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There is other Burns family scoop — Eric proposed to Sarah recently and she accepted. We’re very excited for them. Anyone who knows them knows what a good couple they are, and what a good wife and husband combo they will make.
Congratulations you two crazy kids!
There was ice in the mountains...the picture doesn't do justice to the rocks on her finger.
My apologies to Nana. It’s been nearly three weeks since I posted any Jackienews here on ITISTDFM (if other blogs can go by initialisms, then so can mine). If it had only been a couple of weeks, I would blame a new work project and other distractions for the gap, but three weeks is too long.
The weekend before last was spent in the North Carolina mountains with the Burns clan. Special thanks go out to Ben & Janet for the wonderful accommodations. It was Jackie’s introduction to her great grandmother and great aunt, and I’m sure they enjoyed meeting her as much as she enjoyed meeting them. I’ve posted a video and some pictures.
Note to the grandmothers: More Jackie news is forthcoming. Check back on Monday.
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:
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…
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.
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- What, me worry?
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- Baxter and Robah meet/sniff Jackie.
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.
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.
Her long fingers were one of the first things that struck me when I held her for the first time.
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.
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.
Many thanks to the Burns family who traveled from Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Florida to be with us in Raleigh for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our time together was fantastic. The effects of post-visit depression are already obvious in Robah and Baxter as they mope around the house looking for attention.
Dinner on Thursday was traditional and resplendent. On Friday, some of us witnessed a Lady Tar Heel soccer team beat Texas A&M in the NCAA tournament regional finals in Chapel Hill. On Saturday, a different group of us witnessed the Carolina football squad eke out a victory over Dook [sic] in Durham. We truly enjoyed laughing, eating, and hanging out with everyone.
I think I spent the dog food money 