Grain of Rice

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training tomorrow so Saxton Joakim is getting pretty darn excited for his first baseball season to begin. We’re absolutely sure this is going to be the year. Go cubbies!

Thank you Katherine for the handmade Cubs outfit.

Note: This is the only Cubs outfit Joakim has received… uh hum : )

Sorry it’s been so long since we’ve written. The nights and days have run together since Joakim’s birth, it’s hard to believe that he’s almost 3 months…
He is doing great! At his pediatrician appt. last week he weighed 13 lbs, 6 ozs and was 2 feet long! Here in Puerto Rico he seems big, everyone tells me that he’s huge! I think he’s perfect. He is a gorgeous child, everytime he looks up at me with those big blue eyes, I melt. He’s looking older now, changing almost everyday and definitely has lost the newborn look. His hair is still in between dirty blond and strawberry blond. His thighs and arms are filling out, a nice fat roll on each thigh…I’m aiming for 2 or 3 :). He’s reaching for things and has now figured out that he has legs. Just tonight he started kicking the hanging toys on his activity mat, instead of punching or grabbing them. He is also rolling over more often now. He found his hands awhile ago and they are in his mouth often. He loves his thumb…we might end up with a thumbsucker! He is very interactive, with a repertoire of facial expressions. He’s also laughing & talking quite a bit, which brightens our days.
He is doing so well! We couldn’t be happier with him and his progress. The only thing is that he needs to wake up less at night. Say prayers for him to sleep, do magic tricks, sleep dances… anything. I need to sleep!

Our favorite Joakims or derivations thereof:

• Joaquin Rodrigo (I was playing Rodrigo’s Concerto for Guitar with the orchestra the week Joakim was born)

• Josquin Des Prez

• Gioachino Rossini

• Joseph Joachim

• Joaquin Turina

• Joakim

We wish all of you a wonderful holiday season! Joakim is almost 6 weeks old and is doing very well. He is starting to look a little bit chubby. He has big blue eyes and his hair is looking strawberry blond. He is becoming more interactive each day and sends us beautiful smiles often. We still feel incredibly lucky to have him, especially during this holiday time. Our first Christmas was very special.

Joakim’s name has been the subject of many conversations amongst us and our family and friends. We liked the Spanish name Joaquin and what it meant. The name is from Hebrew and exists in many languages with different spellings and pronunciations. We decided on the Scandinavian spelling because Saxton liked it and for the pronunciation, we are using something similar to the Spanish version, which sounds like - hwakeem - 2 syllables.
Joakim means “God will establish” or “established by God.” It was the name of the Virgin Mary’s Father.

Enjoy the new pics!

Joakim is 1 month old today and is a big boy! At the pediatrician appointment yesterday he weighed 10 lbs. and is 21 inches long. He is in the 50th percentile for all of the categories and we couldn’t be more proud that he is perfectly average. Well, to us, he is the best. Enjoy the new photos on the pictures page. Happy Holidays!

Pampers newborn diapers are better than Huggies… don’t be fooled, Huggies leak! You know your life has changed when you start comparing diaper brands…

We’ve definitely experienced a huge change in the San Juan Rose household. Only sleeping in 2-3 hour intervals each night, breastfeeding 24/7 and the drastic hormonal changes have been tough. But we can do this! The main change though is that we have the most beautiful, incredible, gorgeous, amazing, handsome, strong little man in our home now. We are incredibly lucky to have him. He is a gift and we are overwhelmed daily with immense gratitude to have him. He is more than 3 weeks old now and is doing very well. He seems to be growing and putting on some extra weight (we will find out for sure at the pediatrician appt. next week) and is stronger each day. He has great control of his neck and head already and has some really strong legs on him! He is able to focus his eyes on our faces and he sometimes gives us a smile. He has a strong grip, holding on to our fingers and has already pulled my hair! He is also sporting quite the natural hairdo. He wants to be like Daddy already :).

He was a very peaceful baby; just eating and sleeping and having tranquil awake periods, but at 2 weeks old he became a bit fussy. We still love him but with each day he must be realizing and feeling more about his little body and feels it’s time to cry and fuss about it. Thankfully these periods are only a small portion of each day.

The labor and delivery experience was um….difficult! It was 11 hours and 4 hours of it were extremely hard and painful. At the moment I have no desire to go through that again… but it was worth it to get him here. When they put him on my tummy I couldn’t believe how huge he looked, but now that we’re home he seems so little, especially when I see him next to other babies who are not much older.

Check the pictures page for new photos. Many thanks again to everyone!!!

-A very new mother in training….

Yesterday, November 16th, 2006 at 7:30 in the morning, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, next to the ocean; Joakim Pacheco Rose was born to two very very lucky people.

After a long labor, he came into the world weighing 8 lbs., 9 ounces and measuring 20 inches long - exactly the same as his father did. His mother is recovering beautifully and was a champion in labor. Tomorrow morning the whole family comes home and we’d love to hear from you. We are indescribably thankful for all of your thoughts, prayers, gifts, visits, cards, comments, smiles, hugs, calls, emails, text messages and previously unmentioned well wishin’.

More on the name Joakim later… if you were wondering.

Tonight we enjoyed a yummy dinner at a lovely restaurant in San Juan called Bottles. We are celebrating the 10 year anniversary of our first date; a Dave Matthew’s concert in Denver I still remember clearly…sigh…

Now 10 years later I am 38 weeks pregnant and ready to deliver at any moment. As you can see in the photos, I am grandissima to say the least. At my apppointment last week I was already dilated to 1 1/2 cm. and 25% effaced. My next appointment is tomorrow and I expect to be a little more now, especially since I’ve continued to stay active and work. My doctor said not to get too excited though because I could stay that way for 2 weeks or go into labor within hours - so we just have to wait it out and see.

I am terribly uncomfortable because of my big belly. I’m not sleeping well and even simple movements are becoming difficult. The end is no fun! Up until about a month ago everything was bearable, but now…wow, the end is quite dramatic! Saxton keeps saying things such as, “Not much longer,” and “Why isn’t he here yet?” Saxton thinks he’s going to come out ready to play catch out on the playground. All 3 of us watched the whole world series. This baby is very prepared for the baseball mania he will experience with Daddy. We haven’t bought him a glove yet because Saxton doesn’t know what position he’s going to play!

I shouldn’t complain because in reality everything is fine. The pregnancy has gone very well and he seems to be doing great. He’s approximately 6 1/2 -7 lbs. now and 20-21 inches long. He’s packing on the fat now, this will help control his body temperature when he’s outside of the womb. His organs are fully developed and in place. His toenails and fingernails have grown to the tips of his toes and fingers (so cute!). The muscles in his arms and legs are very strong, he has a firm grasp which he’ll soon be able to use on our pinkies! He’s practicing lung movements breathing in and out the amniotic fluid. He sometimes gets hiccups because of this. His head is down and in position so he’s pretty much ready to greet the world - just a matter of time now. We can’t wait to meet him!!!

This might be the last entry before he arrives. As soon as we are able, we will announce his arrival on the blog along with pictures of him. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support throughout the pregnancy. Everything has meant so much to us. We hope you’ll get to meet him soon!

I am 35 weeks pregnant and HUGE! I have no idea how I will make it to my due date of Nov. 15th. Maybe it’s just the Puerto Rico heat and being so uncomfortable, but I’m starting to feel very strongly that I want my body back and for him to be here. Overall we are so fine though and more excited than ever to meet this little man.
At our appointment last Friday he measured right on target…. so he is approximately 5-6 lbs. and between 18-20 inches long! He is putting on an average of a 1/2 lb. per week now….heaven help me! His organs are almost mature and his lungs are almost fully developed, but if he were to be born now he would probably have to be put in an incubator. He still doesn’t have enough fat deposits beneath his skin to keep him warm outside of the uterus - so he needs to stay in the rice cooker a bit longer. His brain is developing rapidly and he’s practicing blinking. He’s dropping lower in my tummy and feels to be in the head-down position. He’s still moving a lot and is very active throughout the day. Last weekend he moved strongly throughout Saxton’s entire 3 hour symphony concert - incredible….We are very blessed and grateful to have him and look very forward to his arrival soon.

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