Category: Jack

Posted on by John

We took Jack in to see Dr. Treybig again today, as he’s now officially two weeks old.

Jack survived his two-week check up, just fine. Dr. Treybig says he’s growing just fine, and that everything seems to be in order (she actually said “he’s perfect” and we agree). Dad didn’t survive the trip unharmed: The little guy pee’d on me right before the nurse stuck his heel with a little needle… which didn’t make him happy, by the way.

He weighs 8 lbs. 2 oz. and is 21 inches long. He’s grown a full pound since he was born and is an inch taller than he was last week. Dr. Treybig says he has a birthmark on the back of his head and maybe on his back.

Also, last night, Michelle visited after work. Josh also came over after work, as Elise is out of town at a funeral in Iowa (our sympathies Elise).

I took some photos last night of Jack with Josh and Michelle with the new camera, as I’m trying to learn how to use it better. I think they turned out pretty good. They’re a little dark on my Windows laptop screen, but look great on the Macintosh screen, so I apologize if they’re a little dark for you.

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Posted on by John

Mary and Frank (Grandmother and Granddad, as we think they’ll come to be called) left Austin today after spending almost two full weeks with us.

We’re very thankful that they were able to stay with us for these past 12 days, and very thankful for all they’ve done to help us get through this crucial first couple of weeks (like laundry help, cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner, helping out with (basically doing all of the) yard work, installing fire-alarms, changing dirty diapers, putting up the Christmas tree, and putting little Jack to sleep… and sooo much more).

Don’t worry Frank and Mary, we’ll post a new photo or video of Jack every couple of days so you can keep up with his growth (and I’m sure Christine will call often.

The family
Jack is 12 days old today, and he was sad to see Mary and Frank leave (so were Chrstine and I).

Love you guys.

Next up in the hot-seat of visiting: Grandma Engler will be here on the 13th or 14th for a few days… can’t wait!

Oh, and yes, this means tonight will be our first night as a family by ourselves at home on our own… hope we all make it through the night just fine!

And since I’ve got the first shift, I’ve decided to post a few more photo galleries:

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Posted on by John

Yesterday we took John Robert “Jack” to his first visit to our pediatrician Dr. Treybig.

He was so good on his first outing away from the house. It was really nice for Christine to get out too.

He received an excellent report! He is 7 lbs. 5 oz. now which made us so proud and relieved that he is gaining weight and getting proper nutrition. Dr. Treybig said that Jack looks perfect.

jack_dr_treybig.jpg
Jack with Dr. Treybig

We go again next week for his blood screening tests and at two months he will get his first round of immunizations. Dr. Treybig recommended that we wait until six to eight weeks of age before we take him around large groups of people. So we may be changing our holiday plans a little bit.

Jack’s first Christmas may be a quiet one at home. We’re looking forward to January when we’ll be able to travel and visit family and friends.

He’s sleeping really well in his crib in-between feedings, which is something we learned is important to establish now. Hopefully he’ll grow accustomed to sleeping in his crib as he grows older, so that mom and dad can get some sleep at night as we progress towards longer nights.

So, at this juncture, I present a few galleries of photos we’ve taken over the past week:

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Posted on by John

Debbie, Raymond, Payton and Peggy came over today to visit Jack.

Peggy held him the whole time they were here. He was very comfortable the whole time she held him. Aunt Peggy just has a way with babies I think.

Debbie and Raymond brought us some Aggie gear, so now Jack is ready for the game today:


Gig’em Aggies!

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Posted on by John

Last night, after Christine finaly got a couple of hours of sleep, I went in to wake her up to feed Jack. It was about 11:30pm, and she’d been sleeping since about 9:30. Christine hadn’t really slept more than those 2 hours all day, so she was considerably tired.

Jack was hungry.

So, I said “Christine, it’s time to eat. Jack’s a little hungry.”

Christine shot up to a sitting position and started arranging her pillows behind her, like a good mom, ready to feed, when all of a sudden, she shook her head and said “Wait a minute, I’m feeding him?”

I said “yes, babe, you’re feeding him.”

And she continued arranging her pillows, and when she was done she said “Wait. I’m feeding him right?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at this second question.

“Yes, babe, you’re feeding him.”

She finished getting set up, and little Jack ate.

About half way through the feeding, Christine chuckled to her self and said “Man, I don’t know what I was thinking there for a second.”

I guess that’s what they call “Baby Brain”.

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Posted on by John

We’re all home.

Today is Thanksgiving day, and Christine and I have so much to be thankful for. Most of all, we’re thankful that we’re home, and our little Jack is healthy.

“Jack?” you may be saying. Yes, “Jack”.

The baby’s given name is John Robert Engler, Jr. He’s named after his grandfather’s (my Dad’s) best friend, our Uncle John, and his Daddy.

To ease the confusion about who we’re referring to when we’re talking about John Engler or the baby though, as well as to give the baby a sense of individuality, we’ve decided to call him “Jack”, which is short for John. Yes, I know it’s not really shorter than John, but that’s how we’ll explain the nickname. Calling the baby “Jack” also honors my uncle Jack, who was one of the wisest men I ever knew, and I know will be looking after him as he grows.

So, look for us to call him either “Jack” or “little John” or “little John Robert”. You can call him whatever you want, but we’ll be calling him “Jack” most of the time.

…

So, we’re all home safe and sound, and healthy.

Jack is one hungry little son of a gun, lemme tell you. He’s eating like a champ. Christine has decided to breast feed him, so we probably won’t get a whole lot of sleep these first few weeks of Jack’s life, but I’m really happy she decided to give breast feeding a try. (And boy does it seem to be working well).

Patton and Wesley have both been curious about the baby. I think they’re just happy that we’re home and that we didn’t forget about them totally. They’re indifferent to the baby now that they’ve had a chance to smell him and decide he’s not food.

Mary and Frank have been wonderful. Mary’s cooking Thanksgiving dinner right now and Frank mowed the lawn for me (what a Godsend… with all the rain we’ve had lately, I’ve not been able to mow it).

We’re really lucky to have family willing to stay with us and help out. (I can’t wait ’till my mom comes up and stays with us in a few weeks too).

…

We were so lucky to have sooo many good friends come visit us in the hospital. Sooo lucky. This kid’s going to have so much support as he grows up we don’t know what to say or think. To all of you that made it up to the hospital… thank you for making us feel so special.

To everyone that couldn’t make it, stop by anytime, or let us know when we should bring him over, and we’ll be there (give us a few weeks to figure out this parenting thing though 😉

…

Lastly, Marc Swendner, a friend of ours that also happens to be a professional photographer, came by the hospital and took some photos of Jack. They are posted here, and are the best photos we have of the little guy so far. We hope you’ll agree that they came out great, and that the kid is just adorable. Not bad for 24 hours old, huh?

…

Happy Thankgiving.

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Posted on by John

2004-11-24 11:47:54

Wow!

Wow!

Yesterday, November 23rd, 2004 at 3:45 in the afternoon, Christine gave birth to a baby boy at St. David’s Hospital in Austin, TX.

Statistics:
Name: John Robert Engler, Jr.
Length: 20 1/2 inches
Weight: 7 lbs. 2 oz.
Eyes: Blue/Hazel
Hair: Brown (and lots of it)

I’ll let Christine tell you the birth story, if you’re interested (just email her) but let me tell you that it was probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced. Christine was amazing, and did a great job throughout the labor. It went smoothly from checking into the hospital to having a baby 6 hours later or so…

Mom and baby are doing well today, and both are recovering from all the work they did yesterday at the hospital. Dad’s trying to get a little rest. The baby is eating well, and staying warm. He’s cute as a button!

Mary and Frank drove down from Dallas, and Jessica drove up from Bellville. Mary was present in the delivery room, and was a big help to both mom and me. They’ll be staying a little while with us we hope!

We had a lot of visitors at the hospital as you can see in this photo gallery.

We’re looking forward to a great Thanksgiving, as mom and baby should be home in time to have turkey dinner with the rest of the family.

Thank you to everyone for their well wishes… the phone calls mean a lot to us, so keep them coming. Our cell phone number is 512.658.5246.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Posted on by John

Christine worked her last day at the office on Tuesday, and it’s now Thursday, and no baby yet. She was due today (11/18) and it didn’t come. I’m now convinced that doctors don’t know what they’re talking about.

In the past couple of days, we’ve gotten the nursery completely finished. We changed the sheets on the mattress in the crib, put together a swingy-seat and a bassinet, and installed carpeting (okay, really, we just put down a rug).

It’s cozy in there, and the cat loves the bassinet, so we may just let him sleep in it.

Christine’s feeling fine, and is putting up with my constant “Are you having a baby, yet?” questions (I’m asking her that about once every 4 hours now). She keeps telling me “not yet.” But every few hours she says “ouch” … probably a contraction or something… so I’m hopeful that she’s really going to have the baby sometime in the next week or so…

We’ll let you know when we know something.

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Posted on by John

Christine sent this email out this morning:

From: Christine Engler
Date: Tue, Nov 16, 2004 10:43 AM
Priority: Normal

Good morning everyone!

John and I went to the doctor this morning. Things are progressing! I am 80% effaced and 1 cm dilated. Over the last three weeks I have shown steady progression, so the doctor feels that this thing will probably happen on its own within the next week or so. We meet with him again on Tuesday of next week (if I make it that long) at which point he will put me on the schedule for induction either late next week or early the week after. Today my first blood pressure reading was border line, so they took a second reading at the end of my appointment and it had come down quite a bit. He is not too concerned over the blood pressure, but the nurse told me to get plenty of rest. He said that if I needed to continue working I could, but also said it may be a good time to stop if I want to. I had thought that last Friday would be my last day, so I think I am going to finish some things up today and then stop working as of tomorrow.

I guess now we wait. We’re so excited!!!
Love,
Christine

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Posted on by John

Last Thursday Christine and I had an ultrasound done. And we got pictures!

The doctors said everything was going fine: two arms, two legs, two hands, two feet, one head, spinal cord looks fine, kindeys, liver, heart, head… it all looked good to them.

We turned our heads when they checked the privates of the baby, so we still don’t know what sex the baby is: we’re waiting for the surprise.

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