Jake is One Month Old!

What a fun month we have had! Jake is truly a joy, and quite a ham for the camera. He did a great job at his first professional photo shoot (at least the second day!) Jake is grinning every now-and-then, and holds his head up to check things out.

Kris went back to work after a two week paternity leave, which was sad for all of us - even Spice. The first morning Kris was back at work, a tree trimming crew hired by our neighbor opened our gate to clean up some debris. They didn't know Spice was in the

backyard, and out he ran in search of Kris! Jake and I jumped in the car and found Spice rather quickly, much to Jake's dismay. He was really hoping Spice would find dad and bring him home, as evidenced by his tears!

Since then, the days have gotten better! Jake is a big eater and loves his sleep. Bath time is another story, though! He loves watching sports with dad, especially Tiger basketball. We have decided Jake is their good luck charm since they have only lost once since he arrived!

Jake has had lots of fun meeting his family. Aunt Jenny came to visit him and celebrate grandma Auer's birthday. Uncle Ryan and soon-to-be-aunt Katie are here

for the long-weekend, and all four of his great-grandparents came to see him today with grandpa and grandma Smith.

Jake's First Week

Jake met lots of fun people in the hospital starting with grandma and grandpa Auer, grandma and grandpa Smith and aunt Andrea shortly after he was born.

 

Later that day, he met aunt Amy, uncle J.P., Katie

and Maggie; great aunt Pam; and cousins Tracie, Avery and Gavin.

We all managed to get some sleep Thursday night, and woke up to find snow on the ground Friday! Jake also had his first play date on Friday. We rolled down to the nursery to meet Alexander and Adrien Caldwell, twin sons of our friends Dan and Noelle, who were born just six days before Jake.

Jacob and mom were released from the hospital Saturday, but we had to wait around for the photographer to arrive before loading up. Dad did a good job of keeping mom from buying every pose of Jake!

We left right around noon, just in time to catch the Mizzou basketball game. Jake's first game was a lopsided Tiger victory! Later Saturday after

noon, grandma and grandpa Auer brought Spice home. At first, he didn't even notice Jake was around! Once he realized Jake's presence, Spice did a LOT of sniffing and was very confused. He was even more confused as Jake's shrill cry woke everyone up in the wee hours of the morning!

Shannon and Tara came to meet Jake Sunday morning. They spoiled him with lots of cool outfits, and brought Spice a new bone! As the morning went on 

and more stories were told, dad told Jake he's not allowed to hang out with the two of them alone . . .

Shortly after Shannon and Tara left, Eric and Jenni came to meet Jake then grandpa and grandma Smith came back for another visit. They kept Jake while mom and dad got out of the house for a bit on Monday so mom and dad could stock up on groceries.

Jake's first check-up at Dr. Peterlin's office was Monday afternoon. He left the hospital weighing six pounds, nine ounces. At his check-up, Jake was back up to six pounds, twelve ounces! Jake got a great report, and was asked to come back in one week just to make sure he's eating enough.

Becca met Jake on Wednesday, but unfortunately Jake was not very hospitable. Although he had just eaten, Jake was still hungry and screamed during most of her visit. He did quiet down long enough to check out the cool outfits and stuffed elephant she gave him though! 

That night, grandpa and grandma Auer brought pizzas for dinner before Jake's second Mizzou game. We were all convinced his second game would also be a blowout, but it was a narrow victory.

Thursday was unseasonably warm so mom and dad decided Jake could ride along on some errands. The sunshine felt great! Mom and Jake took a nap in the afternoon while dad and Spice took down the Christmas lights outside.

Jake's first week has flown by! He's growing before our 

eyes and is becoming more and more aware of the world around him. He especially likes reading with mom and snoozing on dad! Spice has become very protective, running to Jake when he's upset and looking at mom and dad to make sure we're close behind him. All of us are excited to see what tomorrow brings!

Welcome to the World, Jacob Nelson Auer!

7 pounds, 5 ounces

20.5 inches

37 weeks, six days

Jake was in a hurry to meet mom and dad!

Wednesday evening was fairly typical at the Auer household. We arrived home from work, ate some dinner, and watched the Mizzou game. Sometime during the basketball blowout, I became overwhelmed by the strongest nesting sensation felt to that point in her pregnancy. I even asked Kris to paint the closet nursery this weekend! Luckily he took it well, and was bailed out of that chore shortly thereafter . . .

At midnight, I woke up with what she thought was a contraction. That was confirmed just five minutes later when my water broke. Once Kris figured out what was going on, he finished packing our bags and took care of Spice while I received instructions from the doctor on call.

We arrived at Overland Park Regional Medical Center around 12:30 Thursday morning, and went straight to a labor and delivery triage room where they confirmed a few things and checked my vital signs. I was 3 cm dilated when we settled into our labor and delivery room at 1:30 a.m.

Our nurse, Kristen, was phenomenal! I wasn't allowed to walk around the halls at first (apparently that's taboo before 38 weeks), but she did everything she could to keep me comfortable. That included making sure I had the consent form and a pen nearby in case I wanted an epidural! I got the o.k. to get up and walk around, but quickly figured out my blood sugar was borderline low. Not only was I very sick for a while, I was sent back to bed again. A few popsicles bumped up my blood sugar, which helped immensely. I was 5-6 cm dilated at 3:00 a.m.

I opted to wait another half-hour to decide about the epidural. Kris was helping me work through contractions pretty successfully to that point. At 4:00 a.m., I asked for the pen and clipboard, and handed the consent to Kristen. It was too late though - I had already progressed to 9 cm! Dr. Heit, the same on call doctor I had spoken with earlier, was called and I began pushing at 4:30 a.m. Jake was born less than 30 minutes later!

Kris was asked to announce that baby Auer was a boy, and then cut the cord before we got our first good look at him. How amazingly perfect! We quickly narrowed our list of three boy names to two, and agreed that he looked like a Jake - Jacob Nelson Auer.

We are so blessed to have this beautiful, healthy baby boy in our lives!

Awaiting Baby Auer

We discovered baby Auer was on the way the weekend before Memorial Day, and it's been an adventure ever since! The only "complication" has been carpal tunnel syndrome, and that was easily treated with a few physical therapy sessions and diligently performing the stretching and strengthening exercises prescribed. We have truly enjoyed all the changes, including those to Sarah's body (as indicated by her 37 and 23 week bumps) and to our lifestyle that come with being pregnant.

Many are surprised that we opted not to find out whether baby Auer is a boy or girl, but it's a decision neither of us have questioned once. (Although we have studied the

22 week ultrasound picture quite a bit!) Yes, it would be easier to know and plan accordingly - to a certain extent. We would much rather have the surprise of a lifetime though! It's been fun listening to friends, family, coworkers and random strangers tell us whether it's a boy or girl then explain why. The things people say to pregnant women truly are amazing, as some of you know first hand!

Our bags are packed, the nursery is somewhat organized, and your phone numbers and e-mail addresses are loaded and ready. We can't wait to meet baby Auer, and to introduce him/her to each of you!