11.01.2009

Seriously?

i hadn’t realized it had been so incredibly long since i’ve blogged. over a month! have i ever been that horribly long in between posts after just having a baby? of course this time i have four boys to care for, and that’s no easy task! lol. fun, yes, rewarding, yes, tiring, yes. easy - NO!

after three weeks of living in sort of a dream world of babymooning, things are finally getting to be more “normal” if that’s possible. jerry had three whole weeks off (from both jobs) to spend with us so jace and i spent the time getting to know each other and nurse as much as possible. meanwhile jerry was taking care of the big three, the house, etc. so it’s been quite the culture shock to return to everything. thankfully he’s not freaking out requiring perfection out of me immediately. i plan to get more organized and take care of my home though.

jeremiah is doing so great with his letters. he is sounding out different words, wanting to write. i’m really proud of him. i can’t wait until i have more undivided time for him and his schoolwork. he is still loving drawing - he and josiah draw multiple pictures a day. they both want to turn their pictures into stories. it’s adorable! as for being the biggest brother, he just adores baby jace. he really is a fabulous big brother with him. the other times (with josiah and jamin) he really didn’t seem to care too much…but with jace, he is so loving, caring and helpful - it’s wonderful. he keeps asking me when he can hold him while standing up. ummmm not yet! lol. jace still cries when he holds him sitting down anyway, lol.

josiah is back to being gluten-free, as of this week. his behavior at the beginning of the week was the last straw for me and i put my foot down. it’s hard, expensive, and a pain to do gluten-free with him, but the trade-off is worth it for a more attentive, happier, healthier little boy. he’s not perfect by any means, but i can totally see the difference. it could also be from the different discepline strategies we’ve been using, but more on that in a sec. josiah loves drawing and “writing”. he will draw pictures and write letters (mostly backwards) all over the paper and say “read this mama!” of course i have no idea what it’s supposed to say, so he gets really mad at me! it’s cute though. joe adores jace and aside from not being careful around him is so sweet and gentle with him. he is very loving to him.

we have implemented supernanny’s “naughty spot” idea this week as well. we’re calling it the “discipline step”. while we are not opposed to spanking, it just hasn’t been working for our guys for every offense. i hate spanking the boys, even though i know it’s necessary sometimes. and i know it still is necessary sometimes, but not an all the time thing like it has been lately. josiah’s acting out has been insane and the amount of spankings was just as out of control. now if the discipline step doesn’t work at first, OR if a misbehavior resulted in someone being hurt, one swat is the discipline, PLUS the minute per year on the discipline step. as i said, this is only the first week, so we’ll see how it works when we are consistent with it.

jamin is still so cute and fun and adorable. everyone just loves him so! his sweet, quiet yet bubbly personality is always a favorite. he’s talking a lot more lately, though his words are kinda murky. he loves reading books, building with blocks, and playing with cars and dinosaurs and trains. he also likes following the big boys around and doing whatever they are doing at first then going off to do his own thing. the boys don’t usually let him, so it’s just the fact that he wants to be with them i think. he seems to be proud of being a big brother, but still hasn’t wanted to hold jace, and still doesn’t want to kiss him often. the poor boy has been sick since jace was born, so he really hasn’t had the chance to interact with him as much as i’d like!

i have been keeping updates on facebook about jace’s progress. he has always had a lot of spitups, but he started projectile vomiting a few weeks ago and i started to get concerned. he acted like he was in pain - screaming and crying, etc. he had a test run for pyloric stenosis and it came back negative. so the dr assumes it’s GER or GERD. he is now on axid for it. so far it’s been helping his pain because he isn’t crying as much when he spits up. he isn’t spitting up as much either, and when he does, it’s more rare for it to be projectile vomiting. he is so precious and so adorable and sweet!! on oct 28 when he turned 1 month old, he had a weight check at the WIC office. he was 7lbs 14oz. i wasn’t happy - considering he was born at 7lbs 10oz. but she reminded me that they count weight gain from the lowest weight, and his was 6lbs 11oz i think. so that’s over a pound in less than a month, so she was happy. he is also up 1/4 an inch in length. lol. so he’s 20 3/4 inches.

since i’ve been doing a good job with facebook updates, i’m going to copy them over here for you. i’m starting the day i went into labor. :D and i plan to update the blog at least once a week. feel free to yell at me if i don’t! ;)

Jenn Case Gigowski is ready to sing this morning! Please be praying that I do ok and that Jace isn’t too rough during the song! ;)

September 27 at 8:27am

Jenn Case Gigowski It went alright! Pray that Jace will come soon now. :) I’m sooooo ready!!!

September 27 at 3:05pm

Jenn Case Gigowski

Jenn Case Gigowski is going into the hospital to get checked. I’ve been having fairly consistent contractions (for almost 4 hours). Pray this is it - I don’t want to go through this much longer, and I can’t imagine being sent home again (with each boy they sent me home at least once!!!!!!!)

September 27 at 7:13pm

Jenn Case Gigowski be praying ! Jenn is at the hospital, getting her strep B drip, the dr is in the hospital and will be seeing her soon, probably to break her water– still waiting for someone to come be with the boys so I, gramma, can go to the hospital to be with her! This is It!!!

Jenn Case Gigowski well, Jace is here born at 2:41 am 9/28/2009 7 # 10 oz, 20 1/2 inches long , perfect, looks a lot like jeremiah~ more from jenn later !!!!! thanks for prayers! she did it without Any meds! Praise the Lord! the afterpains are hard, so please pray for her! thanks!

Jenn Case Gigowski We are HOME!!!!!!!!! I’m going to nap but wanted to update that all is well!!! Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes!!

Jenn Case Gigowski is trying to keep the three sick big boys away from Jace. :( Some tummy bug is really hanging on and hitting them hard. :(

Jenn Case Gigowski

Jenn Case Gigowski – happy 1 week birthday to Jace!!!!

Jenn Case Gigowski

Jenn Case Gigowski ….is there anyone close-by who can loan me a good, strong electric pump?? Only the hospital grade seems to work for me. Thanks in advance!

Jenn Case Gigowski happy due date to Jace! please pray that i can get his weight up. i’m supposed to supplement. :(

Jenn Case Gigowski …happiness is listening to your husband read a chapter book and your boys saying, “one more chapter, please, papa!” :)

Jenn Case Gigowski happy 2 week birthday to my Jacey-Bear!!!

Jenn Case Gigowski The amazing Amanda Haynie (http://ahayniephotography.com) came to our house to do the pics. Jace was rather grumpy, but she still managed to get some good ones!

Jenn Case Gigowski missed Bible studies yesterday. :( Jamin is still not doing well, and I didn’t know how well Jace would do out and about.

Jenn Case Gigowski Praise 1: Jace is up to 7lbs 4oz!! Praise 2: The pump Mom got from a friend works! Prayer 1: I have finally caught the bug the boys have been carrying and feel awful. And our anniversary is tomorrow. And Mom is even watching the boys for us. Prayer 2: I do NOT want Jace to get this, and there’s no way to keep him away from me.

Jenn Case Gigowski

(for tomorrow) Happy Anniversary, Jerry!!! I can’t believe we’ve been married 11 years!!! And 12 years since our first date! WOW. Time flies when you’re having fun, huh?! Thank you for putting up with me and loving me through all my issues. I don’t deserve you!!! You are the best hubby and father in the world and I LOVE YOU!!!!!!! I’m soooo thankful for you and can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. XOXOXORead More

Jenn Case Gigowski We were happily surprised by a visit from Aunt Olga, Uncle Charlie, Viva and Dan. In 11 years of marriage, I hadn’t met them. It was a blessing to see them, have them meet the boys (minus Jeremiah who is still at Gramma’s) and fellowship a bit.

Jenn Case Gigowski Happy 3 week Birthday to Jace!

Jenn Case Gigowski Share advice on stopping the spit up! I think he would be 10lbs by now if he didn’t spit up so much!

Jenn Case Gigowski Mom has informed me it’s not spit-up, it’s projectile vomiting. :( My poor baby! Will be calling the ped’s office tomorrow to see if I can get him some meds.

Jenn Case Gigowski just added a new tiger design to my zazzle lil characters site! if it’s new to you, check out the other designs! there might be something you like! :) http://zazzle.com/lilcharacters*

Jenn Case Gigowski finally heard back from the ped.’s office: They are ordering a script for Axid. Praying it doesn’t cost 50 or 80 bucks, and praying it helps him!!!