Jack Michael & Michael Gary

The peanut.

Grandma Penny is in love.

Nap Time!

So...mom isn't the only one who enjoys a good nap from time to time!

Gerber Daisy Baby

I love these two people.

Everyone we went to college with will recognize the shirt. Thanks
Rachel!

baby makes three...

First Bath

He wasn't all that excited about it...but he smelled pretty good afterward!

Grandma Patty and Jack

Jack is telling us something...

but we're not sure what it is yet...

Jack and a huge monkey.

dad and jack

well, it has certainly been a long week. easily the most amazing week of my life, and even wording it that way doesn't do it justice. no matter how many books i read, or how much internet research i did...i could not have prepared me for the whirlwind my life has suddenly become. no book or website explained how head-over-heels in love i would fall with this little boy, who just a week ago was living in my belly. no one could have ever explained how it would be possible just to watch his face for hours. i had absolutely no idea what i was getting into. everyday is a surprise, and everyday is absolutely amazing.
i feel so fortunate to have this unbelievable family, to share my days and nights with the two most incredible boys in the whole world. it's as if time has slowed down, at least within the walls of our home, and we are just so content spending time together...getting to know each other.

thank you all for your kind words here on our blog, your phone calls, and your gifts. it means more than you will ever know. i can't wait for you all to meet our son! and yes, he is as cute in person...as he is in the pictures!!

I'm lucky and blessed...

This is what I woke up to this morning.

Fat Jack

Home.

We're finally home. It's been a long week. Mom and baby both ate, and
are now sleeping peacefully.

It's good to be here.

Free at last...

Jack was finally taken off the IV last night, and released from the
neonatal ICU. He's now downstairs in the minimum security nursery, and
is allowed to come into our room for feeding and love. He's hoping for
work release soon.

He's eating (drinking?) really well now, and set a personal record of
65 ML of breast milk from the bottle. That means we can hopefully take
him home today sometime. Fingers crossed. It's nice to finally have a
wireless baby. All the IV tubes and monitor wires certainly added a
degree of difficulty in changing and feeding the little guy.

He's going to have a circumcision this morning sometime, and then he
should be good to go. Wish us luck.
-m

Vital Signs

This screen shows Jack's heart rate, respiration rate, pulse, and
oxygen absorbtion. Every time it makes a noise (usually when one of
the leads come loose) I have a minor heart attack. The nurses told me
to ignore the screen, and only worry if the baby turns blue or
something. So far, so good. Anyway, I'm fascinated by this screen, and
I'm thinking about getting one for the baby's room.

I'm sick of this place.

(all of those numbers are awesome, by the way...just like Jack)

Beautiful Boy

Ali and Jack

Thank you.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to visit our
little blog and share in our amazing journey. Your words are a source
of great joy to us, and have been especially helpful these past few
days. It's so nice to feel connected to our family and friends when
we're geographically so far away from everyone. Jack is very lucky to
be born into a family that has so much love to give.

In case anyone doesn't know, Jack has been in the neonatal ICU since
he was born, and will be there until at least probably Wednesday
morning. Ali was running a fever when he was born, so they did a c-
section to minimize infection risk to both her and the baby. They
started Jack on antibiotics right away, and are monitoring his blood
cultures for signs of infection. So far, so good, and if everything
goes well we can all go home as a family tomorrow. That being said, he
is doing great, and looks incredibly healthy to me, all pink and baby-
like. Ali is doing great too, and was up and walking around less than
12 hours after surgery. We've been going in and seeing our boy every
chance we get, and Ali has been able to start breastfeeding. That is a
process that both mother and child are still trying to figure out.

Needless to say, it has been somewhat stressful to see my child go
through this, but I know he's getting the best care possible, and I'll
be able to take my family home very soon.

So again, thanks. Just knowing you are all out there sending positive
energy our way helps tremendously. Hope to see you all soon...

-m

Not so sure about all this...

18.5 hours old

Jack Michael

I can't believe we get to take this kid home with us...
-m
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Hello World!

Jack Michael Colenso

Born March 9th, 2008 at 11:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time

Weight: 6 lb, 9 oz.

Mom and baby are happy, healthy, and tired. Dad is overjoyed,
relieved, bewildered, and tired.

Now the fun begins. Wish us luck!.

Still waiting...

Ali is starting to get pretty uncomfortable, which everybody seems to
think is a good thing, because it means we're getting closer. Going to
start an epidural soon. I'm just sitting here, reading the Sunday
paper and listening to the baby's heartbeat on the monitor. The nurses
have been super attentive and incredibly sweet to Ali, so that's good.

I'll be back later. Stay tuned for updates.

Still waiting...

Update:

Ali's water broke this morning. Contractions are increasing, but still
not very intense. Hopefully we can get the show on the road soon.

Sunday's child is full of grace.

Waiting for Jack

Here we go...

We checked into the hospital last night around 9:00. We're a little
early, but Ali's blood pressure was a smidge high, so the doctor
wanted her here (University of Washington Medical Center) to run some
tests. Everything is fine, but her liver enzymes are somewhat
elevated. The doctors decided to induce labor this morning so Ali
doesn't get sick. The baby is fine, and full term as of today, so
everyone is totally comfortable with this. They're inducing slowly,
and the doctor doesn't expect any action until later tonight or
tomorrow. Ali is resting now, and I'm kind of pacing around the
hospital...

We are leaving here with our son, and we couldn't be happier. I'll
post updates as required. (Ali got me an iphone for valentines day, so
I can geek out and blog from the hospital)

Wish us luck, and we love you all...

the legend brett favre.

the end of an era...but not quite enough reason to name my child lorenzo.

36 weeks!

36 weeks is 9 months. we have around 4 weeks to go. apparently, the gestation period for a human is 10 months, not the 9 months i had been led to believe. i had no idea.

ali's cheerful demeanor in these pictures belie the fact that her feet hurt, her back aches, and she feels like a beached whale (her words, not mine). she is a real trooper, and i have a serious amount of respect for what she is going through. seriously, i would be a sniveling, whining, puddle of a man if i had to go through the whole pregnancy thing...

so yeah. good job moms. thanks for everything. i really appreciate it.

-mike