A whirlwind of a week!

Well, believe it or not but little Jacky bear is a whole week old! So, 1 week in pregnancy seemed like 3 months, but 1 week in motherhood seemed like 3 hours...

My time is still super limited, but I love that this blog keeps family updated.. so I will do my best to post some quick updates!

1 week updates:

• He is still perfect! :)
• He lost 9oz at the hospital (typical), but put back on 6oz at his one week appointment (the Dr. said he is "ahead of the game"---teehee)
• His hair is lightening each day, it has a little redish hue to it! Maybe a slight gingersnap on our hands?
• He doesn't fit in ANY of his clothes..everything falls off! He pretty much alternates between 4 duck outfits--haha! Poor thing..never thought MY child would have a pitiful wardrobe! We'll fix that soon enough!
• His first outing was to Lowe's to buy a light switch :)
• He is sleeping...(knocking on wood and holding my breath) 4-4 1/2 hour increments at night and rarely fusses!
• His dad is the absolute BEST dad ... and his mom feels incredibly lucky!

 1 week old

We are going to take weekly pictures next to the bear, so we remember how teeny tiny he is/was :)

 so peaceful...

 2 happy men...

 So in love..

 Duck outfit #3 and to answer your shirt...no, Jack, you couldn't be any cuter 

 Gramp Guinane got a new TV for his big birthday Friday...he was having troubles with the new remote...I'll teach him!

Something so special about a Grandma's love...

Picture Perfect!

  sweet little being..

 Sweet feet! 

(People say I have BIG feet....I must have been switched at birth!)

 What a life I lead...

 LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!!

I told ya he was going to be a thumb sucker!

 Sweet little bundle!

2 peas in a pod...

HE is here...

IT'S A BOY!!
(was I right, or was I right?...maternal instincts)

SO happy to announce the arrival of Jackson Lucas Wheeler... 

Born on Sunday, May 22nd @ 11:21pm 

He weighed 7lb9 oz and was 20.5 in long..

I was in labor for 14 hours, got to 9cm, and then his heart rate began to drop with the contractions. They stopped the contractions with a medicine (that was enjoyable), and his heartrate went back to being perfect. Our Dr. decided it was better to be safe than stress the baby out, and deliver him through a c-section...

Perfect in every way...

Jack shares a very special birthday with his Aunt Jessica...  it was a close one, by 39 minutes, but they can be forever birthday buds...

 Jack has the best temperament ..he was the best baby in the nursery...everyone adored him. We kept asking if something was wrong with him, because we had yet to hear his little "voice". They reassured us that he was perfect, and it would most likely change when we got home ;) We seriously do feel blessed with his "behavior" up to this point. My recovery has been very rough, and I can't begin to imagine the stress if he was colicky or EXTRA needy. We're taking one day at a time... Grammy Guinane came to stay with us for a few days to help out. She has been great to have, and I know she is loving every minute of being with Jack. We went through diaper 101 together, as Luke has been the main diaper changer, and she hadn't changed a diaper in 26 years. Luke surely is the best diaper changer. He is an amazing Dad, not that I ever expected any less, but to see him with Jack makes me feel SO lucky. He has taken on a lot of extra duties, duties I thought I would be doing, and does them all so naturally. 

Here are a few pictures from the last few days..Enjoy!

Our first stop was the Joe Pa statue..which was visible from our hospital room. 

Literally a quick drive by shoot..ha!

SO many more pictures to share....let me build some stamina back up and I will be a showing off fool. This blog seriously took me 4 days to complete!

We love this little guy...that is for sure!

You know it is time to have a baby when...

-You have to do your laundry every 3 days because your maternity clothes no longer fit and you cycle through 3 shirts - white, black and red.

-You realize you have a tear rolling down your cheek when Meredith Vierra announces she is leaving The Today Show..haha

- People say.. "Oh hunny, when are you due?"... with an "I feel sorry for you" face

- You have to wear your husbands size XL pajama pants and t-shirts in order to get a comfortable nights sleep...

-You start hysterically crying when the sink hose comes unscrewed (while the water is running) and spastically sprays water all over you and your kitchen ceiling and walls...

-You start to worry you are going to take the finish off of your floors if you clean them one more time...

-You iron your pillowcases (seriously).

- You have to drag your husband out of bed in the morning because he is depressed that you aren't in labor yet... because he doesn't want to go to work.

- You try to do high knees up the stairs.. because you are desperate

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So, here we are at 40 weeks and 1 day! Who would have thought! I must start by saying that I am SO, SO thankful to be PAST my due date. I would MUCH rather be in this "predicament" than the alternative. Don't get me wrong, I am ready to get the show on the road, but I do have a feeling of contentment...which is weird. Luke and family seem more anxious than I am, but I think it is because I feel a major sense of relief...making it to the finish line (well, not THE finish line, but pretty close).  I also think people are anxious because we all figured we would have a baby by now. We have been trying to keep busy with walks and card tournaments, but nothing is really making the time go fast. Who would have thought that time could get slower then that of a re-deployment homecoming.

 Speaking of, May 21st marks Luke being home for 2 whole years. That would be a great day to have a baby.. 2 of the best moments in life on the same date! It seems hard to believe that it has been 2 years...after the baby is born, I pray time SLOWS down!

I am up to 2 appointments a week now. Today we had an ultrasound to measure the amount of fluid surrounding the baby. My level was 17 (normal is 10-20), so that looked fantastic. Then, I got hooked up to the fetal monitor to measure baby's heartbeat. You are hooked up for over an hour so they can track the heartbeat with movements and contractions. The baby passed that test with flying colors, too. I was having contractions, as I knew, but they were nothing to "brag about"...nothing consistent. I go back on Thursday. Tonight is a full moon, but lets get real..this baby isn't coming for another 2 weeks. 

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I never thought I'd be posting these...but, here are some week 40 belly shots...

Happy 80th!

Happy, happy 80th birthday to my Grandpa Burns! 
80 years old, with a new, healthy heart...couldn't be more perfect! XOXO

I'm trying to convince Lil' W that May 12th would be a beautiful birthday. There is still time, but only if you want to share, Grandpa...

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.....hoping we can skip tomorrow as a birthday--Friday, the 13th! AH! No thank you! Luke and I would have to name the baby Chucky or Freddy! haha! We went to the Doctors today and everything looked good... I was up most of the night not feeling well...it HAS to be close. However, our doctor said that they let you go TWO WEEKS past your due date. TWO WEEKS, people? That is going to feel like 8 years...I'll die! We go back on Tuesday for a non-stress test and ultrasound..to make sure the baby is still cooking just fine... If not, they will induce me. Since I'm such a snob about dates -- I like them to "sound pretty"...like May 12th, or May 16th (quite a process picking a wedding date) -- I am sure the baby will come tomorrow on Friday the 13th. I am also sure Luke will mistake me for Freddy Krueger, so it will be fitting! :)

39 weeks and....

...feeling great (under the circumstances)! I feel better now then I did 4 weeks ago. Weird, I know. I am starting to get use to being a blimp and uncomfortable. Whereas it was a whole new concept 4 weeks ago.

...swollen! Everyone tells me that I am "all belly", but they are typically strangers and didn't see me 9 months ago! My biggest pet peeve (one of them) is the sleeves on my t-shirts pinching my arms..makes me want to go bonkers! 

...excited! Every morning I tell Luke "I think today is the day!" ..I have been wrong for about 7 days in a row! I give up guessing..or I should say..wishing! Luke thinks Tuesday! 

...thankful! I am so thankful that we are close to home. My mom came down, just for the day on Friday, and we had such a great afternoon together! We got a pedicure, which was another nice treat, did a little shopping and had lunch together. She came just at the perfect time... when I needed to get out of the house and do something other than nesting. We'll have a tag along on our next little adventure together.

Luke and I had such a nice weekend this weekend, probably our last with it being just the two of us! We (Luke) did yard work--I directed traffic, spent an afternoon downtown State College and played some cards on our back patio. It feels bittersweet to me, but we have had 9 great years "just the two of us". 

Hopefully the next blog post will be pictures of a sweet little bundle!

 It could be a lot worse, right?

Belly on Friday...           

  Belly on Sunday... (totally dropped)

XOXO to our Mom's

Wishing we could be home to celebrate you both today! We are thinking about you and love you both very much! I know I feel so blessed to have such a sweet, PATIENT and understanding Mom.  I feel doubly blessed that I "inherited" such a lovely mother-in-law (some are not as lucky as I). Thank you for setting such great examples...I can't wait to share the same love with my own peanut (preferably today, but that isn't looking too promising)! 

I'm not officially in the "Mom Club"...however, I do think growing ears, arms and legs for the last nine months should count for something! After Lil' Wayne treated me to an AWESOME nights sleep (10 hours), Luke made me breakfast in bed!! Who knew he was SO good at smoothies and french toast? He even sprinkled the toast with confectioners sugar.... the little things in life! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Dominick!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our little nephew, Dominick! 

We hope you have a super fun day with friends and family..wish we could be "all aboard" with you at your choo-choo train birthday party! 

XOXO

(We have four May birthdays and one pending birthday, in between our families...a great month to be born!!)