The First Photoshoot in Our Home Studio

Jack
by Barbara Keeler

We ordered a very reasonably priced photo studio from Cowboy Studio, and it arrived just
in time for the weekend.  With the equipment, the photographers and an adorable subject, we gave it a test run.  

None of us have any experience using studio lighting or shooting in this environment, but it was fun to try.  Here are some of our shots. 


Enjoy!

Guard Dog

What are you winking at?!?  That's the only Porsche in this house that you will EVER touch!  ;-)

Monkeying Around

Three Generations of Leven Men
by Barbara Keeler

Nap Time
by Barbara Keeler

Jack's Workout Routine

Like father like son, Jack likes to workout already. When he is not sleeping or nursing, he moves his arms and legs in a rhythmic order. It's absolutely adorable to watch. We think it's the reason he eats so much -- he burns so much calorie doing this Jack-style workout!

Little Jack Has a Big Appetite

After two smooth days in the hospital, the new parents and baby Jack left Medical City Dallas with confidence. 

We were ready to start the new norm at home. The nurses commented that Jack was a great sleeper; even a storm can't wake him up. We were happy that he got my ability to sleep. 

Misleading Introduction

However, the first day at home crushed our optimism. Jack hardly slept and cried between his feedings. He kept showing hunger cues even after an hour of feeding. We quickly dropped to a desperate state. None of us were getting any sleep. I had to send Will upstairs for some sleep since there is nothing he could do. The only way to calm Jack down was to nurse him. 
At the beginning, we were thinking it was the circumcision that changed our quiet sleepy angel into a screaming monster. But he didn't seem to be bothered by diaper changing much. And he became happy as soon as he got milk. I increased the nursing time, hoping he would be full some time. But after the feedings that lasted twice as long as the doctor suggested, he still showed hunger afterwards. My spirits were crushed.





Days turned into ages. Thursday was not any better and we were looking forward to our first checkup with the pediatrician on Friday. The weight check was very depressing; Jack lost 10% birth weight and was only 7lbs. He was 7lbs 12 oz at birth and 7lbs 7oz at discharge. We were doing something wrong.

The lactation consultant suggested pumping more milk after each feeding to increase the milk intake. We started to follow the advice. Rather than nurse him each side for more than 20 minutes, I started to limit the time to 10-15 minutes as she suggested and pumped the rest for him to have at that feeding. 

Pumping is a really good way to know exactly how much he eats. I liked that we had a sense of control. I pumped about 1oz of milk after nursing and got a little less than 2oz if only pumping. That implied that Jack was getting less than 1oz on his own. The consultant told us that he has a really strong suck and he kept working hard, but somehow he was not getting enough milk. 

We significantly increased the times we fed him and the amount of milk he consumed. I felt like that I turned into a cow, a not very productive one. My thoughts were only focused on how to create more milk. 

He didn't improve on Saturday but Sunday night was the first time he slept through some of the night time feedings. Times started to look good again. 

Monday was his week birthday and we went to follow up with Janis, the lactation consultant. We did the before and after weight check again after 15/15 minutes of nursing. Still it didn't tip the readings which meant that he didn't get more than ~1oz of milk. Janis gave me some herb supplements and suggested adding 0.5oz of formula milk to my 2oz of pumped milk. 




Baby Jack gulped the 2.5oz milk down and slept like an angel for 3 hours until we had to wake him up for the next feeding. It seems he had a big appetite. He is a 2.5oz or 3oz baby; but his mommy is a 2oz mommy. Hopefully with the herb supplement, I will increase production soon.

Tuesday at his EarWell appointment, his weight increased to 7lbs and 5oz. We were extremely happy that he started to grow. We are going to continue to supplement my breast milk with formula milk until my milk supply catches up our baby boy's needs. 

Our first parenthood challenge is seemingly under control.

The Eversoles "Drop-By"

Enjoy a few photos from the Eversoles' visit.

Is That A Halo?

Looking Precious

Jackson's First Bath

Tianhong and I suspected that bath time would NOT be Jackson's favorite time.  Unfortunately, we were right.  Nonetheless, he will be cleaned :-).  On the bright side, he wore himself out enough to sleep well.

A Relatively Peaceful Moment

All Done!

Aunt Julie Meets Jackson

Thanks Aunt Julie for picking up Tianhong's parents on the big day!

Julie Meets Her Nephew

Jackson and His Sheep

Birth of Jack

Sunday evening around 7pm, I started to frequently feel minor cramps. I had already felt them before, but it wasn't until Sunday that I started to recognize a pattern. Will suggested downloading a contraction app to keep track of the duration and frequency. It was about 10 minutes between contractions when we started to record them.

I was pleasantly surprised at how little pain there was, and if they weren't regular, I probably wouldn't have known it was the beginning of labor. However, later in the night, I started to realize how inexperienced I was. Minor cramps turned into big cramps, and later turned into full-blown pain. I had to control my breathing to not scream near 3am. Dr. Sigman was right -- you will definitely feel it!

Around 5am, contractions became five minutes apart and in half an hour, they were only 2 minutes apart. I woke up Will and demanded we head for the hospital (Ed.  It's not like Will disagreed ;-)). 

Tianhong Ready to Go

We checked into the delivery wing and a nurse measured that I was only dilated 1cm. She said they might send us home since it will take a while to fully dilate. I was not happy with the suggestion; the pain was growing stronger and I couldn't stand spending time on the road while baby could come any minute.

Luckily Dr. Sigman came around 8am and said my water was bulging, which probably meant that it could break any time. She broke the water and suggested that we wait. I told her that my mom delivered me in 3-4 hours. She was optimistic that I would do the same.

I was debating if I should have epidural. When the contractions hurt so much that I had to scream, and Dr. Sigman explained to Will that at the end, the pain level will double, I immediately asked for the epidural. Time after that felt like a breeze. I was even able to take a nap.
 

Contractions Two Minutes Apart

Dilating from 1cm to 4cm took from 6am to 11am. And it took only 2 hours to dilate from 4cm to 7cm. A little after 2pm, I was fully dilated, and I told the nurse that I could feel him pushing out. She wasn't going to ask Dr. Sigman to come until I pushed a little, but after we did a trial push, she called her to come immediately. 

After 3 or 4 pushes, Jackson was born! I saw him in doctor's hand and remembered asking why he was not crying. Doctor said soon and then I heard his loud cries. Tears rushed to my eyes and he was on top of my chest -- our baby boy was born!