One Month Already?

Has it really been one whole month? Jackson has already grown and changed so much in his first month. He has his one month check up on Wednesday, and we will find out just how much he has grown. I have a feeling he is in the upper percentiles for height and weight. He outgrew his newborn clothing shortly after two weeks, and I have to say he is already pushing the limits of some of his 0-3 month clothes. His face is so pudgy, and he has rolls everywhere. In addition to the weight gain this month, Jackson is also starting to lose his hair. I find little brown baby hair on all of his sheets and blankets. Maybe we'll have a baldy on our hands in a few months. Poor kiddo also has a bad case of baby acne. It is all over his face, neck, and upper chest and back.

Jackson is a very easy going baby. He cries to let us know that he is hungry and tired and is usually content to sit back and relax. The only time we have heard big time screaming is when his stomach is bothering him, and it is so sad to hear. Overall, he is happy and easy to please. He is very alert and tracks people and toys. He loves to smile and has just started to coo and goo. Jackson is very strong and can hold his head up well and pushes himself all over the place using his arms and legs.

We are starting to get a bit of a schedule with eating and sleeping. At the moment, Jackson is eating every 2 hours during the day...sigh. He is usually awake after eating and then takes a nap. At night, I get one 4 hour stretch. The rest of the night depends on his tummy and how congested he gets. Towards the end of the night, between 3-8 am, things tend to get a little hairy. He often moans and grunts in his sleep and wakes up congested but not wanting to eat. I am sooo ready to get this reflux under control and get his little nose cleared up.

As many of you know, Charlie and I had big time struggles with sleep. He was not on a good sleeper until close to his first birthday. There are many factors that contributed to this, many of which were out of my control. But, I have sworn that I will do everything in my power to help Jackson develop better sleep habits. One of the things that I have done to ensure this is to move him to his crib instead of the bassinet. As much as I would love to hold him and cuddle during naps, I am also putting him down in his own room. During the past week, we have had to make some exceptions in order to help keep him sleep upright. For the most part, however, Jackson has spent a lot of quality time in his own bed.

Happy One Month, Baby Boy!!!

Sunny Days

It's hard to believe that last Saturday we were playing in four inches of snow, and this Saturday we were taking the boys for a walk through the neighborhood in flip flops. You have got to love Georgia weather.

We test drove the double stroller, and took it for a quick spin around the neighborhood today. Charlie and Jackson enjoyed the ride, and Nick got a workout pushing the wide load around our hilly neighborhood. I told Nick that we really need to come up with a special name for a stroller of such magnitude. Suggestions welcome!

Parrot

Watch what you say when you are at our house these days. Charlie has become a little parrot and will often repeat words or phrases that we say. This has Nick and I on red alert when it comes to what we say around the little man. The other day, I was trying to open something and just could not get it. I exclaimed, "Shoot!" and quickly heard it being repeated back to me. I was very thankful that I did not choose the four letter equivalent!

Seriously?!?!

Apparently Jackson just can't get enough of our pediatrician, because he decided it was time to head back for visit number five this past Wednesday. Seriously?!?! I need to just keep my mouth shut. Didn't I just say I did not want to go back until his one month check up?

Turns out baby boy has silent reflux, which was causing his congestion along with a slew of other symptoms. He has been eating a lot lately, which I attributed to a growth spurt and to the stuffy nose. But most recently he has started crying while nursing and arching his back in pain. This was coupled with scary gagging episodes. When I told Dr. Douglass about all of these symptoms, she immediately said it sounded like silent reflux. Silent reflux because Jackson does not actually spit up. The stomach acid comes up into his mouth, but he swallows it back down. This makes the condition twice as painful because it burns him on the way up and again on the way down. Poor little man!!! She prescribed an antacid and gave me a ton of helpful tips for sleeping and feeding.

We have been doing everything the doctor said, but the prescription takes about a week to start fully working. Plus, it tastes awful, and Jackson spits about half of it out every time I give it to him. Today is the first day that I have noticed a difference. He is crying a lot less while nursing and has been able to go 2-3 hours between feedings. This is a huge improvement from 1-2 hours. All of the frequent feedings have really helped make Jackson into a chunky monkey. We found out at the appointment that Jackson weighs a whopping 10 pounds at 3.5 weeks old. I was shocked! Charlie only weighed a little over 11 pounds at 2 months old. Jackson really is a big boy.

Keep our little puppy in your thoughts. It is so sad watching him when he is in pain. I know we have only known him for a month, but he really does have the sweetest little personality. He rarely cries, and to see him screaming in pain is just awful. The worst part is that even when he is in pain, he will still look up at me and give me a big, gummy smile...sweet baby.

How Big is Jackson?

SOOOO big! He is only three and a half weeks old, but already I can tell that he is growing like a weed. Nick and I both noticed that he seemed bigger last Monday, and he has only continued to grow and change since then. He is way too long for newborn clothes and has graduated to size one diapers. How I wish I could slow things down. I love that he is getting big and strong, but my heart breaks at the thought of my tiny baby growing up so quickly.

Bath Buddies

Jackson's umbilical cord finally fell off last night, so it was time for his first bath. I couldn't resist letting the boys take a bath together. It was so cute watching the two of them in the bath together. Charlie helped wash Jackson and was very interested in his new bath buddy. Jackson was in a very Zen-like state for the bath. I am pretty sure he was thinking back fondly on his time in the womb.

Momma and the Boys

I had my first day alone with the boys today, and I am proud to say that I lived to blog about it. My mom called first thing this morning to tell me that she had been sick the night before. She felt fine this morning, but I did not want to take any chances on bringing germs into this house. So, I told her to take the day off, and the boys and I set off on our own. We had a great first day together. Of course there were some adjustments that had to be made, but all in all it went better than I had imagined. Now, that does not mean I am ready to send Grandma packing. She will be back tomorrow, and I am very grateful for her help.

Wide Load

I am now the proud owner of a double stroller. Actually, we got it as a Christmas gift from Grandma and Grandpa, but it just got put together this weekend. Charlie was very intrigued by it, so we decided to take it for a test run in the house. He loves his big boy snack cup and drink holder. I think he'd be happy to keep the stroller in the family room so that he could use it as an easy chair!

WARNING - If you see me coming in my new stroller, please watch out. I am not a tall person, and this is a big daddy stroller. Watch your toes, and small children beware! Momma Shaw might run you over :o)

Happy Valentine's Day

May your heart be filled with love on this Valentine's Day!!!

Snow Day

We had sooo much fun playing in the snow with Charlie on Friday. Nick came home from work early so that he could take Charlie out to play. It was hard getting Charlie to wait after he saw the snow falling outside. I could not believe that he actually remembered the snow that we had played in a few weeks ago, but he did. As soon as he saw it, he said, "Snow!"


As soon as Nick got home, the three of us bundled up and headed out to play. My mom stayed in to watch Jackson. As you can see from the pictures, Charlie was thrilled to play in the snow and did not seem to even notice that it was cold. It was so nice getting a chance to play together just the three of us. What a nice surprise to have a true snow storm in Georgia!!!

All Smiles

Shortly after his two week birthday, I had the pleasure of receiving Jackson's first real smile. He is such a big smiler in his sleep, and will even smile if I tickle his cheek while awake. But this smile was the real deal. I was talking to my mom and Charlie while holding him in my arms. After talking for a while, I paused to look down at Jackson. When I made eye contact, his little face lit up. I thought it was a coincidence at first because it was so early. But the smiles did not stop there. I have discovered that by saying, "Hi, baby, baby!" I can get a big grin out of him. The first smile really does make the late night feedings worth it!

New Baby Worries

When we first brought Charlie home as a newborn, I worried about every hiccup, sneeze, rash, etc. As a nursing mom, I was constantly concerned with how much milk he was getting and whether or not he was putting on enough weight. I agonized over so many tiny things as a new mom.


That's why I was so excited to bring Jackson home - no more new mommy worries, right? How wrong! I think I am actually more paranoid about this little man than I ever was about Charlie. Maybe it's because he seems so small next to his big bro, or maybe it's the fact that we have been to the doctor four times since he was born.


It all started with his well check up two days after we got out of the hospital. All it took was the mere mention of Jaundice to put me on red alert. Two days later, Jackson had some tummy problems, and of course I thought that it might be related to the Jaundice. Back to the Dr. we went. Turns out his Jaundice had gotten worse but was still manageable without major interventions. We went back the next week to do a weight check on the little guy. I was so relived to hear that he had already passed his birth weight and was 7 lbs, 11 oz at 11 days old. My relief did not last long because the Dr. told me that she wanted to send Jackson to have an ultrasound on his lower back. He was born with something called a sacral dimple. It is a dimple in the skin at the end of the tailbone. It runs in families, and Charlie even has one. Jackson's is very deep, however, and my pediatrician wanted to have the ultrasound done in order to make certain that the dimple was in fact closed. When I got home, I hopped on the Internet to learn more about sacral dimples. Big mistake! Now I was worried that my little man had some sort of neurological defect. I fretted quietly until the ultrasound, and I was so thankful to hear that his little dimple is indeed closed.


To add to my worries, Jackson has a cold. He has been congested for over a week now. This is making eating and sleeping very difficult for him. The nights are the worst as they always are for anyone who is sick. He moans and whimpers in his sleep and won't eat for more than 5-10 minutes. This results in waking up every hour to eat towards the end of the night. Even though he may not be feeling well, he still manages to smile all the time and is still just a sweet natured little guy.


Our next visit to the doctor is scheduled for 2/24 for his one month well check. I hope we can stay healthy until then.

Adjusting to Life as a Big Brother

The good news is that Charlie loves his baby. He wakes up most mornings and wants to know where the baby is. Charlie asks to hold Jackson a lot and can be so sweet and gentle with him. He finds pictures of babies in books and always points them out sweetly.

The bad news is that Charlie is having a hard time being gentle with Jackson. He pulls, leans on, and hits the baby. Of course, we never leave Jackson alone with Charlie, but he still manages to do these things with us right there. Don't be surprised if you start to see pictures of Jackson in a helmet in the near future. In addition to the rough loving, Charlie is also having a hard time sharing me or anyone else with the baby. My mom has been helping out for the past two weeks, and Charlie misbehaves if the baby and I are around, and he rarely lets my mom even hold the baby without throwing a fit. The whining in our home has hit an all-time high. Visit at your own risk!

Oh, how I hope things get better quickly. So far, I have not had an entire day alone with the boys. I might never let my mom go home if Charlie keeps being such a little beast. I love the boy dearly, but he is truly testing my sleep-deprived nerves!!!

Dadda Turns the BIG 3-0

Nick turned 30 last Friday. We had a busy weekend helping Dadda celebrate his big day. On Friday we had dinner as a family, Saturday was a birthday date night at our favorite sushi restaurant, and Sunday was birthday dinner with Nick's whole family.

Happy 30th Birthday, Dadda!!! We love you very much!