JLB {one month}

Our favorite baby turned one month old yesterday.  Just like with Reese, the time flies by in a blink.  It's like Jack has always been with us even though it never felt like anything was missing before.  Does that make sense?

We are settling in to as much of a routine as we can.  Jack sleeps at night but it's fairly unpredictable.  We feed him around 9:00 and then he usually wakes up between 12:30-1:30 to eat again.  He then wakes up between 3:30 and 5:30 for another feeding.  That's a pretty wide window :)  Lofton takes them middle of the night feeding and I take the early morning one.  I don't go back to sleep after my shift which is a problem when Jack gets up at 3:30am.  I'm also not a great napper.  This has made for some long days.  

He naps well, though.  We usually try for at least two naps in his crib and then another few on me.  Because he won't be a baby forever.  He's a belly sleeper like his brother but the pediatrician assures us it's okay.  I wouldn't have told the doctor we were sleeping on our belly, but Lofton has a big mouth.

Just last week we moved Jack back into his room at night.  Back into his room because initially he was in our room, then we moved him into his only to move him back to ours when his reflux got really bad.  Yep, another Beasley boy with belly issues.  Jack was diagnosed with silent reflux about two weeks ago.  It basically means that sometimes he spits up, but primarily the food comes back up into his throat just enough to cause him pain and make his choke.  He does best in an upright position because his choking episodes occur about an hour or so after he eats.  That means he's spent a WHOLE lot of his nights sleeping on me while I'm propped up in the bed.  We've tried a few different formulas and a week on Zantac.  The Zantac didn't really work for him and so just last Friday we switched to hypoallergenic formula.  It's expensive, but if it works I'm willing to sell a kidney on the black market.  Just kidding... sort of.  

Jack came into this world weighing 8 pounds, 13 ounces.  At our one week weight check he weighed 9 pounds, 6 ounces and at two weeks was up to 10 pounds, 2 ounces.  Last Friday he was a whopping 11 pounds, 6 ounces.  Basically demonstrating that for whatever reason Lofton and I have giant kids.  He takes seven 4 ounce bottles per day and the doctor said we could feed him more if he's hungry.  

Other highlights this month include:  tons of visitors {BB, Hannah & Justin, friends from school and church}, two lunch dates with Daddy {Tropical Smoothie and Newks}, and a trip to the mecca that is Target.  

Jack is finding his voice, staying awake for longer periods of time, figuring out how to keep his pacifier in his mouth, tracking objects and people with his eyes, and learning to sleep through the noisiness of two crazy dogs and a rowdy five year old.  He loves to snuggle, particularly with me, and slips his hand just inside the neck of my shirt once he settles down.  He seems much more laid back than his brother, which I'll attribute to Lofton because no one has ever described me as laid back.  The pediatrician had to removal his umbilical cord on July 25th so we are still waiting for the remaining portion to dry before we can take our first tub bath. 

I am doing my best to soak up every second of each day because I know this time is fleeting.  

Stats:

Weight -- 11 pounds, 6 ounces

Wearing -- 3 to 6 month clothes and size 1 diapers

Jack's Birth Day

I sing for joy at the works of your hands. 

Psalm 92:4

Lofton and I wondered frequently in the weeks and days leading up to Jack's birth about the difference between knowing the day your baby is going to be born and just going into labor.  Neither of our children's birth dates were surprises, which is both a good and bad thing.  Obviously the benefit is having time to plan, but the negative side is the agony of the waiting.  It gives an anxious person like myself lots of time to get worked up.

 When I was pregnant with Reese I cried A LOT toward the end.  I was tired, teaching full time at the beginning of a school year, and it was hot.  There was also so much uncertainty with a having a baby.  How would our life be?  What would change?  What if we failed totally as parents?  With Jack there wasn't as much of that.  We felt pretty confident in our ability to parent.  The only uncertainty was adjusting to being a family of four, not three.  In the days leading up to Thursday, June 26th, I cried anytime Reese and I went somewhere.  The doughnut place, Target, Chick Fil A.... Lofton thought I was a nut.  But I knew at every place it would be the last time we'd go as the three of us.  Monday was particularly bad.  I was so thankful Reese had VBS that week so I could get myself together before he came home each day.

My parents got here on Wednesday around lunch and Lofton came home early from work.  We packed {or in my case repacked} our bags and Jack's bag, I went over the three pages worth of notes I had typed for my mom regarding Reese's schedule, and Lofton zipped around finishing up last minute house projects.  That afternoon the hospital called.  The plan had been to get to the hospital at six on Thursday morning.  My parents would come a little later, once Haley got to our house to keep Reese. Sally was going to meet my parents at the hospital. The nurse on the phone asked if we would mind coming earlier.  "How early," I asked? Five.  No problem for early risers like us and who were we kidding-- sleep was going to be minimal anyway.  We began texting and calling people to let them know the schedule had been moved up.

Sleep was elusive Wednesday night.  Even Lofton-- who sleeps through anything-- was restless.  At 3:00 I got up and got in the shower.  We went in to say goodbye to Reese around 4:30 and he was awake.  A little disoriented and weepy, too.  Of course I got teary telling him we'd see him in a few hours.  We arrived at the hospital shortly before five and they took me, alone, to a room.  I HATE being by myself in hospitals and had reminded my doctor that when my tonsils were removed a few years ago I had a massive panic attack when they wouldn't let Lofton be with me.  True to his word, Dr. Alverson had noted that in my file and Lofton came back to be with me quickly.

We then waited and waited.  The nurses hooked up my IV {busting two veins in my right hand} and all the other necessary tubes and such.  At 6:45 they told us it was time.  I walked to the OR and was greeted by what seemed like fifty people.  In actuality it was probably ten.  Dr. Alverson gave me a hug and I sat down on the table to have my spinal put in.  They got me situated and I remember someone asking why we were operating so early.  Dr Alverson laughed and said that Lofton had made him promise we'd be in a room by the time USA played soccer that morning.  Apparently it's out of the norm to have a scheduled cesarean so early in the morning.

Lofton was brought in and surgery started.  I don't remember much from my surgery with Reese, but I was very alert this time.  The spinal was strange and at times it felt like the numbness was rising in my chest and keeping me from being able to breathe.  Lofton said he could see my blood pressure start to rise every time I thought I was starting to suffocate.  They put an alcohol pad on my nose to keep me from getting sick.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Alverson told me I was going to feel a lot of pressure and with that our sweet boy entered the world.  He started screaming immediately and Dr. Alverson held him up for us to see.  He said then that he thought Jack was going to be bigger than Reese, and by just three ounces he was.

The rest is a blur.  Lofton went to be with the baby and then brought him over to see me.  They let me touch him {which did not happen with Reese} and after surgery wrapped up Lofton carried him to recovery so we could all be together.  The nurses let me hold him, which would have been great if I didn't have the worst chills and shakes from the anesthesia. After an hour we were taken to a room.

The remainder of the day zoomed by with family in and out, nurses in and out, and us trying to rest and catch our breath.  The hospital has mandatory quiet hours from 2:00-4:00pm so that was really the first time Lofton and I got to be alone with our new addition.  We looked him over and said probably fifteen times how amazing and perfect and wonderful it was to be parents again.  We agreed our hearts felt like they could burst.  All the worry of would we love him as much as Reese, or how was it going to feel to have two babies instead of one, went out the window.

At 7:08AM, on June 26th, our family became complete.

Jack Lofton

On June 26th, at 7:08 in the morning, we welcomed our precious Jack Lofton.

Weighing eight pounds and thirteen ounces {slightly larger than big brother, Reese} he has stolen our hearts. Even our favorite five year old is enamored.

I'll be back soon with more details from Jack's birthday and an update on our first few days and weeks at home.

For now we are counting our blessings {and some really adorable fingers and toes!}.