Jacob's 1st Christmas

Hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as we did. Nana and Grandpa drove 13 long hours to join us for Jacob's first Christmas. We all had a really nice time together relaxing, eating great food, and spending time as a family. We captured a photo of Jacob in an outfit my sister sent that is truly adorable (a little big that is why he appears to be quite large in the photo, he is a big boy but not that big). The shirt says "All I want for Christmas is my Auntie". The other photo shows how much fun he is having with the play mat Auntie Jessica and Uncle John have so graciously given us amongst numerous other items and clothing (we are so thankful for everything they continuously let us use).

Jacob is keeping us entertained day in and day out since he is staying awake longer throughout the day and becoming more talkative and chatty as well as laughing; he is really a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone for the all generous Christmas gifts you have given to our family, we are so thankful.

First Shot

Today Jacob received his first shot and he amazed me as usual. He did not mind getting poked one bit. I took him into my work for the shot so it was nice to see all my co-workers and they were so excited to see Jacob and are just as impressed as to how quickly he has grown over these 9 weeks since birth. On Tuesday, we had his 2 month check up and the little man tipped the scale at 13 pounds 13 ounces and is now 24.5 inches. This puts him at the 95th percentile for both his height and his weight. Let me tell you...I can feel all 13 lbs 13 ounces of him especially lugging him around in his carseat.

Jacob is now 8 weeks old and doing really well. He is cooing and smiling more and more everyday and laughing, which you can see in the photos. He is discovering his hands and trying at times to suck his fingers. He has his 2-month-old check-up on Tuesday and we will find out his weight then; he is pushing 13.5 lbs according to our scale so he has no problem with gaining weight. His length is probably around 23.5 inches or so. He can fit into some 6 month old clothing currently. He is working on tummy time everyday and his head and neck control is getting better everyday. When Don and I talk to him he smiles so he recognizes our voices and loves to be sung to. We are having so much fun with him and cannot believe how quickly he has grown but we are loving every minute of being parents

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We enjoyed our first Thanksgiving with Jacob at Hilton Head. We drove down to Hilton Head, SC to visit with family (Aunt Julie, Uncle Jim, Aunt Chery, Andy and Alison). We did not take any photos but enjoyed a really good meal. It was about a 2 hour drive and that had been the longest car ride Jacob has taken thus far and he did great, he slept the entire time. We are enjoying every moment of being parents, time has flown by, and Jacob is such a joy. He is growing so fast as you all can see by the photos we are posting. We feel really lucky since he is sleeping for 6 hours straight throughout the night so we get some really good rest. He takes long naps throughout the day as well so I am able to catch up on housework and laundry.
Don and I have started back up with playing tennis, we played several times a week before our pregnacy but had to stop once we found out I was pregnant. It felt really great to get back out there and Jacob enjoyed the fresh air (he slept the entire time) as well. I took some pictures of the nursery we are still adding things here and there to liven it up but so far this is how we have it decorated. The bedding was had made by Nana and we just love it.

Getting bigger everyday

Our friend Jennifer knit this hat for Jacob and it is just adorable. She also sent us the outfit to match, this morning we dressed Jacob up in it. He looked so cute so we had to share the moment with all of you.

First Bottle 11-14-2009

Daddy gave Jacob his first bottle. He did great with taking it from Don and gulped it down in no time. He is so content and loves his Daddy which is captured in these photos.

11-13-2009

Daddy’s boy. We are truly enjoying being parents and the new responsibilities that we are encountered with. We have a beautiful, happy and healthy baby that we are so thankful for.

First Real Bath...11-5-2009

Jacob is growing like a weed. No joke, he has quite the appetite and the scale does not lie…he gained 31 ounces in one week! These photos were taken just after I gave Jacob his first real bath in his bath tub, since his belly button had fallen off, you can see how he has really filled out since birth.

October 22, 2009

One week old today! Jacob is posing for his week old photos. The quilt underneath him was handmade by his great Aunt Chery and is just beautiful.

October 19, 2009

Jacob’s 1st sponge bath at home. Nana assisted me while I gave Jacob a good scrub. The photos tell all, this baby loves bath time. We went to his first doctor appointment and his weight gain is great. Initially, he lost 6 ounces (while in the hospital) but gained back 4 of those ounces within 3 days. The photos of Nana and Jacob were taken just after his sponge bath, he is very content.

A Baby is born..10-15-2009

He has arrived! Welcome Jacob Alexander Whitmen. Born 6 pounds 15 ounces and 20.5 inches. Labor was quick according to the statistics that you read and hear about in terms of the total time it took from start to finish. My water broke at around 8 pm (Oct. 14th) while Don and I were attempting to take a walk around the neighborhood (we didn’t get very far…we made it down the driveway) and had to turn back around. Everything from that point progressed quickly, very quickly. We headed to the hospital immediately as my contractions were 6 minutes apart only to speed up to 3 minutes apart within 1.5 hours. I progressed so quickly that the epidural was now out of the question because it was almost time to push. They did give me a little “something” to “take the edge off” which helped me to relax a little between contractions. I ended up pushing for 2 hours and at last we were able to wish our beautiful baby boy a Happy Birthday. Don did really great coaching me and rubbing my back during labor as well as staying calm and keeping me focused.

Nana and Grandpa spent the week leading up to Jacob’s arrival with Don and myself and they were a great help. Nana stayed with us an extra week she cooked, cleaned and lent a helping hand we really appreciated all their help. Thank you again to Nana and Grandpa.

The Last Photo.. 10-13-2009

This is the last photo taken of me before Jacob was born. My due date was Oct. 9, 2009 but that day came and went and still NO baby. Although my midwives' were sure he would have been born 5 days prior obviously, that was not the case, he had a plan of his own. I felt as if I was going to be pregnant forever. My pregnancy was really great I truly have no complaints. I was really lucky; no morning sickness or cravings and overall I felt great and was able to work during the entire time without missing a day of work.