February

Well, it's February again! I start getting excited in February because that means it's almost March, and there are a lot of nice, warmish days in March. It feels great to know that the bulk of the winter is behind us!

Life has been pretty insane lately. My school has really starting picking up speed. I now have completed 54 of my 210 clinical capstone hours in the NICU. It has been really fun being there and working with all the tiny babies, but also very sobering. I feel so much compassion for the parents of those little ones. I took care of one little girl who was severely immature. Her parents were young college students, much like Scott and myself, and they actually had her just a week or two before we had Peyton. So we both have 2 month old babies yet I get to go home and take care of mine, watch him smile, wiggle and play, and all they can do is come to the hospital several times everyday to see her in her incubator/isolette. They have been doing this for over two months with no near end in sight. It is heart breaking. For some reason, I just didn't realize how sad the NICU would be. The good news is that a vast majority of the babies I take care of will get older, stronger and better and be able to go home and start a fairly normal childhood thanks to modern technology and nursing care. It is great to see their parents when it is time to take the baby home!

Anyway, in Peyton news, my little boy is now 9 weeks old! I took him in for his 2 month doctor visit and shots on Friday and he handled it so well. He didn't cry that much and although he was a little bit fussier than usual, he was very manageable for the rest of the day. Here's some facts about Peyton lately:

-He now weighs 13 lbs 8oz! That is the 90th percentile- he is a VERY big boy. I love his fat cheeks the best and kiss them all the time.
-He smiles! After he has gotten up from a nap and eaten is the best time for smiles. He grins huge, makes all these baby noises and kicks his legs and arms like crazy! Too bad every time I try to capture it on film he stops immediately. I guess he is camera shy
-He likes to stick out his tongue. A lot. It's like he is testing the temperature of the air or something. Out in, out in, out in.
-He likes to lick anything his tongue is close to including blankets, arms, binkies, his hands, etc. This is definite licking, not sucking.
-He does kind of suck on his hands. Sometimes I wake up to these smacking noises and I think it is him sucking his hands
-Sleep is still a battle at nighttime. Some nights he does well and sleeps for a couple of 3-4 hour stretches, others he is awake and wants to play. All night. Ah! I finally got the Healthy Sleep Habits book in the mail, now I just need to find the energy to read it
-His size 1-2 diapers are getting too small :( and his 3 month old close are becoming tight
-He still likes to be swaddled to sleep
-When he is awake, he is often in the "T" position. This is where his body and legs are super straight and his arms go straight out to the sides

My baby is growing up so fast! He truly seems like a big boy now even though he is only 2 months old. Life is getting more fun now that his personality is coming out a little. These pictures aren't the best, but it's all I've got right now! Witness the chunk:

5 Weeks old

I can't believe my baby is already 5 weeks old! We have had a great time getting to know him and enjoying all the cute little things he does. Here are some interesting little tid bits about Peyton:

-He is a very sweet baby and cries sometimes, but can always be comforted pretty easily by holding him tightly and bouncing
-He does not like sponge baths, but LOVES having his hair washed and now being able to take a real bath (since his cord FINALLY fell off completely)
-He is a very noisy sleeper
-He's good at going through 2 diapers per diaper change (there's a tendency to go during the change about every other change)
-He has strong legs and can support his weight for about 2-3 seconds before crumpling
-He can almost roll over from his tummy to his back
-He is over 11 lbs now and has several new fat rolls forming
-Last night he was asleep all night except for feedings, including one 5 hour stretch!!

That last one is probably the reason I finally have enough energy to blog! Peyton has had his days and nights confused for about 3 weeks, staying up almost all night and sleeping all day. Suddenly last night he was just out! Of course I still woke up every couple of hours to feed him, but he went right back to sleep each time and slept soundly. All three of us feel great and well-rested today! I am trying hard not to get my hopes up that this trend could possibly continue, but I am definitely enjoying it now. Without further delay, here are some photos I took this morning of our cute little boy. Also, check out the post before this for tons of other pictures from the past month

December 2009

ok, so here is a myriad of photos taken during Peyton's first month of life! There are several important "firsts" such as the first bath at home, using the car seat for the first time, first holds by grandma's and great-grandma's etc. It has been so fun to have him here with us.

9 Days Old

I can't believe our little guy is already a week old. It has been an exciting, joyful, stressful, wonderful week. We have been having so much fun taking care of Peyton- learning all of the cute little things he does and just enjoying being parents. My mom has been here and it's been really great to have her- I havent had to do any housework all week! Which is awesome because I'm still really sore and am just getting to the point where I have a little more energy to deal with things other than the absolute bare minimum (eating, sleeping, taking care of the baby). Anyway, here are some more pictures of Peyton, including lots of father-son time, and some of his cute faces. Of course I don't think the pictures do his cuteness justice but my photography skills are slowly improving. So, enjoy!

Peyton Dale Jensen

We are so so happy to introduce our sweet baby, Peyton. He was born on Friday, December 4 at 2:20pm at the American Fork Hospital and we have been in love ever since! He is a big boy- 9lbs 3oz 20in- and I'm feeling it. I'm learning it is very hard work having a baby and taking care of him, but totally worth it. The birth went great and I kept thinking to myself "I am SO glad I live in 2009- this would really hurt if I was doing this 30 years ago!" As it was, I was able to get a wonderful epidural and feel very little. It was so great to finally be able to meet him after all this time. Anyway, here are some pictures. Scott was in charge of the picture-taking and I think he did a pretty good job, even though we'll have to forgive him for forgetting not documenting the first bath lol. I'll post some more pics soon whenever I get a chance to upload them. Happy Birthday Peyton!

Thankfulness

Good news! Scott has been studying many hours a day for the past 4-5 weeks for the first actuarial exam. He took it yesterday - and passed! To put the significance of this event into perspective, consider the following: There is absolutely no way to get a job as an actuary without passing at least this first exam. The exams are very very difficult and math/statistics-intensive - this test only has a 33% national pass rate. So, you can imagine how proud I was that Scott passed it on his first try! This is important to our family because it is pretty much the first solid step in the direction of a good career for Scott. There have been a lot of other opportunities for jobs and things this semester, but none that have seemed to fit very well. Hopefully, Scott will be able to pass at least one more exam before we graduate in April and then maybe we'll get a job! It is so exciting to think about moving on from college and out of Provo!

We're pretty excited about life, to say the least. We have a lot to be thankful for- we have great families who we love so much, we are in our last legs of college, we have a great marriage with lots of love, and we are being blessed to be the parents of a new little boy soon. Seriously, I feel that Heavenly Father has been looking out for us this year. Every time we get nervous about finances or plans for the future, money seems to show up out of nowhere and opportunities arise. It has happened countless times. Not to mention the help we have both received with school - me especially. It hasn't been easy being pregnant, working, and going to school full time but somehow I have worked more hours than ever before and have not just passed my tests and assignments, but actually gotten really good grades- including several 100's on tests and papers. Now with Scott passing this actuary exam, we are really realizing how few of the good things that are happening to us can be attributed to our own efforts. It is very humbling. I'm not sure what the Lord has in store for us, but he is obviously helping us get somewhere.

One More Week (hopefully)

So, long story short- nothing is happening. I know I'm not supposed to be expecting anything like a baby this soon because I still have one more week until my official due date, and even then it could be later but... I am getting very impatient! I did too good of a job COMPLETELY clearing out my schedule for from now until finals (Dec. 14-19) so now I am actually quite bored. Which is not conducive to helping time go by quickly. I did start a project- I'm making some covers for a few old throw pillows- but it is annoying because I dont have a sewing machine and you wouldn't believe how long it takes to sew the simplest things by hand! FOREVER! Which also doesn't help in the waiting game.
I guess I am in a weird place. It is hard to be motivated to do anything productive or meaningful because I am so big, cranky, and ache all over but I definitely can't sit around either because I will go crazy! Plus, I don't want to plan anything too extreme - just in case the baby does decide to show up. So, what to do? What did you do to pass the time in the days before your baby showed up?