I'm ONE MONTH OLD NOW!!!!

WOW!!! Has it already been one month??? I couldn't even tell you what the date is today much less the day of the week!! So much so that I forgot to tell my MOM Happy Birthday on her birthday!!

I have coined a new name for the FIRST month of child rearing..."GroundHog Day"!!!

You wake up everyday and do the SAME thing OVER and OVER again!! Sleep deprivation is at its highest in this occupation!!!! BUT the good LORD somehow supplies up with enough energy and SANITY to still function half way decent!! I'm really surprised I haven't been more agitated but I'm hanging in there!!! ( Ross might say otherwise!! BUT I think I am doing great under the circumstances!! )

Suzy Adams, Lactation Consultant, made a house visit to us on Tuesday to assess WHY Jaxton is feeding every 1 1/2 hours when it should be around 2 or 3!! What a BLESSING she was!!

We weighed him first to see where he was ....HOLY COW!!! He weighed in at a whopping 9 POUNDs... that means he gained 1 POUND 10 OUNCES in just 12 days!!!! I could tell he was getting bigger but I had no idea!! Maybe when he couldn't fit into ANY of the newborn outfits all of sudden because his legs are too long I should have known!! But he does not have a fat belly...just getting longer!!! Hopefully this is a great indicator he will be tall!!! Again, I'm praying for the tall, dark and handsome qualities!!

Anyways, she watched me feed him and immediately noticed he wasn't latching on completely BUT was eating feverishly in about 10 minutes. She looked closer at his mouth and what do you know......he has a little bit of a tongue tie!!!!! This means that the little piece of skin under his tongue is a little too close to the front and does not allow him to get a complete lock on me and therefore was tiring himself out so quickly that he was only eating for 10 minutes!!! BUT every 1 1/2 hours which is where the 9 POUNDS comes in!! He was eating all the sugary breast milk and none of the fat milk which comes later in the feeding to satisfy his little tummy enough to sleep longer and wait longer in between feedings!! Like I said before....it has felt like I'm doing the MS-150 everyday...hopefully now it will feel like those early morning Saturday training rides!!

So here was her advice: use formula until I can pump enough to feed him consistently from a bottle...only 3 ounces each time!! No more BOOBIE!!! Well come to find out I have plenty of milk for him and enough to share with Ross for his coffee...HAHA...just kidding so the formula will stay in the pantry till desperately needed!!! We had to RUN to Babies-R-Us on Wednesday morning to pick up several bottles with different nipples because the ones I bought did not fit his mouth properly!! After 3 different ones...BINGO!!!! We found the perfect one...BornFree Wide Mouth!!! What a LifeSaver!!! He has just loved it and now eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours because he is so FULFILLED and HAPPY!!!! The nights are getting better too but need a few more days for him catch up on what he has missed!!!

So now I have a new nickname "Elsie"...the BlueBell Cow!!! Every 3 hours my udders are being emptied by this horrible sounding machine that I will never share the sight with anyone!!! BUT at least I can pump enough in 10 minutes to feed him for two feedings...HELLO STOCK PILE!!! This also means that Dad, Mom, Aunts, Uncles, Grandmas, GreatGrandmas, Grandpas, FRIENDS can share in the fun of feeding him while I can finally take a break!! Today I was actually able to put ALL my make-up on, CURL my hair, SHAVE my legs and TRIM my eyebrows in all in one setting since Ross was home today with me!!! WOW...what a huge difference!!!

Jaxton also hit a few other milestones since then....he has found his hands to suck on immediately when he gets hungry, takes the pacifier now ( truly a blessing so he can soothe himself ), and is holding his head up FOREVER!!! Strong Little Man!!

So Yesterday we celebrated his 1st Month Birthday BUT he was SO tired that he couldn't keep his eyes open long enough to blow out his candle BUT Ross and I sure did enjoy his cake...Aunt Etta's Cake from the Chocolate Bar...absolutely decadent!!! You need to go there if you have never been. It's on West Alabama between Kirby and Montrose!! You will never eat another piece of chocolate from anywhere else!!

My House is DIVIDED!!!

Poor Little Jax-Man is already growing up in a competitive household!!! Maybe he will defy all odds and go to a more prestigious school...Harvard!!! Guess we should start putting our sushi dinner money in a savings account for that!!!

Last Saturday was his first Texas A&M vs Texas Tech game. He showed his spirit for the Ags the first half and then we had to put him in the winning team's colors....he looks better in RED anyways!!! I played dress up with him for too long and he got me back by getting overstimulated and took forever to get down for a nap!! Little Rascal!!

At this point and up until this past Tuesday he has been feeding almost every 1 1/2 hours 24/7...WOW!!! We have both been so exhausted with this schedule!!! I read all my books over again on feeding and it just seems like he is feeding WAY TOO OFTEN!!! So much that he has been cranky during the day too because of no consistent sleep!! So I called in for some HELP!!!

Suzy Adams is a lactation consultant and she made a visit to our house on Tuesday....I will tell you how it is going on the next blog spot!! Pray she has the answers for us!!!

My Little Man is Growing Up....3 weeks!!

Wow...every time I look down at him he seems to be getting bigger and older looking!! I want to buy a scale so I can see just how much he is gaining...I will have to look into that!!!

I still am getting only about 2 hours of sleep at a time since the little guy is hungry!! They say that they experience a growth spurt between 2 and 3 weeks and will demand more to eat... isn't that the truth!!! I can tell though that each day his naps are getting a little longer.

He had his first bout of major GAS pains due to something I ate of course and it irritated him for a day or so BUT the MYLICON drops are a tummy saver!!! Apparently they are not digested by the body but only break down the gas bubbles to smaller ones in the intestine so you can basically give it to him as much as he needs it!!! He likes the taste of it too...smells like dessert!! YumYum!!

He also has decided that he likes the Avent pacifier so much more than the famous Soothie....oh well...maybe later!!!

I knew he was going to be a "wild" man because he moved around ALL the time when I was carrying him. This week when I put him on his stomach he was already SCOOTING!!!!! Holy Cow!!! He's gonna be walking before we know it!! And since he was born, he has held his head up pretty good all by himself and just today when I laid him on his stomach for "tummy time" he turned his head from left to right all by himself!!! Where is my little baby going???

He also pushes against my breast when he wants to take a break and then latches back on....it's so weird to see him take control of things already!!!

FYI...little baby boys do have erections!!!! Thank Goodness he won't need Viagra!!!

I put on the BabyBjorn Carrier today and walked down to the mailbox for the first time with him since it was so cool outside and he liked it so much he was asleep before I was even half way there...I guess I could also use it to soothe him when he gets so overt tired he fights going to sleep!!!

I also put him on the sleep positioner for the first time today and he seems to really like it. It sits at an incline which I thinks he prefers than to lay flat....it also makes heart beats so he will feel like he is next to me...pretty cool!!!

Next in line is the real bath and a real stroller ride!! Let you know how that goes!!!

2 weeks old!!

Well we all have made it two weeks now!! Whew!! What a whirlwind!! Breastfeeding is such an awesome bonding experience and I am so fortunate I am able to do it BUT it is like doing the MS-150 EVERYDAY!!! GOD sure does give me the strength and stamina to do it 24/7!! I truly am amazed at how good I can function on such VERY LITTLE sleep!! I am gettting caught up on all the infomercials late at night and have decided to maybe buy 1 or 2 things!! HA!! My night sweats have FINALLY ended from the surgery....I looked like an old woman sitting in the glider at 3 am with a blanket wrapped around my neck and a blanket covering my entire body with just Jaxton's little face emerging to breathe for fresh air while feeding!! Poor little guy!! I think we have finally figured each other out now and he has started to trust me..THANK GOODNESS!! I do know for sure he HATES to be in a wet diaper of any sort!! At least he will be a clean man when he gets older!!

His umbilical cord fell off when he was 8 days old in his pajamas!! Now his diapers can actually fit him and keep the PEEPEE in them instead all over me!!! His circumcision has healed great now too so we will begin the REAL baths tomorrow!! He loves to have his hair washed and then to be massaged with lotion afterwards....no cries during bath time yet!!

I know babies don't really know they are smiling yet BUT he sure does smile A LOT!! Hopefully that means he is truly happy!! He hiccups a ton too just like he did when he was in my womb...it's cute except when I just get him to sleep and they erupt and then we start all over again!!

We took him to the Dr. last week for his one week apt since she did not see him in the hospital. He lost the usual weight babies do right after birth and weighed in at 6 pounds 8 ounces and everything else stayed the same. This week we went for his two week apt and all those feedings have paid off because he weighed in at 7 pounds 6 ounces....surpassing his birthweight and he GREW 1 1/4 inches from 19 1/2 to 20 3/4. Hopefully he will be a tall, dark and handsome man!!! He truly is changing before my eyes everyday...I can't believe it happens that fast!!

I got on the scale myself at his Dr's because I felt like I had lost a lot of weight already and I DID!!! I gained 29 pounds during my pregnancy from 121 to 150. When I stepped on the scale I weighed in at 128...so only 7 pounds to get to my pre-pregnancy weight!! Thank Goodness my body responds well to pregnancy...I'm sure breastfeeding has helped alot too!!

Pictures

Here are the pictures!!

He's Here!!! Thanks to Lupe Tortilla's!! September 25,2008

WOW!!! I would have never planned this ending to my pregnancy!! Now that I have a few minutes to share with y'all before motherhood calls me back to duty!!



Last Thursday I still had no "REAL" signs I was about to go into labor so Ross and I went over to Longwood and I walked 2 miles and then we headed over to Lupe Tortilla's to enjoy some good Mexican food and another potentially last night out by ourselves.....little did we know that it WOULD BE THE LAST!! During dinner my belly started to contract a little more and by the time we got home I decided it was time to start timing them to see what was really going on! So I laid down on the bed with my pen and paper in hand and I started to write down the minutes between each contraction as we started to watch the Season Opener of Grey's Anatomy!! I called my Mom and said she may want to hang by her phone....she couldn't believe it and of course she had decided to leave the Champagne at her office this one night!! And remember....my Dr. said it would be time to head to the hospital when they were 3-5 minutes apart for an hour. Well the first contraction came then the next one at 7 min, then, 6 min, 4 min, 4 min ( okay...HERE I was starting to get nervous and EXCITED) then it was 3 min, 3 min, 3 min,....you can see where this is going!!! So I called my Mom and sister while Ross called his and said we decided it was time to head to the hospital even if it was a false alarm...BUT I HAD NO DOUBT IT WASN'T! The next thing I did was call my friend Heather who is a nurse and a mother and asked her if I had time to take a shower...I did not want to smell like Lupe's during the delivery!!! She said to quickly shower and go!! So I did! Then we headed to the hospital where we encountered NO TRAFFIC because it was 9:45p.m. when we got there!! THANK GOODNESS!!! Ross was excited and kept singing " We are gonna have a baby!!!!" When we arrived at the hospital my Mom and sister were already there!! They hooked me up to all the machines and the nurse decided to finally do that awful cervical check to see if I have dilated...when she was done she said "Hum!" I said, "What does that mean?" She said, " I feel fingers". What does that mean? She said, " Maybe his hand is on top of his head. She said she was going to get the Dr. on call to see what he wanted to do next...NO!!!!! I wanted my sweet and trustworthy Dr. to be there and go through this with me..not some male Dr. I heard was old school and liked to use forceps!!!! I begged the nurse to please get my Dr. And what would you know...GOD was there again....Hurricane Ike had still knocked out her power in her house so her husband and her were sleeping on air mattresses in her office which was just ONE FLOOR UP!!! So a few minutes later she showed up with her pajamas on under her scrubs and checked my cervix herself and then got the ultrasound machine to see what was going on. As soon as it came up she could see HE HAD FLIPPED TO A TRANSVERSE POSITION AT THIS LATE IN THE GAME...( which means he was laying side ways in my belly). Then he started to move all around and she said I was going to have a c-section because I was already going into labor!! She said she has only seen this happen one other time!! I couldn't believe it!!! I asked her to tell me quickly what I was about to go through because I HAD SKIPPED ALL THE SECTIONS IN MY BABY BOOKS ON C-SECTIONS BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN HEAD DOWN FOR SO LONG!!!! She just said that a team of nurses were about to draw blood, put an IV in and get me on a stretcher to head to the OR and I would have a baby in about 15 minutes or so!!! HOLY COW!!! I started to get the shakes because of my contractions getting stronger and the sudden change in plans!!! All I could do was squeeze Ross's had so tight!!



Well the nurses got me fixed up and Ross threw on scrubs and we headed to the OR. I still was shaking profusely as they were preparing me for the epidural which i was nervous it would hurt!! It did NOT HURT ONE BIT and in fact the warming sensation made my shakes go away!! THANK GOODNESS!! They laid me on the OR table and started to prep me up for the C-section!! My Dr was laughing because this would be the first baby she would deliver in her pajamas!! They brought Ross in and he held my hand and videoed me while they were bringing our son into this world!! A few minutes later...I HEARD HIM!!! The cry of new life!!! WOW!!!! She held him up and he looked PERFECT!!! All his body parts were in the right places and he was crying!!!! They cleaned him up a little bit and then I was able to set my eyes on the most PRECIOUS THING I have always dreamed of having!!! He had a full head of brown hair and weighed in at 7 pounds 1.2 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long and was born at 11:57 p.m. on September 25, 2008!! Ross then took him out to show everyone while they finished closing me up. They took me to recovery for an hour to watch my vitals which were all good!! I just lay there in utter amazement of what just happened!! As the old saying goes, " You truly will never understand the feeling until you have one of your own."!!

The nurse then informed me that I would have to be in a semi-private room until the morning because they were so packed and Ross would have to go home till about 8 am but that I was the first on the list!!! So Ross drove back home and I was put in a room with another lady BUT I was finally able to see our son at 4 am where I just stared at him for 2 1/2 hours until they came to get him for more tests!!!



At 10am they finally put me in my own room and Ross and I were able to finally share in the PURE JOY of parenthood!!!! For the next 4 days we had TONS of visitors ( which was so awesome to know how much he is loved already ), went threw at least 10 bottles of champagne ( which I only had a few sips ), and lots of nurses coming in to check on me and Jaxton. And the only worst part of the whole thing was the recovery from the c-section. As soon as they took the catheter out I had to get up and start peeing on my own...yeah right!! I couldn't even get out of bed without Ross picking me up and then holding me up while we walked so slowly into the bathroom. At one point I got the shakes so bad as we were walking Ross said he was feeling light-headed!! Not fun to see some one you love go through that!! So for the next few days that was the worst and then we finally we released on Monday.



So we got home and showed Jaxton around the house and then began the art of being parents!! It has been 6 days now since we have been home and I think Jaxton is finally getting on a pattern with sleeping, eating and PEEING!!! With his circumcision and umbilical cord special needs he has peed out of his diaper so many times that he has tried on many outfits already!!! He is doing AWESOME and I just don't want to put him down...EVER!!!!! Breastfeeding has been really easy for me..THANK GOODNESS....that was my only concern that I was not going to be able to experience that bond. We don't know who he looks like EXACTLY but he does favor Ross a lot...I think he has my ears for sure and maybe my eyes....don't know yet for sure though!! He has the longest fingers EVER and some BIG OLE' FEET TOO!!! Ross has been truly the best little care taker of me since we have gotten home...anything and everything he has done without a hesitation...who could ask for anything more!!!



We are so thankful to EVERYONE for ALL THE SUPPORT and LOVE you have given us over these past 9 months. We are so BLESSED to have each and everyone of you in our lives!!



I will put a few pictures on here every few days but if you want to see more then send me your e-mail address to whizwine@aol.com and I will send you a link to Kodak Gallery to see more of our little MAN!!