Bates Family est. 2008

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Canuck!

Aunt Alethea & Aunt Sara made this personalized onesie for Jack to wear home.

Our adorable little Canuck :)

Chubs!

Perfection.

Jack Eliason Bates

George knew right after he met his baby boy that Jack was the right name for him. I liked the name, but it took me a while to 'know' for sure that name was a perfect fit for our baby boy. George made up his middle name, Eliason, it's our version meaning 'son of Elizabeth'. I like it, and hopefully Jack will too.

I wanted to write down a few things about newborn Jack. Just after he was born it seemed like it took a while for his head and feet to get good color. Because he was so large he had trouble regulating his blood sugar levels for the first little bit (his lowest number was a 32). He had no problem fixing that quickly though since he was such a great eater (numbers jumped to 52 & 63 by the middle of the night). He had to get his heels pricked probably ten times while we were at the hospital for less than 24 hours :( This was in order to keep checking his blood sugar levels and also do the PKU and bili count. He was slightly jaundice at a 7 at 24-hours-old. When we checked him at 3-days-old he'd gone up to a 10, but as long as he keeps eating, pooping, and peeing the doctor isn't worried and he won't have to give any more blood!

His nails were very long. He gives great scowls. He latched on and nursed for an hour after he was born. He's been a calm and content baby. He loves being held. His hair is blonde, and I can see a hint of red as well. He goes from looking like an old man, to a newborn in a split second. His cheeks are so full and round. He reminds me of a little bird when he's hungry with his mouth opened up looking for food. He has the SOFTEST skin, especially on his head. I love giving him kisses. He isn't a very good burper...sometimes takes an hour or more to squeeze out a little burp. He seems to get hiccups frequently too. He's a great sleeper...usually gets up twice a night. During the day he'll sleep in any position he's held. He is a wise, peaceful spirit. We're so happy to have Jack in our family.

Sunning with papa.

My sweet boys. Sawyer giving Jack kisses. He loves his baby brother and calls him either Baby or Jack. So far Sawyer has just wanted to give him lots of kisses. If Jack is wearing a hat, Sawyer will pull the hat off and then kiss his head. I can't blame him...his head is soooo soft and kissable.

Our sweet baby boy. I'm so lucky to get to snuggle this sweet little guy every day (and night)!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Happy Easter

The kids planted 'magic' jelly beans in the garden on Saturday evening.

When they checked the beans on Easter Sunday, lollipops had grown!

The Easter Bunny left a note with clues to where the eggs were hidden.

Successful hunt! That Easter Bunny had some great hiding spots this year. Here are the kids with all their loot. They were in heaven!

The weather was perfect so we enjoyed our delicious lunch out on the deck. The menu included pulled pork, smoked the night before by George, homemade sourdough bread by Abbie, cheesy potatoes by Liz, coleslaw by Abbie, nanaimo bars by Sara, and tartlets by Alethea. Delicious!

Our little Easter baby. So precious.

Sawyer enjoying his chocolate bunny.

Somehow we never got around to dying eggs this year. I think with Jack's arrival and trying to get outside to enjoy the sunshine we ran out of time. It was a fabulous Easter Sunday. Unfortunately we didn't make it to church...too early to expose Jack to lots of people. We did enjoy great company and we remember He is Risen.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Jack's First Outing

Saturday was perfect weather. We loaded up the canoe and headed to Quail Lake. It felt like summer time with temps in the 80's and a fresh cool breeze. Sawyer had so much fun playing with his cousins in the water and riding in the canoe. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Snack time at the beach. Sawyer's swimsuit/life jacket cracks me up!

Jack had his fair share of fun laying in the sun. It was only for a few minutes, but he sprawled out and looked quite relaxed.

Kyson and Kaden spent most of their time trying to catch lizards.

Learning the fine art of canoeing at a young age.

Oh summer time, we've been waiting for you!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Fast & Furious

Relaxing with mom after all the hard work!

Jack's labor and delivery was quite a different experience than with Sawyer's. Late, fast, and furious! He came exactly one week past his due date. On Monday morning (April 2nd) at my appointment at 9 am, I was dilated to a 3+ and 90% effaced...some progress from the week before, but I decided to go ahead and have my midwife strip my membranes. After my appointment I put some hot packs (really just hand warmers) on my chest and set out on a brisk hour long walk with Abbie, Alethea, Sawyer and Sadie. The walk wore me out and I relaxed for most of the afternoon and decided to try and take a nap around 4 p.m. and that is when I started timing my contractions. They were consistently 5 minutes apart, lasting about a minute long. They were painful enough to keep me from napping, but nothing to get too excited about. Around 6 p.m. everyone headed out to Joe and Sara's for a movie night. I remember being VERY irritable in the car. Every little bump we'd hit would make me really mad, haha. Anyway, they were watching The Muppets. Sawyer LOVED it and would dance to every song. I didn't actually get to see this in person as I only made it to her front room on the recliner. While there I ate a small bowl of soup and kept sipping on water. My contractions were staying steady and getting more painful. Around 7:00 p.m. they started getting to be more around 3 - 4 minutes apart and definitely more intense. I told George maybe we should think about going to the hospital. I kept remembering being at the hospital for 16 hours before Sawyer was born and didn't want to wait around forever again. After a blessing, we headed back to our house to get our bags and go to the hospital. En route I decided maybe we should just go straight to the hospital. We got to the hospital just before 8 p.m. Contractions were intense and painful, and when the nurse checked me I was at a 9! I was so excited and surprised. By that point though I was still remembering having to push 3 hours with Sawyer so I still wasn't sure I was really that close. The nurse started scurrying around like crazy getting everything ready and she said I'd be having a baby within minutes, ahh! Laurie Hansen, my midwife, rushed to the hospital and luckily made it in time. There was no time to even put in an IV, which I was happy about. Meanwhile we had called my sisters to go to the house to get my bags. Then we called them back and said forget about it, and to just come to the hospital or else they would miss the birth. Abbie had flown down from Alaska early (and had to wait around for an extra week!) so she could be here for the birth. Everything happened so fast I didn't feel ready to push out this baby and was kind of 'shy' about getting the job done. With some help and focus from Laurie, George, and my family we were able to get the job done. I remember hearing, 'Keep your chin tucked' and 'Relax' and 'Let your body open up'. At 8:24 p.m. I was able to naturally push out our beautiful 9 lbs. 6 oz. 20.5 inch long baby boy, Jack. My water broke right before Jack came out. Everything about this labor and delivery was a rush! After his head was out, he had his hand up by his shoulder, making him even 'wider', but Laurie was able to do her thing and he came out fine and I didn't even tear this time. The recovery seems to be much quicker this time around. The swelling is way less and I feel so good! It was a relief to be done so quickly and I was still in shock that it all had happened so fast. My body was in shock too as my legs/lower body kept shaking off and on. I sure was glad we decided to go to the hospital instead of going home to get our bags! As with Sawyer, I loved that they delivered Jack right to my chest and we got to snuggle a good long while before having to do anything else. He latched right on and nursed for an hour. He seemed so big! And I guess he was :) I wanted him to come in March and stay under 9 lbs, but obviously he had his own plans. Haha. It's so fun to have a newborn babe. I love snuggling him and am so excited to get to know him more and more. We are one blessed family!

Sigh of relief...he is here and all is well!

Love the nakey buns! Look how big this boy is! I still can't believe he was inside of me. It's soooo nice to have him on the outside now.

The stellar papa and new son. As usual, George was amazing during all the craziness. I LOVE this photo. George is sporting the best smile and looks so happy :)

Sawyer meeting his baby brother for the first time. He was very sweet and gentle with him. He 'palmed' his head (in a gentle way) and gave him some nice love pats.

My boys :)

Just after Jack was born - my sisters requested I do a modeling pose, haha. It's amazing how 'fresh' I look for right after delivering a 9 lb baby naturally. I guess that's what happens when you only have a 4.5 hour labor/delivery!