Snowmen Big and Small

There was (barely) enough snow to make a couple snowmen, so we got our winter gear on and headed outside and rolled some little snowballs into big snowballs. We managed to make a good-sized snowman big enough to hug, and a little guy more Sophia's size.
 
 
 
 

Sitting Pretty

 
 
 
 

Brother and Sister

Getting along famously...
 
 
 
 

Surgery Date

In the last post we told you that Jacob has been diagnosed with a hernia. The only thing we were waiting for was a date for his surgery. Well, we now have that date. He will be getting his hernia fixed on December 1...very early in the morning. So keep him in your thoughts. It's not a particularly challenging surgery, but he's a little guy so good vibes and prayers are appreciated!

Reading to Baby Brother

Sophia has a significant interest in books and reading, and here she is sharing here love of books with baby brother. It's not clear if he (or she) knows what the book is about, but the experience is bound to bring them together (get it, bound? like a book?)

 

Sleeping Jacob

Jacob is so cute when he sleeps, especially when it is on the chest (or belly) of someone else...

 
 
(of course, Sophia needs belly time too)
 
 
 
 
 

And Then He Smiled at Me...

Well, yesterday was a little milestone day for us here at the Gerhard house. Jacob was unusually alert in the morning, as we waited for some friends to come over for a playdate. He was looking around, taking in life and all that is has to offer. As he was hanging out, watching, I took my finger and ran it gently down his cheek. Instead of getting the usual rooting response, he actually twitched a half smile at me. Within seconds the half smile became a whole open mouth smile. It was a magic moment. I actually got him to smile at me twice. I then tried to get him to smile for David, but, alas, it was not meant to be. Since yesterday Jacob has smiled again for me. David is beginning to believe that I am imagining things, because the boy resolutely refuses to smile for David. Sigh.

The couple of weeks have been a little stressful for us. Jacob seemed to be feeding all the time...like once or twice an hour! I couldn't get anything done. This feeding frenzy just marked the 6 week growth spurt, I suppose. He was sleeping well though...one night he even slept six hours in a row! Amazing!

We had our six week check up... I scored just fine and Jacob is growing at a good rate. He is solidly in the 5-10 percentile for weight and height. So, he's not a big baby. But we knew that already.

Here's the comparison with week 2:
week 2
WEIGHT - 3.0 Kg (6.6 pounds)
LENGTH - 46.5 Cm (18.3 inches)
HEAD - 34.0 cm

week 6
WEIGHT - 3.68 kg (about 8.1 pounds)
LENGTH - 51.5 Cm (20.3 inches)
HEAD - 36.0 Cm

So he is certainly growing...


And now for our reason why we haven't blogged in while.
Just about two weeks ago, I noticed a strange bulge in Jacob's groin area as I changed his diaper. It wasn't too big so I didn't do more than just take a mental note of it. Later on in the evening, again as I was changing his diaper, I noticed the bulge was now bigger and quite defined. It was about the shape and width of my thumb. I called David up to get his male expert opinion about the normalcy of this kind of thing. Well, he told me that it wasn't normal and we should probably take Jacob into the doctor. Well, this all happened on Remembrance Day... nothing like a medical issue on a holiday. This meant that our usual walk in clinic was closed. I quickly made the decision to take Jacob into the ER. I got myself ready for the possibility of a long wait. We hurried (me and Jacob, as this happened at bedtime for Sophia) over to the General Hospital. We didn't wait too long. The ER doctor quickly diagnosed Jacob with an inguinal hernia. The doctor got in contact with a pediatric surgeon (the only one in Regina, it turns out). And we were on our way home again (only after an hour and a half --they tend to rush babies in!). By Friday we had an appointment with the pediatric surgeon, who confirmed the hernia and explained the process and risks for surgery. As it stands right now, Jacob is waiting for an early December surgery date. This is a fairly routine surgery, as a good percentage of baby boys have this kind of hernia. They just need to go in, replace the bowel, and suture the hole in the muscle. easy --a 30 to 40 minute surgery. It will be day surgery.

So for now, we gently move the bowel back to it's normal spot and as long as we are able to do this easily we are in the clear until the surgery date. Then little Jacob will be relieved of his discomfort. It's a bit scary thinking of our little, little guy going into surgery, but we trust the doctors and the staff who will be with him. We just want to have the issue solved.

You understand, now, why our focus hasn't been on the blog? Right??? Thanks for your patience.

Here are some newer shots of the Jacob boy.

Newborn Photos

We had our good friend Pam take these pictures when Jacob was just one week old. Pam is an amazing photographer and we are very lucky to have these as a remembrance of just how little he was when he was born.

There are many more but several of them are a little risque for online dissemination. His widdle tushy is sooooo cute, though.

 
 
 
 
 

Green alligators and Long Necked Geese...

This Halloween, Sophia had a wonderful unicorn costume that Tricia found second-hand at the Cozy Cradles, a local consignment store (you'd be amazed at the stuff that can be found second hand). There were little wings with elastic bands for her wrists, so she can fly, too, but to my mind, that blurs the "magical horse" myth a bit. It was Pegasus who had wings, after all, and in most of the rainbow-hued glitter-encrusted unicorn pictures that I've ever seen, the unicorns don't have wings. But Sophia loved it and it was a big hit. The bonus, of course, was that she was nice and toasty warm.

Kelvin was a Ghostbuster, William was a Bat, Marie-eve was a witch, Tricia had just had a baby so was giving out candy, and Jacob was still a raisin.