Sorry. I’m back. Had to step away for a second.
Ok….so it was longer than a second. It’s been 6 months! 6 MONTHS!
A lot has happened since the last post. I remember sitting in the room posting to the blog. I remember being a nervous 1st time dad, with a preemie born 6 weeks early. I remember being scared. I remember being proud, Proud as a father, proud of my wife, and proud of my son.
Jakin showed so much fight that week. He was a stubborn boy and he’s stubborn somewhat today. As frustrating as that can be when we’re trying to feed him or soothe him, it’s a trait I’m glad he has. His stubbornness to learn to breathe is part of what has him with us today.
I apologize for not keeping the blog updated over that last 6 months. I had every intention to keep everyone up to speed on the Hoods and Jakin’s growth and development.
Life kinda got in the way. I’ve been busier than ever at work since about 2 weeks prior to Jakin’s birth. It hasn’t really slowed down. And when I get home, I just want to hang out with my boy.
Sure, I spent time on the computer keeping up on current events and my fantasy sports. I posted a fair amount of pictures out there too. But I didn’t keep up with something I love and that’s writing. I missed it, but didn’t want to miss time with my growing family. Liza, Jakin, Kobe and I have had the time of our lives since March 10. The day he joined our family, our whole life changed for the better.
It’s been awesome.
I’ll share the Reader’s Digest version now.
Jakin was born March 10th and had to stay in the special care nursery for 8 days after he was born. Those 8 days were really long in my opinion. Liza spent the entire time at the hospital. I think I stayed 2 nights and drove in the other days. I’d spend all day at the hospital. We’d try to feed him every 3 hours. He was so little and it took time for him to learn the sucking reflex. We’d hope to get an ounce or 2 in him every feeding. They had to add Human Milk fortifier for calories to help him put on weight. I joked that he was on HGH or steroids.
He fought jaundice and spent a lot of time under the blue lights and in a warmer. He didn’t have enough fat to keep warm. We were so happy when he was able to lose the breathing tubes and IV. He showed progress every day, and we know we had a fighter.
I was concerned about Eliza for awhile. Her mothering instinct is strong and she wasn’t getting much sleep at the hospital. The nurses and I had to convince her several times that they were there to help her. They could feed him during the night so she could sleep and recover. We kept telling her that when she went home, she wouldn’t have that help available. She got used to the idea and started sleeping through the night. But she made sure she was there bright and early every morning to feed him.
A big day for us was getting her out for a couple hours. I took her out to eat, did some shopping, and over to my parents to see Kobe. She and Kobe are so close. She cried when she saw him and cuddled him. I think he was just as happy.
Finally, after 8 days we got to bring the little man home. He was so tiny in his car seat.
We brought him into the condo and gave Kobe a few minutes to check him out. Jakin was sleeping, and I have no idea what Kobe was thinking. But he handled it well. Almost as if he approved and thanked us for the new toy.
The first few weeks were tough, as expected. It was easier for me, as I’m not equipped for nursing. Liza tried nursing for awhile. For whatever reason Jakin didn’t take to it, so I was back on the feeding duty cycle. There were times he cried and screamed and we had no idea what to do. Liza and I both had frustrating moments where we weren’t sure if we were cut out for this.
I remember one day where I got sick really quickly and suddenly at work. It came out of the blue and it was violent. I came home that day and Liza , after a long day with the baby, was ready to hand Jakin off to me. Tears filled her eyes when I said no and suggested her and Jakin head to her parents overnight. It worked out. Liza’s mom helped out with the baby and Liza was able to rest.
After the first 3-4 weeks, we’ve had the time of our lives. Liza sends pictures to me throughout the day as Jakin learns new things. She’d send pictures of his first smiles, of tummy time, of nap time, of puppy time, of just about everything new. Of course I wanted to run right home when I would get the pictures.
One of my favorite times so far was one morning when he was about 3 months old. He’d been sleeping through most of the night by this time. It was a Saturday and the sun was starting to shine through the blinds into his room and crib.
I walked into peek on him and he was waking up. When he saw me he gave me this cute little happy smile. Almost like, “Hey Dad!” Now I’d seen a few smiles from him already, but this one was special. There was no prodding. No silly talk or faces. Just a pure, innocent, happy baby smile. I reached into his crib, touched his hand and he grabbed my finger. I ran and got the camera and started taking pictures of our interaction that day. I’ll always remember it.
Around the same time he started his cooing. Then he started trying to roll over. Then he was kicking. Soon he was trying to talk. The big thing (literally) was him trying to keep his head steady. Jake’s got quite the noggin.
I rolled about 6 months of development into 6 paragraphs to get to where we are today. Jakin’s caught up in length for his age. He’s right there on weight too. He’s doing just about all the things a 6 month old baby should be doing.
He has a big blue eyes, and a great big belly laugh (which is appropriate for his great big belly!), and we know all his ticklish spots. He’s a happy baby for the most part and he’s has an infectious smile and laugh. He gets lots of attention when we go out, and he’s already a bit of a flirt.
He loves being picked up to “fly” around the condo. The other day I even had the Superman theme song playing as I flew him around the house. He was so happy. I think he thought he was really flying.
He’s responding to his name. He goes by Jake, Jakin, Jake Jake, and Jakers. I call him Champ and Li’l Man.
Jake loves being outside and he absolutely loves Kobe. Kobe seems to love him too, but does get jealous of all the attention Jakin gets these days.
The best thing right now is you can see that Jake absolutely loves Eliza and I. He saves his biggest smiles and laughs for Mom and Dad. You can see it in his eyes that he knows who were are and that we are his favorite things in the world. He is such a happy baby most of the time. And when he’s not, we put a bottle in his mouth and 10 minutes later he’s happy again.
This by far has been the greatest adventure of my life. Being a father surpasses anything I’ve ever know or any feeling I’ve ever had. Before he was born, I said all the right things about it not mattering if we had a boy or girl. I wasn’t being honest.
Jakin is the son of my dreams. I always had a vision of being a dad and having a son first. I always pictured myself teaching him how to throw and play sports. I pictured the 2 of us sitting down watching a ball game together.
And it’s such a peaceful thing living that life.
An old childhood friend of mine contacted me this week. We hadn’t talked in over 15 years. But in our conversation we talked about the journeys we’d taken and how God has guided each of us to where we are now.
When I started writing this today, I planned on giving a quick update on Jakin, and then talk about how scary this world is. There’s a lot of things to be scared of. Unemployment, economy, war, diseases….
But I have a confession to make. I’m so happy where I am right now. I married the girl of my dreams. I have the son of my dreams. I have the worlds greatest dog too. I have a good job. I have a condo that will be too small for us soon, but it’s our condo and I love it. I have more friends than I can keep in touch with. I have a great family and great in laws. I know my God and my God knows me.
To quote the famous Yankee Lou Gehrig, “today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.” But I’m not lucky, I’m blessed.
So with that I’m happy to announce another blessing. Liza and I have another baby on the way. She’s due April 3oth! We are blessed!
Ok….so it was longer than a second. It’s been 6 months! 6 MONTHS!
A lot has happened since the last post. I remember sitting in the room posting to the blog. I remember being a nervous 1st time dad, with a preemie born 6 weeks early. I remember being scared. I remember being proud, Proud as a father, proud of my wife, and proud of my son.
Jakin showed so much fight that week. He was a stubborn boy and he’s stubborn somewhat today. As frustrating as that can be when we’re trying to feed him or soothe him, it’s a trait I’m glad he has. His stubbornness to learn to breathe is part of what has him with us today.
I apologize for not keeping the blog updated over that last 6 months. I had every intention to keep everyone up to speed on the Hoods and Jakin’s growth and development.
Life kinda got in the way. I’ve been busier than ever at work since about 2 weeks prior to Jakin’s birth. It hasn’t really slowed down. And when I get home, I just want to hang out with my boy.
Sure, I spent time on the computer keeping up on current events and my fantasy sports. I posted a fair amount of pictures out there too. But I didn’t keep up with something I love and that’s writing. I missed it, but didn’t want to miss time with my growing family. Liza, Jakin, Kobe and I have had the time of our lives since March 10. The day he joined our family, our whole life changed for the better.
It’s been awesome.
I’ll share the Reader’s Digest version now.
Jakin was born March 10th and had to stay in the special care nursery for 8 days after he was born. Those 8 days were really long in my opinion. Liza spent the entire time at the hospital. I think I stayed 2 nights and drove in the other days. I’d spend all day at the hospital. We’d try to feed him every 3 hours. He was so little and it took time for him to learn the sucking reflex. We’d hope to get an ounce or 2 in him every feeding. They had to add Human Milk fortifier for calories to help him put on weight. I joked that he was on HGH or steroids.
He fought jaundice and spent a lot of time under the blue lights and in a warmer. He didn’t have enough fat to keep warm. We were so happy when he was able to lose the breathing tubes and IV. He showed progress every day, and we know we had a fighter.
I was concerned about Eliza for awhile. Her mothering instinct is strong and she wasn’t getting much sleep at the hospital. The nurses and I had to convince her several times that they were there to help her. They could feed him during the night so she could sleep and recover. We kept telling her that when she went home, she wouldn’t have that help available. She got used to the idea and started sleeping through the night. But she made sure she was there bright and early every morning to feed him.
A big day for us was getting her out for a couple hours. I took her out to eat, did some shopping, and over to my parents to see Kobe. She and Kobe are so close. She cried when she saw him and cuddled him. I think he was just as happy.
Finally, after 8 days we got to bring the little man home. He was so tiny in his car seat.
We brought him into the condo and gave Kobe a few minutes to check him out. Jakin was sleeping, and I have no idea what Kobe was thinking. But he handled it well. Almost as if he approved and thanked us for the new toy.
The first few weeks were tough, as expected. It was easier for me, as I’m not equipped for nursing. Liza tried nursing for awhile. For whatever reason Jakin didn’t take to it, so I was back on the feeding duty cycle. There were times he cried and screamed and we had no idea what to do. Liza and I both had frustrating moments where we weren’t sure if we were cut out for this.
I remember one day where I got sick really quickly and suddenly at work. It came out of the blue and it was violent. I came home that day and Liza , after a long day with the baby, was ready to hand Jakin off to me. Tears filled her eyes when I said no and suggested her and Jakin head to her parents overnight. It worked out. Liza’s mom helped out with the baby and Liza was able to rest.
After the first 3-4 weeks, we’ve had the time of our lives. Liza sends pictures to me throughout the day as Jakin learns new things. She’d send pictures of his first smiles, of tummy time, of nap time, of puppy time, of just about everything new. Of course I wanted to run right home when I would get the pictures.
One of my favorite times so far was one morning when he was about 3 months old. He’d been sleeping through most of the night by this time. It was a Saturday and the sun was starting to shine through the blinds into his room and crib.
I walked into peek on him and he was waking up. When he saw me he gave me this cute little happy smile. Almost like, “Hey Dad!” Now I’d seen a few smiles from him already, but this one was special. There was no prodding. No silly talk or faces. Just a pure, innocent, happy baby smile. I reached into his crib, touched his hand and he grabbed my finger. I ran and got the camera and started taking pictures of our interaction that day. I’ll always remember it.
Around the same time he started his cooing. Then he started trying to roll over. Then he was kicking. Soon he was trying to talk. The big thing (literally) was him trying to keep his head steady. Jake’s got quite the noggin.
I rolled about 6 months of development into 6 paragraphs to get to where we are today. Jakin’s caught up in length for his age. He’s right there on weight too. He’s doing just about all the things a 6 month old baby should be doing.
He has a big blue eyes, and a great big belly laugh (which is appropriate for his great big belly!), and we know all his ticklish spots. He’s a happy baby for the most part and he’s has an infectious smile and laugh. He gets lots of attention when we go out, and he’s already a bit of a flirt.
He loves being picked up to “fly” around the condo. The other day I even had the Superman theme song playing as I flew him around the house. He was so happy. I think he thought he was really flying.
He’s responding to his name. He goes by Jake, Jakin, Jake Jake, and Jakers. I call him Champ and Li’l Man.
Jake loves being outside and he absolutely loves Kobe. Kobe seems to love him too, but does get jealous of all the attention Jakin gets these days.
The best thing right now is you can see that Jake absolutely loves Eliza and I. He saves his biggest smiles and laughs for Mom and Dad. You can see it in his eyes that he knows who were are and that we are his favorite things in the world. He is such a happy baby most of the time. And when he’s not, we put a bottle in his mouth and 10 minutes later he’s happy again.
This by far has been the greatest adventure of my life. Being a father surpasses anything I’ve ever know or any feeling I’ve ever had. Before he was born, I said all the right things about it not mattering if we had a boy or girl. I wasn’t being honest.
Jakin is the son of my dreams. I always had a vision of being a dad and having a son first. I always pictured myself teaching him how to throw and play sports. I pictured the 2 of us sitting down watching a ball game together.
And it’s such a peaceful thing living that life.
An old childhood friend of mine contacted me this week. We hadn’t talked in over 15 years. But in our conversation we talked about the journeys we’d taken and how God has guided each of us to where we are now.
When I started writing this today, I planned on giving a quick update on Jakin, and then talk about how scary this world is. There’s a lot of things to be scared of. Unemployment, economy, war, diseases….
But I have a confession to make. I’m so happy where I am right now. I married the girl of my dreams. I have the son of my dreams. I have the worlds greatest dog too. I have a good job. I have a condo that will be too small for us soon, but it’s our condo and I love it. I have more friends than I can keep in touch with. I have a great family and great in laws. I know my God and my God knows me.
To quote the famous Yankee Lou Gehrig, “today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.” But I’m not lucky, I’m blessed.
So with that I’m happy to announce another blessing. Liza and I have another baby on the way. She’s due April 3oth! We are blessed!
