Jake meets Santa

My Mom and I took Jake down to Macy's to meet Santa.  It was a weekday mid-morning so it was dead in there.  Santa was a grandpa himself so he loved this sweet little baby.  He spent so much time with us and let Grammy have a full on photoshoot in there.  Jake slept through the whole thing, but some of the pictures were priceless.  There is no better feeling than that sweet little head on your shoulder. 

Jake Month 2

Jake's second month was a lot of fun.  At about 5 weeks old Papa had to take his first work trip.  He was going to be gone for 5 nights so we packed up and headed to Grammy and Grampy's house to stay.  My Dad was actually also headed out of town after the first night so it would just be us girls and Jake.  I feel like that weekend was a bit of a turning point for me as a Mom.  I feel so lucky to have my Mom close by for support.  It was great for me just to watch her with Jake, to learn from her cues, to see how she reacted to things or what she thought might be going on with Jake.  It helped me get more in tune to what he was needing too.  We had a great time with days full of feedings, walks, shopping, and playing.  There was of course a daily photoshoot so that Grammy could capture all the special little parts of Jake.  The rest of December really flew by.  

Over the next 4 weeks leading up to his 2-month appointment Jake would gain 3 lbs and grow nearly 2 inches. He was filling out and becoming more alert.  He smiled for the first time around 6 weeks, we weren't sure at first if it was just gas, but once he started he didn't stop.  This is one smiley kid.  He started to become a more efficient eater and I became more confident nursing.  We were now nursing everywhere from the back of the car to the women's lounge at Nordstrom.  No gear necessary.  Sleeping made some huge strides this month, going for 5 and 6 hour stretches around 7.5 weeks old.  He started sleeping in his crib after Brian's trip and made an easy transition.  He looks so cute laying there.  He still loves the stroller, the sling, and car rides.  Basically movement is king. 

This month we spent more time with friends and Jake is a great little traveler for dinners out on the town. Below are some of the little details that I never want to forget.  This sweet little boy makes every day so happy for us.  

Baby's first holiday - Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from the Lanter family and Baby Jake!

He of course had to have a commemorative onesie which he wore the day before Thanksgiving to get into the thankful spirit. 

On Thanksgiving Day Papa got up and made us a huge breakfast - pancakes, orange juice, toast, eggs, bacon, and sausage.  It was a special treat and we even ate it at the table.  I am pretty sure it was the first meal we got to eat at the same time since Jake arrived. The whole family got in their Detroit Lions gear and hunkered down for a morning of football.  The Lions lost, but we all pulled it together and ventured out on our Thanksgiving parade to show off this sweet baby.  First stop to the Lanter's and then off to Auntie Tutu's house.  When we got to Auntie Tutu I sat in the living room and nursed Jake while people came by to chat and feed me and Brian. It was a hectic, but lovely day with family. 

Later in the weekend we went to see the Heeter's, introduce Jake and Cruz (who we are certain to have some fun antics together in their future.)  We also went on the annual "Burnham Family Christmas Tree" outing.  Brian saves up all year to complain about this one morning that probably takes a little over 3 hours in total.  We drive out Scholls Ferry Road to a nice farm to pick out the perfect tree for the season.  It is a little bit of a ride out there, but tradition reigns in this family and so for one morning Brian sucks it up and packs into the car with Dick behind the wheel to celebrate a Christmas ritual. 

On Monday when Brian went back to work, Jake and I decorated the tree.  While, he really kind of just slept through it, but our house was officially ready for the holiday season. 

Jake's first holiday season was off to a great start!

One Month Old

Happy 1 month birthday to our sweet baby Jake. 

November 26th, 2012

About 9 lbs by now and growing strong.  

This was a month of firsts:

first walk

first doctor visit

first bath

first car ride

first meal out

first snuggles with Mom and Dad

Jake Month 1

Brian stayed home almost 3 weeks.  It was so great having him at home.  He did EVERYTHING so that I could focus on Jake.  When he went back to work I was nervous, but we quickly got into a routine.  I am not one to sit around the house, so we got ourselves up, showered and dressed every single day.  I don't think Jake has had a day in his young life where he hasn't gotten some fresh air.  Mom insists. 

We would eat, walk to Starbucks, eat again, head out on an errand or two, eat again, sleep in there once in a while and just get to know this new life.  In his first month he was more awake than I thought he would be, but he did sleep a lot.  It took us all month to figure out the feeding, but we got it as he started sucking better.  It took him a little bit to get back to birth weight, he got as low as 7 lbs 5oz. Once he started on the up swing he hasn't slowed down one bit.  He is a sweet little boy who loves cuddles and only cries when he is telling you something important - hungry or tired.  The first month is a little bit of a blur, and after the first 2 weeks of waking him to feed every 2 to 3 hours we got into the swing of things and he was demanding meals very regularly. I was starving all the time. I packed snacks for upstairs to have in the nursery.  I took that water cup that they give you at the hospital everywhere...later that cup was the only casualty when I fell down the stairs on a very sleep deprived day.   I remember being really tired and never having more than 2-3 hours of consecutive sleep, also spending 1-2 hours awake when we would get up to eat.  New Mama and new baby make for silly combination trying to figure things out in the middle of the night.  I would do it all again and next time not worry about the clock or the "rules", but I don't feel like I wasted time worrying.  I appreciated every quiet little moment, even in the middle of the night with my sweetie.  Toward the end of the month we ventured out for our first meal out as a family with our favorite family the Powells.  Lunch at Besaw's, Jake slept and Viola entertained us with her antics.  Hard to believe that will be a silly little Jake someday. 

Meet Jake -One week

It wasn't exactly what we had in our minds for labor and delivery, but here he was.  All 8lbs and 1 ounce.  We stayed in the hospital for 3 nights and the nurses were so amazing.  Some of the things I remember the most from our hospital stay:
- The amazing nurses
- The first night with Jake when I probably slept 5 min because I stared at him and listened to all of his squeaks and grunts to be sure he was still breathing
- Looking at Brian across the room at the end of the second day and never seeing him look that tired - in a trance almost
- The toasted plain bagels and perfectly crushed ice cubes they would fill your bottle with
- My first shower and looking down at my incision.
- Waking Jake up just to hold him since it felt like I only got to when I was feeding
- Squeezing my engorged breasts to get the tiniest bit of colostrum onto a spoon for Jake, subsequently meeting our lactation specialist Doris, who changed our first month
- Going home, the ride out of the hospital with a little person in my arms

The first week is kind of a blur. I know we snuggled and watched him sleep.  I spent almost all day either feeding or pumping which happened every two or three hours and took over an hour to complete.  I ate a lot and people were incredibly generous with us.  We gave Jake a sponge bath every other day, I dressed him up and we all just tried to get to know each other.  I sent my Mom shopping for more newborn size clothes because I didn't like everything swimming on him.  His weight got as low at 7lbs and 5 oz, so with Doris' help and a true dedication to breast feeding I made it my only mission to fatten this boy up.  Some shots below of that first week.