Who says I don't look like my Mimmy?

30 days down...

Well, our Jak is going to be one month old tomorrow. It's hard to believe that last month around this time I was starting to have contractions. Boy does time fly! She is turning into such a beautiful little baby. She is starting to smile more and get a little personality. All day long I stare at her and wonder what she'll look like when she gets older. So far, she is taking after me. She is very fair and has strawberry blonde hair and no lips. You wouldn't know her to look at her, but she is part Italian. I guess she's kind of like Prego - You can't see it, but "it's in there." Regardless, she is the most beautiful baby ever put on this planet and no, I'm not biased. My mom thinks so too, and if you can't believe your own mother, then who can you believe? :)

I'll leave you with some of Jak's best moments of the past 30 days...

With Mommy in the hospital

Jak and Grandma K

Laughing at Mommy

Chillin' with her cuiccio (Italian for pacifier)

Sleeping with Mimmy

No more pictures!

One of my favorite songs

In My Daughter's Eyes

by Martina McBride

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I want to be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes
Everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light
And the world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me
Gives me strength when I'm weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart
Has had enough
It's givin' more when you feel like givin' up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes
I can see the future
A reflection of who I am
And what we'll be
And though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone
I hope you'll see
How happy she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes

She slept!

Tonight was a milestone. Jak slept...without being held by someone. It has been a struggle to put her down since we brought her home. She prefers to be held at all times, and we prefer not to hear her scream her lungs out, so we endulge her. Now don't get me wrong - we do put her down and try to let her sleep on her own, but mommies can only take hearing their baby cry for so long.

Well tonight we put her in her swing (which she has hated until now) and let her cry for a bit. Then, to our amazement, she stopped and fell asleep. Meredith and I were in such shock that we couldn't even finish our dinner. We grabbed the digital camera, the video camera, and my phone so I could call my mom and tell her. She slept on her own for 20 minutes before she cried and we picked her up. We are so proud!

Flying by

Our little girl is 2 weeks old today. When I was pregnant, it seemed like it took years to go from one week to the next. Now that I'm home with Jak it seems like only hours ago she was born. I cannot believe how fast these last two weeks have gone....and I don't like it. She is doing new things every day, and I can already see how much she's changed since she was born. I can tell that the next 18 years are just going to fly by. Remind me that I feel this way when she's a teenager.

Don't let her fool you...she's not always sleeping.

Zzzz...

Introducing Jak

She's here! After 12 hours of labor, the little person we waited 9 months for made her entrance into the world on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 7:05 a.m. She weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 18.8 inches long. She is perfect.

I was scheduled to be induced at 9 p.m. on Wednesday January 26th, but went into labor on my own at 7:11 p.m. that night. By the time we got to the hospital around 8:45 p.m., I was already in pretty heavy labor. Once I was admitted, I was 2 cm and 70% effaced. I got my epidural and quickly went from 2 to 5 cm...then 8cm...then 10cm. Another quick dose of epidural, then it was time to push. After an hour and 20 minutes, she was here. Meredith got to cut the umbilical cord and be the first person to hold her.

We spent two nights in the hospital and got home on Saturday the 29th and it's been heaven ever since...except I imagine that in heaven you get to sleep from time to time. Even with the lack of sleep, and the constant checking to make sure she is still breathing, I wouldn't change this for the world. I don't know how I ever lived this long without Jak. Now we are a family. Now my life really begins....