Each year on Valentine’s Day when people are sharing their warm & fuzzies about their significant other, I think back to 6 years ago when I was in labor with Jack. I was at 31 ½ weeks of pregnancy and was desperately trying to keep the kid in my belly. But, my little lover boy was DONE with the whole cooking thing and wanted OUT.
So, on that Valentine’s Day I was sitting in my hospital bed waiting to get a second steroid shot in the hopes that Jack would be born with healthy lungs.
On February 15th at 5:45 am, Jack was born. He weighed 4 pounds, 15 ounces and was 18 inches long. We were able to hold him for about 5 minutes before he was moved to the NICU. You can read his birth story here.
Here we are about 2 minutes after I popped him out:
Jack stayed in the NICU until March 8th. Each day, I’d stare at him though the incubator window and hold his little hand. I was allowed to have him out for about 20 minutes a day, and I looked forward to those 20 minutes all day long.
Fast forward 6 years.
My preemie is 6 years old. So in honor of his birthday, here are 6 things about Jack:
#1 Jack loooooves his mommy. He loves to snuggle with me daily and yesterday morning asked me very formally if I would please be his Valentine.
#2 He had his first wiggly tooth and wiggled that thing daily for almost a month. It finally fell out last night, so he had his first Tooth Fairy visit on his birthday!
#3 Jack is having his very first kid’s birthday party this year. I’ll post all about it next week, but it will be a Superhero craft party and he’s super excited!
#4 Jack is OBSESSED with Legos. He has a huge bin of them on his art table and will sit there for over an hour building his inventions. His favorite TV shows to watch are Johnny Test, and Phineas and Ferb.
#5 Jack also loves pirates, treasure and traps. In fact, most days there is at least one trap somewhere in our house that Travis and I have to try not to trip over
#6 Current favorite foods are cheeseburgers, cheese-its, and marshmallows toasted over the indoor (or outdoor) fire.
Happy Birthday to my kiddo!