Bath Boy

Tonight Jarem took a bath and loved it! No crying whatsoever. WOO HOO! Our boy likes being clean and loves the warm water. It was so much fun giving him a bath and seeing how happy he was. Daddy couldn't resist taking pictures since he looked so darn cute in the water and in his hooded towel. His hair is so soft after baths. We love playing with it and combing it. The comb is always out because I play with his hair incessantly. Good thing Jarem likes to have his hair played with otherwise I'd really struggle trying to resist touching that amazing head of hair.

I'm looking forward to this weekend and having Eric home with us. It's so nice having him here and seeing how amazing he is with Jarem. We laugh because when we're out people comment on how Eric holds Jarem and pays so much attention to him. People are so used to the mommy holding the baby and doting on him (especially in public) that we get comments frequently like, "Wow, look at daddy. That's good, it will enhance your experience. You'll love him so much more. Good for you." We laugh cause that's how Eric always is. He's the best daddy! Of course he loves Jarem. Everyday is an amazing experience with Jarem in our lives. In fact, Jarem is sleeping in Eric's arms right now so I can blog a little about bath time. I love them both so much!

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Feeling Good

I feel wonderful right now because we had an awesome meeting with the lactation consultant that is a part of our pediatrician's office. She was extremely knowledgeable and gave us a ton of useful information. On top of that, she weighed Jarem for us. He weighed 9 pounds 11 ounces!! WOW! He's getting SO BIG!

He gained an entire pound in only a week and a half. We couldn't believe how much he weighed tonight. The best news is that Jarem is well fed and eating right.

We fed Jarem in her office and she watched to give me pointers for latching him on right and making things more comfortable. After a full feeding, we weighed him again in her office.
HE WEIGHED 10 POUNDS! Holy mackerel!!!

He drank 142 cc of milk in one feeding! No wonder he's growing so much! The lactation consultant was very proud and said that that was the best she has ever seen a newborn eat in her 20 years of consulting. That of course made me proud and made me feel good. I have been wondering whether he was getting enough milk and if things were going okay. I guess that answered all of my silly questions and resolved my new mother insecurities. It just makes me proud that I am able to take care of Jarem and help him be healthy, strong, and big.

He's still asleep from our 7pm appointment. He probably didn't fall asleep until 8pm though so I'm thinking he's probably going to be waking up any minute. Just wanted to type a quick blog entry about how proud of a mommy I am and also give an amazing update on his growth and weight. Good job, Jarem! Keep up the good eating and growing. Mommy and daddy are very proud of you and love your growing belly! Oops sounds like he's awake... Goodnight. ... Full Post...

Proof

As promised...

Sorry about the video color, we wanted to keep the lights low for the boy. Enjoy with us!
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The PROUDEST parents in the world!!

Last night the most amazing thing happened!!! We were giving Jarem his nightly tummy time and he rolled onto his back. 15 days old!! He is such a superstar! We started tummy time on the bed so when he rolled over I assumed us laying on the mattress helped him and that he really wouldn't be able to rollover on his own. He rolled over one more time on the bed so we decided to move him to the floor to test if he could really rollover on his own. We laid a towel on the floor and sure enough, baby Jarem rolled over within 20 seconds. We were shocked! We both were beaming with pride! Today we googled when a baby usually rolls over and the average is 3 months. Jarem rolled from tummy to back at only 15 days old. We tried to videotape it last night but he was pretty tired by the time we got the camera out. So tonight we tried again and had the videotape ready. Sure enough he rolled over 3 more times on camera while laying on the floor. He is such an awesome baby boy!! We really are so proud of Jarem and shocked at how good of a baby he is. We knew he was strong since he was lifting his head off my chest while I was still in recovery from the C-section at the hospital. He was only two hours old and he was already lifting his head. He's so strong and now he's rolling over from his belly to his back. We're going to try and figure out how to post the video here on the blog. If we can figure it out we'll definitely post it for everyone to see. Good job Jarem! Mommy and daddy are so proud of you and love you SO MUCH!

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What a perfect baby boy!

Jarem's belly button freshly exposed. (See the stump stuck to his PJs on the left?)
Proud daddy and Jarem at the zoo.

Mommy stealing kisses.
What a happy family!

Jarem is such an angel! We are such lucky parents to have such an awesome little boy. Yesterday was Jarem's two week birthday and his belly button stump fell off. I think he's going to have an innie/outie like daddy. That means that it looks like an innie but it's really an outie cause of how it sticks out. Hard to explain but a really cute belly button I think. (Everything is cute to me on Jarem though.) Last night we had the best night so far. We put Jarem to bed at 11pm in his bassinet next to our bed. He woke up once at 1am and ate until close to 2am. He didn't wake up again until this morning. WOW! Two weeks old and he was only up once in the middle of the night. I felt amazing this morning. I got so much sleep. To celebrate all that sleep we got, we had a big day today. My mom and I took Jarem to the zoo to visit daddy. It was so much fun visiting daddy at work and getting to see him beaming with pride. All of his co-workers gushed over baby Jarem. Eric is so proud and I love watching him hold and love Jarem. It's so cool to see them together and watch Eric's eyes fill with love and pride as he stares at his little boy. I love my Bailey boys!!

After the zoo we went to my two week check-up with Dr. Jarem. Everything is going great and I was even released to drive. WOO HOO! I was really hoping I could start driving since I've been feeling so well and next week it'll just be me and Jarem here at home. I'm happy I can go run errands and maybe even visit daddy at the zoo again. I'd love that!

Well, I know none of this is major news but it's new and exciting for Jarem. His first visit to the zoo. Crazy! I know he's only two weeks old but it seems like he's been a part of our lives all along. I can't picture a day (or night) without him. He's such a blessing and the sweetest little boy God could have given us. Thank you God for another great day...

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Just another day in paradise

Such a proud and loving daddy...

Well, today another great day! Jarem was awake this morning from 5am until about 7:30am. It was nice because we were with daddy while he got ready for work. We also got to see him off with big hugs, kisses and wide open eyes. It's been so amazing these past few days, Jarem will sit peacefully (no crying, fussing or pacifier) wide awake and just stare around. He's learning so much and exploring this new world. Today he smiled at me and it made me feel so happy!! I'm sure it was just a smile and he happened to be looking at me but it still made my heart feel so happy. Grammy is still here with us and we've had a great day so far. We gave Jarem a bath and then took him for a walk. He's still asleep in his stroller. My little angel... We can't wait for daddy to get home from work! He just left so soon we can have dinner followed by some good family time. Life is so great with baby Jarem in the house. We feel so blessed and lucky to have such an awesome and adorable baby boy. He's so healthy and happy. We love him lots!! Well, on to what most people ask for, more pictures!!
Here you go...

Tiny feet but perfect for kisses!
Sleeping boy (he always has his hands near his face)
Smelling good--fresh out of the bath tub

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Home sweet home

Well, we had Jarem's two week appointment today with the pediatrician (a little early since he's only 11 days old technically). Jarem has been a good eater and has gained back some of his weight. He was 8-12 when he was born. When we left the hospital he was 8-1. Last Monday he weighed 8-3 and today he weighed a whopping 8-11! The doctor wanted him back to 8-12 by Thursday so I think he's doing great. He eats about every two hours and sometimes he will make it three hours between feedings but not often. He hasn't lost any of his hair and although it doesn't look curly in pictures, I can guarantee that after bath time his hair is plenty curly.

Eric's mom (gramma) left AZ today. I'm sure Jarem will be missing his quality time and hugs he's been getting from gramma Rose. On the other hand, Eric has to go back to work tomorrow. :( SO SAD! It's gonna stink not having him here with us. It's been so amazing spending time together and starting our family off right. My mom is so sweet and will be taking a week of vacation this week to stay home and help me out since Eric is going back to work. It will be nice to get some quality time with grammy. I know Jarem would be looking forward to it if he knew it was coming. hehe

Sorry it's been so long since our last post. We've been pretty wrapped up in family walks and trying to get acclimated to our new schedule. Jarem is waking up now so I have to go. But everything is great and thank you to everyone for checking in so often. My first Mother's Day was AWESOME even though I'm fighting a little cold and some allergies. But I can't complain too much since I had my two handsome boys spoiling me with love all day. More to come soon...

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HOME!

After nearly a week at the Hospital, Jarem, Jamie and I are home safe and sound. It was a heck of week and my poor little thumbs hurt like crazy from pounding out blog entries from my phone. I'm so glad to have a full keyboard and a normal sized screen so that I can make typos REALLY 5x as fast!

There is so much to talk about, but more importantly, there is a LOT to show you. So without any further ado here are the photos of our experience welcoming Mr. Jarem Xavier Bailey into the world. (click on a photo to see it full size)

5/1 2:30 A.M. "Grammy" and "Grandma-to-be" lightly sleeping to the swooshes of baby's heart monitor. They were both so wonderful staying and staying up with us all night.

8:42 A.M. Daddy and Mommy getting ready to leave the Labor and Delivery room and head over to the OR to meet our son. (this picture was taken just after I update the blog with "C Section")



9:05 A.M. Daddy going BERZERK in the waiting room. They had just taken Jamie back into the OR to prep her for surgery and said they'd get me when the room was ready. Can you imagine everything running through my head at this point?! I'll work on uploading the video that I took... because I was NUTS!



9:10 A.M. Can you believe that there are 8 hands inside of her stomach right now? Has there ever been a more beautiful woman? Let alone a woman on a surgical table! At this point she was having a conversation with the OB Dr. Ference about the fact that her husband used to teach at Seton Catholic High when Jamie went there! In fact, he used to coach basketball with Karen, just like Jamie does now!
Nothing like the typical light conversation while your undergoing MAJOR SURGERY. Pay attention doc - and DON'T MOVE JAMIE!


9:13 A.M. Welcome to the world Jarem. (I don't know if you noticed the timeline... but I was waiting for them to get prepped at 9:05, and met my son at 9:13. That's some good doctorin'!

Jarem was born with about 1.5 inches of swelling at the top of his head due to being in the birth canal for hours. I specifically uploaded THIS picture instead so that he wouldn't get teased when he's older ;)

9:15 Our first family photo. You can sort of see the large amount of brains that our son has. But seriously, this was one of the most amazing feelings I've ever had. I was holding him so gently, because this little man depended on me and Jamie for EVERYTHING! He is so beautiful and even though I'm still getting to know him, I can't imagine my life without him. Jamie did so well. Look at her still smiling! She got a little nauseous after this photo due to the meds, but that only lasted a few seconds. Then she was laughing and making jokes to all of the doctors and nurses in the room, she's wonderful.

9:20 A.M. As they finished the procedure with Jamie in the OR, the nurses let me accompany Jarem to the nursery for a little showin' off (and I guess take some vital measurements). This is one of my favorite pictures from the entire process. The nurse saw what was going on and picked up my camera... How wonderful to catch the first reaction of Grammy and Grandma through the nursery window. They really do love their Jarem.

9:22 A.M. The good news is that he was on the "low" spectrum of the ultrasound guesstimate of 9 lbs 8 oz. Our baby's official weight at birth was probably 8 lb 12 oz even, but as soon as he hit air, he let out a couple squirts as if to say, "This 'Earth' place is all mine"
9:25 A.M. Finally some pure boy time. I can't believe how much I can just love on this kid. But seriously, look at him; he's beautiful!

9:30 A.M. Baby's first bath. So he loved everything about this first bath except the whole water/soap/rubbing thing. Once they took him out from under his heat lamp, he got pretty fussy. But MAN, let me tell you it's fun playing with all of that hair!

10:09 A.M. You know, at this point in the process, I've had 1 hour of love for baby Jarem. I thought that nothing could rival the amazing feelings that he gives to me. Then I saw Jamie hold him for the first time and I was floored. To see her so happy and full of love after all of that she had just been through over the past 30 hours; It was truly like looking into the eyes of God. For everyone that knows Jamie, give her love and thanks, because she went through a lot to bring Jarem into this world and I know that he will bring joy to many people hearts.

5/2 6:00 P.M. Please take a good look at this picture. Please notice that our son (just 31 hours old) is supporting his own head, opening his eyes and focusing on the camera. When he looks at you, you can tell that he sees you (if only as an amorphous blob) and tries to distinguish you from the contrasting colors around you. He tries to figure out where your voice is coming from and why he can feel it through your chest. He even seems to contemplate the findings of his research. DID I MENTION 31 hours old!?! Don't worry, I already have a Mensa application filled out.

5/3 9:22 A.M. Doctor Elizabeth Jarem (our OB) sharing some love with our little man. (Are you putting together the connection yet?) Yes our son shares a name with our doctor. Besides inviting wonderful knowledge and wisdom, the name comes from the biblical city "Kiriath-Jearim" where the arc of the covenant was kept for 120 years before King David transported it 8 miles south to the city Jerusalem.

5/4 8:45 A.M. Tammy, the nurse who I'm sure you read about in previous blog entries, came in this morning to say goodbye to the Bailey family. Since she was charge nurse on the day shift and didn't have any patients, she spent a good 30 minutes with us just hanging out. Again, Mercy Gilbert has such a wonderful staff, we can't hardly wait to be back for baby #2.

(Before you start think-shouting horrible phrases at me for saying that - I was just kidding, we can wait - and we will wait ;)

1:15 P.M. We're finally on our way home... You know, someone mentioned to me that the drive home from the hospital with the most precious of all cargo would be the longest trip of your life. I can't decide whether they were right or it was a case of the self-fulfilling prophecy and It was only horrible because I thought that it would be... EITHER WAY, there are some BAD drivers out there... there are still grip marks at "10 and 2" on my steering wheel. I do have to say that driving a postpartum woman (who gets carsick easily) drugged with Percocet, in the back seat is not fun... I'm just glad that everyone got home safe and sick free! Although he didn't like getting in the car seat, baby Jarem certainly liked the car ride!

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When 2 become 3

Jarem X. Bailey

Its official, our baby is a superstar! Click the link above and see the first paparazzi photo of Jarem Xavier. We're working a deal with People magazine for $15M for a photo session.
Sorry that I haven't updated the blog in a few days, I had some pretty important things to take care of, not that you're not important, but you get the drift.

Baby and Momma are doing GREAT! Jarem has lost some weight due to getting rid of the amniotic fluid that he swallowed during birth. He's also lost some length after his head swelling (from being stuck in the birth canal) went down. Now he is a beautiful wonderful baby with a FULL head of hair!

Jamie has been doing great with recovery. She's gotten up and taken walks around the floor without help. She's found out that Percoset (sp) is the only pain drug that can give her any relief after her 5 knee surgeries. She also has built up an immunity to iocane powder! What a woman. (If you didn't get that joke, don't worry, I'm a just nerd. If you did get the joke, then you're a nerd too!)

We should be checking out of Chateau Mercy sometime tomorrow, which is great news for our cats and fish! But also, we'll be able to post some of our 17,000 pictures of our baby. I'm sorry that I couldn't get any good ones on the blog, but as my phone doesn't have a camera nor does it attach images, I wasn't able to make it happen to satisfy the masses.

Once again, thank you for your prayers, make sure that you check the blog tomorrow!!!

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JXB

This is the most amazing feeling I've ever had. Seeing baby Jarem for the first time almost made me explode. There wasn't a way for me to express my excitement, so I just kept saying, 'Oh My God!' 'Oh My God!' 'Oh My God!' 'Oh My God!' 'Oh My God!' 'Oh My God!'

It was amazing.

And now for the very first time, I present to you Jarem Xavier Bailey.

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We-Adababy-Itzaboy!!!

Momma status: 8 lbs 12 ozs lighter
Pain level: pain, what's pain? All we know is Joy
What's-a-goin' on: our son is finally HERE! Little Jarem Xavier Bailey is here! 8 lbs 12 ozs and 21 inches!

Looks like we made it.
Proud pappa

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C section

Momma status: Numb from the tummy down
Pain level: 0
What's-a-goin' on: We're getting prepared for surgery and baby should be delivered abdominally within the next hour and a half.

Pray for us. We are going to be parents soon!

Eric and Jamie

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Good Morning

Momma status: Trying to get some sleep
Pain level: 1
What's-a-goin' on: Well Jamie and I both got some sleep last night, only waking up every hour or so to flip sides so that the epidural didn't numb only one side.

(skip this paragraph if you're not medically tolerant)
At 2:15 the nurse tried to help BBB flip to face down because a face up baby is tough to fit and VERY uncomfortable (trust me, I know - I don't know why I typed that, it must be lack of sleep - its okay, I'll get plenty of sleep once we get the baby home!!!) Anyway, while she was trying to get the baby to flip, Jamie lost her mucus plug! (I told you to skip!) Then at 3:45. Her water broke and they think that there might be meconium (look it up if you don't know, but I'm not sure that I spelled it right). That is a bummer but dog gone it, we're going to have a baby today!

Right now, we know that the chord must be on the right side of her belly, because every time that she lays on that side, the baby's heart rate decelerates. What this means is that she's had to spend most of her time on her left, giving her a dead left leg and a somewhat painful right side due to the uneven distribution of the epidural. We've got it pretty much down now, rolling her half way onto her right to get the solid effects of the epidural. Thank goodness, because these contractions are pretty fast and furious.

Dr. Ference came in this morning at around 6 when Jamie noticed some building pressure. She did an exam and Jamie is 8 cm dilated and almost all of the way effaced. The problem is that the baby's head isn't turning or dropping any more into the birth canal. He's got some swelling on top of his head due to trying, but his head bones aren't going through yet.

The doctor said to wait a few hours and see how he progresses and we might have to look at a C section. I know that a lot of people say, 'AW, that's a shame.' But the way we see it is that we have a healthy baby delivered without too much stress on his little body.

Good news, Tammy's back! Nurse Shanna did a Great job last night and we're very excited to have Tammy! Mercy Gilbert has a wonderful staff, we're so glad to be here.

More later,
E

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Mayday Mayday

Momma status: happily sleeping with a steady flow of an epidural

Pain level: 0!!!

What's-a-goin' on: So I guess I didn't think out this Blog thing too well... When there's a lot to write about, there's no WAY that I'm going to leave Jamie's side. So you're left with this, latent recaps of the wonderful events of the past 6 hours.



Well Jamie got to spend some time with some pretty serious contraction before the nurse have her Sordahl to take the edge off, that worked for a couple hours and then they came back with a vengeance. It was weird though to see her sleep soundly and the wake up as if she hadn't missed a beat whenever a contraction came... Then Right back to REM.



Then admittedly, the contractions got Really strong. It was so hard to see my baby in so much pain. And to make things worse, there was nothing that I could do about it!



Thank God for Dr. Lee



She got here just in time when Jamie got frustrated with the 2nd and unsuccessful dose of Sordahl. She administered the epidural and Jamie was pain free within 15 minutes.



Thank God. Literally. We are blessed with so many wonderful people around us; the nurses, the doctors and our amazing moms have been here by our sides since the very beginning.



Now that she has relaxed with the epidural and is sleeping she is making some good progress. The baby is now Finally in the birth canal and her cervix is 90% effaced and dilated to 3 cm!



Based on her mother and sister, the baby shouldn't be too far away! So it looks very likely that our baby will be born on May Day 2008, the feast day of Saint Joseph the worker.



Baby I can't wait to see you!



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