If only I could freeze a moment in time :). Soon he will be running around causing chaos to his sisters :)

Growing up!

Jack is becoming more of a baby, less of a newborn. He's smiling and discovering toys! For now he still has those baby blue eyes, which melt the hearts of anyone around him. We just can't wait for him to get a little more head control so he can try out his Steeler car ( you can see it in the background ) :)

Jacks first tea party :). Poor Boy :)

Sister time!

Jack is starting to be more aware of the world and his world always includes a sister that wants to play! The girls love entertaining him and it warms my heart at how loving they are to him. He's a lucky man!!

Oh My Jack...

The bad part of Jack being little is that he has a little tummy... So he has to eat every two hours... And he tends to gulp his milk so he gets lots of gas and we spend an hour or so after trying to get the gas out. But the good thing about Jack being little is that when ever I get frustrated or am going on an hour or so of sleep for the night, he snuggles up on my shoulder or gives me a little smile and the world is perfect again. He is the sweetest little man and I wouldn't trade all these sleepless nights in for anything... Well except for a twin of Jack that sleeps a bit better and can burp on command :)

Tummy Time! Look how strong little man is!

Nice Day!

Today was a day of firsts... First trip to the store with all three kids and just Mom ( hopefully I got at least two items I intended to get)... First day/evening all by ourselves ( so far no panic attacks)... And First afternoon for Jack outside while girls played. He loved lounging in the shade and I can't wait for summer with these three crazy people :)

First smile? Or probably just gas :)

Home sweet Home!

There are two big sisters that just LOVE their little brother here...

Moms little caterpillar :)

Mommy has a few premie clothes for the little man. Luckily for us he is almost too long for them, so he'll be in newborn size soon, but I'll be keeping these little clothes to remind him of where he started from in high school :)

See how cute :)

Check out my little nose, ears, and full head of hair :)

Hello World! I'm Jack!

John Louis Shafer is my full name, but you can call me Jack. Mom is already obsessed over me and Dad is figuring out the theme for my room. I was born just over 5 lbs, so all of the hard work you all did to make mom rest worked as well as it could of ( my doc confirmed at delivery I had a "crappy placenta"). But now that I'm here, watch out! I've been trying to eat a lot so far and I've been an angel for Momma and Dad on their first night... At some point I'll let them have it though, don't worry :). I can't wait to meet you all!!!!

Just a few more days till I'm the big-big sister!

Hopefully One More Week to Go!

Baby and Mom hopefully have just one more week of bed rest togetherness!  Baby still seems happy and healthy on the ultrasounds, and enjoys kicking me all through the night to ensure I know that everything is okay.  Just two more ultrasounds to go, and as long as they don't change our course, let the countdown to 3-21-12 begin!

Update from the Weight Check

Well, today was probably a neutral to slightly positive day at the doctor for baby Shafer.  While baby did show a weight gain and healthy vitals, it wasn't enough weight gain to change the course of an early induction and low birth weight.  We are quite happy to say that baby still shows to be happy in Mom, so we can continue at home bed rest and aren't rushing to the hospital.  Baby was estimated at 3lbs 13 oz, so up about 10 oz in the last two weeks.  For your frame of reference, a "normal" baby at this point would be above 5 lbs, gaining about 1/2 pound every week (16oz every two weeks).  So we're still in the bottom 10%, hoping now that we can get into the high 4lb range.  5lbs would be a wonderful suprise, but starting to look unlikely unless the baby is playing tricks on the ultrasound (which Mom knows is a possibility :))

As of today, we scheduled a morning induction on March 21st.  This date could change depending on a number of factors, but that's the goal date as of now.  It will put the baby at 37 weeks.  The biggest risk for the delivery will be that being a smaller baby, it will not tolerate labor well, which puts us at higher risk for emergency C-section.  The biggest risk for after the baby is born is ability to gain weight, regulate temperature, and jaudice...those are the things that would lead to a few days in the NICU.  Best case is that we still have a regular birth and baby has no NICU stay, and that's what we're praying for!

Lilly and Carolyn are still doing well through this.  Carolyn needs a few extra Mommy times of just snuggling, an Lilly has figured out how to capitialize on the situation for her advantage in choice of clothing and foods... I would say Dad is just surviving at this point :)  He is proving to have skills that he never knew (or whated to know) that he had and is now considering being a stay at home dad (NOT!!!)  But in truth, I can't imagine a better husband and thank God every day for him.  I feel perfectly fine except being really sore in the hips from being on bedrest...and the occasional breakdown because I can't help out around the house when I can see something that needs done.  When that happens I continue to browse online shops looking for what new baby gear or clothes we might need...I have quite a list going :)

What has also been great for all 5 of us is the wonderful support of our friends and family.  Thank you Thank you for all the babysitting, food, time with me watching TV, cleaning, and words of encouragement.  It has been humbling and I am keeping it all documented so we never forget that love for our family of 5!

Update on Baby #3

Heres all the details of what's going on with baby Shafer! Monday at the weight check via ultrasound, the baby showed to have slowed in growth significantly. They immediately put me on bed rest and twice a weeks checks on bAby. The hope is bed rest will supply the placenta and baby with more rest and food to function better. Update from the doctor At Thursday's appt was favorable.  We had ultrasound/ bio physical profile to check fluid and see if baby was "happy".  All signs point to baby still being quite happy!  Justin went with me, so we grilled the doctor with questions and have a better idea of what to expect from here on out.  We learned that I'm officially high risk with a small for gestational age (SGA) baby, which occurs in their office about 1 out of every 100 babies they deliver.

Next week I will have two appointments, each checking baby's happiness level (ie fluid, heart, movement, practicing breathing, etc).  If anything looks like baby has changed to unhappy, they would admit me to the hospital for monitoring immediately and probably induce labor soon after.  This is probably a low possibility, as the baby has been very stable in this area.

The week after, March 5th, I will have another weight check of the baby via ultrasound.  This is where there has been all the concern, and so probably carries the most risk of sending me to the hospital depending on baby's size and condition.  They would probably do hospital bed rest and then eventually induce labor before full term (37 weeks).  

Hopefully the baby passes the weight check and I can continue bed rest at home, while receiving the weekly monitoring at my doctors twice a week.  Assuming baby stays happy, at   the 37 th week, they will induce labor, which would be around March 22 nd.  This is because at that point the baby will be fully developed and would do better to gain weight outside the womb than inside where it has struggled.

All scenarios put us at having a 3 to 5 lb baby... We are hoping to get near 5 by delivery time.  This means the baby may have some time in the NICU, but the closer to March 22 nd we deliver, the less likey that is.  The pro to a small for gestational age (SGA) baby is that they tend to develop their lungs quicker than normal or big babies, so we have a good chance that the baby, even if born a little early, will have good lung development.  The reasons for going to NICU would probably be more around ability to eat or gain weight.  The NICU at Good Sam is one of the best in the country, so we are in good hands with that if we need it.

So to recap... Mark your calendars for March 22 nd and cross your fingers and say a few prayers that we make it to then and baby grows near the 5 lb mark!  Justin and I are very happy to still know that the one thing we still have a happy surprise for on delivery day is finding out boy or girl, since all of these other things will kinda take the anticipation of going into labor away.  We are also so thankful for all the support thus far and in the coming weeks.

Baby Countdown!

Well since Baby Trevor came into the world this week for Miss Ashley, Lilly now wants our baby to come and asks every 15 minutes or so... Which is driving me nuts :). So we made a paper chain to countdown to baby's due date. The two big sisters are VERY excited to see the paper chain get smaller and closer to baby's birthday! It's also a nice reminder for this busy momma that we need to get a few things ready for baby too!

Baby Number Three Update!

So baby number three is being a little tricky and already is insisting on some special attention. Baby is measuring smaller than the girls and doctors want to keep an extra eye on the baby's development. So every week from now on we are having a weekly ultrasound to say hello to the little babe. The first session was today and everything still looked good, so we are all happy. To keep our minds happy and ( remind me to eat as much as possible) we created the wall of baby to journal all the ultrasounds and watch baby grow.

Rocker girls!

Music time is becoming a beloved part of the day...it always starts with everyone being happy, singing and dancing...and always ends with a fight over the microphone...maybe one day I'll break down and buy a second :)

Pretty in Pink

Everyone is extra happy this morning because we are wearing our current favorite outfits, which happen to be explosions of pink! Thought you all might enjoy their happy smiles as well!