2 week check-up

Robbie went to the pediatrician on Friday, and here is what we learned:

- his jaundice is pretty much gone and no longer a concern
- he's back up in weight (7 lbs 10 oz) and eating well
- he's in the 95th percentile for length, 25th for weight, and 50th for his head
- he will have to be the one to sort out his days and nights, and we just have to be patient in the meantime

We are thankful for our healthy, happy boy! I will post more pictures this afternoon.

Happy Easter!

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter celebrating the resurrection of Jesus!

Sadly, I have no pictures to post of our Easter celebration. Saturday night proved to be our hardest yet - Rob and I were both up at various times with Robbie, and finally got to bed around 6:30am. So much for our plans to try and make it to the Easter service at church! (Which I was really loooking forward to.)

By the time we got up and ready for the day on Sunday, we were so tired - so we napped for a bit while watching basketball, and then Robbie and I headed to my parents' house to hang out before Easter dinner. By the time Rob got there just before dinner, Robbie had managed to pee on his easter outfit while i changed him (minutes after walking in the door), and I had sloshed ham juice on my top while helping mom carve the meat. We were in bad shape for pictures, so we didn't take any.

The funny part is that I have been hanging on to this Easter outfit for Robbie since February - it was my way of willing him to come early (his due date was originally TODAY - March 24th - and I wanted him out before then!). In the end, the easter outfit still has the tags on it, we never even dressed him in it, and it will probably be returned. Oh well, it served its purpose - it got my little boy here early!

I'm hoping that last night we turned a corner with Robbie's sleeping patterns. He has had his days and nights mixed up since he came home, and although I've been up since 4am today, Robbie slept during the night pretty well between feedings! This is no small victory to me. :) I was ready with movies and magazines to pass the middle-of-the-night hours when I went to bed, and didn't even have to use them. (As Kelsey would say... 'It's an easter miracle!')

More pictures

Blogger has not been cooperating lately - I keep trying to post more pictures but it gives me an error every time. (Maybe it knows that we are going picture-crazy here in the Livingston household, and is trying to spare you!)

Here are a few more favorites from this past week of Robbie's life...

So we do a lot of sleeping! Unfortunately, right now Robbie has his days and nights mixed up - so he's a dream to hold during the day when he looks like a little cherub as he sleeps for hours on end, but the nighttime is a different story. He's getting better, and like the dr. said, it will probably pass after about a week.

Robbie is still a touch jaundiced, but the pediatrician said that with regular feeding and diaper-filling, he should be fine in a few days. My mom and I stripped him down to his diaper and laid him in the living room window when we had about an hour of sunlight coming in the other day! Then we decided that his naked little self was too cute so we took a bunch of pictures.

On another note, our friends Jen and Matt just brought home their twins, Jackson and Amelia, born a day after Robbie! They are all doing well and I'm sure would welcome your prayer support as they adjust to life with two brand new babies.

Our dear friends Jeff and Becky will also be having their baby girl sometime today, as Becky has been overdue for about a week. Please pray that their baby girl is delivered quickly and in good health.

So many spring babies!!!

We pray that you all have a wonderful Easter weekend as we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. New life is such a gift - both physical birth and spiritual rebirth. We praise God for both this Easter!

Welcome Robbie!

Robert ('Robbie') Jack Livingston was born early to us on March 15, 2008 at 3:10am after a good 24 hours of labor! He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz - thank goodness he came so soon or we would have really had a big baby on our hands. He measured 22 inches long. After yesterday's doctor's appointment, he's down to 7 lbs even, but is on the road to beefing up again.

He is the best baby I've ever laid eyes on, and I swear I'm not biased. :) He hardly fusses, is a champ at eating and sleeping, and is quite the little snuggler. We are thankful for his safe delivery, and every day are in wonder over this miracle God has allowed us to witness and be a part of. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement, your visits, the sweet gifts and cards, the flowers, and check-in phone calls. They are demonstrations of your love and care for us, and they have been so special!

I can't wait for you all to meet our little guy in person. Until then, here are a few pictures to hold you over!

Nursery update

Blogger has been broken this week, and wouldn't let me post pictures... and today I guess it decided to fix itself. So here are some long-overdue pictures of the nursery. I worked on it last Saturday, and once Rob's back is in better shape we will hang 2 shelves above the changing table. Now all we need our little baby boy...!

(I don't know why the glider looks pink in this picture, but it's light beige!)

We'll fill the shadow box with the baby announcement, hospital bracelet, etc.

Any suggestions for pictures to put in the frames??

Last weekend

I'm a little behind in my postings... but last weekend Brad and Christine flew out to hang out with us! I was trying to give Rob a surprise weekend of rest and fun, and knew that meant time with family. We had a great time catching up with them, and Christine and I wore ourselves out at the Outlet Mall (my new favorite place to shop for baby clothes!).

Here are a few pictures from the weekend... thanks for visiting you guys! We love you.

16 days... but who's counting?

Finally - the home stretch! I have a little over 2 weeks left until my due date, and Rob and I are so excited to meet our little boy. Thank you for your prayers for us along the way, and the many encouraging emails you've sent to me.

Yesterday marked the last day I will spend in the office at work - although I will continue to work from home during the day for the next week or two. I'm hoping that it will be a period of rest before everything is turned upside-down!

3 weeks to go!

The countdown continues... today marked 3 weeks left until my due date! I am officially 'full term' now, my doctor told me. I am begging our son to make himself more comfortable outside my belly and here in the world, so that we can all meet him and so that I can have my body back. Ok, and also so that I have the chance to dress him up in an easter outfit. But mainly because he is just getting too big for my insides! This morning I almost had to pull the car over as I drove to work, because he was moving around so much and it was just flat out painful. But I love every movement regardless, and know that I will really miss carrying this little guy around and being so connected to him physically. So it is with mixed emotions that I anticipate his birth-day, but I still can't wait for it to come! I'll post pictures taken this weekend soon, so you can see the belly-progression that continues to march on.

My friend Jen, who is pregnant with twins and due in mid-April, is on bedrest right now (we work/worked together at the SOA). Several of us drove her work shower gifts over to her last Thursday since she had to stop coming in to the office before we could throw her shower - here is a picture from that evening. We had fun watching her open tons of cute presents for her new little boy and little girl!

Rob and I had a fun and relaxing weekend (more on that in my next post... and a few pictures to go along with it) - aside from the fact that his back keeps slipping out of joint, causing much pain and hobbling. We are quite the pair now - it takes BOTH of us 5 minutes just to get out of the car, and we shuffle around the house like a couple of 90 year olds. If we weren't so uncomfortable, it would be funny and I'm sure we'd be laughing...

Maybe another day.

For now we pray for mercy and the loosening of muscles in Rob's back, and the safe (and quick!) delivery of our son. And we remember the blessings that are a part of our everyday life, and are so grateful to God for his goodness to us.