Alex is growing so fast!

Well, Angie and Nannie came to town Monday afternoon and Angie could not believe how much Alex has changed in just 2 weeks. His cheeks have filled out so much and he is much more alert.
We had a fun outing yesterday at a Mexican restaurant in town and of course Alex was an angel the whole time, but once we got home, he had trouble going down for a nap. However, he slept from 10:15 PM to 3:30 AM!! What a champ he is. When he awoke, he was VERY hungry and he had a long feeding...then went back to bed until 6:45 this morning.

Alex is also showing us how quickly he is learning about the world around him. He has started to focus on bright objects like his lamaze puppet sock and tracks the object moving from side to side and up and down. He has fully discovered his hands and arms and even gave himself a little hickey yesterday from sucking on the inside of his arm!! This morning, Jonathan played with Alex and took him in the bathroom in his bouncer while he was getting ready for work. Then, he laid him on the bed because he had fallen asleep. When he came back over to the bed, Alex had turned over from his stomach to his back! We are not sure if he rolled over completely on his own or what since we did not actually see it, but we were amazed none the less...I am not sure I am ready for such an advanced little guy!

We are preparing for Alex's baptism this weekend and enjoying the bright, sunny days with Nannie in town for the week. We look forward to seeing all our family and closest friends this weekend!

Big Weekend for the Little man

What an exciting weekend we have had so far. We went out on our first official Jonathan Tinker family date Friday night. Jonathan and I found a little place called Spice that has great sushi and is cozy and not too busy so that is where we decided to take Alex Friday night. We all dressed up and the food and wine were great, but Alex slept through the whole event! That night it was a little hard to get him to sleep a solid 5 hour stretch, but he had a slightly mixed up day with a doctor's visit and Ma Ma and Pa Pa leaving, etc. so his naps were too short in the morning and too long in the afternoon.

With that in mind, we had lots of play time and a nice long bath Saturday morning and afternoon. We took Alex out on his first stroller adventure - to Sam's! See the pictures below to see how he travels in Chicco style. After a good meal and a nice long nap, we went over to one of JT's resident's homes for a game of Texas Hold 'Em. Of course they all oohed and ahhed over Alex, and he was great - even with a little gas pain he had to work through. Then, we got home and fed him and he went straight to bed. He slept TWO 5-hour stretched in a row, waking at 7:00 AM for breakfast. Now, we are headed to church to praise God for the beautiful miracle he brought into our lives!

Two weeks have flown by...

Well, Alex is officially 11 days old today and already he is changing before our eyes.
His face is filling out and losing the wrinkly newborn appearance. His hair has gone from VERY dark to brown to a dirty blond. His cheeks are fuller and rosy with color, especially now that all of his jaundice has gone away since breast feeding has been such a success (thank you, Lord for that blessing)!

We had a great week with Ma Ma and Pa Pa in from Louisiana. Ma Ma gave Alex baths and held him and birped him all week long and Pa Pa helped us keep the house in working order and resembling some sort of organization - we will miss you both!

Today we had Alex's two week newborn check up (you do it anytime after 7 days of age). He is not only 100% healthy and showing all the reflexes, etc. he should at this age, but when the nurse pricked his heel for the PKU testing, she said he is the only baby that did not cry at all in five years of working as a pediatric nurse. What a little over-achiever we have on our hands... see pictures below for what we are sure is a grin already!

Alex is growing heartily - he lost weight the first week of life and has already regained his birth weight plus 13 oz - he weighed 7 pounds, 14.5 ounces this morning! He is 21 inches long.

Since Ma Ma and Pa Pa left this morning, today was my first afternoon with Alex all alone. We had a grand time...a little food, a little play time and then a couple nice long naps. Tonight, Jonathan will be home after 6:30 or so and we will go out on a family date for dinner.

Life is great!!

Alex - getting a bath and snoozing - days 8 and 9

Photobucket Album

Happy 1 week Birthday to Alex!

Well, the first week of Alex's life have been wonderful. He is truly a delightful baby - he slept 6.5 hours last night and is eating every 3 hours almost like clock work. When he fusses it is for a reason like gas, dirty diaper or meal time and as soon as you address it he is back to his delightful self!

Ma Ma and Pa Pa are here with us until Friday and I am enjoying the visiting as well as being able to rest on and off throughout the day. Today Ma Ma gave Alex a bath and he smells like heaven - there is nothing better smelling than a freshly bathed baby. We are getting ready to enjoy a home made beef stronganoff from Ma Ma's kitchen.

Love you all!

Christina, Jonathan & Alex

Alex the Great!

We continue to have a wonderful weekend with family in town visiting and hanging out. Alex has joined the family in style - the laughter, pool playing, music, and late nights don't even phase him. He loves to sleep in his wasabi bouncer with his left arm stretched out above his head. He has VERY successfully caught on to breast feeding and we have established a fairly consistent 3 hour pattern. After the middle of the night feeding around 2:00 AM he sleeps between 4 and 6 hours until the morning (with a diaper change around 4:00 AM). What an angel.....takes after both of us with the love of his sleep.

We are doing great and preparing for a week with Ma Ma and Pa Pa Tinker. Nana and Grampa and Aunt Angie will go home today and return in 2 weeks for the baptism celebration.

Enjoy some new pictures!

We're Already Growing!!

We had our first doctor's visit yesterday to check weight and growth since we are exclusively breast feeding. The doc said we are doing GREAT since Alex had lost weight (6 lbs. 13 oz.) on Wednesday due, but yesterday he already re-gained to his birth weight (7 lbs. 1 oz.) and then some, weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz. and measuring 21 inches. This put him in the 21st percentile for weight and the 84th percentile for height! He is definitely going to be a long and lean Tinker boy.

We are having so much fun with our grandparents in town and aunt Angie, Jackie and uncle Matt are here for the weekend too! The doc says babies don't smile until about 2 months, but our little guy is already TRYING to grin and even hold up his neck! He is strong and a very healthy eater!!

We will talk to you soon. Enjoy some new pictures from days 4 and 5 of Alex's life.

More pictures...

Baby Boy Tinker has Arrived!

Praise God!! Alexander Reece has arrived, healthy, safe and alert!
We are too tired to tell you all about it now, but we knew you would be looking for some pictures, so here are a few.

Lots of Love,

Christina, Jonathan & Alex

Countdown has begun...

We are officially (and finally) at the hospital. I am on an IV and being monitored already.
Please pray for a safe, healthy and speedy delivery of Baby Boy Tinker.
We have a name picked out, but it will remain top secret until the little guy makes his
official debut.

I am scared of the impending pain and pokes and prods, but I know that
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...please pray for continued strength
and courage on my part and a healthy arrival of the newest Tinker.
This will be the first Humphries grandchild - get ready!!

He's tricking us...

Well, seems Baby Boy Tinker preferred to watch the opening games from the comfort of his warm home inside the womb. The contractions are still coming, but they are about 1 - 3 hours apart - no real consistency established yet. So...we are at home for now.

The start of the Olympics....

....will it be the start of the labor Olympics for us? We are definitely hoping so! I have had 2 contractions this afternoon, but they are about 1.5 hours apart. Unlike the braxton hicks I experienced a little over the last month, I now feel the difference. These were very strong menstrual like cramps and my entire abdomen got rock hard for about 45 -60 seconds each and did not ease up when I sat down and put my feet up.

As most of you know, the Olympic games kick off at 7:30 PM tonight, 6:30 PM CST...we are hoping for a Divine coincidence and perhaps labor will "kick off" for us around that same time today, 08.08.08. The news reported that this date will not roll around again for more than one hundred years!

Of course, if today is not the day, we will enjoy a Friday night together having a nice dinner and conversation - may be the last Friday night like that for a while....

Still approaching the finish line....

We had our doctor's appointment this morning and as expected, there was no need to take our bags with us. Not much has changed - I am not dilated but effaced to 80%. The baby sounds very healthy and I am measuring fine at 37 - 38 cm, just a little smaller than 40 weeks. No complaints from my stretch mark free belly here! My blood pressure was back to normal at 119/68. Since today is the official due date, the doctor said not to be concerned that I am not dilating as it is not uncommon, especially for first time mothers.

I am having cramping and back pain, etc. but no real contractions or anything like that yet.
Dr. Gallagher says it could all change in a moment's notice, so we will take it day by day and pray for a healthy and safe delivery soon. 08/08/08 would be a pretty cool birthday....

Nerves and Anxiety getting to me..

Today is the day before our due date, and since my posting last week, I have really been more relaxed and peaceful about the impending birth of Baby Boy Tinker. We had a fantastic weekend with lots of walking and yard work and some good movies.

Then, I woke up feeling nauseated and just generally weak this morning. I decided to focus on work and get my mind off the nagging wondering of when the heck labor will start. I worked all morning from home and then around 11:45 a friend called and asked me to go to lunch. Andrea and Sheri have both had kids - Sheri has a four month old....When I just ordered a salad and did not eat much, they asked what was wrong and I told them how I have been feeling nauseated all morning and they started asking questions, which made me realize I had not felt the baby move since I got out bed. Upon their prompting, I called the nurse at Dr. Gallagher's office and she told me to come in immediately to make sure everything is okay.

As soon as I got there and they hooked me up to the fetal monitor, we heard a strong heart beat and I began to notice movement. They monitored me for 25 minutes and assured me everything is fine, but I did have a slight fever (99 degrees) and my blood pressure was a little higher than usual (130/78), which is likely because I had gotten nervous about the baby. They actually suggested I go home, have a glass of wine with dinner and take it easy!

We have our regular appointment with the doctor in the morning at 8:30 AM. The nurse said today that if I am dilated, the doctor will probably send me on over to labor & delivery, so we should come to the appointment with our bags in the car.... the way things are going so far, I am not holding my breath, but we will take our bags just in case.

Please pray for continued patience and confidence in ourselves as we wait for the joyful event!