February 14, 2010

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!

February 12, 2010

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!

January 29, 2010

One Week

Jackson is one week old today. I already feel like time is going by so much faster with him. How has it already been a week? Strange as it may be, I feel like Jackson has been with us forever. It has been a lot of fun getting to know him, and I am eager to see what his little personality will be like. Here are just a few of the things that we have learned about Jackson in his first week:

~loves to nurse.
~smiles a lot in his sleep and if you run your finger along his cheeks.
~does not spit up (knock on wood).
~is mellow when awake, and can be awake for up to an hour at a time.
~is very patient when being loved on by his big brother.
~squeaks and makes a lot of noise in his sleep.
~sneezes and gets the hiccups often.
~enjoys being swaddled

I can't wait to learn more about you, my sweet love! Happy One Week! We love you very much.

Perfection

This morning was the definition of perfection. I sat on the couch snuggling Charlie while he tenderly held Jackson in his arms. Jackson was wide awake and was staring up at Charlie while his big brother patted his head and kissed him. The perfection only lasted about ten minutes, and I know that it won't be like that all of the time. It was something that I dreamed about during my entire pregnancy, and it just made tears come to my eyes. In the upcoming months, I realize that chaos will probably reign over calm. I just hope that in those crazy times I can remember the perfection of this morning and the way my two boys looked cuddling together. I truly feel like the luckiest mommy in the world right now.

Say What?

There has been a BIG development for our BIG boy over the last few weeks. Charlie has started to string words together into phrases. This is a two-year-old milestone that I was not expecting him to hit for a while, but out of nowhere Charlie proved me wrong. He has been saying "What's that?" and "That's stinky!" for a long time, but those are phrases that we say to him all of the time. He has just been mimicking us, so I was not counting them. But now, he is putting words together on his own. It is crazy how quickly it all happened! Some of his favorite phrases right now include:

Dadda home
Bye-bye Momma
Baby hold
More (fill in the blank)

I am sure there are many more that I am leaving out, but I am not working at full speed these days. I am, however, super proud of Charlie and am looking forward to hearing more of what he has to say. Way to go, big boy!!!

January 27, 2010

Photo Shoot with Mommy

I just can't get enough of Jackson's bitty, baby body! I love newborns - their sounds, the smell of their skin, the way they curl up when you hold them. It just makes me smile, and this time around I know all too well how quickly Jackson will grow and change. So, I could not resist taking some pictures of him the other night when I definitely should have been sleeping instead. Totally worth the lack of sleep if you ask me! Look at my handsome little man. I am so in LOVE!!!




Jackson's First Doctor's Appointment

We love our pediatrician, and I was so excited to introduce Jackson to Dr. Douglass. As always, she took her time and was so sweet and gentle with our baby boy. Jackson put on 2 ounces in 2 days, which was great news that he is getting enough to eat and that my milk is coming in nicely. Dr. Douglass did see the beginning signs of jaundice, but because of Jackson's weight gain did not feel that it was necessary to check his blood. Instead, she recommended that we come back next week for a weight check. So, for now I am just keeping my eye on him and making sure that he is eating often and has enough poopy and pee diapers. Other than watching for jaundice, Dr. Douglass said that he looks great. It is always great to hear that your baby is healthy!