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Jackson {Two Months}

Well, the last 2 months have flown by way faster than we could have ever imagined! We have loved every day with this sweet boy and are so thankful! Each day is slightly different; we haven't really gotten into any real routine. We had a couple of weeks that we started putting Jackson down for the night around 8:30. He would sleep for about 3.5- 4 hours then wake up 2-3 more times for feedings. However, with our busy and unpredictable evenings, this has not become a regular routine. We still aim to feed him, change him, and lay him down sometime around 9 - unless it's Wednesday and we are not home from Bible class yet. 

As far as sleep goes, Jackson does an amazing job at putting himself back to sleep through the night. He usually falls asleep in our arms and as soon as we lay him down, the eyes open wide. He will lay in his bed for sometimes 15 minutes just stretching and kicking and staring until he finally falls back asleep. Even after his night time meals, he will fall back asleep easily on his own. 

We have increased his reflux medication dosage because he has gained so much weight! He is a great eater! During the day he will eat every 2-3 hours...usually its every 2 hours on the dot! But, his feeding times have decreased from 30+ minutes to an average of about 15 minutes at a time- much more manageable for Momma! 

I have so enjoyed spending everyday with him! Maternity leave has been a great blessing! WE will go back to work part time in the middle of November--WE meaning he gets to come with me! We have pretty much everything we need, but I have been collecting and ordering a few extra items to leave at work for Jackson. He will have a little area dedicated to him in the office...Piano Gym, Floor Mat, pack n play, Take Along Swing, etc. I am excited about the Take Along Swing- it is so convenient for small spaces and traveling! Easy to fold up and so far, Jackson likes it!

This past weekend, Jackson went on his first youth group retreat! I was a little nervous about the van ride- I didn't know how he would do and we had 24 other people traveling with us! Baby J did awesome! I had pumped and prepared a bottle for each ride and we only needed it once. One of the boys in the youth group was sitting by Jackson when he was ready to eat so he got to give him his first "car ride bottle"! Jackson has no trouble transitioning between nursing and bottle. I did my best not to pack the entire house and I think I did pretty good! We took his Rock N Play sleeper (which he sleeps great in every night right beside my bed!) and his Boppy Lounger along with a ton of clothes and diapers.

Weight: 12 lb, 9 oz

Height: 23.5"

Hair is returning (he lost a little in the front)

Cradle cap is clearing up!

Likes:

sucking his hands

kicking

eating

talking

Dislikes:

being hungry

fights day time naps

Milestones:

He now laughs!

He is such a happy baby boy!

Happy Two Months!

Jackson Grady

It's safe to say that since my last post- July 2- life has been crazy, busy, wonderful, and joyous! I will quickly wrap up the last few weeks of the pregnancy and then move on to the delivery and the first month of little Jackson's life!

July was full of baby showers, house prep, finishing the nursery, and a week at Peach Valley camp. Thankfully, the new director's cabin was completed {enough} so that Jordan and I could stay there for the week at camp. Maybe it was because of the pregnancy, but camp was HOT! :) It was also a wonderful week and I am so happy I was able to go! I was worried a little bit throughout the week about getting too hot, but I was comforted by having our two great nurses there. I swelled more during camp than I did the entire pregnancy combined. Once we were home, the swelling was gone within 24 hours! So, camp ended on July 22, the next weekend we made our last trip to Yoakum pre-baby for a final shower and for Jordan to preach. The next week followed with a doctor check up (where she first mentions inducing early) and Discipleship University. The next week, we had what turned in to our final pre-baby doctor appointment, our last date night as a family of two, lots of finishing touches and deep cleaning around the house {thanks to mom!}, and before we knew it, we had a scheduled date to meet baby J!

Due to my blood clotting issues, doctor thought it was best to go ahead and induce at 37 weeks (2 days). Being that I have a crazy problem with wanting my entire life planned out, I did not mind knowing ahead of time exactly when we would be going to the hospital :) I was a little nervous and anxious as we left the house that morning {8-16-16} at 5:30 am but mostly we were so excited. I had complete trust in my doctor and we had been praying for a safe delivery, so we weren't really worried. We got to the hospital at 6 am and the IV with pitocin was started by 7 am. Then we waited, and waited, and 12 members of our family waited and waited- taking up a large portion of the waiting room :) I was progressing as she expected, though. She decided to break my water around 1 pm and then I really started progressing quicker. I got the epidural around 2:45- which was AMAZING. I'm all for the pain killers. Modern medicine definitely has benefits and I have no problem taking advantage of that :) After the epidural, the rest of the day seemed to go by quickly. The nursing staff changed sometime around 6. My new nurse- named Erin- was super sweet (all the nurses were, but she was my favorite). She was with us from the moment she came on shift until we had baby J and were moved into our postpartum room. Delivery of Jackson went rather smooth. We pushed for about one hour and then he was here! And there are simply no words to describe how amazing it was to finally have our baby in our arms. He weighed 7 lb even- we only expected him to weigh right under 6lb. He measured 20 in long. He was perfect- little cone head and all ;)

I was feeling great and told the doctor I felt much better now that he was here! She informed me that I was not finished- I had forgotten about the placenta needing to come out! That's when we realized there were some complications on my end. I'll spare you all the details, but long story short- it was more serious than we knew at the time. And I am so glad the doctors and nurses did not inform us of how serious it was until the next day. We simply got to enjoy everything about baby J while the doctors were working on me. She told me to push the epidural button for some more medicine before she started working on me, so I was just fine- adoring baby J and Jordan across the room. About 45 minutes later, she had removed the placenta and cord and was finished. She discovered that the placenta and umbilical cord were both abnormal and would sent off for testing. We were immediately worried. The results came back a few days later and it turned out that the placenta was infarcted. We had to Google that one because we had never heard of it before! We also had a followup appointment about it- don't think we solely relied on Google ;) In layman's terms- parts of the placenta were dead. Due to my blood clotting issues, blood channels feeding the placenta had clotted causing parts of it to die. The doctor and nurses were shocked that that placenta, "one this size" (apparently it was small) could support the growth of a baby his size. We knew it was just an answer to many prayers. We learned that after 38 weeks gestation, with a blood clotting disorder, the chances of still birth are much higher. We did not know about the placenta issues before the birth and we are so thankful that everything turned out perfectly.

We were home two days later and we have spent the majority of the last month staring at, holding, hugging, loving, kissing, and rocking baby J- saying a thousand times that we just can't believe he is here, he is ours, and he is so perfect. And baby J has spent his whole, one month life EATING. :) During the first month, he gained about 1 pound a week! :D

Happy 1 Month, baby J!

Likes:
eating
his moose paci
rocking
his swing
riding in the car
white noise
baths
rock and play sleeper

Dislikes:
being hungry
starting to fight going to sleep
restricted leg and arm movement
waking up is so hard :)

weight: 9lb 7 oz
height: 19.5 in--dr office says hospital measures wrong :) ?

Hey, Third Trimester!

Well I forgot to write when we entered the third trimester a few weeks ago! We are now starting week 31 tomorrow! I'm back to a 2 week rotation on Dr appointments, which I love! We just saw Dr. P on Thursday and everything is still looking good! Little J is almost 4 lb! He still does not exactly cooperate for good pictures on the ultrasound so we didn't have any printed that were clear of his face. We are debating whether or not to do the 3D ultrasound. We would like to see him, of course, but we've already had a few early on with the high risk doctor and we don't necessarily want to spend the extra $$. Who knows what we will do!

Dr. P is still saying she doesn't think we will make it to 40 weeks. That's ok with me as long as it isnt TOO early. She is comfortable with week 37, but says 35/36 would be 'okay' but likely NICU time. Let's all pray it isn't week 33 because that is too early and we will be at Peach Valley camp! And who knows, he may stay content in there 'til 40 weeks.

At the appointment last week, she put the strap monitor thing on me for the first time. That was kind of neat and intersting. One thing recorded his heart beat, the other thing recorded any contractions, and I had a button to push anytime he moved- which was alot! We still get such a joy out of seeing/feeling him move.

A little over a week ago, we were on the mission trip with our youth group to a children's home in Oklahoma. The girls in our group also enjoyed feeling Little J move and often stuck their hands to my tummy just in case he did move :) I didn't mind at all- I loved seeing their excitement.

I have, however, found out recently that I do not handle the heat well at all. We went to visit at camp Hensel one night and that's when I realized the heat is no joke. Swelling is real. Also, leg pain is real. XX amount of pounds added in a short time period makes a big difference. Even so, I'll take the swelling, the heat, the leg pain, back pain, and extra weight over and over again with no complaint. People have made comments about how awful summer pregnancy is, how they don't envy me, etc...I just don't see it the same way. I couldn't be happier to be pregnant- even in the hot Texas summer!

This summer has been going by a lot quicker than I had imagined! Of all the youth 'big' events, we only have Peach Valley left! Two weeks until PV, then the next big event for us is BABY J!

We've been working more on his room and almost have it ready. We have a few showers coming up the end of July and after that, we will have more of the items to finish his room. I am definitely in FULL NESTING MODE!

We have failed on bump pictures the last few weeks, due to Jordan's camera diving off a mountain on our last trip (Yosemite). But we have a couple of maternity sessions with friends coming up soon and I am excited for that! I will also include some nursery pics soon :)

How Blessed We Are!

Day #159. It's been 130 days since we found out we were pregnant again. I know I say it in every post, but I just can't believe we are already this far along. Up until about week 10, it seemed like every single day drug on and slowly passed as we were waiting to reach the end of the first trimester, waiting to feel like we were in a safer "zone", and waiting to be able to find the heartbeat at home. Since we have reached the second trimester, days and weeks are flying by and before we know it, Jackson will be in our arms, Lord willing. And I think I have a hard time consistently updating my blog now; just wait until he is here! :)

A LOT has happened in our lives since the last post at 18 weeks. Jordan got to feel Jackson move for the first time on April 9- 18 weeks 6 days. We were driving to our caring group meal that Saturday evening, and as he started moving, I showed Jordan where to put his hand on my tummy and he felt a few nice, strong kicks! At least we call them kicks, I guess they could be punches? That was such an exciting time! We also learned that evening that, in our state, abortion is legal at that point in pregnancy. As we felt Jackson moving around, it was a somber moment realizing that people could and have killed sweet little babies the same age as him. Since then, Jackson is still moving around a lot, Jordan feels him more and more often and several family members have been able to feel him too! He moves throughout the day, and every evening when I lay on the couch we can feel him move. I can't help the smile that spreads across my face each time. Maybe it is coincidental, but sometimes, if I hold my hand on my stomach for a few minutes he will start to move in that spot. I like to think it isn't just a coincidence, but who knows :)

The next week we left for vacation. We had a wonderful time, saw new parts of God's beautiful creation, and enjoyed our time together. I was nervous just about the whole time; I was so worried something would happen to Jackson while we were there- I guess that's what mothers do- worry about their babies. My worry was relieved every day, though, when I would feel him move or listen to his heart beat. We had a doctor's appointment the week we got home and everything is still good! He is still growing, heart still beating, and always moves during an ultrasound. It was both exciting and weird to feel him move and see him move on the screen at the same time. We also had an appointment prior to the trip and still had the doctor's approval to go. She just said one thing, "make sure you don't fall". Because of Jackson, of course, but also because of the blood thinning medication I was on. I wasn't going to do any strenuous hiking, no long distance, no difficult paths, so I didn't think I would fall. Leave it to me- day 1 of vacation, first photo site, flat, wide, short path to see a waterfall meet the ocean and I fell. I am still not really sure what happened other than I lost my balance and could not regain it. It was definitely a slow motion, old person fall which we laugh at now. But at the time, I was terrified and hysterical. I only hit on my knee and hip and arm- on the side, not on my stomach. I found the next bench, sat there and cried. And couldn't stop crying. As if the fall wasn't embarrassing enough! The end of the trail was only about 50 more yards and I refused to go any farther. I told Jordan I would just see the waterfall from his pictures rather than walking any farther. I laid on the bench -the way that I lay in the evenings when he always moves- and prayed and prayed that he would move and prayed that everything was ok. He did end up moving which gave me some relief, but I was still worried. The moment we got to the hotel that night I checked his heart rate and checked it everyday after that. And, everything is fine. I had a scrape and a knot on my knee for the rest of the trip but nothing that hasn't healed by now. Once we felt him move and checked his heartbeat, we began to laugh with relief at the fall and both agreed that we would not tell our mothers until we got home! We knew they would worry the rest of the trip!

Prior to going on our trip, I always research Pinterest for things to do/see at the park we are visiting. I came across the blog of a couple who have had some of the same struggles as us bearing children. Throughout the time they were waiting to become parents, they would also travel to National Parks to get away, hike, camp, relax, etc. Once they got pregnant, they wanted maternity pictures taken at Yosemite. Her pictures were so beautiful! I showed them to Jordan and wanted to take some while we were there- even though we were only at 20 weeks. So, we spent about an hour before supper one evening taking maternity pictures. It was fun and I know we will cherish those pictures forever!

We came back from vacation and hit the ground running! Focal Point started the next week so we had some final prep work to get done that week. And it's always busy returning to work and playing catch up after vacation. We also had a family reunion of sorts (Decoration, for those who know us well :) ) that coming weekend and dear friends who would be our house guests for the week were arriving. We were then hit with the sad but joyful news that Jordan's Pawpaw had finished his race and had gone on to meet the Lord. Plans changed, friends helped, arrangements were made, family gathered, and a time of reminiscing and rejoicing was had. Focal Point began, early mornings, late night, full days, and before we knew it, the week was coming to an end. As we laid Jordan's Pawpaw to rest, I couldn't help but think about the passing of one life and the coming of another. Both joyful, but one a little bittersweet. We have both lost our Pawpaws in 2016. We both were blessed to have grown up with all four of our grandparents living and we wanted our children to be able to know all of our grandparents as well. We pray that Jackson will be blessed to know, love, learn from, and grow up with all four of his grandparents around, and we know that because of our Pawpaws and our other grandparents that we have been blessed with godly parents, faithful families, great memories, and a legacy of Christian service that we pray we will pass down to Jackson. While he won't meet our Pawpaws on this side of eternity, we pray that he will live in such a way that he meets them on the other side and spends an eternity in Heaven with the whole family. How blessed we are with such an opportunity. Let's all take advantage of it.

Week 18!

Is it REALLY 18 weeks already?! It is so hard to believe that this is actually happening and that we are *almost* half way! You have probably wondered sometime in the last 6 weeks where we have been and if I will ever write another blog...sorry! There hasn't been a lot that has gone on over the last 6 weeks. Four weeks ago (at 14 weeks) we had the shortest doctor appointment ever with Dr. P. We went in, listened to the heart, asked "what now?", and then went home. Dr. P told us that everything was looking great, all the reports came in from Dr. Horton (high risk dr) and that now we just treat this as a "normal" pregnancy. We don't really know how to handle normal ;) but we are so thankful to have had good, "normal" check ups. And we love having a doppler at home so we can check on his heartbeat anytime!

The last five weeks have been pretty pleasant. I have not been sick since week 13, so that is nice! I just tire out much quicker than I used to, and I like to sleep, and I really like to eat. Alot. And the scale showed it today :/ but doctor said it was ok!

Today we had a super long appointment with Dr. Horton. We had a full anatomy scan of Jackson and ended up not having to do any blood-work, so that was a bonus! While he did not cooperate well for a good 3D face picture, he was in a great position for the echo part of the ultrasound. We got to watch his heart beating for a long time. Even Jordan and I could clearly see all 4 chambers of his heart pumping away. He is about 10" long, 9 ounces, and has a perfectly beating heart. It was just amazing to watch. We saw 10 fingers and 10 toes, arms and legs, bladder and kidneys, and everything else. We just stared at the screen in excitement and amazement.

Sidenote- I am feeling him move as I type now!)

Once the tech got all the images of Jackson she needed, she had to take some of my cervix. She was so patient and told us everything she was seeing with Jackson, naming all the parts she was checking. Once she got to my cervix she got a little quiet. ---Sometimes, I think knowing more than most people do about what to look for but not knowing as much as doctors do might do more harm than good--- As she quietly continued the ultrasound of the cervix I noticed a large black oval, and I did not think it was supposed to be there. So, I asked what it was. Then she says, "I am just getting some images of the cervix and I will let Doctor talk to you about it." Talk about worry and nerves. So the tech leaves, and we worry and worry some more. Then we get on google...here's some advice- stay off of google for medical advice (I know, duh!) but especially when you are already IN the doctor's office! We would have been better off practicing a little patience rather than trying to find what was wrong ourselves! Dr. Horton comes in and tells us she needs to get some more images so we are going to do another ultrasound. More worry. She starts talking about Jackson and tells us how good everything looks, but she hasn't said anything about this spot! So, I asked her. And turns out, it's no big deal. She says it's just a common cyst; they come and go, nothing to worry about. We literally had ourselves in tears thinking the worst before she came in. Moral of the story: STAY OFF OF GOOGLE! :)

Dr. Horton ended our appointment with some more good news: she has released me from her care and feels confident that I do not need high risk care for the rest of this pregnancy; but she is just a phone call away if anything comes up! Secondly, she says I can stop the daily lovenox injections after the 20th week. I was worried about stopping them just because I am scared to make any changes to what has worked. But she told me today that the injections are a help in the first trimester and at this point, she does not feel that they are doing anything for Jackson. I will continue the baby aspirin and progesterone. I had originally said I would not stop the injections, but the more my tummy grows, the harder it is to do the shots and the more it hurts. So, we have agreed that we are comfortable with stopping after 20 weeks.

Now, I just visit Dr. P every 4 weeks and let little Jackson keep growing! By the way, he is growing a lot! Half of his measurements today measured at 19 weeks, rather than 18 weeks!

We are so blessed and so thankful. We can't wait to hold this little guy!

profile of face

 baby bump!

 

footsie!

12 Weeks!

Moving right along, and we are so very thankful! It's still kind of surreal. We met with the high risk specialist yesterday, Dr. Horton. It's the same office but different doctor from the last pregnancy. We really loved her, though! As she was spending a lot of time with us, explaining all of our options in full, easy to understand detail, we were talking about how we are (or have been in the past) always in the 1%, 3%, 5% category that meant we were receiving bad news. We are so thankful that so far with this pregnancy we have not been in those scary small percentage categories!

Our appointment yesterday went great! Since baby was ready to be busy and move around a lot, we got to watch on the ultrasound screen for what felt like close to 45 minutes, waiting for baby to get in the right positions for certain measurements! We didn't mind at all :) We got to watch baby flip over, moved arms and hands, kick legs, ans wiggle around!We took video of the screen so I will upload that soon. She even took the 3d/4d (? I'm not really sure what it's called) pictures! They said there is no way to tell gender from the ultrasound this early, and that's what we expected her to say.

She says that nothing on the ultrasound gives her any reason to be concerned, and we are waiting on some bloodwork to come back that will give some more verification. And....it will tell us the gender! 

Hopefully those results will be ready next week. Our last pregnancy ended due to a chromosomal abnormality and because of all of the problems we have had in the past, the doctors wanted us to do these additional screenings. We chose to only do the noninvasive ones (ultrasound and bloodwork from me, rather than from placenta) and since the ultrasound looked good, she did not feel that anything invasive was necessary. The doctors know that no matter what results we may have gotten or still may get, we are keeping this sweet baby. Unfortunately, some people use these tests to decide whether or not they want to keep the baby. That has never been a question in our minds.

Everything else is going great. I had a week break from "day/evening sickness" and then it returned in full force last Wednesday and has continued to stick around. I don't mind it; it reassures me in the two week wait between appointments that something is still happening. We did get a fetal heart doppler to have at home. However, we found out two weeks ago that the placenta is anterior  (in front) so that blocks the heartbeat from the doppler and makes it hard to find. I haven't been able to find it at home yet, but they say it may take a few more weeks because of the position of the placenta. From what I read, that will also make it more difficult for me to feel baby moving, so that may be delayed from what's "normal". But, it isn't anything bad or dangerous so it's not a big deal :)

Here are some pictures from yesterday! Baby is laid back and hanging out in one. :) And thank you for the continued prayers!