Ninja Skills

New moms have crazy ninja skills...and for good reason. You need them all the time!
I now use all my limbs for random tasks...even my feet and toes for grabbing things, rocking things, etc.
I can eat breakfast/lunch/dinner in seconds flat...especially when Jack starts to cry.
I can pump milk, rock my baby to sleep and talk on the phone all at the same time.
I can change a diaper and swaddle my baby in seconds flat.

And my most impressive, newly-acquired skill you might ask?
Transferring Jack from my arms to the bassinet without him waking up!

A few people have asked if I miss my old life, work or social life and I can honestly say that I don't. I was so ready to be a mom and I was lucky enough to stay home throughout my whole pregnancy and enjoy my last few months as a non-mom and mentally prep for what was coming. So, now that Jack is here, I love spending my days with him, even if he has some fussy days.
I mean, who wouldn't want to spend their days with this adorable little man?

Things to Remember

There are just a few things I want to always remember about this crazy time period as a new parent...

Jack always gets the hiccups after he eats...even in the womb I'd get a little hiccup session from him after every meal.

When he is really excited for food, he shakes his head and has this "Nom, nom, nom" look that makes us think his is attacking his food instead of just eating.

He flashes us a few smiles each time he is about to drift off into La-la Land.

He has to have his hands near or on his face when eating...or at any time throughout the day. We are guessing he is trying to help during feeding time, but we usually get into a mini arm wrestling match until Mike or I give up.

He is unusually calm right before he nails us with a pee stream when getting changed.

He likes his afternoon naps on my chest and no where else.

He recognizes my voice when others are around.

He gets a kiss on each cheek after getting changed and I always see a flash of little smile each time.

He loves lifting his head up and looking around, especially when we are having tummy time.

He loves back rubs and he always wraps his little arms around my arm when we are having Superman time (aka: he lies tummy down on my arm and I rub his back). It's like special hugs from him.

And the best thing so far, I would always sing him 'Golden Slumbers' by the Beatles when pregnant since it is the only song I could remember all the words to, and now it's the only song that calms him down for bed time.

I'm tired, always guessing what he wants and just constantly praying that I can be the best kind of mom that he needs, but it makes everything worth it when it's just me and him for our afternoon nap time.

Best. Job. Ever.

Updates

Yesterday we had our first doctors appointment and everything went peachy!

Jack is right around 10lbs and 23.5 inches and the doctor pretty much confirmed that our baby is perfect. He was even calm and quiet during the rectal temperature reading which - as you can imagine - isn't that fun.

Other than that, things have been smooth sailing this week. We are getting use to our new sleeping, changing and feeding schedule which is becoming our whole world, but how can you say no to that face?

On my end, there have been little things that seemed like distant memories that now have come back into my reality...like the fact I don't have to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes, or sleeping on my back, no swelling in my feet...or even being able to SEE my feet. I forgot what it felt like to see my unswollen, cute feet! It's the little things that make this new momma happy.

So, we are riding high this week people with unswollen feet and the most cuddly baby in the world.

(I should add LONG, cuddly baby as you can see our fancy measuring tool gauging his height in this picture when Jack was a week old.)

Houdini

Jack is proving to be a little escape artist...especially with his socks. I don't know how he does it, but I turn my head for a second and I see these free little toes taunting me.

Other than being an escape artist, Jack is just an amazing little baby. He sleeps in 4 hours chunks and I'm slowly learning to nap when he naps and just let the dishes or laundry stay dirty.

He doesn't really cry too often, but he squeaks to get my attention which just adds to his adorable factor.

He is slowly getting his baby tummy and some little rolls on his long, long limbs. I just can't stop kissing his tummy and chubby cheeks!

My absolute favorite part of the day is when he wants to nap on my chest with his long legs tucked up underneath him and he just sleeps in this little ball. It makes me feel so blessed to be able to stay home with him and take care of him.

Also, I need to give a shout-out to Babies R Us and Carters for being so helpful with returning girl clothes and equipment. I spent all week deciding what girl stuff to keep for a possible future girl and what things to return. Luckily we found a good medium and we were able to get some boy stuff. Jack has definitely helped teach his planner mom a new "go-with-the-flow" attitude.

On my end, I'm healing well after the c-section and bouncing back quickly. Luckily Mike is taking care of me and being an amazing support. The fact that we are parents now is still weird for us, but we are loving every second of it...even the 4am feedings.

happy boy

This is one happy boy after lunchtime. He was holding his belly and giggling for a few minutes...

Just long enough to get a quick picture, but not enough to video tape.

Sneaky little guy.

We are also legit parents of a baby boy. Our initiation into the Baby Boy club took us by surprise when little Jack-jack peed on us...two separate times. It's like he was waiting to fire at us...holding a reserve of pee till just the right time.

We couldn't stop laughing ourselves.

So far we have a quiet little guy that gives us lots of sleeping time and the cutest expressions that show us his personality slowly. We've also been blessed with friends and family sending us boy clothes so quickly and helping us man-up his world. We had to use a girl sleeper once and the poor guy barely fit into it! It looked like he was wearing a capri sleeper since it stopped at his knees.

I'll keep updating and posting pictures of our Dapper Man. And since I'm completely and utterly addicted to him, the pictures will come in droves!

xoxo

Jack Adam Pless

If you haven't heard, I had a baby!!

And if that isn't shocking enough, it turns out instead of getting a girl, we had a little shock and found out we have a strong baby boy!

I'm so proud to introduce you to our perfect son...

Jack Adam Pless

So, here is how it all went down:

Our due date was June 26th and when that day came and went without a baby, I was so sad. Call it hormones or whatever, but I felt as if this baby was never going to come.

Well, Wednesday at 2am I woke up feeling really uncomfortable and quickly realized I was having contractions and then I starting wondering why I was so sad the day before! Boy did those suckers hurt! I woke Mike up and we waited an hour until we headed to the hospital at 3:30am to get checked out. We were only 2cms dilated, so we walked up and down the hospital halls for hours until finally we were admitted at 6am. I cannot express how bad contractions feel, but I finally realized why the hospital has hand rails in their halls. I would walk and then clutch those rails for dear life while a contraction was happening.

Once admitted, I called my dad to tell him this baby was coming and to start heading to Southern California with my mom.
I was in so much pain through the contractions and just pleading to Heavenly Father to give me strength to get through them...then my prayers where answered by what's called an epidural! I was so freaked out at first about getting one, but the anesthesiologist calmed me down and I barely felt it. Oh how happy I was once I was drugged!! That stuff is pure gold. They asked me if I felt that back-to-back contractions I just had...and just looked at them and said, 'What contraction?' I owe so much to my labor nurse and anesthesiologist! They were joking with me, explaining everything, showing me what they were doing, the whole nine yards. They were such a blessing.

After getting the good drugs, I was one Cloud Nine. I couldn't feel anything and even napped! I woke up to my mom and Mike by my side and just felt so safe and secure. My dad was running errands and getting ready for when we would be discharged. Having my parents there was definitely reassuring. After 16 hours in labor and 6 hours on petocin, the doctor informed us that I wasn't dilating enough for our big baby to labor safely, so we were going to be prepped for a C-Section. I (being a hormonal mess) was scared to death when consent forms came and they were explaining all the complications that could occur. Mike gave me a blessing and we were wheeled into surgery shortly after.

They prepped me for 20 mins, then let Mike in to sit next to me and calm me down. Then after feeling people tugging and pulling and pushing on my numb body (and my awesome anesthesiologist giving me blow by blow) Mike stood up to get pictures of our baby girl. the doctors said, "Okay, here is your baby gir....oh wait...it's a boy!" Mike just sat there shocked and while laughing, turn to me and said, "It's a boy! Not a girl. He's perfect!" I just sat there shocked, waiting for someone to tell me they were joking. Then the doctor brought him to my side of the curtain and said, "See, it's a boy...these are boy parts!" Everyone was asking me what I thought and I could only say, "I hope he likes pink!" and then with tears in my eyes I just said he was beautiful.

No one in the waiting room believed Mike when he texted them that we had a son, not a daughter. And with all the pranks and jokes Mike has pulled over the last few decades, why would anyone believe him? He's the boy that called wolf a few many times. But, once they realized we weren't joking, they all sent our texts and emails and updated Facebook with the news and assuming his name would be Noah, since that has always been our first choice for a boy's name. But after surgery, when Mike, Jack and I were all together for the first time, we kept calling him Noah and both felt that wasn't his name. So, we called him our second choice which was Jack and it just seem to fit so much better. So, we tricked our family with the gender AND the name.

After we were settled, everyone came in to meet the baby they assumed to be Noah and we updated them that this was our son, Jack Adam. After hugs, tears and baby cuddles, we all went to bed...expect for me who had to try and feed him, cuddle him and watch him sleep in disbelief. After that, it was all by the book. I had no pain after surgery and was able to walk around on Thursday. We had some frustration with feeding him at first, but we figured everything out and seeing him full and happy just warmed my heart in a way I've never felt before. Plus just holding him is such an amazing experience, I just can't believe how much your heart expands with all this unconditional love for someone you just met. It is truly a beautiful process.

Mike was AMAZING through this whole process and helped me with feedings and the whole thing like a pro. And he has handled all the diapers while I've been healing. I'm so grateful to have a husband that is so helpful and such a calming influence for me and Jack. We are now an official family and couldn't be happier!

So now we are adjusting to having him all to ourselves with no nurses. But our families have been such a great support which makes everything so much easier. Plus, Grandma Pless brought Jack some boy clothes so he didn't have to leave in a pink sleeper! He left in style with blue elephants.

Jack has been the perfect baby so far. He sleeps so peacefully through the night and we actually have to wake him up to feed! He loves bath time and cuddle time with Mommy before bedtime. Mike even gave Jack "the talk" telling him that he was very special to us, that he is charged with being a peacemaker and a good example to his future siblings. Plus, he may have mentioned that the boobies were on loan...not his to keep.

A big thank you to everyone's emails, Facebook comments and to all those friends and family who have been sending and dropping off boy clothes. Jack especially appreciates that one!! We love you all and we will keep snapping pictures and posting updates.

xoxo