One Month Pics...a little late!

2 days before Jentry's one month birthday we had these pictures taken of her laying on Daddy's hand. She did a great job and didn't get too upset about having her clothes off. She hates to be naked! I also have to give props to the photographer at JC Pennys for catching Jentry with her eyes open. I wasn't able to get a copy of the picture online so I got one the ghetto way...I took a picture of the picture with my camera :) The one with the flash shows the colors better, but the flash shows on the picture so here are both of them...

Little Old Man

Last night I was sitting in my chair and I looked over at Jentry in her swing and got a good laugh at how she looked. I told Jack to come and look at our "old man". He thought it was funny too and took this picture. I think she looks like a little old man because of how she is laying, her skinny legs, and the fact that she has on dark socks with her outfit! Enjoy.

Weekend of Visitors

This past weekend was a whirlwind of visitors for Jentry. On Friday after Betsy and Aaron left my cousin Katrina came to visit and see Jentry. Here are Katrina and Jentry...aren't they beautiful?!?

Then on Sunday 2 of Mommy's very good friend from college came to visit. Ian came about noon but didn't hold Jentry so I don't have a picture of her with him...however he did bring his girlfriend over for us to meet!! Thanks Ian :)

At 4 Jules and Sean came to visit. Julie and I have had many good times together, I can't wait to make memories with Jules that include Jentry too! Jules and Sean stayed and watched a NCAA basketball game and ate wings with us. Julie fed and loved on Jentry all the while they were here! After being with Jentry, Jules says she wants 11 babies! I think one night with Jentry would change that...maybe they need to babysit :)Jules bought Jentry a bunny bank and she was the first one to place money in it for Jentry. I wanted to capture the moment! Thanks Jules!! :)When Julie and I went to get the wings, I plopped Jentry on Sean's lap...he wasn't going to hold her...but I think he did a great job! He looks like a natural!

It was so nice to get to see Ian and Julie since neither of them live close to me. I was also glad they got to see Jentry while she was little. I know she will grow up to love Ian and Julie as much as I do! They are wonderful friends and I miss both of them. After my 2 friends left, great memories of IU flooded my mind! I hope Jentry grows up to make many great college memories too.

Making Handprints

While Betsy and Aaron were here, Betsy helped me make Jentry's hand and foot prints because our hospital, Community North doesn't do that when babies are born any more. I know Jentry is a little bit older than a newborn but I still wanted to have this done. You can follow our project in the picture sequence below! Enjoy.

Betsy and Aaron came to visit

This past week my cousin Betsy and her boyfriend Aaron came to visit us from Green Bay. I'm pretty sure they enjoyed holding Jentry all week long! Everyone is enjoying spoiling her and then I get to deal with her after they all leave...thanks guys :) It was great to have them here and I'm so glad they got to see Jentry while she is little.

On Friday Aaron was a trooper and he watched Jentry alone while I went to get a hair cut. I was so glad that he was willing to do that because I hadn't had a hair cut since before I got pregnant with Jentry. My hair really needed a trim!

Betsy and Aaron bought Jentry these IU socks and bib for one of her shower gifts. Since I'm an IU grad I of course loved these gifts. The socks are awesome and fit her really well right now, the bib on the other hand takes up her whole body! I think we will have to wait a few more months to try that on again!

Jentry's New "Toy"

Thanks to Aunt Tonya, Jentry has a new toy...this past weekend Aunt Tonya came to visit and she brought this swing for Jentry to try out. Jentry's cousins Noah and Millie are letting us borrow their swing for now...and Jentry LOVES it!! Notice the smile in the picture above, and she's happily sleeping in both pics. Today I put her in it awake and she looked all around, it keeps her totally happy...which keeps Mommy happy :) We've had company this past week so I haven't been able to blog much, but I promise to update the blog with posts for the next few days!!

Jentry's first museum

Today I took Jentry to her first museum. (Yes, I know she can't look at art yet, but it was nice to get out of the house, and she really likes her stroller!) We went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art with my cousin Betsy and her boyfriend Aaron. Betsy and Aaron at visiting from Wisconsin. Jentry was such a good girl while we were at the museum, in fact she slept most of the time! We took this picture by the piece of art I liked best. This one was by Georgia O'Keefe and it was painted for Elizabeth Arden so she could put it in her spa room in New York.

Jentry's Weight Milestone!

Today we had to get Jentry's blood drawn to check her bili level. Then we had to go to the dr to get a weight check...well much to my surprise she weighed 6 pounds 1.5 ounces!!! I cheered right there in the office I was so excited that she passed the 6 pound mark! Someday our preemie won't be so preemie anymore :)

Jentry's Original Due Date/Happy Birthday Dad

Today was to be my original due date with Jentry. I was excited to have her be a birthday present for my dad's 60th birthday which also happens to be today, unfortunately she has a mind of her own and wanted to come early! So she wasn't able to share my dad's birthday with him. I took these 2 pictures of Jentry today so we could remember what she looked like on March 22...she's been in the world almost 5 weeks already! Now we can't say that she isn't even supposed to be here yet. Tonight we started a new bedtime routine, I hope it helps her realize that it is nighttime and time for her to go to bed. We are now giving her a bath, feeding her, doing a story, and then putting her to bed. When I read to her she is normally sleeping by page 2 or so. Hopefully she will begin to stay awake longer, however the Dr. has told us that now she will be at the newborn stage not the 1 month stage because she was born at 35 weeks and was a preemie. She has started to do some things that a non-preemie 6 week baby does such as looking at our faces and following us, but the sleepiness seems to be much like a newborn, she is still sleeping most of the day with about 3-4 hours of awake time. I'm looking forward to her being awake a little more during the day and a little less at night :) When I make the bottles for the right amount of formula she tends to sleep longer than when I screw them up...silly mommy! Oh well we can't all be perfect parents all the time...right??

I hope my dad had a great 60th birthday, we were hoping to get to see them today at the hospital, instead however we are already home with Jentry and I'm not in labor on Dad's birthday. My mom planned a small get together for him tonight with some other couples...that is my dad's style! Not a big party like my mom had for her 60th. Hopefully we will get to see my parents soon, but I think Easter will be the next time since they have a fun vacation planned to Florida with my brother and his family.

Happy 1 month birthday and Happy St. Patricks Day

On Tuesday Jentry turned 1 month old! I can't believe she's been in this world a month already and she's still not supposed to be here for another week! This Sunday the 22nd of March is her actual due date. She is a little sweetie and she is gaining weight each time we check it now. Each weight check is a big milestone for me and her! I hold my breath and pray that she weighs more than she did the week before, and then I place her on the scale at Dr. Miller's office. So far so good the past 2 weeks! Jack and I took pictures with her on her 1 month birthday. You can see we were all in green for St. Patty's day too!

Daddy and Jentry on her 1 month birthday.

Mommy and Jentry on her one month birthday. Jack and I laugh at her when she holds her one fist up in the air as she is doing in this picture. She tends to stretch and hold that fist up often!

Daddy and his princess

My mom has been bugging me to take at least 1 picture of Jack and Jentry so that Jentry can know how little she was compared to her daddy, so the other night while he was holding her I snapped this picture. She is a little peanut compared to her daddy...however I think she already has him wrapped around her little fingers!

These boots are made for walking!!

Jentry got these boots from her cousin Millie and since it was only 30 degrees when we left the house this morning I thought it was the perfect time for her to wear them...as you can see they go all the way to her knees...but she didn't fuss when I put them on her and they matched her outfit and are super cute! Thank you Millie and Aunt Tonya...too bad we can't walk yet...cause I think these boots are made for walking :)

DADDY?!?

Today when I was uploading pics to send to my sister in law Tonya, I ran across these pics...DADDY do you happen to know anything about this?? It looks like he wanted to capture how his wife and daughter sleep alike!! He tells her often that she is just like her Mommy! I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing...I guess we will see once she can talk :) Right Grandma Kauffman??!!?? You can see from these pictures Mommy isn't the only one who is exhausted!! However I do think Jack could have been doing something more productive than taking these non-flattering pictures of his wife and daughter...I'm sure there was laundry or dishes to be done :) I know I'm home all day and those are things I need to be doing...but it's hard to get it all done...it seems like everyday before I know it Oprah is on and it's already 4 pm! Ugh, where do my days go?
PS, YES I KNOW YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO SLEEP LIKE THIS WITH YOUR BABY...WE WERE JUST NAPPIN' AND DADDY WAS CLEARLY KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON BOTH OF US!

3 weeks old already!

My how time flies when you don't get much sleep...Mommy that is...as you can see Jentry sleeps like a champ! I can't believe Jentry turned 3 weeks old yesterday! It doesn't seem possible that she's been in the world 3 weeks already. Today we went to get my allergy shot and ran into Target to buy formula and wipes...I think this is a trip we will make often :) When we got home I snapped these pictures to send to Aunt Tonya. I was thinking of her when I bought the outfit Jentry has on today...she likes things with cherries on them. I like this outfit because it isn't typical baby pink however it is still girly!

The hat Jentry is wearing in this picture was given to us by the anesthesiologist who gave me my epidural at the hospital. It fits her perfectly and is so cute, it is red and white and has sparkly yarn in it. I love it!

Good News!

Today we got good news!! Jentry has had to have her bilirubin checked almost daily for the past 2 weeks and it kept going up. Finally this weekend the Dr. called and said we need to switch to formula and see if that helps get her bili down. So I cried a bit but we made the switch to a strictly formula diet. (What a pain the butt formula is!) Anyhow, today we went to have her blood drawn and it didn't go good, she got pricked in both feet and wouldn't bleed for the lab so they sent us to the pediatric ward and the nurse there had to find a vein in Jentry's arm to get the blood, Mommy didn't like that, but she knew it had to be done. At 1:45 we went to see Dr. Miller and she gave us good news and lots of it!! First off Jentry has gained weight and finally weighs more than she did at birth, secondly her bili is down to 9 which is 4+ points less than it was on Friday, third her liver enzymes are ok, fourth her Digixon level is on target, finally we are able to breast feed some and supplement often with formula and we don't have to go back to the Dr until Jentry is 2 months old. Thank Heaven!! Our baby has been to the lab and the Dr more in her short 3 weeks of life than some go ever! I am so glad that we don't have to have her blood drawn anymore, her little feet look so painful :( Needless to say lots of prayers have been answered today and we thank God for our little miracle!

Daddy caught you!

Daddy caught Jentry smiling with his cell phone last night. She is such a funny baby! She makes funny faces and smiles often. We are lucky to have such a good baby! I think this is God's reward for our horrible 1st week without her while she was in the NICU. It is hard not to fall in love with this little face and crazy hair :)

15 Days Old Already!!

Jentry Melaine was born 5 weeks early on February 17th. My water broke at 2:40 am on the 17th however I didn't realize that is what had happened until 3am when I thought I was wetting myself for a second time, but this time I couldn't get the fluid to stop...so I said to Jack (who is still very much asleep at this point) "Honey, I think my water broke!" He replied, while rubbing his eyes, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU THINK YOUR WATER BROKE?!?" I said "I don't know, but I think we should call the Dr." So he got up, handed me my phone, and laid back down! I called the Dr and she said "The hospital will be waiting on you!" So, knowing we had a little time, Jack and I took showers and headed to the hospital...little did we know at this point that we would be staying.

We arrived at Community North at 4 am and we were told that the fluid leaking was indeed amniotic fluid and that yes in fact we would be having our baby in the next 24 hours. At 6:15 am my Labor and Delivery nurse Debbie started my Pitocin drip and the contractions started getting closer together and harder. This continued for about 2 1/2 hours until about 9 when I finally got my epidural. This was the easiest part of the process! At 9:30 Debbie decided it was time to see how dilated I was, when she checked she thought she felt Jentry's nose (meaning she was coming out face first), she asked another nurse to come and verify what she was feeling, when the 2nd nurse checked she said "No, those are toes" and they got a 3rd nurse in to check who agreed those were toes they were feeling...at this point Dr. Bean, my OB came in and also confirmed the toes and we were off to the Operating Room for an emergency C-section...ugh! I was FULLY dilated and ready to push! DARN IT!! Oh well, Jentry has had a mind of her own this whole time!

So Jack got into scrubs and I was whisked to the OR and at 10:37A.M. our little bundle of joy came screaming into the world. We only got to see her for a brief second before a team of NICU nurses and Dr's whisked her away. Her heart was beating 330 beats a minute which is about 3 times what it should have been. Jentry was born with 2 holes in her heart, an arrhythmic heart beat, and another issue that makes her heart cycle weird. She spent 7 days in NICU at Community North. Those were the hardest 7 days of my life. However the NICU nurses were awesome and took very good care of our baby girl! Meredith was Jentry's main NICU nurse and we will miss her, but we are glad to be out of the NICU. We were very impressed with both the NICU nurses and our nurses in Labor and Delivery. Both Jack and I would recommend Community North to anyone looking for a place to have a baby :)

Here is one of the first pictures of Jentry. She was born on February 17, 2009 at 10:37 am. She weighed 5 lbs 2.9 oz, and was 18 1/2 inches long. She has a full head of dark brown hair! As you can see in this picture she had many wires and IV's her first few days of life. This was very hard for me to see and deal with.

Here is Jentry's first professional picture. We took these to surprise Daddy! She posed perfectly and slept like a champ. Mommy and Grandma were so proud of Jentry!

Today we made our first trip to Riley to have the Cardiologist take another look at Jentry's heart. We learned that one of the holes has closed and the other one is on it's way to closing. Jentry still has her arrhythmia and other heart issue but we will just continue to give her the daily dose of Digixon and listen to her heart daily to make sure it isn't beating too rapidly. The Digixon is helping with that, and we are thankful for this. So needless to say Jentry and I have been to many Dr appts in the past week and we will continue to go to them for a little while!

Jack and I were unprepared to have our baby 5 weeks early but I think we have done a great job of adapting to this knew unknown, and we were thankful that my mom could come and stay with us for a few days after Jentry came home from the NICU.

Alright, she's hungry...gotta go :)