I think I spent the dog food money

One month and life is good

January 21, 2009 in event, family | Tags: baby, dog, family, holiday, house, image, nature, Raleigh, video | 4 comments

Our baby is changing in front of (and away from) our eyes. Today is her one-month birthday and it took five inches of snow, which is essentially a debilitating blizzard here in Raleigh, to prevent Katie and me from going to the Cupcake Shoppe Bakery to score celebratory cupcakes. Instead of birthday sweet treats, we sustained ourselves at home with inauguration coverage and my return to the working-from-home world.

This past weekend our family, minus the four-legged members, visited the grandparents, uncle, aunt, and great grandmother in Boone. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and my parents were gracious, loving hosts despite their hectic move back home a couple of weeks ago. The Watauga Literary Society, also known as my Mom’s book club, threw a wonderful shower for Jackie. Our daughter was able to attend one of her own baby showers ex utero and Trimella Chaney, Susan Dubberly, Jeannie Caviness, and the rest of the Pearl Girls were extremely generous. Little Jackie was even initiated as an honorary Mini-Pearl Girl. Thanks to the entire group for the food, fun, and gifts!

We also appreciated our time with Uncle Rich and Aunt Mindy. Little Jackie has been showing emotion for a couple of weeks now, but it took some quality time with Uncle Rich to bring out a bona fide smile. Some of our daughter’s amusement at her uncle’s silliness was captured in this video:

Great Grandmother Jones met Jackie, and the highlight of our visit to the retirement home was seeing my daughter’s tiny hand in the hand of a woman three generations older. Here are a few pictures of that visit and some other fun had over the Dr. King weekend:

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Finally, Katie and I took the baby out to brave the elements in Boone. It was her first snow:

Little did we know that her second snow would come today in the eastern North Carolina piedmont…

Jackie’s third week

January 12, 2009 in family, home | Tags: baby, dog, family, home, image, video | 7 comments

This is my last full week at home before I return to work, so the Jones family has several more days of full-time bonding. Jackie is a fantastic sleeper. In fact, she has slept at least six straight hours during each of the last four nights. She even managed to calm down and sleep well last night after watching her Tar Heels shoot an upsetting 35% and lose to the tie-dyes in Winston-Salem.

Jackie has been a little more fussy during the day lately, but it’s too early to label her as colicky. Like most babies, there is nothing more soothing than motion. Family walks, like the one in the video below, are a regular part of our routine. The crows are cawing up a storm in the background; there must have been some prime roadkill on Glenwood Avenue the other day.

Fussy or happy, awake or asleep, we love our baby girl. Mornings have been especially fun:

We’ve been fortunate to be treated to dinner the last three nights from family and friends. Thanks to Rich & Mindy (Italian on Friday night), Sarah & Eric (Lilly’s on Saturday night), and Jack & Nancy (homemade enchiladas last night). We appreciate their support!

Miscellaneous pictures:

A fortnight under her belt

January 6, 2009 in family, home | Tags: baby, birth, family, home, video | 3 comments

Jackie will be two weeks old tomorrow and I’m starting to understand why parents always say that their kids grow up so fast. Our daughter has come a long way since her birthday on the 23rd (which she shares with her Aunt Holly). She seems pretty comfortable with the nursing routine Katie has established. As the waste management technician in our household (my vast experience picking up after two large dogs made me a shoe-in for the position), I can attest that all systems are fully operational.

Every passing day brings more active and awake periods, and those little eyes are opening wider and focusing a little better all the time. Here’s a video of Jackie having some wake-time today with her mama after her 1:00 pm feeding:

Here are some more pictures of Jackie meeting her family and her parents’ friends:

Jackie with Sarah Burns, Katie, and Nana

Jackie with her Grandfather Burns

Uncle Rich and Aunt Mindy hangin' with their niece

Sara with Jackie (not pictured: shy Uncle Stew)

Jackie with Dan Wilkinson

Her favorite position, this time in artsy black & white

We are #1 (oops...were #1). Jackie and her dad are pictured here jinxing the Tar Heels. Cool Carolina threads courtesy of Elizabeth and Noah.

I guess this is blackmail fodder for later in her life? She's obviously embarassed, yet undeniably cute.

Jackie’s first week

December 31, 2008 in family, home | Tags: baby, family, holiday, home, Raleigh, video | 5 comments

It has now been a full week since Jackie’s birth, and our new family configuration is really starting to thrive. After a difficult and fussy first three days, Jackie settled into a peaceful, healthy routine. Katie deserves all the credit for making our daughter happy in her new home. As I told my mother (big Jackie) and mother-in-law (Katie’s mom Janet), I have a new appreciation for mothers after seeing Katie face and successfully meet the initial challenges of childbirth and nursing.

What, me worry?

Janet has been with us for the past nine days, and we’re very grateful for all her help looking after the dogs while we were in the hospital, cleaning up around the house, running errands and shopping for us, and helping prepare meals. When she isn’t helping with things around the house, she can usually be found doting on her granddaughter. Life during Jackie’s first week would have been chaotic and extremely difficult without Janet’s hard work, love, and support.

Joyous Nana and her granddaughter.

Nana also gave Jackie her first bath the other day, and it went much better than I ever dreamed it would. Our old house stays pretty cold in the winter, so a mid-winter’s sponge bath couldn’t have been too comfortable for the baby. Give Janet credit for making it as pleasant as possible…

I’m also appreciative of Jackie’s two older brothers, Baxter and Robah, for their good behavior. We predicted that Baxter would be curious at first, and then disinterested with a tiny human who can’t even hold a tennis ball, much less throw it for him. We predicted Robah would be loving and slobbery. We were right about both. Surprisingly though, both dogs are quite protective of their little sis. The five of us went on our first family outing today — a thirty-minute walk around Five Points.

Baxter and Robah meet/sniff Jackie.

Daytime feedings have become fun-with-music sessions. I guess we like to nourish Jackie’s ears while Katie feeds her stomach. First, I play dance or big band music and dance with Jackie to get her awake and ready to nurse. When Katie takes over, she plays oldies and sings along as Jackie eats. Jackie may or may not like these meal-time theatrics, but I assure you that Katie and I are having a ball.

The rest of the family, including my parents, Katie’s dad Ben, my brother Rich, and Katie’s sister Sarah, haven’t had too much time to visit Jackie yet. Sarah and Rich did hold Jackie at the hospital…

Here are some assorted pictures from the past week. Feel free to come visit whenever…we want Jackie to meet the rest of her family and parents’ friends.

: What, me worry?

: Baxter and Robah meet/sniff Jackie.

Jacqueline Burns Jones

December 24, 2008 in Uncategorized | Tags: baby, birth, family, holiday | 3 comments

Jackie Jones was born at 10:05 p.m. on December 23 by way of c-section. She weighed 10 lbs., 8 oz., and was 22 in. long at the time of birth. After holding her for the first time, I realized how futile it would have been to hold out longer for vaginal birth. Jackie was just too big to enter the world without some help from her doctor and surgical team.

Katie did extremely well with the c-section procedure, and continues to recover quickly. On top of that, Katie even complied whenever the nurses asked her to put down her Blackberry (it was a little touch-and-go at first). In all seriousness, my wife is a rock and I didn’t expect anything short of courage and grace from her before, during, and after delivery.

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Cutting the cord.

We should have known that Jackie would be a large newborn when one of the nurses on our floor guessed that Katie was carrying twins. I think that at least one-third of her wardrobe is already too small for her on day one. She’s going straight to 3-6 month-sized clothes.

Wow...10 lbs., 8 oz., 22 in.

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Her long fingers were one of the first things that struck me when I held her for the first time.

Piano lessons in her future?

Of course, Katie and I are enamored with our baby girl. Based on her appearance during her first day ex utero, she has a Jeffcoats nose and a Watson chin. I wonder if other new parents have identified physical resemblances from their mothers’ side of the family before noticing characteristics from their fathers’ side. Regardless of who she resembles, her mother and I think she’s perfect.

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I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to the nurses, staff, and doctors at the REX Hospital Birth Center. They have really made us comfortable and confident as new parents during our first thirty-six hours under their watch. Most importantly, they delivered to us our daughter. We love her, love her, love her.

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It’s baby time!

December 24, 2008 in event, family | Tags: baby, birth, event, family | 1 comment

The doctor decided it would be best for mother and child to do a c-section in about 30 minutes. Jackie’s arrival is imminent!

Update – 8:25 p.m.

December 24, 2008 in event, family | Tags: baby, birth, event, family | Leave a comment

Katie hasn’t dilated more in the last hour and a half. The doctor wants to give her another hour…if there’s no change between now and then, they might decide to do a cesarean birth. That would happen sometime tonight depending on other patients who need c-sections.

Update – 6:50 p.m.

December 23, 2008 in event, family | Tags: baby, event, family | Leave a comment

Katie has dilated a little more (up to 6 now), and the contractions seem to be coming stronger (even though they are still about two minutes apart). Jackie seems to be in a traversed position, so it would be nice if she would rotate a little before she debuts. Slowly, but surely she’s getting closer. It’s hard to believe that Katie’s still not in active labor yet, but we’re still hopeful that she’ll come tonight.

Bless her heart…she just watched me eat pad thai with shrimp take-out while she sipped more ginger ale and tried to find a position that’s anywhere close to comfortable. Katie’s always cool like that. Don’t worry though…I made sure to get her permission beforehand.

Update – 3:45 p.m.

December 23, 2008 in event, family | Tags: baby, birth, family | 1 comment

Well, here we are, waiting for further developments. Dilation and active labor are our immediate goals. The obstetrician who welcomed us last night just took off for the holidays; she’ll be replaced by another OB who happens to be my co-worker’s brother-in-law. From all we’ve heard, we’re in good hands with him.

A mysterious rumbling, drone-like sound is coming from somewhere on the floor below us — it sounds like Robah snoring and groaning, so it’s a comforting reminder of home.

The reality is starting to set in that the baby will not be coming anytime very soon. In fact, I have a feeling that Jackie will be a Christmas Eve baby, but a lot could happen (even cesarean birth) between now and midnight tonight.

We’ve put our playlist on pause for an Ellen/The Sopranos television break.

Update – 1:50 p.m.

December 23, 2008 in event, family | Tags: baby, event, family, music | 1 comment

All is well at the Birth Center. The contractions seem to be intensifying more and more, but Katie hasn’t had any change in the amount of pain and discomfort. No one who works here is brazen or foolhardy enough to speculate about the time of delivery. We get the feeling that it will be later than 5:00 p.m. this afternoon.

I ate a bland lunch at the Quizno’s here at the medical center and walked past one of the nurseries on my way back. There they were — little bundles of life, flushed red and pink, wrapped tight in each baby container. When I returned to our room a few minutes ago, Uncle Bob Pollard was singing, “Happy little babies with red cheeks…you will rock them gently out of sync,” from Official Ironmen Rally Song when I returned to the room. Don’t you love it when music syncs, whether coincidentally or supernaturally, with life? If Salt-n-Pepa’s Push It comes on in a few hours, we’ll know it’s time for Katie to go to work.