Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Daycare

Jaxson started daycare yesterday, March 29, 2010. He did really well and wasn't upset when I left him. He wasn't nearly as nervous as I was! Emmett brought him by my office when he picked him up and he seemed to be doing great! He already looked older and like a big boy just by being at daycare 1 day! Hopefully we will be in an established morning routine soon.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

2 Month Checkup

Jaxson had his two month check-up appointment on March 23, 2010. He weighed 11 lbs 2 oz and is 23 inches long (50th percentile for weight & height). He had to get 3 vaccinations and he was not happy! He really got his feelings hurt! :( He was upset a few times that night because his legs were hurting. Dr. Kahn said his chest and heart sounded good and he checked his hips & joints to make sure nothing was out of place. He is growing so fast and I can't believe he's getting so big! He is beginning to smile a lot more and he makes eye contact now. He has been lifting his head since he was just a few days old but he has a lot more control now and doesn't headbutt as much :) He loves to be held and rocked and sleeps best when he's sweating! He also loves to lay on his belly on the boppy and listen to music. He enjoys his baths now and doesn't get upset when we change his clothes anymore. He will start daycare on the 29th and I hope he enjoys it.

4 out of 16 pairs of my jeans fit and only 1 out of 8 pairs of my dress pants fit which is still hard for me to swallow right now...I thought by week 8 I would be back to normal but that just hasn't quite happened yet. It's really hard not being able to jump right back into my old clothes but having Jaxson is much more wonderful and rewarding than getting back into those clothes! Maybe one day they will fit again or they just may find their way to Goodwill :)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Jaxson's Birth Story

After reading about little Averly Gentsch's birth story, I decided that I needed to document Jaxson's so I can always read it & remember all the special memories of the day our baby boy arrived.

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I like to have things planned, organized and go my way :) My little Jaxson has his own way of doing things..on Jaxson's schedule! The plan was to be induced on January 29, 2010 at Jennie Stuart Medical Center. My doctor was Kristen Dobay, who happened to be our landlord at the apartment. Dr. Dobay explained that he liked to induce around 39 weeks because by that time the baby is just gaining weight. Dr. Dobay explained that it is usually easier on Mommy & baby at that time because the baby shouldn't be really big. Weeks before Jaxson's arrival I was "nesting". I have never cleaned/organized so much in my life! I wanted the house to be spotless for his arrival, not that he cared! I wanted everything to be PERFECT!

The morning of January 25, 2010 I went to work at 7:00 a.m. like usual. I started feeling a little weird almost immediately after getting to work and was having some pains that felt like menstrual cramps only they were near my rib cage. I started to write them down not really knowing if they were contractions or not. When Maria arrived about 30 minutes later, a coworker, I told her what I was feeling and she got a huge smile on her face and said I was probably having contractions. I continued to write them down through staff meeting and through my work yearly evaluation...needless to say I have no idea what was said in staff meeting and I just hope my evaluation was good because I just signed it! My contractions were about 2 minutes apart for a period of 5 hours before I finally got the nerve to call the doctor. I was a nervous wreck. The nurse told me to go to the hospital to be checked. I was so nervous that it took me about 30 minutes to tell Dana, my boss, that I needed to leave and I had Maria call Emmett because by that time I was in tears. Dana drove me to the hospital and Emmett left work and rushed to the hospital...Patty followed shortly after :) After about 3 hours, they told me that I was not dilated and although I was having contractions that I wasn't quite ready and that I looked "too good to have a baby today." They gave me a shot for pain (which didn't work and the spot still hurts 7 wks later!) and sent me on my way. They told me to rest and they would see me Friday. Well, by 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 26, 2010 I was still having contractions every 2-3 minutes. I called the doctor's office again and explained that I had been having contractions for 24 hours and just wanted to make sure it wasn't hurting the baby. They advised  me to go to the hospital YET AGAIN to be checked. Still not dilated and sent home again. Before I left, I vowed I would have the baby at home before I went back to the hospital before Friday! :) Dr. Dobay came in to see me before I left that day and said "she's still smiling, she's not ready...see you Friday!" After the two false alarms, my parents were packed & sleeping in their clothes just waiting for the phone call. They decided to come on Wednesday night not being able to stand it any longer!
I began have REAL contractions Thursday afternoon. I knew they were real because they were much lower and quite painful. I had to call the hospital at 11:00 p.m. Thursday night to make sure they had a bed available for me. Emmett, my mom and I left our house at 11:45 p.m. Thursday night to head to the hospital. The goodbyes were filled with tears...I could see the nervousness in my Daddy's eyes which almost immediately sent me to tears! I was terrified of the unknown! Daddy, Patty, Megan, Jason and Keaton were all there to see us leave. I cried all the way to the end of our road when Emmett realized he forgot his wallet...the tears dried up and I was aggravated (anyone that knows Emmett knows that he forgets his wallet A LOT!). We arrived at the hospital and I got the IV and they started to monitor my heart rate, blood pressure and baby's heartrate. Emmett settled in to the nice comfy chair and did a little snoring (it's on video for proof). From 12:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. January 29 I had contractions and they continued to get stronger and longer...by 7:00 a.m. I was ready to walk the halls to look for the nurse who was doing my epidural. I commend anyone who does a natural birth! I think I handled the contractions pretty well though, no screaming, yelling and hating my husband! :) After the epidural I was WONDERFUL. I felt great and was happy and loved everyone! hahaha...I had many visitors until around 10:45 when the nurse said I was ready and I started to push. Dr. Dobay didn't expect me to deliver until Friday afternoon since it was my first child; I think he decided to take a nap. The nurses had to call him around 11:30 because Jaxson was ready to make his grand entrance! Dr. Dobay showed up around 11:45 and Jaxson was born at 12:09 p.m.! It was so wonderful to finally see him after having him in my belly for 10 months! Everyone was a little surprised that he was 7 lbs and 12 ounces..everyone guessed much smaller including the doctor! I waited in recovery for the epidural to wear off while Jaxson was in the nursery being checked. It took the epidural about 2 hours to wear off enough that I could walk with assistance and be taken to the postpartum floor to my room. We had a lot of people waiting to meet our little man: Pawpaw, Wawa, Papa & Nana shaff, Grandma shaff, Max, Megan, Jason, Chris and Keaton. The snow began to fall Friday night. Around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning I decided to give up on breastfeeding, the exhaustion/emotions from the day set in. By the time everyone was ready to come visit again on Saturday we had several inches of snow! The snow continued to fall through Saturday night. Pawpaw and Jason shoveled our driveway Sunday just so we could get in our garage. It took about 2 weeks for all of the snow to melt away. Jaxson brought the snow with him for his grand arrival!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

A Whole New World...

So, it's been a while since I've updated. I've forgotten all about our blog these past few weeks...between washing bottles, feeding, changing diapers, rocking baby boy, washing clothes, giving baths...there hasn't been a lot of time to update!

Jaxson is doing wonderful and growing so so fast! His first doctor's appointment was February 1, 2010 and he still weighed 7 lbs 12 oz. His second doctor's appointment was February 23, 2010 and he weighed 9 lbs 1 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. He is finally able to wear some of his 0-3 months clothes. I packed up his newborn clothes last night :( It was sad to pack them up but het has soooo many outfits that I can't wait for him to start wearing them! The first couple of weeks the way he looked seemed to change everyday. Now he is beginning to fill out. He had his first photo session on Friday, March 5. He was 5 weeks old. They turned out so cute even though he wasn't very excited for the most part of the session. I think he's going to be very photogenic :)

We go through about 84 diapers every 2 weeks and a can of formula every 5 days...he just started taking 5 ounces of formula so it won't be long before he takes a whole bottle! I remember when he was only taking 2 ounces...the feedings were much quicker then! He does really well during his feedings though and doesn't spit up a lot. Emmett and I are still adjusting to our new schedule. I guess our bodies will eventually get used to only getting about 2 or 3 hours of sleep at a time. I don't know how I'm going to do it when I go back to work! I think I have learned that I was not meant to be a stay-at-home mom...or maybe I just need more hobbies!

Yesterday the weather was wonderful with the temperature around 72 degrees. We took Jaxson for a walk around the neighborhood. I can't wait for Spring/Summer so we can get him outside more! I will go back to work March 22, 2010 and Jaxson will start daycare March 29, 2010. Nana Shaff will keep him my first week back at work. It is going to be really hard to leave him but I'm ready for a little change in pace.

Here are a few pictures from the last 5 weeks



Buckeyes are #1