Sleep

My body is getting adjusted to this new sleep schedule. Henry was up a lot last night- poor baby gets the hiccups a lot. Mom took him after his 8 a.m. feeding and I got to sleep for a while...niiiiice. Even when he does sleep, it can be difficult to fall asleep. I think part of it is menta- when you know that Henry will wake up by 2 1/2 hours after you lie down for his next feeding, you feel a lot of pressure to fall asleep quickly...it kinda makes you anxious and stressed out, not conducive to sleep. But I am adjusting and it is definitely more than worth it- that little nuggy is so precious and such a gift!

Guard Dog

1 Week Old!

Being really tired makes you say silly things about how people incur the swine flu. Last night, Henry found his awake time....he likes to sleep all day and party all night- woohoo! It wasn't bad although he did stay awake and fuss from his 9:00 feeding until his midnight feeding. Then he went 3 hours and 45 minutes until his next feeding- woohoo! Usually we wake him up at the 3 hour mark but let him go a little longer in the middle of the night if he'll get on board. He sometimes wakes up after 2 hours to eat but he's doing good. He is 1 week old and pretty established on the breast so we went ahead and gave him the paci today. He likes it except when it falls out of his mouth...then he's not happy. We're using it when he's fussy or needs soothing.

Powers is loving Henry. Everyday he pays more attention to Henry and he really enjoys licking Henry's feet. If Henry is crying, Powers will come & get you and make sure that you're coming to soothe Henry. We're not leaving them alone together but, so far, Powers is really sweet with him. Thank you, Lord. I really was kinda worried about that.

We had our 1st doctor's appointment today. When Henry was born, he weighed 8 lbs. 14 oz. By the time we left the hospital on Friday, he was down to 8 lbs. 0 oz.

And then the milk came in.

Since we left the hospital on Friday, Henry has gained 12 oz. He is back up to 8 lbs. 12 oz.! Wahoo! The pediatrician made me feel really good about that and I was encouraged to persevere through the sore ta-tas! Actually, the ta-tas are much improved- he is getting good latches and once he's on, it doesn't hurt...just the initial latch is a bit painful since I'm sore. So, wahoo!

Today, Adam and I realized how much coordination it takes to get out the door with a baby. It takes some planning, organization, and teamwork to get the feeding timed and get packed and get somewhere on time. We'll practice...we'll get better:)

Mama Lulu

What a blessing it is to have my Mama here. She is cooking lunch and supper for us, EVERY DAY, doing all of the laundry, and starting little spring cleaning projects like working in our back yard and cleaning out our mudroom, and helps with Henry.  She is wonderful and has made this transition time so much easier. We are grateful! Thank you, Mama Lulu!!!

Blogging with one hand!!!

Henry J and I are rocking and i thought i'd say hi and give an update.  Excuse any type-os because...well this is one-handed.  Home life is going well s far.  The major challenge is, of course, breast feeding.  Sore ta-tas.  The lactation consultant at the hospital was very helpful but there is a lot to remember!  Positioning and wide mouth and angle and fish lips...Adam helps a lot of times by helping henry get latched on and if henry gets a really good latch it doesn't hurt but i've been so engorged that it takes a while to get a good one sometimes.  We'll get the hang of it- it can just be highly frustrating when you feel like you're trying so hard and then you don't have a good feeding.  

That's enough about that- we're working on it and it'll get there!  

Henry is waking up more although the kid does still sleep a lot!  He woke himself up just 2 hours after eating twice last night so we didn't have to wake him up to eat those times- (we've been waking him at 3 hours to eat).  He's sleeping in his sleep positioner in his crib, bassinet, he slept in his bouncy seat and, of course, on us.  Thank you for the prayers and sweet words.  We are soaking in this season and grateful for this little gift from God.

More later when I have 2 hands...

Pics by Brooke!

we are up for a 5 am feeding so i am typing with 1 hand but i wanted to say that my incredibly talented friend, brooke, put up some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Above is a small sample, click here to see more and be sure to check out the slideshow at the bottom of her post!!!

Home with our little man

We are finally home from the hospital with our little man. Henry is currently napping in the bouncy seat and Powers just seems to love him. Mainly, Powers loves the smell of dirty poopy diapers. He is such a little miracle and we love him so much. Adam is the best papa and is a natural with Henry James. We haven't uploaded our pictures yet but they're coming. Thanks for the prayers and encouragement. We are grateful.

The first picture of Henry

Doesn't this just melt your heart???

LOTS more to come. Thank you again for all your prayers! Henry and mom & dad are doing great!

Henry James Jennings

He is here!!!!!! mom and dad are doing great! More details soon!!!!

update on Jennings family of 3

Hello again blog world. Brooke here. Just wanted to give every one of you anxious blog readers an updated on the soon to be Jennings family of 3!

Cam & Adam are doing great. I know they are very thankful for all of your prayers & excitement!

Apparently Henry is a little too cozy in there!

The cervidil didn't work (despite the cramps Camille had all night)

The doctor gave them some options and they have decided to do a c section a little after ten today!

SO stay tuned... before you know it Henry will be here! I know you're all just as excited as we are to see his cute little face!

Scratch that! This just in: time was bumped. Looks like they will do the c section around noon now! (you heard it here first folks!! i kid, just wanted to sound like a reporter ... i will let you know if I hear of any other updates!)

update on baby henry

Hello blog readers! Brooke here.. just doing a quick update for our Dear Camille while her & adam are up at the hospital waiting to meet Henry!

As you probably noticed if you are reading her Twitter updates (over there on the right) Her and Adam are currently at the hospital. All is well. The doctor went ahead and started her on Cervidil & she is doing great. No news so far .. they are just both hanging out enjoying a night together up in the room.

Although I did hear (really I read it) they had a fabulous dinner to celebrate.

Stay tuned for more news. I suppose Camille wont be terminally pregnant after all!

Due Date

Today is the official due date. We went to a delicious late brunch at Pufferbelly's and I ate a lot- trying to tempt fate. My mom was late with my middle brother so she went to a Mexican restaurant and stuffed herself full and then walked outside and her water broke on the sidewalk. No such luck!

Oh well, I am grateful to feel this little boy hiccuping away inside of me. I took a long nap this afternoon and am about to go on another long walk to try and gravitate Henry on down. We will see the doctor tomorrow at 2:30 if there's still no baby and talk about some options.

Final Touches

Present Day:




It's coming together!  Special thanks to Mrs. Helen & Mr. Jim for the beautiful cornice boards above the windows.  They are the perfect touch for Henry's little nursery.  Thank you so much- we'll always think of you when we look at them.  

Nesting by Proxy

Now that my mom's here, she's fizzing about like a mad woman.  In fact this morning, I was sitting in the back yard doing  a little reading, soaking up the Erie sun, and she had the step ladder out cleaning our front windows.  

Now that she's here, I no longer need to fizz- I can nest by proxy!  

Today we went to Urbaniak Brothers to get some sweet Italian sausage- we loved this place!  We also picked up some polish sausage for our sweet next door neighbors who love the stuff.  Nice place and really nice folks.  I just tried the sweet Italian sausage and it was mmmm good. 

Adam & I just took a long, hilly walk to try and get Henry moving on down towards the light.  To no avail, so far, but if Henry is going to stay put, I'm glad that it's at least BEAUTIFUL outside and we've gotten to enjoy raking and reading and walking and sitting in the sun. 

So glad to have my mama here- she takes care of us so well and is the best house-guest.  My dad is coming tomorrow and we look forward to him being here and Henry making his way into the world soon (hopefully)!  

Pineapple Queen

My mom arrived here today!  She found her daughter knee-deep in pineapple, trying to encourage labor and her son-in-law cooking a delicious supper (suck-up!)  and her grand-dog sniffing his hindquarters.  All was normal up here in Erie.  

Mom was cold when she arrived, Adam & I went on a walk in shorts and short-sleeves.  Maybe we have become real Erie-ites!  

Dad called and was wishing he was up here having fun with us in Erie.  We wish you were her too, Dad!  He is scheduled to come up this weekend so we'll see you soon enough!  And hopefully Henry, too!

Hanging Out Up North

Went to the doctor's appointment this morning.  Aaaaaand I'm barely 1 cm.  And not effaced.  And he's a long way away from my cervix.  The doctor told me this after she shoved past my cervix to get to the baby's head during which I yelped out in pain.  Literally.  The people in the next room probably thought I was pushing out  a baby.  The deep breathing techniques just didn't work.  Meanwhile she pushed the baby down with her other hand.  Maybe he'll get the hint. 

We drove home and I was full of emotion- not sure why but had a good hormonal, blubbering cry.  Why?  I don't know.  This baby is coming one day- so I'm not sure why I am upset, I just am.  I have my next appointment on Monday the day after my due date.  We'll do a stress test and talk about inducing, he's a big fellow.  My old co-worker was due two days before me and had her baby yesterday morning- she got to the hospital at 7:45 a.m. and had the baby at 8:19 a.m.  Good golly.

Henry, move south!  south!  south!!!!

Also, I have begun twittering and so if you'll look on the right-side column of this page, you can see updates or you can follow me here.   I will keep y'all posted between blog postings this a-way.   In case you haven't heard enough about the state of my cervix.

Am I A Distraction?

WEEK 40!!!

These are not the best pictures as Adam and I were about to take Powers on a walk and the t-shirt doesn't really work well with the baby belly. At least it fits....kinda.

Adam is on his final unit for medical school right now- Psychiatry.  He has a more flexible schedule on this last system and so he didn't even have class today.  However, I think me being home is kind of a distraction.  Currently, he's pushing the baby stroller around the living room popping wheelies.  Oh well, we're having fun at least!

I hope y'all had a happy easter.  Powers did get a little sick last night after eating the three dozen oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that he found on top of counter while we were at church.  (They were made for our easter lunch with friends yesterday afternoon...good thing I had another dessert in the freezer.)  I had used milk chocolate chips and so we looked online and found out that the toxic dose of milk chocolate is 1 oz. per 1 lb. of body weight- so we were okay since I only used 14 oz.  but Powers did drink a ton of water yesterday and then puked all over the wood floor in the living room last night.  That was special.

 

Doctor's appointment tomorrow so we'll see if Henry is coming round the mountain or not.  My gut tells me probably not yet.  It's not that I'm so antsy and not enjoying my time beforehand or anything...it's more that he's getting really big and the doctors have said that he's a big boy and so then it's a little scary to think that the longer he stays in there, the  more of him there is to push out.  The ship's too big and the bottle is too small, ya know!  

My friend Lauren brought by her son, Will, today and Powers was very interested.  He sniffed Will's diaper with enthusiasm.   He was very excited and pretty wound up and bouncing around with the baby here.  Hopefully, when it's Henry, he'll get to used to him pretty quickly.  We plan on taking Powers on lots of walks that first week or so and getting him really tuckered out.  

Good Friday

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, 

yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; 

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  

-Is. 53:54-5

What a humble king.  Thank you, Jesus, for making a way.  

On a side note, I met with my girls' group last night and I sat & bounced on an exercise ball for two hours while I held Lauren's baby, Will, in hopes of encouraging Henry to ease on down the road.  Nothing happened with Henry but it put Will right to sleep- maybe exercise balls are a good investment for soothing & putting babies to sleep (and developing core strength)!

ONLY IN ERIE- would I ever sit in the sunshine on a 55 degree day and consider it warm.  I sat in the backyard and read yesterday while Powers chased voles and Adam studied and I am sunburnt.  My lily skin couldn't handle it but, you know, you really don't think about getting burnt when the temperature is below 60...

It happens.  

The worst part was that I had rolled up my shirt and so I burnt HENRY!  Augh, I'm a terrible mother!  Not really, I didn't burn HIM I just pink-ened my giant stomach in the sun.   I didn't think about the fact that I smear cocoa butter on my stomach two times a day and that cocoa butter and sunshine is like Crisco and a hot skillet.  Oh well. 

Tick-Tock

Dear Powers, 

Only a few more days of being the baby,

Better Get Ready!!!

Women Ain't Cows?

My friend Mary Lou sent me this article from the NY Times titled "Ban the Breast Pump."  Now, do I think anyone should feel guilty for not breast feeding?  No.  You have to figure out what works best for you and your family.  You may not be able to breast feed.  You may not have time or desire or opportunity.  Super.  However, to belittle women for attempting to comply with what the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended (Breast milk = really good) is ridiculous.  I think that to suggest that using breast pumps is archaic and demeaning for women is narrow-minded and the opposite of that by which feminism is supposed to be defined.  Even if women chose to breast feed for totally self-serving reasons- they simply wanted to burn the extra calories, that is their stinking choice.  Find a better rallying point.  End tangent.

For a well-written post about vaccinations by a mom of an autistic daughter, click here.  

On a sunnier note, the sun came out today.  Heh.  We got a lot of snow these past couple of days but Erie didn't break into the number one spot.  So, I guess we'll be content with the #2 snowiest winter of all Erie times.  I am totally happy with #2, by the way. Especially if that means no more snow and much more sunshine.  

10 days until Henry's due date.   I don't think he'll be an easter baby but who knows!   I'm semi-nesting...passively nesting.  Like today, I scrubbed out the microwave.  Ew.  But that was also after I stayed in bed for 11 hours last night.  So, more rest than nest really.  We've been trying a few of the home remedies (even that one, cousin) to encourage my cervix to maybe dilate to at least a centimeter...c'mon cervix.  No doctor's appointment until Tuesday so we'll see.  My friend Mary Lou ate buttloads of pineapple so maybe I'll try that in a few days.  

Chair Breaker

Currently:  Sitting on the green couch by the fire watching snow fall, fall, fall.  It was so strange to wake up this morning to a snow-covered world outside.  I am glad I got most of my errands run yesterday because today the snow is my excuse to sit on the green couch by the fire and re-read Sense and Sensibility.  My handsome husband came home for an extended lunch before heading up to his preceptorship.  Powers is upstairs on our bed taking a nap after hanging out with me all morning.  I think that me being home is cramping his style- he's used to napping all day.  

Yesterday night, Brooke and Freeland came over for chicken tostados and I broke a chair.  In my defense, Freeland had actually broken the chair on a previous visit (sorry to sell you down the river) but it had been ghetto-rigged and was sufficing.  I sat down and the chair, in slow motion, slid down, down, down to the ground until I was finally flat on my back, giggling hysterically.  It really was the slowest fall in human history but I still felt a little like a beached whale laying on my back on top of a collapsed chair in the kitchen needing someone to come help me up.  Hopefully breaking furniture is a sign that you're nearing the end of pregnancy.  

Comfy Baby

Good News:  I got two sweet packages in the mail today- my dear cousins, Ann, Adrian, and Ashley all sent me some sweet gifts for Henry J.  (love all the outfits and the fleur-de-lis onesie...go Louisiana!  Very thoughtful cousins, thank you so much.)  and my mom sent up a package with the infamous lamp shade and a couple of cute gifts.  THANK YOU!  

Kinda Bad News:  I had a doctor's appointment today.  Internal exam...one word= ow.  Although I guess I should toughen up for labor, huh?  But Dr. D says that I am not dilated and it will be probably at least a good week.  A little part of me was hoping that we'd go in today and she'd say, "Oh wow- you're already at 5 centimeters!  Let's go in and have this baby right now!"  But alas, I will enjoy this time off and rest up and look forward to the next internal exam.  Wheee. 

She did say, however, "You've got a pretty solid-sized baby in there- we won't let you go much past your due date."  

See, I know he's big!  That's why we've been going on these long walks.  Apparently long walks aren't doing the trick.  Spicy hot wings next?  

Monday Dread

You know how usually on Sunday evenings, you get that feeling in the back of your gut?  The Monday dread?  You gotta wake up and be at work by 8 a.m. tomorrow morning dread?  I am so happy to say that I am enjoying a Sunday afternoon free of Monday-dread.   Here's to the retired life... yippee, thank you Lord.

Although my new job is going to require a little bit more "on-call/overtime" work, I am muy excited.  

So, our sweet, wonderful, next-door neighbors built us an amazing window seat for Henry.  Paul & Eileen live right next door to us and have treated us like their own.

storm windows a little dirty- please excuse.

 Paul retired about two years ago but keeps his engineering mind & hands a-go with various projects and we are so moved that he made this chest/window seat for us.  It was made out of salvaged oak from an old house near here.  



It will be perfect for hiding little Henry away (just kidding).  

Ramble Rumble

Tomorrow is my last day at work. 

This is weird.  (but happy weird). 

However, you do spend most of your days, weeks, months with the people that you work with- 8 hours a day, 5 days a week these are the folks you see.  How weird when you see them much, much less.  The HR lady emailed me to say that I would have my exit interview at 3 p.m. and to bring my employee handbook.  Hmmm....employee handbook...did I get one of those?  Should I know where it is?  If I don't bring my employee handbook will they make me stay?  Or will they ask for my first-born son?  Oh no!

Adam asked me what I would be doing with myself on Monday- I dunno!  The weather is supposed to be sub-par and rainy so perhaps a couple of errands, a nap, a lifetime movie, a walk with Powers, another nap...who knows?

I had my first Max & Erma's experience tonight with some girlfriends from my girls' group.  They had a fundraiser for Jen LaRue and it was delicious!  Bethany recommended the chicken tortilla soup and I don't regret it at all!  Yummmm and richhhhhh.  It's not like my cooking light recipe- all soup-y, this is a creamy broth and it's nice.  

I hope everyone has a nice Friday!