Letters to Jack Ray: 12/11/15

Dear Jack Ray,

What a difference a month makes my sweet baby boy! The first two months were rough and you had some serious colic but you are quite smiley and happy these days! 

You are starting to really coo and goo and laugh when we talk to you! You are instantly happy whenever someone is looking at you and talking with you. 

You are growing so quickly and have moved into size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes already! You are nursing like a champ and are sleeping really well. You are taking a 2 hour morning nap and usually a good afternoon nap as well. At night you fall asleep anywhere between 8pm and 10pm, wake to nurse around 12am, 4am, and then finally awake around 7:30am or so. 

Here's what you've been up to this past month: 

11/15/15: Moved up to size 2 diapers, found your fingers and started sucking on them 

11/16/15: Two month well check 12lbs 6.5oz (75th percentile), 23.75" (75th percentile), got your first cold 

11/25/15: Moved up to 3-6 month clothes, slept for a 7 hour stretch 

11/28/15: Rolled from front to back

11/29/15: Rolled from back to front, first kiss from Ellie at church 

12/08/15: Weighed 13lbs 5.5oz, first double ear infection

Momma and daddy love you to the moon and all the way back! 

xoxoxox,

Momma

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For Letters to Everett, click here!

For more Letters to Nolan, click here! 

For more Letters to Jack, click here!

Thankfulness Tree

Traditionally in the month of November we share things that we are thankful for, so this year I wanted to get Everett involved. My friend Tiphany and I were discussing this and she was sharing with me some ideas that she had and some she found on Pinterest. Everett and I had just finished a painting of a fall tree and I thought it would be great to use cut out tracings of his hand prints as leaves that he could write some things he is thankful for on.   

He has been enjoying sticking up his leaves and I am loving the different things that he is coming up with! Here are a few that he's said so far: bread and the food we eat; trees, they grow in the ground; my friends at AWANA; candy from trick or treating; and my personal favorite, Marines for protecting me! 

What are y'all doing to celebrate this November? I am already planning how we can incorporate this same idea into an advent Christmas tree! Stay tuned! 

Letters to Jack Ray: 11/11/15

Oh little Jack Ray!

I am so happy to have you in our family and to be able to hold you and kiss you and love on you; it seemed like you were never going to come! We are so excited that you are here!  

 

You came into this world with such intensity and have proven to have a similar little personality!  You know what you want (which is normally to eat) and you are very vocal when you are not given what you want.  You enjoy nursing and being held and worn and frequently wake up if we aren't holding you. I think that you just don't want to miss one minute of what else is going on!

You seemed to be a bit fussy during the first few weeks however I think that you are coming out of that as we are learning more about what you want and how to keep you happy.  You are so cute and are showing us new things every day.  You love to take baths and lay in the water, you look so relaxed! 

Here's what you've been up to the past two months: 

09/11/15: Birthday! 9:51am, 7lbs 12oz, 21" long

09/12/15: First sleepy smile

09/13/15: First family outing to Ritchie Lake for daddy's baptism, first time being worn 

09/14/15: First doctors appointment- 7lbs 9.5oz, first trip to Target

09/17/15: Had your tongue tie clipped

09/16/15: Umbilical cord fell off

09/20/15: One week appointment- 8lbs 3oz 

09/26/15: Weight check: 8lbs 8oz

10/01/15: Moved up to size 1 diapers

10/07/15: Moved up to 0-3 month clothes

10/11/15: First trip to El Gran Charro, started cooing

10/12/15: One month well check 10lbs (50th percentile), 22.25" (75th percentile); first time to try a bottle (of momma's milk) 
10/13/15: Had your lip tie lasered

10/17/15: First shower 

10/18/15: First smile while awake

10/25/15: First time to the mall, first laugh (daddy was playing with you!), first time in the Ergo

10/29/15: First time to reach for something (Meme's hand) 

Momma and daddy love you to the moon and all the way back! 

xoxoxox,

Momma

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For Letters to Everett, click here!

For more Letters to Nolan, click here! 

For more Letters to Jack, click here!

Newborn Photos of Jack Ray by Todd Barnhill Photography

Happy Thursday all! Here is a long overdue post with our newborn photos of Jack Ray.  We had the wonderful Todd Barnhill and his amazing wife, Magda over to take these photos and I love how they turned out!  Todd is always able to capture photos of the older two, which is quite a talent because they NEVER stop moving! 

Enjoy! 

Maternity Photos by Todd Barnhill Photography

We had maternity photos taken by the wonderful Todd Barnhill and they turned out great! He came out to our house and our lovely neighbors let us use their backyard for some of the photos.  I can't wait to get these photos printed to have in our house!  Thanks Todd! 

Jack Ray's Birth Story

Jack Ray was due on September 8, 2015 however there were several times before then that I thought he was coming!  I had prodromal labor for almost three weeks prior to his actual birth and man-oh-man was that a frustrating experience.  I never felt natural labor contractions with Everett's birth because I was induced and with Nolan's birth the first time I felt a contraction was when I was in labor, so this was a new experience!  The first time I felt contractions I went for a few long walks and really was hoping that labor day was here, but it was to no avail.  At one point, I was having contractions for days on end- however they were not ridiculously painful and I pushed them to the back of my mind because I didn't want to keep getting my hopes up.  

My last belly photo, 40 weeks

September 8th came and went and Jack Ray seemed quite content in the womb however I was a little worried that he was 'sunny side up' (aka posterior position) so I asked my OB to check for me at my next appointment.  On September 10th I went in for my appointment and my OB determined that Jack Ray was head down but in the posterior position however he assured me that most babies turn to face the right direction prior to birth.  Since I was past my due date, my doctor mentioned that if I made it to my next appointment we would need to start talking about when and how to begin the induction process.  He was very approving of my wishes to have a natural labor and was more than happy to wait until I was 42 weeks pregnant to push for an induction which I was glad to hear.  

After my appointment that day, my mom, the boys, and I went to run some errands and I happened to feel a contraction- however, it was different than the ones that I had been having.  I pushed it out of my mind because I figured it was nothing and went about my day.  I continued to feel contractions throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening but kept assuming that they were nothing.  Around 9pm I started to time them because it seemed like they were getting a little more painful, they were about ten minutes apart at that time.  

As the night went on, they got more intense and closer together.  Tyler went to bed around midnight but I couldn't sleep because, although I was trying to not get excited, I wanted to see if they would keep on coming.  Finally around 3am when the contractions were about six minutes apart, I decided to try go to sleep. I was able to sleep in about thirty minute increments and got up around 6:30am to take a shower and get ready.  When I got out of the shower, the contractions were about four minutes apart and steadily getting stronger.  I called my mom, Tiphany, and the OB's office around 7:30am to let them know that I would probably head to the hospital in about an hour or so.   My mom and dad planned to meet us there and Tiphany was planning to come after I got checked into Labor and Delivery (L&D).  

We arrived at the hospital at 8:45am and as soon as I got out of the call I started to shake uncontrollably, which I knew meant I was in transition.  As we were walking in I text Tiphany "Come now. I am shaking."  Once we got up to L&D, they took me back to a triage room and checked to see how dilated I was- I was praying that I was at least 5cm!  The nurse asked me a bunch of general questions and then checked me and we discovered that I was 9cm! She quickly ducked her head out of the triage room and asked one of the other nurses to call my OB because the baby would be coming soon!  As we moved from the triage room to my permanent room I had Tyler call my mom to make sure that they were almost to the hospital.  

Once we got in the room, my OB came in and broke my water while the nurses continued to ask me questions and get things prepared.  Earlier in my pregnancy, I tested GBS Positive and had planned to have penicillin however since I came in at 9cm my OB decided  that there wouldn't be time enough for both doses.  I was actually relieved to not have to be hooked up to an IV while delivering the baby but it did mean that we would be required to stay an extra day at the hospital for monitoring.   One of the nurses asked me "Have you ever had a natural delivery before," needless to say she was glad to find out that I had and she didn't have to inform me that it was too late for an epidural.  

Breaking my water took the contractions from three minutes apart to less than a minute apart and they extremely painful.  After about twenty minutes, I started to bear down a little with each contraction and asked the nurse to check to see if I had any change.  She checked and said that I was 10cm but was not fully effaced.  My OB came in a few minutes later and asked me to do a test push to see if Jack Ray's head could help to get things where they needed to be.  After the test push , around 9:40am he asked me "Okay, are you ready to push?"  I think I kind of freaked out when he asked me that because I was expecting to have to hang out for a little while longer.  With the next set of contractions I started to push however, at one point I recall me falling back on the bed and saying "I don't want to do it anymore!" and "I can't do it, I'm not going to do it!"  At that point my OB, Tiphany, my mom, and Tyler gave me a little pep talk and I geared up for the next contraction.  Part of my birth plan was to 'catch' the baby after his head and shoulders were out, I pushed as hard as I could and finally little Jack Ray entered the world.  I was able to pull him right on my chest!

The first thing I noticed about Jack Ray was that he was looking right at me with his eyes wide open!  He took a few minutes to cry so the nurses were rubbing him with blankets trying to get him to make some noise.  I wasn't worried because I could feel him breathing and I was just so relieved that he was finally here.  Since Tyler isn't into the whole 'blood thing,' my mom was able to cut the cord! He was born at 9:51am on September 11, 2015 weighing 7lbs 12oz and was 21" long.  

#ThompsonNumber3 To Do List: Preparing for Jack-Attack

Since I am only four one week away from #ThompsonNumber3's debut I figured I better make a list of things I still need to do in order to be ready for him to be here! 

Things to get out of storage: 

• Newborn sized clothes 
• Infant car seat and base
• Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper
• Various swings and bouncy seats

Things to do: 

• Put clothes into the dresser
• Install infant car seat into the car
• Pack hospital bag
• Complete birth plan and print out a few copies to take to the hospital
• Hang up artwork in his room
• Put crib together

I am actually surprised at how much of the list has already been completed but there is always more to be done!  Typing up my birth plan is the BIGGEST thing that needs to be done as soon as possible- Jack could be here tonight or in six weeks... lets hope it's sooner than later! 

Thompson's Big Move

It has certainly been a roller coaster of a ride but we are FINALLY in our new house and are mostly settled in! I can't wait to share all of the before/after photos of each room but for now I will leave you with a few sneak peeks! :)  Also, please excuse the "iPhone camera quality" of the photos... I will get my nice camera out and take some better photos for the upcoming posts! 

I can just hear Ty Pennington saying "Welcome home Thompson family, welcome home!"

The fireplace redo turned out better than I imagined! 

This boy LOVES being outside.

This boy LOVES being in the basement. 

Tyler's bar area

Living room