1 Month Old Jake

Jake is now 1 month old! It seems like it has gone by so slowly, but yet I cant believe he is a month already! So odd how we can feel that way.

This month has been pretty difficult. The first two weeks were most definitely the hardest on us as a family. My physical recovery has been painful and uncomfortable, but much easier in comparison to my c-section with Kristin.

Kristin's desperation for our attention since she is not the center of it any longer has been one of the most difficult things for us to cope with. Her behavior towards Jacob has been nothing but loving, full of excitement and happy; but when it comes to being obedient to Dad and Mom she, for some reason, doesnt think it applies to her any longer! We're hoping over time she will get use to having Jake around and as Justin and I show her how much we still love her and having Jake here doesnt change that she will soften.

Jake had a problem with jaundice after coming home from the hospital and we ended up having to put a Billy Blanket on him for a few days. Its this blue light that we put on his back and use the 'blanket' to hold it firm in place by wrapping it around his chest. He absolutely hated it, and so did I! What an awkward peice of equiptment! I should have taken a picture of it, but I didnt think about it. I had to take him to the lab everyday to have his blood drawn to test. I felt so bad for him, they basically put a mini exacto knife to his heal then had to squeeze blood into a small vile. We did that 4 days in a row. On the last day the lab tech he had was absolutely amazing! She was so good and knew what to do that Jake didnt even wake up when all 3 days previous he would scream.

I had hoped to be sucessful at breastfeeding with Jake since I wasnt very successful with Kristin. Turns out I was more successful with Kristin then I have been with Jacob. So I chose to exclusively pump and so far it has been going really well. Although the schedule we have makes life a little difficult to go places and to get as many things done around the house as we use to; but we're making it work. My goal is to reach 6 months and if I choose to go longer then awesome! I just dont want to set the bar too high.

Overall Jake is a good baby. His days and night's are still mixed up. We're hoping this changes soon! He gets up every 3 hours or so to eat. He also loves to be held. This is one of the big differences between him and Kristin. Kristin was fine to lay around on the floor or with some toys and just watch but Jake really wanted to be held all the time. His temperment is soft and gentle, it takes a lot to make him upset, he will usually start with a soft wimper/whine, then make it a little lounder to make himself heard. Its only when he is super hungry that he gets really upset, little bit of a family trate with that one! He also doesnt like to be swaddled. I swear by swaddling and I think it does work in lots of situations but Jake loves to sleep with his arms by his head, or above his head. Its seriously adorable! So I am forgoing swaddling this time around. I love that he seems pretty content to put himself to sleep. He does cry a bit, but he gives up pretty quickly.

This first month has been wonderful, having our son, being a family, Christmas and New Years, but also very challenging. Im looking forward to this next month to see whats in store and to see how much Jakey changes.

Here are some of his 1 month pictures:

Christmas 2009

This Christmas was a blessing for us, having a baby, and more specifically a baby boy so close to Christmas was truly a blessing from the Lord. I was constantly reminded of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ and what joy was brought into the world that night. How Mary could have felt a lot of the same way I did bringing a son into the world. People always say they dont want children too close to Christmas, but I truly saw it as a joy and a blessing.

We were blessed by so many of our family members who gave such wonderful gifts to our kids and to us as a family. Kristin was so excited to open her gifts Christmas morning...I dont think she truly understands just yet what we are doing and why but of course she wont complain = ) We are looking forward for when she can understand that we celebrate to share in the joy of Jesus and His gift to us. We spent time reading a toddlers bible of the birth of Jesus, prayed and then opened her gifts with her. Her newest obsession is the dog in the movie, UP, Dug. So Justin bought her a talking Dug. She also really loved her first doll house. She played with that doll house the whole day until we left to go to our family's house.

We spent the day at Floyd and Vickie's with the whole family. It was a blessing to all be together, read the Christmas story, sing some carols together and share a wonderful meal together.

Here are some pictures of the day...

Bringing Home Baby

Sunday, December 6th we were able to bring Jacob home to meet his big sister, Kristin! Since we had to stay in the hospital till Sunday she stayed with my sister-in-law and brother the first night and my in-laws the second. Kristin and I have been talking about 'Baby' for a while now. When I started to show I began telling Kristin that there was a baby in there. At first she didnt care, and didnt understand but as the baby grew bigger, and we talked more about it she understood that there was a baby in there. She would touch my belly and say "baby!" and give it a kiss! haha...so cute! There were a few times throughout my pregnancy that Kristin was able to feel the baby move. Once while we were watching a movie she had her head resting on my belly and Jake all of a sudden kicked her in the head! I guess he didnt want to be used as a pillow! haha...Kristin was surprised, and she immediately looked at me as if I did it! I told her it was the baby and she giggled and continues to watch the movie. The other time she felt him she already had her hands on my belly and Jake just happened to start moving and she really got to feel him move! Her face was so adorable as she was trying to figure out how mommy's belly was moving like that! My in-laws brought her home late Sunday afternoon, Im so glad we got her reaction on video, here is what happened!

Jacob Justin Roberts

...Is finally here! Here is his birth story & pictures!

My due date of December 1st came & went. I thought that perhaps this being my second baby that he would come early, but I think I should expect all our kids (if we have more, Lord willing) to be late...Ill explain later.

My goal for this birth was to have a v-bac, vaginal birth after ceserean, labor longer at home and go to the hospital around 5cm, not have any intervention, ie: pitocin or other drugs except my wonderful epidural, get an epidural after I reach 5cm, and never feel an oz of pain for the rest of my labor....Ok, so here is what really happened....

I had been having strong braxton hicks contractions, and ocassionally what felt like 'real' labor pains. Ones that I found similar to what I had with Kristin. All week long I was being pushed by Justin and my sister-in-law to get this baby out! We went on long walks to try and get my body going.

Finally Friday morning at 5:30am I KNEW I was having real labor contractions. I labored at home for a few hours, timing my contractions anywhere from 2-4 min apart. What I thought to be pretty painful contractions, or ok maybe lets go to the hospital contractions were most definitely NOT pretty painful as I found out later on that day.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:30am and they sent us to there observation room, or pre-check in room to see how I am progressing. One of the nurses told me they would not admit me till I am in 'active labor', 4cm at least. I was thinking since my contractions are pretty painful Im sure I am at least 3-4cm. To my horror I was only 2-2.5! I sobbed and sobbed because we were to be sent home, I just knew it! The nurse left to call the dr and discuss our situation with him and find out what he wanted to do. She came back and said for us to walk for an hour and see how I am progressing in an hour. So Justin and I walked in circles around the Labor and delivery ward again and again...and again and again...then to go get checked again to see how I progressed, and again to my horror I was only 3cm! I thought for sure now we are going to be sent home! I was horrified that these painful contractions were for only 3cm! I kept telling Justin, "I am such a wuss!" The nurse returned and said due to my prior c-section, and the fact I needed a few doses of medication before delivery they decided to keep me even though I was not yet at 4cm. I was relieved, thinking ok now things are going to get going and we're havin this baby today! My contractions continued to worsen, pain-wise, but they were not close enough together to make a REAL difference...my nurse checked me again in 3 hours and again to my horror I had not changed AT ALL! I was stuck at 3cm! I felt devistated, disapointed, and felt defeated...I was thinking there must be something wrong with my body, there is no reason why I should not have progressed somewhat within the last 3 hours! The nurse came in and told us what our dr was recommending, to begin pitocin. Its a drug used to mimic contractions, basically forcing your body to have them. I had pitocin my last labor and even though we dont know for sure if it contributed to my c-section, I really wanted to not have any medical interventions with my labor progression. At this point I am in pain and telling Justin, just give me a c-section, I just want a c-section and get this over with! We spent some time praying about what to do, talked with the dr and some family and prayed with some family as to what to do as well and when we told the nurse we would go ahead and do the pitocin even though we didnt want to she suggested breaking my water instead of pitocin. She was an excellent nurse! She delivered her child at home, naturally and is very pro-natural methods so she was able to give us her opinion on how breaking my water would be a better, more 'natural' way to set off my labor instead of using the pitocin. After our discussion with her we asked her to go back to the dr and discuss this option with him to see if he would do it. She agreed and left to go call him, but came back a few minutes later wanting to check me once more before she calls the dr...and praise be to God, I was at 4cm! After she left I decided to use the restroom, and labor standing up for a while when all of a sudden I felt a trickle running down my leg, I get back into bed and good thing I did because all of sudden my water broke on its own! I was so happy, God answered our prayers and I didnt need any intervention whatsoever, we just needed to give my body time to dialate. Within another 2 to 3 hours I reached 5cm and I got my epidural and was able to get some sleep, FINALLY! After reaching 10cm I pushed for about 40 minutes and at 3:39am Jacob Justin Roberts was born. I finally got the birth I wanted to have, they put him on my stomach and I got to hold him. Time after that just flew by, I just sat there watching the nurses take care of Jake, Justin taking pictures and was just walking on clouds. I was relieved it was over with, our son was finally here!

Looking back God's faithfulness and grace towards me was clearly seen...Im not one to always be patient in my decision making, I can imagine how different this birth could have been had we just made a snap decision to just give me the c-section I was begging for, in order to have the easy, pain-free delivery, but it would have been a buy now pay later situation, because looking at how life at home is now with two kids, recovering from a c-section would have been so much more difficult to bear. And if we had chosen the pitocin, how much worse my laboring could have been or what could have happened, perhaps leading to another c-section, we will never know, but I praise God for a husband who seeks His will, who when he doesnt know what to do goes to God asking what to do. Justin was an amazing coach through it all, he helped me focus, relax, see reality at times and just loved me the best ways he knew how. I am so blessed to have the husband I do. He pushed me beyond what I thought I could handle, he encouraged me to trust the Lord and to hold on to His promises and to not give up but stay hopeful.

Thanks for reading Jake's birth story, now here are the photos!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

Happy Thanksgiving! Another year is flying by! This year Justin, Kris & I went to my parents house to celebrate with my parents, the Lundbergs, and the newest addition to our family, my brother's new wife's family, the Williams!

It was a great day of fun, fellowship and of course awesome food! Kelly did a great job with the turkey (even though I ate ham, but I did taste it). And all the other sides were just awesome! Not to mention the desert too! Pumpkin cheese cake! Oh my! SOOO good!

We ended the night with the guys playing Risk (of course) and we watched UP with the kids.

We are so thankful for all the Lord has done in our family and our lives this past year, and so much to look forward to as we continue to seek Him follow after Him.

Happy Birthday Kristin! 2 Years Old! WOW!

Happy 2nd Birthday Kristin! Justin and I had planned to take Kristin to Sea World for her birthday, but Justin had a very painful back injury that pretty much prevented him from doing anything but lying down. He did however force himself up to go to the pet store because we wanted to get her Nemo & Dory fishes. Well after getting there and realizing 1. how expensive salt water fish are, and 2. all the equiptment to go with it, and 3. that we would have to get a pretty huge tank to house them we decided to leave Nemo and Dory in the TV screen. Kris had a great time looking around at all the fish, the turtles, birds, lizzards & snakes, bunnies & kitties...I told Justin, she is getting her day at sea world! Just a small version of it!

Kristin loves the happy birthday song! She gets so happy and excited whenever it is sung to her. Her cousins, and Nana Roberts & Papa Collins called to sing her happy birthday and I should have taken pictures of her face because it lights up and she knows that she is special.

The next day we went to Papa and Nana Collins house and Aunt Kelly, Uncle Jason, Keilah and Katie all came to hang out too. It was a fun, relaxing afternoon and the kids had a great time running around and getting in their pool.

Here are some photos of the day:

Disneyland Baby! 2009

Dalena & Gracie