bite anyone...that's my girl?? She had a full day with a playdate and a night out with other kiddos. She's a little desperate for friends though, she comes on a little strong!

We Have A Date!

If he doesn't make a surprise appearance, I'll be at the hospital at 6am next Wednesday. That's a day before my due date! The end is near!