Have lots of kids = lots of stories

We have a broken washing machine in our back yard and I was changing our laundry and notice the lid was up. Being that it is surrounded by rocks I knew that couldn't be a good sign. It is broken already so they can't do more damage to it but still. So I asked the three likely suspects, Logan, Haylie and Hannah. Logan looked a me with his big blue innocent eyes and promised me it wasn't him, Haylie and Hannah also said it wasn't them. So I pulled the one of you are lying since obviously the rocks don't climb in themselves card. Hannah quickly ratted out Logan. He denied it at first then realized that he was busted. He took his punishment with out tattling on his sisters and I went back out in the garage and realized that the twins do everything with Logan and he is smart enough to have an accomplice so he won't get in trouble alone. I call Haylie and Hannah back (this is the funny part I promise!) and asked if they put rocks in the washing machine too. Hannah shook her head with a guilty no, Haylie nodded with a guilty yes. Realizing that the other didn't give the same answer they switch, Haylie with a guilty no and Hannah with a guilty yes. They were right next to each other but didn't look at the other. It was comical that they responded unknowingly the same way. I asked again and the same thing. You would be proud at my ability to keep a straight face. I wasn't mad so it was harder than you might think. I asked a third time they both bow their heads and look up at me with pleading green (or are they hazel?) eyes and both nod in agreement. Needless to say they are in trouble for lying not the rocks. Little punks! At least they are mine, they are cute, and they can still make me laugh!

Drive-Thru Thursday

When we had a change in our Bishopric, the former Bishop's wife talked about Tuesday meeting nights. Since he had meetings that night she got out of cooking dinner and they created Taco (Bell) Tuesday. Miranda picked up on that right away. When Jeremy got called into the bishopric it meant that he had meetings/visits on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as Sundays. Miranda got excited and exclaimed "now we have Taco Tuesday!" Since the time on Thursday is a little earlier we decided to instill Drive-Thru Thursday, we didn't want to be limited to tacos, ha-ha!

So here's to Thursday and me not cooking. It is lousy timing when I am trying to loose baby weight, oh well. I guess I may have to get Wii Fit to balance out the fast food! Besides it is for the betterment of our family.

Wii are family

So we have had a busy few weeks of adjustment. I am proud to say we have joined the craze of about every other average and not average American family and are now proud owners of a Wii. I think Jeremy got tired of me asking for one and telling everyone that he doesn't want video games in our house. Great Grandma June gives everyone money for Christmas so we (just our household) pooled all our money and bought one. Wa-Hoo! We got it all set up yesterday. Everyone got to try it out. After the kids went to bed Jeremy and I tried our hand at tennis then bowling. It was like a date. Funny thing is that our score looked very similar to what it would be had we actually went bowling. It is a whole ton of fun. I look forward to the family fun time we get to have.

What games are a must have? Looking for suggestions, especially ones that Haylie, Hannah and Miranda would like, they have birthdays coming up real soon!

A few changes

The best news, I got 5 hours of solid sleep last night. Then when Jackson woke up he nursed. It has been almost 24 hours with out a bottle wa-hoo! We went to his 2 week check up yesterday he is now weighing in at 9lbs 8oz. He is doing well for him self. He is in about the 75th percentile so he is a decent size kid!

If today is bliss yesterday was just about the opposite. The baby is still adorable, and it is a good thing too. I was so beyond tired, I could be found doing something silly. I ended up with a headache, blurry spots in my vision, and at the doctors appointment I had a hard time focusing on the questionnaire, hopefully I answered the post partum questions correctly! I came home and Jeremy took the kids from about 1pm to 5pm while I slept and rested. It was much needed and felt awesome. It feels like Jackson has been in our home forever, like there was not life without him. It's hard to believe it has only been two weeks.

In other news, the day Jackson got circumcised, Lauren got her shots. She has been having a mild fever earlier this week and this morning I changed her diaper and discovered this

She has been cranky and a little fever, and not eating. So when we saw the rash we were able to say a-ha, here's the reason...other than a new baby to change her place in the family, of course! It fits in with a reaction to her immunizations so hopefully it will pass soon. She has been so sleepy. We have been giving her naps but by dinner time she is beside her self so we put her down for another nap. She will sleep for 5:00pm until 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning. Luckiy it's not contagious otherwise Jackson and I may need to evacuate the premises, maybe someplace like Hawaii. A girl can dream right?!

Lastly, my helpmeet is going back to work on Monday. I am sure going to miss him. Not just because he has been letting me not help get the kids ready for school, making them lunch, cooking, cleaning, cleaning, cooking, shopping, staying up late with me. I am just complete when he is near me and it is always an adjustment when he goes back to work. I am such a baby. He still will get to come home for lunch and will still be off by 4:30 most days, and I will still get to sleep in on Wednesdays. So with all the rambling, thank you Jeremy for making this tough adjustment with me, for being supportive and comforting. Thanks for taking the time off of work while you watch the pile grow in your absence. I am not sure I could have made it through this last week without you by my side. I love you!

That's Right He can be Taught!

Today was another church day. The talks were lovely and there ended with about 15 minutes or so left in Sacrament meeting. Jeremy in his new calling got to speak off the cuff for the last little bit. Hopefully the message I got was one that he shared but none the less I needed to hear. he talked about Jesus being our friend. Not just any friend but one we "have never met in this life" and one who has felt every sorrow, burden, trial, etc. knowing that we can never be that kind of friend, He was the only one capable of that. With my "nursing woes" it reminded me that he felt my sorrow and is here with me. It is a message one can't hear enough. Our Savior loves each of us and he HAS been there and he loves us unconditionally no matter how imperfect and undeserving we are. It was a good reminder.

So I came home from church, it was a little crazy, we are getting into the new routine of after church with out dad. Jackson pooped out of his diaper at church, I had a half ounce of milk for him to drink. He fell asleep and I didn't want to change him until I had a meal to give him. I know obviously not a first time mom, and a mean one too! As soon as we pull up to the house the kids are asking 1,000,000 times, can we eat our candy (our new bishop has a sweet selection! Junior mints!) Of course everyone needs to get changed, I need to use the restroom, Jackson needs attention, yada, yada, yada! So I get Jackson changed, he pooped again right before I changed him, then as I was changing him he gassed on my hand, my heart started racing, beads of sweat accumulating and I wanted to duck and cover. (I haven't needed a Pee-Pee Tee-Pee yet!) I was safe and he was secure if you know what I mean! He got cleaned up, I washed my hands THOROUGHLY and grabbed the little half ounce bottle and sat down to feed him. He drank his bottle with a great latch, tongue under the nipple...then I tried to nurse him. Wouldn't you be surprised he latched on and actually nursed, albeit slowly, but stayed on for 25 minutes. I truly contemplated how awkward it would feel if I left him there and knew that would never work. As he was nursing, I knew that Heavenly Father loved me and wanted me to know that He hasn't forgot about me, which I never did doubt. It was a little reminder that Jackson will get it and it was a little encouragement to keep me going. I was also reminded that Heavenly Father has a ton of blessings waiting for me as long as I am obedient to His commandments. So this was a withdrawal from my never empty blessing bank, or credit union...

Thanks to everyone who left encouraging messages on my previous post. It was great to see so many kind words and thoughts.

Nursing woes

I never know if it makes people uncomfortable using the word breastfeeding or if nursing is the better term, either way this is what this post is about, so if it makes you uncomfortable you may want to skip this post. I have been lucky that I have had no problems with nursing, besides of course, the nipple soreness and cracked skin, etc. I assumed that this would be a piece of cake, I had been successful 4 other times including twins. When Jackson was born he latched on immediately and seemed to be eager. I would say he latched on the best of any of the kiddos. In leaving the hospital things continued to go well, with the exception that he had tongue-tie. I figured the uncomfortable latching on, was normal. As it turns out it is a problem. By Monday I was engorged with milk and had a big blood blister on the tip of my nipple. I had been pumping which is awesome when you are engorged, I highly recommend renting a pump for the first month. We gave him the bottle, which he takes, just not very expertly. Now he doesn't latch on and goes on and pulls off and cries and kicks his little leg like he is in pain. I cry, he cries and the cycle continues. Yesterday we got his frenum clipped, he latched on right away and I cried, do you sense a post-partum pattern? I was thrilled. Jeremy kindly stated that it doesn't mean everything will be perfect, and he was right. He hasn't nursed since. Although now he will sort of latch on, he will not suck.

I am not one to believe that nursing is the only way to go when feeding your baby, it is what I want for my newborns though. As I was trying to nurse him and he was pulling away crying, I realized how bad I want this to work. I know he is not rejecting me but it feels like I am broken. I can't describe it, like I am having an out of body experience. It has worked so effortlessly before and now I have no control. I also know that Jackson is my last baby and I want to be able to bond with him that way.

I finally got on the net today and looked up a few related things. I was encouraged to come across a story that a lady had dried up and wanted to nurse again. After 5 months she was able to produce milk and her baby latched on. It was a long road and she persevered and it eventually worked. My endurance is not that great but knowing it happens is encouraging. I talked to the Lactation consultant at our hospital and she also gave me some good advice and encouragement. She explained that since his tongue was basically chained to the bottom of his mouth, he needs to learn to use that muscle in a new way. Then she gave me homework!

I am truly grateful for the time that we live, for the information that surrounds us. I know there are lots of things that would make me wish for a safer time, but I know this was the time I was meant to live. I am grateful for the people I come into contact with that have had their own experiences that put mine into perspective. If Jackson never gets the hang of nursing he will not suffer, at least he eats and he is still getting breastmilk. I know those two things are a blessing and I am extremely grateful. Not nursing will not have him end up in a hospital, he will continue to be in my care. I do love this little guy, I know I have said it a ton of times, but he is gorgeous. I am not just saying that because he is mine, well maybe I am!

Thinking back we have had concerns with each of our "healthy" children. Miranda was born with Hip Clicks. She was in a brace for the first month, then we got to ween her down by the third month. Logan was fairly normal. We had to deal with the circumcision, which was new for me, I came from a family of all girls, boys are weird. His belly button bled a lot and his eye had tons of discharge. Again, these are normal but we spent a lot of time with the advice nurse. (when he was older his rectum would push out, luckily that is just a muscle weakness and has since corrected itself). With Haylie and Hannah it was mostly the beginning. They weren't getting enough food and I had no idea, I thought they might be colicky. Nope, I was starving them and didn't know the signs. Lauren was born at such a large birth weight that I needed to make sure she was fed every two hours. It was a concern that she couldn't regulate her blood sugar. And now with Jackson it is breastfeeding. None of these have any life long repercussions, but all caused tears and fears for a short time.

When all is said and done this will pass and I am sure I will wonder why I was so worried.

A Video about the baby!

The Grand Finale

...The Jacobs Caboose, The Cherry on Top of the Jacobs Family Sundae, our baby!

He's here and we are home! our family is complete. Everything went well with minor complications. I don't think he enjoyed being to close to the birth canal so he stayed head down just not "engaged." They were afraid to break my bag of water for fear that his umbilical cord would get pinched and it would end in an emergency c-section. Finally they let it be my choice if I wanted to take the risk. I did, I wanted to get the show on the road! I got the epidural, it worked wonders for most of the painful parts. There were two spots that it wasn't touching. The happy-dural lady tried to help even it out and she was able to take the edge off of the pain. In about 3 hours I went from 4 to pushing, 15 minuets later little dude was here. He was born January 8 (Elvis' birthday, we will allow you to call him "The King" if you want).at 5:50 pm. He weighed a mere 9lbs 2oz, and was 21 inches long. His head was 15" round. He looks a lot, well exactly like Logan did in his baby pictures. His name is Jackson Ralph Jacobs. Jackson after my Great Grandpa Jack (although his name was really John, I really don't get the nickname) and Ralph after Jeremy's Grandpa. Both men were remarkable.

We have all our kids at the same location and had mostly great experiences. This one was by far the best. My doctor actually delivered my baby which is unusual. It is usually whoever is on call. The nurses in Labor and Delivery were fabulous and the ones who were in Post-Partum were equally fabulous. It was good enough that I almost would do it again, but not really that good.

Both me and Jackson are doing well and healthy. Jackson is what they called tongue-tied. The little skin that attaches your tongue to the bottom of your mouth goes all the way to the end of his tongue. I guess it is really no big deal we can have it snipped if we want. We will see how breastfeeding goes and go from there.

Our favorite quote before Jackson was born Logan was telling Jeremy what Jackson would say when he was born:

In case you can't understand Logan says "Helllooo Lay-tees" (Hello Ladies!) We have a picture of Jackson with his hands in a similar position. He just had his Vitamin K drops in his eyes.

He is an awesome baby and is doing well all his siblings are excited to have him be a part of our family. Lauren took some time getting used to him. I realize now that she thinks he is her doll. She was extremely possessive of him and when she wanted his hat on or off him. She was also a little bossy about how his blanket would cover him. This is going to be fun! Logan can sit there and hold him or just look at him for hours. The other three girls adore him and will want to do everything they can to take care of him. This is going to be one loved little cutie!

The Green Light

I got the go ahead and have an 8:30 am appointment with Pitocin. Ya-hoo! Wish me luck, and wish grandma luck as she will have sole responsibility of 5 children! I hope she still likes us when it's over...although she may need a vacation.

Now on to the next question...Epidural or not? I fell again last night and pulled a groin muscle, man does that hurt. I am walking like I am 80, most people probably think it is just because I am unusually large in the belly region!

I love Curlz

Last night I decided to give the girls a bath since the mornings are getting a little tight for time. I motivated them by putting sponge curlers in their hair. It was a first for Haylie and Hannah. This morning I took Miranda's curlers out and most of her hair went flat right away. The girl has lots of hair. So hers didn't work out so well. I took Haylie's out first then pulled the curls down, it seriously looked like a really bad perm. It was so frizzy at the ends. Then Hannah's I just took the curlers out and left it. I worked Haylie's curls a little so it looked a little less fizzy. Here are some pictures. Hannah is first since that is what both heads looked like pre-running my fingers through it.

I didn't take any of Miranda because she was at school, plus it was mostly straight anyways with a few stubborn curls. I may take a few pictures later when and if the curls relax a little.

This is 18 months ago, so the girls were a bit over two. They had beautiful little curls. Then they started growing up! Now they have natural ringlets...immediately after a bath!

The change...

Most of you think that the change I am referring to is that we are now a family of 8. That will be the NEXT change but not the one I am referring to. At church Jeremy has served for the last almost three years as Elder's Quorum President. Which means he "over sees" all men 18 and over, until they are High Priests (generally the older people but it isn't by age), along with the families that it encompasses. He has truly enjoyed it and I have supported him with mostly a supportive attitude. There have been a few late night calls, lots of moves (in and out), meetings, confidential stuff, as well as some fun stuff too. Last Sunday Jeremy and I were asked to meet with our Stake President. (In our church you have a Bishopric that consists of a Bishop and two counselors, they oversee the whole ward, then there is the Stake Presidency which consists of the Stake President and his two counselors, they over see several wards, then it goes on from there in a similar manner, up until the General Presidency which consists of the President of the Church and his two counselors. They "over see" the whole church world wide. Right now it is President Thomas S. Monson with Henry B. Eyering and Dieter F. Uchtdorf who serve as his counselors. In each presidency the Bishop or President do the main duties while his counselors are mainly there as support. Now back to the change, I just thought this might be helpful if you don't understand the structure of the LDS church) So we got called in by our stake president, I knew I was safe but also was aware of some changes happening in the stake presidency as well as our ward's Bishopric. I looked at Jeremy and knew it was a meeting I wasn't going to be thrilled about, I am still very selfish. Jeremy was asked to be the second counselor in our Bishopric. He kept his smile and I smiled as tears over flowed. Need I remind you I am very pregnant. I said I will support him and I will. So this Sunday he was called and sustained, so not only am I married to a Counselor in the Bishopric but a High Priest, one of the OLD guys. I am too young for that! With all that being said this isn't about me it is about Jeremy. I am excited for the growth that will come for him and the spiritual strength his is for me (I know it is always about me), my family and for those around him. He really is a good guy and I am proud to be his wife, in a humble way of course! I have been told that being a counselor in the Bishopric is a "walk in the park" compared to Elder's Quorum President so that was a relief. The biggest thing is that he has a couple extra Sunday meetings and he won't be able to sit with us during our first meeting at church. I am blessed that we are in the ward with Jeremy's mom and brother so I will not be alone taking care of our kids (AKA keeping them quiet). We have already had lots of people offer to help as needed. We are abundantly blessed by the amount of people who adore our family and are willing to help out. I can't tell you how good that feels to be surrounded by such good people.

Baby's Location

I had my appointment this morning, so as you can tell baby is still enjoying his little suite for a couple more days. I am dilated to 3cm, 50% effaced with a favorable cervix. Baby is definitely head down. So we are looking good. He thinks the baby is on the normal size. In my memory he may have used the word small but that could just be what I wanted to hear. He did some stretching and WOWZA! that didn't feel too good. Jeremy said it was like watching a guy get kicked in a tender place. (He was near my head). The nice doctor asked if I had a date in mind, and said I could easily go another 5-10 days. I looked at Jeremy for a date request, he said "waiting is not in her vocabulary right now" so I said Wednesday or Thursday. He came back and I have an appointment with pitocin on Thursday at about 7:30, given they have room for me. So we will get to meet our baby boy real soon!

I do have a funny story though. When we pulled into the parking garage at the hospital it was backed up and I had two minutes until my appointment. Jeremy suggested I get out so he could park and I would still be on time. I got out of the car and waited for a couple of cars then a nice lady waved me across. I was SUPPOSED to step over the cub but my toe caught it. From previous experience I learned it hurts less if you don't try to catch yourself. As Jeremy was watching in his rear view mirror I disappeared. The nice lady opened her door as I slowly got up I tried to catch her before she got out of her car, but she made sure I was OK. I smiled trying not to cry out of embarrassment. It only hurt my pride, my knees are a little skinned up and my hand has a little rock in it but my jeans held up great. So there you have it. There were a few witnesses but I think most people were annoyed with the already congested garage and didn't notice, phew!

When the doctor walked in he asked how our holidays went, we told him we had the flu, it was a little rough but good. Having forgot that conversation, when he left he shook Jeremy's hand and said "Sorry about the diarrhea." Then walked out. Jeremy looked at me confused and the first think I thought of was that stretching causes that to happen or maybe I made a mess. Jeremy was thinking he made a mess or that he really shouldn't have shook the doctor's hand. He then looked at me and I put it together with the previous conversation. It was a real quick passing of thoughts but it made us laugh none the less.

A Due Date to Celebrate

This is a first, not that I am passing a due date, that is the standard procedure for me. We did actually have a busy day and ended with a date.

I started out the day with a nice breakfast with the family, then went to a friend's baby shower, I guess this kid didn't want me to miss the celebration of his friend! Then we went to Costco as a family. Came home, and I cooked the kids dinner. Then Mom J. came over and watched the kids so Jeremy and I could go out on a final date before this little boy joins our family outside the womb. We went to Guadalajara Grill. I was tempted to drink the spicy salsa to see if it would help with labor. I figured it would be inappropriate. The we went to see the movie Yes Man with Jim Carrey. It was good but had a couple parts (one mostly) that grossed me out enough to worry about the rest of the film. I wouldn't recommend it. It was a first that we went out on a date when I was 40 weeks pregnant. Yeah!

Monday we have a doctor's appointment and then hopefully I will have an ending date. Or at least some more hope that this will not be a 41+ week pregnancy. Here are a couple of pictures that I took in honor of the day.

I think the kids are excited, Haylie told me that Jackson was taking a bath. He wants to look his best when they meet him.

And Daddy can't wait to meet his second son. I think Jackson was telling him he felt the same way.

Christmas Pictures

Link to Video

Here is for family that wants to see a glimpse of Christmas with 5 little kids. It is probably not as chaotic as you may thing, but we do have our noisy times.