The First Two Months

I can't believe that our little guy is the same baby we brought home from the hospital two months ago. He has grown and changed so much. I still remember rocking him to sleep one night that first week with tears in my eyes (mostly happy tears, tinged with some sadness, likely the result of those wonderful postpartum hormones) as I thought ahead to the boy and someday man that Jesse will become. A part of me felt joy as I realized how blessed I was to be entrusted with the responsibility of this new life, and as I looked forward to seeing who Jesse would become someday, but another part of me felt sorrow because I didn't want this precious little baby to ever grow up. Even though there are times when I just want to freeze the moment and keep this little boy from growing up so quickly, I know that I don't want to hinder him from becoming the person God wants him to be. It is a joy to see him learning new things and changing each day, and I am so thankful to have the privilege of staying home with him. I think it's the best job ever, and each night when I go to bed I look forward to a new day together (even though those days are starting a little earlier than I might prefer).

There are lots of things I want to remember about these first two months, but I will just jot down a few here:

• At his two-month check-up, he weighed 13 pounds and 3 ounces and was nearly 24 inches long, which puts him in the 90th percentile for weight and length. His doctor says he is just perfect and is growing like a weed!
• This little boy is a champion sleeper. It is one of his favorite activities, and I'm pretty sure that it's nothing we have done, because he slept pretty well from day one. It was so hard to wake him up to eat that first week, and he would have slept longer than 4 hours at night, but we set an alarm so that I could get up and feed him. Once he regained his birth weight, the doctor said just to let him sleep as long as he wanted at night, and so we did. By two weeks he was sleeping one 5-6 hour stretch at night, and now he typically sleeps for seven hours, and if we're really lucky, eight. He also naps very well throughout the day and has been starting to put himself on a loose schedule of three naps a day (morning, afternoon and evening) with some short catnaps interspersed.
• He has definitely been developing a personality, especially these past few weeks. He is most alert first thing in the morning and will just smile and "talk" with us for quite a while. I read to him from his 'Jesus Storybook Bible' most days (even though I know he doesn't understand the words yet, I figure it's a good habit for us to start now) and he just grins the biggest grins as he "listens". I know it's just from the colors on the page and the intonation in my voice, but I like to pretend that he is comprehending. ;)
  
• Often he prefers being laid down on a blanket or in his crib to being held. He will just lay there and kick his legs and stare at his toys. He especially loves his mobile above his crib. Last night he was wide awake when we put him to bed, but he was content just laying in bed looking at the animals on his mobile. Whenever we would turn out the lights, though, he would begin to cry. We figured out that it was because he couldn't see the mobile, because as soon as we turned the lights back on, his crying immediately ceased and he again began to focus intently on the animals.
• I would say that he enjoys going on walks, but I think I enjoy them way more than he does, considering he has slept through 95% of our walks. I am ready for spring to really be here so that we can make it a part of our daily routine.
• He loves music! We sing to him a lot, and if all else fails, this usually calms him down. I am going to have to build my repertoire of kid songs, though, because I feel like I sing the same 10 or 15 every day. He also can't stand it when the music stops on his bouncer seat or mobile, so we are constantly restarting it.

Here he is enjoying his bath-time. James' mom came over to see Jesse last night, and we thought it would be a good chance to get some pictures of the two of us giving him a bath. The first two tub baths were kind of rough, but now he really enjoys the warm water. He just doesn't like getting out.

He still prefers being laid on his back, but he enjoys his "tummy time" more and more each day:

I'm still having a hard time getting over how he got from this tiny baby:

to this:

Visitors

This past weekend Jesse had some special visitors. My good friend Virginia came to town from Memphis, and she and her sister Martha spent most of the day Saturday with us. We had a great time, and I was glad for them to meet Jesse! Thanks to Virginia for the pictures!



The weather was so nice that we decided to take a walk around Wilson Park. This was the first time he was awake for a walk, and he stayed awake for about a quarter of our first lap around the park. Then he began to fuss, and it wasn't long before he had cried himself to sleep. I am definitely looking forward to spring! I think we will be going on walks most days!

And my personal favorite from the weekend...

First Day at Church

Today was Jesse's first day at church (well, actually just Sunday School). We intended to go the past two Sundays, but ended up not going because Jesse hadn't slept very much, and therefore neither had we. Last night, however, he slept seven hours straight. Even though he has been regularly sleeping about six hours straight, seven hours was his new record. We are definitely pleased with how much sleep we are getting (most nights) and we hope this pattern continues.

Here he is, dressed up for the occasion in his khaki pants and shirt and "tie".

Jesse's Birth

Since several have asked to hear Jesse's birth story, and since I want to have it documented for the future, I thought I'd share it on here (don't worry...I won't be sharing anything too unpleasant, so if you are easily disturbed by these kinds of stories, I don't think this one should be much of a problem). Disclaimer: This turned out really long, but to my credit, I was in labor for around 20 hours, so there's a lot to tell.

It's hard to know exactly where to start because I'm not sure when true labor really began. On Sunday night (the 9th) I woke up as usual to go to the bathroom, but this time I realized I was having contractions. They were maybe slightly stronger than normal, but nothing that I would call painful. In hopes that maybe this was the real thing, I stayed awake for a little while and began timing them, and they were consistently 10 minutes apart for 1-2 hours. At some point James woke up, and I told him what was going on, so he stayed awake with me for a little while, but since the contractions weren't getting any closer together, I decided it was best for me just to try to get some rest, so I went back to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, the contractions had pretty much completely stopped, and I hardly noticed any throughout the day on Monday.

On Monday night we ate dinner with some friends and didn't get back home until sometime between 11 and midnight. While hanging out with them, I noticed contractions start back up again, and they were definitely stronger than the night before, but I was pretty easily able to ignore them. When we got home, though, I thought I should see how close they were, so we timed them for awhile, and they were mostly between 5 and 8 minutes apart. Once I was laying down in bed, they were getting to be somewhat painful (I would hardly call them painful now after having experienced true labor, but at the time I considered them painful), but since they weren't getting any closer together, I again decided I should just get some rest. After all, if it was truly the real thing, then they would get strong enough that I would wake up. Well, just like the previous morning, I woke up on Tuesday and they were pretty much completely gone. Bummer.

Then around 11:30 on Tuesday morning I began to notice contractions again. I figured it was probably false labor again, but I kind of kept an eye on the clock and noticed that they were consistently between 5 and 8 minutes apart again. The rest of the afternoon they were never more than 8 minutes apart, and by 3 or 4 they were significantly stronger. We were having friends over that evening (no, we don't usually hang out with people every night of the week, but I sure am thankful that it happened that way this week, because I definitely needed some distraction, since I was getting really impatient waiting for Jesse to come). While we were eating, my contractions were getting quite painful, though they weren't bad enough for me to say anything. I really didn't want to draw much attention to them, because I assumed that yet again, this was probably another joke.

However, we decided to play Balderdash after dinner, and after a couple rounds I had felt so many contractions that I thought it would be unwise not to see how far apart they were, so I somewhat discreetly began to time them on James' phone stopwatch and noticed that they were all less than five minutes apart, and quite a few were even 3 minutes apart. Probably a couple rounds later I was in enough pain that I couldn't stay seated during the contractions; I had to get up during them because I was so uncomfortable. At this point, I hadn't even told James how close together they were, but he picked up his phone and looked at all the times I had recorded and asked if we should be thinking about going to the hospital. I said that we probably should, especially since I had been experiencing regular contractions all day. Since our kitchen was quite a mess from all the dinner dishes, James and our friends picked it up as much as possible. They left soon after that, and we finished packing up random odds and ends and then immediately left for the hospital. By this point, I was having a bit of trouble doing anything during the contractions.

We got to the hospital around 7:45 on Tuesday night. The nurses in the ER determined that I was 3 cm dilated and 100% effaced (at my last doctor's appointment, a week earlier, I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced, so not much had really changed), so it was still unclear whether or not they were going to admit me to the hospital. They decided to monitor me for an hour and see whether or not anything had changed. After an hour I was still about the same, so they let me get up and walk around the building for an hour to see if this would speed things up. Contractions were increasingly painful by this point, and I could no longer walk through them. I kept thinking how awful it would be if they decided to send me home. Thankfully, after an hour of walking around, I was dilated to 4 cm and the doctor gave the OK for me to be admitted. Yay!

It was probably around 11 pm or maybe even closer to midnight when the decision was made for me to be admitted, but we waited until nearly 2:30 am to actually be taken to our room (we got the last available room that night, but it still had to be cleaned). And let me tell you, the ER is one of the most awful places in the world, especially when you spend 6+ hours there. Think bright lights, teeny tiny "rooms" divided by curtains, and having to wait 45 minutes just to get a cup of ice. At this point I was offered an epidural and other kinds of pain relief, but it was my goal to make it through the labor medication-free, so I continually refused. (I didn't have any particularly strong conviction to go all-natural, but I knew it was the safest/healthiest option for both me and the baby, so I wanted to give it my best shot).

When 2:30 am came, they finally wheeled me off to our labor/delivery suite (I wasn't allowed to walk at this point because they thought my water had broken--it actually hadn't) , which was very calm and relaxing compared to our little stall in the ER. I felt like I was in a nice hotel room. I continued to labor in there for hours, but by about 10 am I had only progressed to 6 or 7 cm (and I had been at a 6 or 7 for several hours by that point), so our doctor strongly recommended to either 1) get an epidural because this might help me to relax, which could, in turn, speed up the labor, or 2) get started on pitocin to speed things up. He said that my labor could go on and on for hours and hours otherwise.

Well, by then I was hurting so bad that I decided to go with this advice. Since there was no way I was going to take pitocin without some pain relief, I decided to get the epidural followed by the pitocin. Unfortunately, I had to wait nearly an hour to get the epidural because the anesthesiologist was in an operation. That was possibly one of the longest and most painful hours of my life. I had made it through the contractions pretty well up until this point, but somehow knowing that pain relief was coming, it made them nearly unbearable. Boy was I ever thankful when that anesthesiologist came in the room and began to stab me in the back with big needles. James, on the other hand, did not react so well to this procedure. Apparently the combination of what the anesthesiologist was doing to my back and the intense contraction that I experienced while he was giving me the epidural, was enough to make James turn ghost-white and nearly pass out. (As a side note, I made him promise not to pass out during my labor, because I knew I would think he was going into diabetic shock). Luckily he managed to get through it without passing out or vomiting, and since he had just recently checked his blood sugar, I was fairly positive that it was not diabetes-related.

After receiving the epidural and the pitocin, I felt totally relaxed and relieved. I thought it would be wise to try and get a nap in at this point, but I was in such a happy state that I couldn't even "focus" on sleeping. Now all I could feel during the contractions was some pressure. After an hour or so, however, the pressure got really intense. It was nothing like the pain I had experienced earlier, but it was just extremely uncomfortable (to be blunt, it felt like I had to go to the bathroom really bad but couldn't). I told the nurse next time she came in, around 1:00 pm) and she said it was probably time to start pushing. She checked, and sure enough I was at 10 cm and ready to push. After alerting the nursery staff and the doctor on call, I began to push and about 30 minutes later, Jesse was born! After seeing him, I couldn't really remember what the pain and discomfort felt like--I was just so happy to finally be meeting my son. He began crying pretty soon after he came out, and I got to hold him while James cut the umbilical cord. They took him away for a few minutes to do all the newborn assessments, but we soon got him back and enjoyed having in the room with us for the next 2 or so hours until they had to take him to the nursery to get him all cleaned up.

Here we are about an hour after his birth.

Welcome, Jesse!

Jesse Baker Covington arrived Wednesday, January 12 at 1:42 pm. He weighed 8 lb. 4 oz. and was 21.5 inches long. It's hard to believe that he is already a week old and that this time last week he was only a couple hours old. It seems like we just left the hospital, yet we can already tell that he is changing quickly. He has become more and more alert as the week has progressed (though if you have come to visit him, you probably wouldn't believe it because he has slept through all his visitors), and after 2 or 3 rough nights, he has proven himself to be a really great sleeper (as long as he has a full tummy). I hope to write more in the near future, but in the meantime there are feedings, diapers to change, clothes to wash, and there is a cute little boy who needs my attention. For now I'll leave you with these pictures.

Here he is bundled up for his first outing. We ventured out to Target today to buy him a swing. He slept the entire time.


And here he is in his new swing at home, still asleep and very cozy.

We're ready for you, Jesse!

I promised a nursery update in my last post, but didn't realize how long it would take me to get around to it. Finishing up all the last-minute details in the nursery (like washing all of Jesse's clothing and bedding and making some small last-minute purchases) took longer than I expected, not only because of the holidays, but also because I just move a lot slower than I did nine months ago. So here are several pictures of the almost completed product (I won't consider it complete until there is a real baby in there):



These safari prints were given to us at our shower, and I decided to get them framed and matted. They were painted by a family friend who lived in Kenya for many years and are a perfect addition to the nursery.


Jesse's Aunt Lisa worked really hard painting the canvases below and I think she did a terrific job of matching the animals to those in Jesse's bedding. I was definitely impressed and I'm sure Jesse will love them, too!




Can you tell by now that we're going with safari/jungle theme?


This glider and ottoman were handed down to us from James' aunt, and James' mom redid all the cushions with a brown fabric to match all the decor. It looks great!


A glimpse of Jesse's wardrobe and the cute wall hanging we got at our shower (in case you can't read it very well in the picture, it says "When God made this little boy He was just showing off").


Well, there's a quick update on the nursery. I'm sure I'll think of more minor details as long as we're still waiting, but I think things are all set for him to be here. If only we could be more patient!

I'm Still Here!

I can't believe it has been more than a month and a half since I last posted. Life has been busy, but good. I honestly thought I might be bored out of my mind not having a job for the 4 months before Jesse's arrival, but I have found plenty to keep me occupied, especially this last week or two as the nesting instinct has hit pretty hard. Here's a little bit of what I've been up to over the past month or so...

Over Halloween weekend we enjoyed a camping trip to Devil's Den with James' family. Hiking was pretty minimal since my previous attempt to hike at Petit Jean made me sore for days, but we had a great time hanging around the campfire, roasting marshmallows and carving pumpkins. Here are our attempts at pumpkin carving. We both set out with cool stencils, but James had some minor issues with his, and after several failed attempts (you can't see it here, but the other sides of his pumpkin are big holes where the pattern caved in) he settled for the traditional jack-o-lantern look.

The week of Thanksgiving my Mom, Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law and I made a fun trip to Tulsa for a day to do some shopping at Babies R Us and some other stores that we don't have here in Fayetteville. I think we literally spent 3 hours in Babies R Us. That store is huge. And, they have a nice section of gliders/rockers that can be "tested" at the end of the day when two pregnant women are worn out.

Here are Katie, Lisa and I posing with the two cousins-to-be (with due dates just a month apart). I'm thinking Lisa might not be able to fit in between us at Christmas. We'll have to take another photo then.


The same week, we got to enjoy Thanksgiving with both families. We had lunch at the Covingtons' and dinner with my parents and grandmother. We were especially grateful this year, since we now know what it's like to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas away from our families. Jesse even got his own spot at the table for lunch (well, he shared a spot with me):


After Thanksgiving we did some decorating, which mainly entailed putting up the Christmas tree.

This is my personal favorite ornament, although if Jesse comes before Christmas it will no longer be appropriate.

That's a little bit of what we've been up to. This past weekend we had a baby shower, and since then we've been working pretty hard on getting everything put together in the nursery, so I'll leave you in suspense as to the progress we've made there. I'll hopefully have a post about that in the near future (so long as I don't go into labor before then!).