Diaper Rash and Parenthood

So last night at about 1:30 or so, I was putting Jacob to bed. I had just finished topping him off with a bottle and I was very tired. He seemed to be slowly going to sleep, when all the sudden, I heard a familiar noise come from Jacob's tail end. I thought to myself, "I am sure it is just gas. There is no way he could have a dirty diaper." I rationalized that I did not need to check it, that it was not dirty, and that it would be alright. I was too tired, and I knew he would be back to being wide awake if I stripped him down to check.

Well, about 4:00 this morning, I was woken up by Jacob little whimpering, and I went and checked on him. I checked his diaper, and it was very messy, so I started to change it. I noticed that a good portion of his tail end was very red, and when I wiped it, he cried much louder than usual. I knew that he had been wearing that dirty diaper for too long, and had a diaper rash.

Now, diaper rash is something common among babies. However, it really hit me hard that it had been ME that caused his diaper rash. Because of my weakness, my wanting to sleep, and my laziness, my son was experiencing real physical pain. It really made me think. As parents, what we do has a real affect upon our children. If we do not do what we are supposed to do, we really can damage them. And, while with a little Butt Paste diaper rash is cured, moral, intellectual, educational, and social damage that lazy and bad parenting can cause a child is irreparable. Children suffer severely every day because of their parents. I decided I would not be one of those parents, and Jacob would not be one of those children.

Sunday Slumber

So, we celebrated our post conference Sunday with a small little sleeping session, a slumber, if you will.

We also took some family photos at the J&S Photographers.

Grandma McKoy Comes and Goes

So, a few weeks have passed since Jacob's coming, and with Jacob's coming, came his eastern-abiding Grandma. I called her at 4:00 in the morning, which was 6:00 there in Northern Virgina. She said she would come right away. And, she did. Her dedication to her daughter and future grandson was amazing. She had not been expecting to travel for another week or so, but, she dropped everything and came.

So, she spent the week with us. She cooked dinners, cleaned, comforted, chatted, bought food, bought other stuff, sewed, cooked meals for after she left, and otherwise performed admirably in her grandmotherly and motherly duties. We just wanted to post this and acknowledge her service, and thank her for her efforts. It was a good time.

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We will see you soon.

Anonymous Posters

So, a week or so ago, we noticed a few comments from anonymous posters on our blog. It was kind of an odd feeling. Here we have our blog, that contains a lot of what we do in life. One of the specialist things in life that has happened to us, the birth of Jacob, is up for the whole world to see. And, there are strangers looking at it. It is a little odd.

There exists a setting for a blog where only invited viewers can look at it. Stacey suggested perhaps we may want to consider that. However, after discussing, we decided that is not what we want to do. We want anyone to see what is happening with us. We don't want to exclude anyone. So, all your strangers out there, feel welcome. Look around. Comment. Even say things that make us look silly/stupid. But, we welcome you.

Also, one interesting thing about telling people about the birth of Jacob. About 6 hours after he was born, I sent out an e-mail to everyone very close-parents, brothers, sisters. Most people who got the e-mail already knew about Jacob, because we had called them. However, almost every single person who I e-mailed that day responded.

A couple days ago, I sent out another message to everyone who I thought might be interested, friends from high school, freshman college buddies, and the like. However, I had only a very few people respond to this one. I found it very revealing. I think that my perception of who cares is very different from who really does care. Oh well. I dont care if you care.

What would you pick?

Contest Beat is home to yet another contest this month. There will be two winners - one drawn at random and the other based on creative response. The prize is $50 through PayPal or Amazon! Sweet! The task is just to point out what would be a great giveaway, in my opinion. It has to be something under $100 and my idea needs to be accompanied by a good reason. So I thought about this for just a little bit and decided that there are a few things I'd be happy with. One thing we discussed at some point is the purchase of a USB camera card reader, the kind with multiple card slots. Jeff's laptop has an SD drive but who knows who long the ol' hp machine will last? With the new baby, we have lots to take pictures of and lots of people who want to see those pics! I would get a lot of use out of that, and pictures could be uploaded without my husband's computer being around.

MOMSPIT = another giveaway!

We like antibacterial/antimicrobial things. Jeff especially does. He wanted to take a container of stuff from the hospital and I wouldn't let him. So in honor of his germ-free ways, and the fact that the purell we have makes my hands sting sometimes, I am entering a giveaway for a product called momspit. It is foamy and fun. Check out the contest!

Two weeks old today!

"...and so you see, we are a happy family!" For family home evening on Monday Jeff had big plans. So he pulled out the tripod and we got to work. This is our favorite family pic of the photo shoot. Jacob looks happenin'/handsome/dashing/insert other positive adjective here in his light blue suit, as you can see. On tuesday I went to the lactation clinic in Orem since there is still concern that my milk didn't come in in great abundance. I'm on medication for it but hadn't noticed all that much of a difference in Jacob's feedings (read: swallowing habits) and so went in for help. Now I am the proud renter of an electric pump and hopefully I can trick my body into creating more of what the baby needs. Tomorrow is his 2 week check up. They call it a well-baby visit, so I am hoping that he is well enough and not too small. At the clinic on Tuesday he weighed 7 lb 2 oz and tomorrow he's supposed to be above birthweight (7 lb 12 oz) so we'll have to see! Our camera batteries are malfunctioning, so I'll have to post a pic later, but Jacob's umbilical cord stump fell off in the middle of the night (Dad found it in the diaper!). His cute baby tummy has been graced with a sort of-outie. Kind of half and half, I would say. My friend Britt and I decided that when Jacob is married his wife will love his belly button. Boys in the locker room might tease him a little, but he can hold out the hope that his wife will find it cute.

Free stuff rocks!

Perhaps it is because I am a new mom, and maybe even moreso because I am cheap, but I like free stuff. I was reading on my friend Brit's blog today about how she won a contest with a website that does regular giveaways, Pinks and Blues. So the new ghost picture on the sidebar is what qualifies me to enter the Halloween giveaway (the prize involves Tootsie Pops, and that alone is enough to make me a happy camper!!). Only 65 people had entered so far, but there are still 2 weeks left so we'll see what happens. Thanks, Brit, for sharing fun websites with your readers! To rectify my heinous act of putting up a post-with-no-pic the other night, I will add the following picture to humor you all. This is just a fun one from when Jeff and I were dating. We've managed to go X-country skiing once each of the last 3 years, so we hope to go again this winter. Baby's awake now - more on him later!!

Tired Tracey and Sleepy Stacey

So, this first week has been an amazing one with little Jacob in our lives. It has been a week of adjusting to fit the schedule of a little 7 pound bundle of boy. Between having to wake up at night frequently to feed and change him, and stay awake all night to make sure his face mask did not fall off under the bili light, this week has been an adventure. In the end, one picture kind of sums up how we all feel.

However, it has all been worth it.

Free at last

So, as was previously reported, Jacob had jaundice. But, as of a couple days ago, he is jaundice free. No longer will he have to chill all night (or bake all night) in a little suitcase (but he sure was cute when he did.)

A message for Grandpa

As I was chatting with Jacob tonight as I was tending him, he mentioned something he would like to convey to his grandfathers. So, instead of interrpreting the boy, I just let him speak his mind as only he knows how.

An important picture

I neglected to post this picture before, and it is of extreme importance in the life of Jacob. Within an hour of his birth, he was bathed, and right after than, he got his hair combed. Here is a picture of his first little part.

Bilirubin Boy and Innie or Outie?

I am up late with Jacob while he hangs out under his Ultra Bili Light. In the end after 3 bilirubin tests, he decided to be more jaundiced so they brought this light to our house this afternoon so we can do the phototherapy at home. It would be easier on mom if Phototherapy just meant taking pictures of Jacob, but I've decided that if this helps then it will be worth it. The eye mask is worth noting, since he doesn't really like it but it of course looks so cute on him. We'll post an update on his bilirubin count tomorrow or thereabouts when we get the results. Now for a poll...will our son have an innie or an outie?

Jacob once again

So, we are home from the hospital, and life is going well. I find myself wanting so much to make more and more blog entries about what happened there, and since, with all the pictures I took. Indeed, posting picutre of my posterity is preferrable to my post-secondary education, at least at this point. So, rather than distract myself, I am just posting every picture I took while at the hospital. The pictures of our arrival home, and that fun that happened since, are forthcoming.

The Story-From Eye Witnesses

Here is the story of the birth from two eye witnesses. First, Stacey tells it about a half hour after it happened. Remember, she finished giving birth not too long before this was filmed. Then, Jacob tells the story a few hours later.