Jacob's pastime

Jacob experienced America's pastime Saturday when we took him to his first baseball game (sorry, Mark). We went with some of our friends to the Nashville Sounds game, the triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. We were worried before the game that he would start to get fussy by the third inning because of the heat or the noise and we would have to go home. We were pleasantly surprised to see him act so calm for about 99 percent of the time. He only cried when he was hungry, tired or needed a new diaper. The temperature was perfect during the evening double-header and the noise didn't seem to bother him. He was so tired by the end of the night that he managed to sleep during the fireworks display. Every loud boom did startle him, but he didn't cry. Erin covered his ears. During the game he loved to look at the big green field, the bright lights and all the people around us. We're looking forward to taking him to more games.



Our friend, Kelly, holds Jacob at his first baseball game.






Erin didn't want to change Jacob's diaper in the nasty bathroom.

Call me Mr. Smiley

Jacob loves to smile and laugh at the silly bears that circle above his bed.

We have a Smiler!

Jacob is 6 weeks old and he is smiling! Nate and I love to sit there and watch him smile. Its the best time of the day. Usually he smiles the most in morning but we catch some smiles here and there throughout the day!

Quick Announcement

JACOB SLEPT FROM 9:00 PM LAST NIGHT TILL 3:30 THIS MORNING!!! 6.5 HOURS!!!!! WE ARE SO EXCITED AND FEEL VERY REFRESHED! YAY!

Jacob rolls over

Jacob showed us he can roll over at 5 weeks old!

Call me Mr. Mom

Well, I finally got my alone time with my boy. I took off this week to watch Jacob while Erin went back to school for the last week of work. On Monday, Jacob was perfect. Erin left around 7:15 a.m. and we played until about 9 when I fed him. He immediately fell asleep and was out until 12:30 when his growling tummy woke him up. I fed him again and he slept until I took him to Erin's school so she could nurse. It was the perfect day.

The next day -- not so much. He was a lot fussier. He was changed and fed and still crying. It took some time to realize that he was just tired and probably couldn't find a comfortable position. I picked him up, put him over my shoulder and patted his back -- a technique Erin told me he liked. He passed out like a kid on his 21st birthday. The rest of the day went smoothly.

I'm glad I got to be with Jacob this week. It's been a great bonding experience and it made me feel more responsible for the care of our son. I've learned how much he loves his pacifier (we call it a passy) and his swing. You combine those two and he's in Heaven. I also have mastered changing his diaper, dressing him and pushing the stroller with one hand while controlling Dolly with the other. That's no easy task if you know how great our dog walks on a leash.

Dolly will be happy, though, when Erin is back home during the day so I'll give her more attention.

Dolly meets Jacob

Jacob + Dolly = BFF

Everyone we talk to asks how Dolly has reacted to Jacob. For those of you who have yet to meet Dolly, she is our 60-pound, 2-year-old black Lab/terrier mix. So far she's handled having to share the spotlight fairly well. There are times we can tell she feels left out, like when Erin and I are playing with Jacob on the bed or exerting all our energy toward stifling one of his late-night tantrums. When she's feeling left out -- or annoyed by the crying -- she'll often crawl under the bed, sleep in the hall or go into the nursery by herself and lie under the crib. I try to play with her as much as I can while Erin's feeding or doing something else with Jacob.

One morning the three of us were lying in bed when Dolly crawled out from under it and headed toward the hallway. Erin yelled "Good morning, Dolly!" She looked at us and kept walking, as if to say "Yea, whatever. You probably didn't even know I was in the room." It was hilarious, but we also felt really bad for her.

As for safety, Dolly is very gentle with Jacob. Dolly is a jumper and is very hyper and playful, but her Lab gene kicks in when she's around Jacob. She's constantly licking his feet and hands and never jumps up when we're holding him. She runs away, though, when we try to lean Jacob against her and have him sit on her like a horse. Hopefully that'll change by the time he can sit up on his own so we can get some cute pictures.

1 month old already

Nate and I are taking pictures of Jacob when he turns another month older. He turned 1 month old on Sunday! I cant believe it. He is growing so fast.


This picture was from a couple of weeks ago...

Mothers Day

This was the best day and I will never forget my first Mother's Day.
We have recently started to give Jacob a bottle once a day because I am going back to work next week and want him to be used to the bottle by that time. So Nate woke up and fed him a bottle early, so I didnt have to wake up. The boys let me sleep till 9:30. It was so nice to sleep late. I was woken up with breakfast in bed and my baby wearing a "I love Mommy" onsie that Nate found and put on him.


We relaxed in bed till around 11ish. It was relaxing to just lay in bed with my family and not have to get up to do anything. We got up and ran some errands and grabbed some lunch. We decided to take a walk on the riverwalk. It was beautiful outside.


We left the park and went home to take naps. I went to get my nails done while Nate took care of him. When I got home, Nate and I grilled some steaks and watched a movie.
It was a wonderful day/night with my family.

Some of Jacobs stylish pics

Jacob gets glamorous

Erin and I took Jacob to Sears on Monday to get professional pictures taken of him and the family. We were amazed at how well he did for the hour-long session. He was very alert and pretty calm. He did get fussy every now and then and needed to suck on his binky in between takes. Because of his love for his pacifier, we were pretty much left with a split-second to get off a good shot. The photographer had to set up camera, we quickly removed the pacifier and she hit the button. It worked out really well, as long as everyone's movements were coordinated. It was a lot of fun watching Jacob pose for the camera. At one point we caught a glimpse of him attempting to crawl up the pillow. Guess we need to start thinking about baby-proofing our place.

Jacob's Bris

Jacob had his Bris and Baby Naming this past Monday May 4th. Since he was in the hospital for a bit after he was born, we had to postpone his Bris. The Bris was beautiful. Nate's parents (Bubbe and Zedie), Aunt Heather, Nate's Uncle Jeff and cousin Rebecca all came in town for the Bris. Ricky also joined us for the ceremony as well. Of course I was extremely nervous the night before and the morning of the Bris. We arrived at the Shul (West End Synagogue) and set everything up before it all started. The Cantor and the Mohel were there. We sat around for a bit taking pictures and getting Jacob ready. I fed him a bottle and some baby Tylenol before getting started. As soon as I walked back into the room the Mohel asked for me to hand Jacob over and I broke down crying. I did not want my baby to hurt through this procedure. I sat in the front, Ricky and Heather took pictures. Uncle Jeff brought Jacob in so we could begin. The Cantor and Mohel sang some prayers and Nate did a beautiful job reading his hebrew portion. Sid, Nate's dad, put a pillow on his lap and the Mohel placed Jacob on the pillow for the procedure. While he was in the process Robin, Nate's mom, gave him wine so he would not feel a lot of the pain. Weird enough, Nate did the snipping. He did a great job. I covered my eyes and cried the whole time. I could not watch anything and hated to hear Jacob cry so hard because I could not comfort him. After it was over, Nate handed me Jacob so I could finally comfort him. I felt so bad for him. We proceeded with the Baby Naming and then the ceremony came to an end. Jacob was not a happy camper but 20 minutes later he fell asleep and slept for 6-7 hours straight. It was a wonderful day and could not ask for a better Bris.
Jacob is a perfect Jew now!

Hospital Pictures

Welcome!

Welcome to The Karlin Clan blog, a Web site devoted to Jacob and other things going on in our lives. For those of you without Facebook, this will be a way to see pictures and videos and read about how quickly Jacob is growing and learning.

We hope y'all enjoy this blog, and we will do our best to keep up with it.

-Nate and Erin

Jacob Lee enters this world

Twelve hours and one tornado warning later, Jacob Lee Karlin made his debut in this crazy world. He was born at 8:42 p.m. April 10. He weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 19.5 inches long. We, more so Erin, were relieved he didn't come out an 8 1/2-pound baby like the doctors were predicting.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. for Erin to be induced. The nurse gave her the pitosin to start the contractions, but she had to go the first two hours med-free because the anaesthesiologist was busy with a C-section. Those were the longest two hours of the entire labor. Another four passed until Erin finally reached four centimeters, which put her in active labor. It was about that same time that the hospital PA system announced code yellow. A tornado warning had been issued for pretty much all of Middle Tennessee, which included us. Several nurses came running into our room, hands full with blankets. They closed the blinds, covered the windows and moved Erin's bed to the center of the room. We thought, what would happen if Erin suddenly was ready to have the baby and we were still under the warning? Luckily we didn't have to worry about that. The tornado never hit Clarksville, but it did cause a lot of destruction 90 miles south of us in Murfreesboro, killing a woman and her infant.

Once Erin reached active labor, the time seemed to fly by. In about the same amount of time it took reach four centimeters, Erin went through the remaining six when her doctor decided to start the delivery process.

That last hour or so was one I will never forget. I always thought I would be categorized as one of those new dads who passed out at the sight of his child's birth, but I wasn't. I had never felt closer to Erin than I had at that moment. It developed an unspoken bond that I guess only other dads who watched their wives give birth would understand.

At 8:42 p.m. little Jacob had finally breathed his first breath. That initial intake, though, turned out to be one helluva deep gulp. Within minutes after his arrival, he began to make a horrific grunting sound and was immediately rushed to the NICU. He had formed what's called anemathorax, which means, in my best medical understanding, that he had a pocket of air trapped between his right lung and his chest wall. The doctors had to stick a needle in his side and suck out an 30 milliliters of air. He was placed on 100 percent oxygen and had to stay in the NICU. We couldn't see him that night because the nurses didn't want him to be overstimulated.

Having to take in the news that your newborn son is sick after a physically and emotionally exhausting day in Labor and Delivery was one of the toughest things I had experienced in my life. But Erin and I hung close to each other and tried to stay tough for our little guy. But our breaking point came around midnight when the doctor gave us an update. Although he told us the hole in his lung did not appear to be growing and he will most likely be OK, both of us began to ball as the grim thought sank deeper that there still was a chance he might not make it. But the Gateway nursing staff was great and as y'all know Jacob turned out perfect. Everyone told us NICU babies make for tougher kids later in life and so far that has been nothing short of the truth. By the next day, he was off the oxygen and breathing completely on his own.

Three weeks later, Jacob cried, well, like a little baby, at his bris. It was as if the issue with his lung never happened. As parents, it's our job to worry about our child. But he's not showing any signs of discomfort, so why should we.