Robert - 3 weeks

Robert took his first shopping trip this week...Wal-Mart was CRAZY with Christmas shoppers! We had more visitors who brought more yummy dinners.

He is going through a growth spurt and eating constantly around the clock, making for a very tired mommy and daddy. He weighed 9 pounds on his 3 week birthday!He is spending more time exploring his world and loves his bouncy/rocker seat, his playgym, and hanging with dad. Daddy picked out a new colorful crib set and he likes to look at the monkeys and frogs. We have both witnessed him rolling over (front to back) already!

We are looking forward to seeing all of the family at Christmas at Uncle Bob and Aunt Kris's house next weekend!

Robert's 2nd week

Hooray! Robert's jaundice has resolved and he's up to 7 pounds, 14 ounces!

He is spending more time awake and loves his bouncy seat!
Week 2 was full of visitors. We have lots of awesome friends who stopped by with dinners! Mama and daddy are doing great too!

Welcome Baby Robert!

Our bouncing baby boy, Robert Mason Jenkins, arrived on 11/28/09 at 12:06 a.m. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 20 inches in length. (Congrats to Meghan and Bryce for winning the Baby Pool at work!)

Lots of family and friends came to visit Robert while he was in the hospital. Aunt Traci and Uncle Tony were the first visitors, followed by Grandma and Grandpa Buchholz, and Uncle Trevor. Our good friends Chris, Valerie, Elizabeth, and baby Cael stopped by for a meet and greet along with Andrea, Karen, and Dr. Cowles.

Grandma and Grandpa BuchholzWe brought Robert home on 11/30/09. Here he is, ready for his first road trip!

The first week was very busy with trips to the lab and doctor. Robert had jaundice (he looked like a little carrot) and was too sleepy to eat so he wasn't gaining weight. Great auntie Kris and Sarah were our first visitors at home. Our friends Holly and Andrea brought us some dinner which we REALLY appreciated after a week of eating cold cereal and PB & J's because they were quick and easy.
Mike and I are adjusting to the constant sleep deprivation and are getting plenty of practice changing diapers. Good thing Great aunt Mary Anne sent us plenty of diaper and wipes coupons!

Birth-Day!!

It's Babyjinx's due date! At my last OB visit, my doctor recommended an induction if the baby had not arrived by the due date. So, on 11/27/09 we got up at the crack of dawn with all of the Black Friday shoppers and headed for the hospital. I was started on pitocin at around 8:00 a.m. and was able to tolerate the early contractions very well with no medications. Here I am still looking relatively happy.Around 11:30 a.m., the doctor ruptured my membranes and the contractions became A LOT stronger and more regular. Within an hour I needed an epidural. Why anyone would want to give birth without an epidural is beyond me after what I experienced for that last hour. Ow! You do not want to see any pictures of what I looked like at that point!

After the epidural, I felt much better, but my labor slowed during the afternoon and the baby was showing some signs of distress. Throughout the entire day, the doctors were having problems with the contraction monitor malfunctioning, so they weren't sure if the baby's distress was related to the contractions being too strong or something else. At about 6:00 p.m. I received some medicine to stop the contractions, giving me and Babyjinx some time to rest.

The pitocin was restarted at around 10:00 and by 10:30 p.m. I was completely dilated and effaced and ready to go. Apparently, Babyjinx and I just needed a little R & R. Since I hadn't really felt any urges to push yet and Babyjinx was doing well, we waited for about another hour to allow the baby to move on down a little bit more.

At 11:30 p.m. I started pushing and at 12:06 a.m. on 11/28/09 Babyjinx arrived! He was pink and healthy and crying. What a relief! My favorite part of the delivery was Mike yelling and laughing and being so excited when the baby came out!

Just seconds after delivery... Baby Robert is wide awake to meet mom and dad. Proud daddy!

Thanksgiving & 40 weeks

At 40 weeks, Babyjinx is full term now and boy am I ever ready for the arrival!

Since we can't really travel, we decided to stay at home and keep Thanksgiving simple...pizza and pumpkin pie. Instead, Mike surprised me with an entire Thanksgiving dinner (complete with green bean casserole...mmmm..my favorite!) which he prepared all by himself. It was a great success! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful and thoughtful husband.

5 days to go!

My friend Andrea's husband is building his photography business and offered to take some maternity photos a couple of weeks ago. He did such a great job!!


Mike and I are in the waiting phase now...we went on a major cleaning spree over the weekend and have all of the baby items ready to go. Now it's just up to Babyjinx to decide when to make an appearance! Feel free to send any suggestions for inducing labor my way! I am sooooo ready!

38 Weeks!

Wow! Only 2 weeks to go until Babyjinx's due date! It seemed like it would be forever before the baby came and now that it's right around the corner, it seems like the pregnancy flew by! I still feel really good, but have had to slow...way....down....as the belly is enormous and has taken on a life of it's own. Most of the time I feel like the belly is in charge and the rest of my body is just along for the ride.

It has been quite entertaining to hear the stuff that randomly flies out of people's mouths lately. Below is a random sampling:
-Wow! Your belly looks like a torpedo!
- You're getting bigger every day!
- You're about to explode!
- Is there only one in there?

Luckily, I don't find these comments offensive, just highly entertaining.

I was thinking over the past couple of days that I might be having some early labor signs....I felt awful and had a ton of cramping and some stomach problems, but as it turns out, it must have just been a stomach bug. I think I'm going to drive myself crazy being hyperalert to any tiny sign that something might be happening. For now, Babyjinx seems to be happy in utero and Mike and I are waiting, waiting, waiting.