Note: Jacob Raymond Walker was born 12 weeks prematurely at Duke University Hospital the morning of Monday, May 19 2008. The following are updates, notes, & observations on his growth & development.
It has been about a week since the little guy came home and we're all doing very well. For the first few days Kristin & I would stop ourselves in disbelief that Jake's actually here & not in the hospital, and it's still amazing that he's home for good. I remarked the other day as we sat him on the floor to roll around ('Tummy Time' for the uninitiated) that I felt we were normal parents, which is a wonderful feeling.
Kristin & I were discussing how we thought the week had gone & for the most part parenthood is how we expected it to be so far. It's actually going even better than I'd hoped so far as Jake isn't too fussy & he's not much of a crier (clearly we're hoping that stays consistent). Even the dogs have adapted to him quite well (that's Chloe above) Of course the one thing we're still working on is feeding the little guy.
Since Jake eats every 3 hours I've told people that it seems we're always either finishing up feeding him or getting ready to feed him. Since the entire routine involves diaper changes, burping and keeping him upright to minimize the GERD, not to mention the actual feeding, its good for an hour. That only leaves two left until the process starts all over again.
The constant interruption isn't so hot for the sleep cycles but we're working on refining our technique. Jake eats at 12, 3, 6, & 9 so one of us takes 9PM & 3AM & the other does midnight & 6AM and its working for now. Check in with us next month...
A quick warning to all the non-parents here is that the rumors are true. Once you have a baby, you just can't believe how much you can love that tiny little person. I've seen Jake every day for 3 months but every time I see him I forget how precious he is & just have to give him a few kisses on the head (& I've never been much of a family kisser). Every day he either gets a little cuter or I get a little softer; we'll see how long it continues.....
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4 comments:
Jeff and Kristin -
I'm so glad to see Jacob's progress and thrilled to see that he is home and doing well!
I've been thinking about your family a lot over the last weeks and months and wish you well! Can't wait to meet Jacob in person!
Amy Weyant
With Ben, we did the night shifts thing. Johnny would take the first half of the night, then I would take the next half. We were both always exhausted all of the time.
With Evelyn, I took my boss' advice and we did two nights on, two nights off. For the two nights that you're up every 3 hours its kind of tough, but then you get two nights of blissfully sleeping through the night. It really worked well for us. You may want to try it.
SO happy for your family!!!
I've been following progress via the blog and can't tell you how thrilled I am for all of you. He's beautiful and I'm sure he's glad to be home with Mommy and Daddy. By the time March Madness comes around, he'll be ready to wave the Duke and Michigan banners! (although I may just have to send him a State one for good measure...) Congratulations!!!
Jeff & Kristin,
I've been off e-mail for almost a week, so I was delighted when I read the blog today and learned that Jake is home! TEE-RIFIC!! You're gonna' have so much fun!
Robin
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