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!