It's Been a While

Hard to believe my last post was June 29th, 2008...17 days after Jack was born. He's know 18 months old. Kaylin is 3 years and change.

Facebook kind of took over the updates, news, drivel, etc, etc, ad nauseum. However, I thought I'd use the family blog to chronicle my Total Hip Replacement (THR).

In the early 90s, I woke up one morning after lifting weights (yes, I know, it's quite obvious that I regularly hit the weights), I could barely walk. My right hip was so stiff that it took great effort and a few minutes just to straighten it out. The pain was pretty intense as well.

A trip to the doctor, and a tell-tale X-ray, revealed that I had Perthes Syndrome as a child...around 5 or 6 years old. Even I could see the difference between the right and left hip. Oddly enough, I had no history of hip or knee pain, and no irregular gait. However, my right leg did appear and feel shorter than the left.

Perthes Syndrome affects the growth and development of the ball of the femur. You can check out Wikipedia for additional information - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legg–Calvé–Perthes_syndrome.

Thus began almost 20 years of daily, but not constant, pain. At times the pain was merely annoying. But usually it was fairly intense. Over the years I've lost almost all the left and right rotation and am quickly losing movement forward and backward. It's getting harder and harder to put on my own socks. The long term prognosis was quite simple. At some point I was guaranteed to have my hip replaced. The goal was to put it off as long as possible for two reasons:

• With each passing year, the technology improves.
• If I get it done too young, I'll have to get it done again

Well, "as long as possible" is January 18, 2010...and I will probably have to have it done again in 20 years (plus or minus 5 years).

More to come...time to get ready for the 3rd and final Christmas celebration of 2009.

Gratitude

It seems like such a small thing to make a meal, help move some furniture, or lay down a coat of paint. A few dollars. A couple hours of your time. But multiply that by 20 or 30 and it makes a huge difference in the life of a family...my family.

Thanks to David and Vicky S. for watching Kaylin and helping paint. Thanks to Jake S. for helping me move furniture into Jack's room. Thanks to my brother Dave for help with the border. And thanks to the many people that have provided us with meals during Genny's bed rest and after Jack's birth.

If not for our family and friends, we'd be eating 3 square meals a day of Domino's Pizza and Jack would be sleeping in an empty dresser drawer.

Genny and I can't thank you all enough for the kindness and generosity that you've shown our family.

God Bless.

Coincidence?

It is the rare diaper change that is not accompanied by pee, poop, or both. Thus far, Genny has bore the brunt of Jack's, uhh, wrath. Coincidence? I'll never tell.


Once, I swear he "threw a curve ball." Poop was actually underneath the lip of the dishwasher. How did he pull that one off?


I am amazed at the force, volume, and distance that little Jack is capable of. He hasn't hit the ceiling, yet...just give him time.


Speaking of diaper changes, here's a comparison photo for you.



Kaylin's is on the left, Jack's is on the right. Isn't Jack's diaper cute?

Well, gotta go...change another diaper.

My heart is overflowing...and I am speechless.

The Story of "Jackson William"

"Honey, you're going to kill me." is probably not the best way to begin a discussion with your wife. The response? "What did you do?" "What didn't you do?"

Well, neither. However...

We had settled on a name that really never settled with me. Since I wasn't forthcoming with any better suggestions, we agreed to name our son after me - James John or "Jimmy John." But I still wasn't sure about having a "Jr." or a "II." So, I did a little research on Tuesday night, June 10. At that point, a C-Section was scheduled for Tuesday, June 17. 7 days away. Plenty of time to discuss a new name.

What did I find? Mostly other's opinions on the subject...too confusing, arrogant, the child doesn't have his own identity, etc., etc., ad nauseum...enough to question naming our son after me.

Now what? Thus the conversation Wednesday, June 11 that began with "Honey..."

Then what? Thursday morning, June 12, my lovely wife decides to go into labor. Around 11:00am, Genny's doctor tells us we're going to have a baby at 4:00pm...in 5 hours!

At 1:00pm, we still hadn't decided on a name. We had tossed around a few ideas over the past 12 hours. Around 2:00pm, we finally decided on "Jackson William." I think we made the right decision.

Why "Jackson?" We like the name "Jack." Solid. Straight forward. Why "William?" In honor of my brother Bill (William).

I think Genny has forgiven me.

We're Home

Good Evening, Folks.

All is well with Jim, Genny, Kaylin, and Jackson. We brought Jackson home today. I can't think of a better way to celebrate Father's Day. Everyone is doing well...exhausted, but well.

I know you've been waiting for a photo, so here it is...

Isn't he adorable? He doesn't open his eyes very often, but we're fairly confident that they are dark blue...for now.

It's late, so I'll cut this short. Stay tuned for the story of how we came up with his name. It's funny now, but not so much just a few hours before he was born.

Introducing...

Jackson William Petersen
7 pounds 15 ounces
19.5 inches
Born at 4:24pm, Thursday, June 12

Good Morning, Folks.

Everyone is doing very well. Jack is a very health little boy. His Apgars (sp?) were 8 and 9, on a scale of 1 to 10. Thus far, he is a very good sleeper. His hair is darker with a little red tint. I think he looks like Genny...beautiful.

Genny is recovering well. I think she is doing better than she did with Kaylin.

I'll be heading home this morning to get Kaylin (my Mom is staying with us for a few days) so she can meet her little brother.

We'll be checking out of the hospital on Sunday. I'll try to add some photos once we get home.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers.