6 Weeks

Our little sweet pea is 6 weeks old today! I can't even begin to describe what a challenge the past 6 weeks have been but last week I started to notice a "routine" beginning to develop during our days and nights which has made life seem somewhat normal again. The chaos of the first weeks was difficult for me because I like to know what to expect, I like a plan, and with this new person in my life, my days seemed to be a jumbled mess. But Jack and I are starting to fall into step together which is making this new relationship so much more enjoyable.



I hope I'm not jinxing myself by writing this but our days have gotten much happier. For a while I was very worried because he was fussy off and on all day and NEVER slept during the daytime. But he starts his days very happy and he is all smiles (which I LOVE!). He now naps around 10 am, noon, and a longer nap in the afternoon and he is eating every 2 hours during the day. And he is finally learning the joys of a pacifer….this is a great thing for now but I am dreading the battle of taking it away someday.

The good days are what get me through the bad nights. Jack has introduced a new routine to his 'witching hour'. For the past several days he is no longer fussy from 7-9 pm but he seems to get upset around 6pm for an hour and then again around 9pm for about 30-45 min. And then he's up every 2 hours or less to eat….I am getting better at sleep deprivation! It's amazing how your body can adjust to so little sleep but I am looking forward to the days when he can go 3+hours between feeding or even the day when I can sleep an entire night again!!! I haven't slept through the night since last July…won't that be wonderful!

Jack is becoming so much more aware of his surroundings. It's amazing how he responds to my voice and when you walk in front of him, he can now follow you with his eyes and head. Speaking of eyes, his are starting to change colors! They were steel grey/blue when he was born and now they are lightening up around his pupil…I think he might have green eyes like his mommy!



He is starting to find his "voice" too. He is cooing and starting "sing" like a little bird. And when he wakes up, he stretches and lets out huge grunts which are too cute! Jack has also developed a new cry during his witching hour which is a high pitched, wining, half-assed cry and it annoys the hell out of me! Luckily, J tolerates it much better than I do. But as I said, the days of smiles make the difficult nights worth it.

One day at a time...

It has been so long since I have written but everyday I think to myself I have so much to say about this time in my life and I just wish I had the time to sit down and write. It is 8:24 pm which means Jack is right in the middle of his "witching hour". Yep, we have one of "those" babies. I really didn't have any expectations of parenthood going into this and I knew in the back of my mind that there were going to be hard days….I just never imaged that there would be this many hard days.

As the days pass we are starting to see some patterns in Jack's behavior and I suppose you can say we are starting to get into a "routine". The hardest part of our day…from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. During this time Jack MUST be held. Not just held in a way that works for us, we MUST be standing while holding him and he MUST be held in a certain way (on our chest, facing outward, with an arm across his belly applying pressure).

Some days are better than others. For instances last night he didn't cry at all, he just wanted to be held and it was only 45 minutes before he fell asleep. And then you have tonight….where he started an hour early and he has been screaming practically nonstop. The frustrating part is that when he does stop crying for 2 minutes, you think it's over and then he suddenly starts screaming hysterically out of nowhere.

Call it gas. Call it colic. Call it karma…whatever it is, it is miserable and it is testing every ounce of patience and sanity within my soul.

And I think it is the same for Justin as well as myself. We know that he can't help it and we try everything we can to make him feel better but every night we all just hit a wall and the mental and physical exhaustion takes over.

A few days ago I had a breakdown and I just cried because I know that at some point this stage goes away (at least that's what everyone and every book tells me) but I just don't know how to get from point A (our current state of crying every night) to point B (approximately 6 weeks from now when this stage is supposed to stop). One day at a time….

All I want (all I need) is to have ONE night without the "witching hour" and one night where he sleeps more than an hour between feedings to recharge…..

2 Weeks

I can't believe our little man is 2 weeks old already! The past two weeks have been the most crazy, overwhelming, emotional, and life changing weeks of my entire life. I can't imagine my life without my Jack.

The first week he was in our lives was filled with the entire spectrum of human emotions. We spent a little less than 48 hours in the hosital and we were so ready to go home by the end of our stay. The first night home I was up from midnight to 7 am…I can't tell you why exactly. I think it was a mixture of nerves, stress of feeding, and leftover adrenaline.

Our first challenge as parents was getting jack to poo and while in the end we didn't really have much to do except getting more calories into him we nonetheless felt we overcame a hurdle with that first poopy diaper.

That first week was FILLED with so many new learning experiences. Each day I would figure out new little trick or short cut to make life a little easier. I was terribly sleep deprived and my emotions were ALL over the place. I will admit that there were times (when I would allow myself to stop moving) when I would just lay down and cry. I would cry because I was just so tired and so overwhelmed with everything new in our life and all of the new emotions running through my body. Hormones are a bitch!

My parents arrived in Colorado the day he was born and my dad left the following Saturday. My mom was supposed to leave the Wednesday after he was born but I just wasn't ready for her to leave and I was terrified to be by myself. She stayed a couple extra days and then Justin's parents came into town, so I was not alone for a few weeks.

But then 10 days after Jack was born, Lucy (our bulldog) died suddenly. She was such a large presence in our family and it was an incredible blow to Justin and me. Lu's death didn't help with the excessive crying and out of control emotions. The days following her death, I felt as if I could get in my car and just drive because I was so completely overwhelmed with all of the changes in my life. But I just kept reminding myself to take one day at a time….hell one minute at a time if needed.

One battle we didn't have to fight too long was breastfeeding. The first 4-5 days were a bit touchy and I was so sick of pumping I could have easily given up but after day 6 my milk was in and he caught on to latching instantly. Now I feel like he is feeding nonstop! But I know he is getting exactly what he needs because he is gaining weight rapidly. Birth weight- 6 lbs 9 oz. 3 days old- 5 lbs 15 oz. 7 days old- 6 lbs 11 oz!


Our sweet boy at 1 week...

Lucy

10 days after the best day of my life, I am experiencing one of the worst days of my life. Today our "girl", our dog Lucy, passed away suddenly. Without us knowing, she said her good byes, walked outside on beautiful sunny afternoon, laid down in her corner of our yard and her life quietly slipped way.



To say that I, we, are devisated doesn't even begin to describe the emotion flowing through our home. I think Justin nailed it on the head when he said she was larger than life and when something lives so fully her time to go came sooner than we would like.



I got Lucy for my 20th birthday and she was my longest "relationship". That dog was with me through SO many ups ad downs and changes. She watched me grow from a scared, confused, and lost 20 year old girl into a 27 year old wife, mother, and happy woman. She was there for all of it and my heart is broken now that she is gone.



I realize she was an animal but that dog had more personality that most people I have met. She was a part of our family and a great love in my life.....and I just cannot believe I'll never get scratch her butt or rub her belly as she props her feet up and sits in her "e walk" position.



Lucile, "poopy", you could be a pain and a real bitch sometimes, but we loved you more than anything and I would never trade I single moment I had with you. It breaks my heart that you were alone at the very end but god I hope you know how loved you were and we will miss you everyday.

Our first little victory...

(I wrote this entry shortly after Jack's birth but forgot to publish it.)

A moment in time as my dad would say….

Jack is 5 days old and we have been anxiously waiting for him to poo (ahhhh how priorities change). He has not had a poopy diaper since early Thursday morning (it's Sunday) and we were starting to get very worried even though he has been acting ok.

It is 11 pm and I just started to pump before we head up to bed. J and Jack are sitting on the couch when a huge fart comes from their direction. J started to laugh and I asked that if was him….nope that one came from Jack! So we rushed him over to the changing table and sure enough he pooped!!!

J and I are laughing hysterically as we excitedly fumble with our first poopy diaper, just so thrilled that he finally went. I look down and I am still hooked up to my pumping equipment. We laugh even harder….we are quite a sight. I love our new life….

Mississippi by Train is playing in the background…..

40 Weeks

At 40 weeks exactly, Jack Gregory Voigts, made his way into the world! On March 8, 2011, at 10:31 pm, Justin and I welcomed a beautiful boy in to our lives.



He was born in Englewood, Colorado, at Swedish Medical Center. Jack weighed 6 lbs 9.1 oz and was 19.75 in. long with a head circumference of 14 cm. His APGAR score was 9 (which is the highest score possible in Colorado due to the altitude). Despite a long and interesting labor (I'll put up his birth story later) he came out absolutely perfect.

We couldn't be any more in love with this new person and it completely amazes me how much he has changed our lives in the few days he has been here.



Lindsey

39 Weeks

Tick tock tick tock…the waiting game has begun. As the days rapidly countdown until D Day, they seem to have lost all meaning at this point. For so long, I have been counting down the weeks until March 8 but the funny thing is that in reality that date is just another Tuesday that I will be very frusterated to see. It really is too bad that there is not a set end date to pregnancy, especially for someone like me that likes to control and plan every thing ;)

I have several friends who have had their babies in the past few weeks and I couldn't be more happy for them but I am so ready to have my own story and my own pictures….need to stay off Facebook!

I have been fighting a nasty cold for going on 2 weeks now and on Sunday I woke up in tears because of a terrible pain in my ear. I went to urgent care on Monday and they cleaned out my ears and put me on antibotics for an ear infection. Lovely timing….last weeks of pregnancy and I'm coughing like a crazy person and can't hear anything! My cough seems a bit better today so fingers crossed I will be on the mend before Baby V arrives.

I have been insanely tired over the past few weeks and a daily nap, even if it's only 45 minutes, is a must these days. I have a few aches and pains in my hips and feet and my body lets me know very quickly when I have over done it but luckily I'm not too terribly uncomfortable. This pregnancy has not been nearly as bad as I was anticipating. That being said, I will be glad when my body belongs to only me again. Our appointment with the midwives was uneventful…measuring at 37 cm, his heart was at 125 bpm, still cooking perfectly.



Hopefully the last "bump pic".



Our new furniture for the family room FINALLY arrived and we love it! Someday we will get a fresh coat of paint in this room and new window treatments and it will be done….someday!




And I would like to give a special thank you to my lovely husband who recently purchased my "Push Present"….a MacBook Pro! Switching from a PC to a Mac has been quite a challenge but over time I will get the hang of it. Thank you boo….and you are welcome for bearing your offspring :) Love you!



Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Lindsey