August

So it is about time for my monthly post. Jackson is getting huge. We go for his 6 month check up on Aug 17th. He is now sitting up by himself and holding his own bottle. He is eating rice cereal, carrots, squash, green peas, and sweet potatoes. This next week he is going to start green beans, that will be the end of the vegetables and he will start fruit after that. We went to Nashville to see Natasha and Jason for a quick weekend trip. It was a lot of fun. Hopefully we can make it down there for longer soon. This next weekend we will be headed to Indiana to see everyone then David will be coming here to visit before he moves to Orlando to start school. So then our big trip comes in September. Us, Kimberly, Nathan, Brooklynn, David, Mom, Dad, granny, and Uncle Mike are all going to Disney for a week. We can not wait. We have needed a vacation for a long time. It will be Granny, Jackson, Brooklynn, and Nathan's first time there. So that is what is going on with us. Hopefully I will remember to post after his appt. He is getting just way too big. Oh also....he how has 2 teeth. he loves trying to sneek your finger in his mouth to chew on it. it really hurts. Those things are sharp!!! But he is so cute. Oh well. That is all for now. Hope you are doing well!!

July 4th

Ok so I am really bad at updating this. Work has been extrememly busy. We are severely understaffed and have a ton of patients. I still have a job though so that is always a good thing. Jackson has been very good. He is now rolling over from his tummy to his back. He laughs at everything and has started eating rice cereal. At his 4 month check up he was 15lbs and 7oz. He is getting to be a big boy. We dont go back till he is 6 months old. Justin had his first fathers day. It was a good day. We went to church and then went out to eat. It was a good day. The Wed after fathers day mom, dad, granny, and uncle Mike came up here to see Jackson (and us). It was a good visit. We showed them around where we live and took them downtown. That was a lot of fun. Granny was in her wheelchair and Jackson in his stroller and we just went all over downtown. We got to eat several different places. It was a lot of fun. For the July 4th we went to a friends house from church and hung out with them and their kids. We grilled out and watched the fireworks. It was a lot of fun. Other than that we haven't been up to much. Just working and hanging out. We will be having our home group here the end of July and all of August. Justins parents are coming here in a few weeks so that will be fun too. We hope soon that my schedule allows us to make it over to Indiana to see everyone since they haven't seen Jackson yet. So that is about it for now. Time for bed. I have a very busy work week this week and need to start resting up for it.

Long time

Ok so I haven't posted in like a month. Work has been crazy and when I am home I am not on the computer much until Jackson goes to bed. We are doing good though. Jackson is getting so big. We go on the 16th for his 4 month check-up. We actually measured him today and he is about 24 inches long. he loves his bouncy seat. The first night that he actually figured out that he could bounce in the seat he bounced so hard and for so long that he ended up going ot bed at 830 and woke up at 6 the next morning. He is a wonderful baby. He has put himself on a schedule. He goes to bed every night at 9, which is good for Justin. I hate having to work but know that I have to. I think it is mainly becuase work right now is really bad. We are going through budget cuts and layoffs. It is horrible. We are working short staffed all the time. Hopefully it will get better but rumors are that there will be another layoff in September. Oh well. Jackson is loving daycare. There are a lot more babies there now. And actually more boys. He used to be the only one. SO we went to Memphis for mother's day. It was wonderful. We had family pictures taken. I posted some of them. It was great. I loved my first mother's day. SO I think that is most of the highlights. Mainly it has just been work and chillin at home. We are in the process of spring cleaning. We have finished our bedroom and will be starting on the guest bedroom next. Jackson room is constantly getting cleaned cause he is growing out of his clothes so quickly. We also just bought Jackson a Bumbo chair. He loves it. I will have to take a picture of him in it and post it. He looks like such a big boy. It is his official webcam chair. He sits in it to talk to our family through the webcam and it is a perfect height. Oh well it is time to go to bed. I think I am trying to get sick so I need to get rest. Hope everyone is doing well.

First Weekend in Memphis

Well we just got back from Jackson's first weekend in Memphis. It was a very busy but fun filled weekend. We got to see a lot of family that I haven't seen in over 10 years. We flew down on Friday afternoon into Nashville. Dad and David picked us up in Nashville and drove us to Memphis. Jackson did very well on the flight. He only fussed twice. Once cause he was wet and the other time cause he was hungry. He didn't cry for long so that was good cuase the plane was FULL. He slept the whole way from Nashville to Memphis. Once in Memphis we stopped by Joe and Cyndy's house where our family was. We ate some and let Jackson meet family then went home. After we got home Erin and Tony came over to see Jackson cause they were in town for Erin mom's wedding. They hung out for a while then they left and we went to bed. Saturday morning was the "family reunion". Basically 30 of my family members went to Cracker Barrell to Eat. It was good food just crazy having 30 people there. After that we took pictures outside of the restaurant then went to Granny's house to hang out some more. After that we went back home and mom and I went shopping for stuff for the night. Saturday night we had family and friends over to play cards and meet Jackson. Jackson did very well for as many times as he was passed around. After everyone left Jackson was so sore and exhausted that he couldn't sleep. Everyone was asleep but me and Jackson. he finally went to sleep around 1am. Then Sunday we got up at 6 to get ready for church. We actually made it to early service then went out to eat. After lunch we went back to the house and packed. Once we were packed we headed to Nashville to fly back home. Our flight left at 750pm and got in at 920pm. We picked up Zack from a friends house and came home. We got home around 1045pm. Justin and Zack went to bed. Jackson appeared that he would be awake for a while but I fed him and he went to sleep around 1130. He slept till 630 this morning. Today we were all exhausted. Justin had to go to work but me, Zack, and Jackson slept most of the day. I ended up having to give Jackson tylenol cuase he would start crying when I picked him up under the arms. His ribs are sore from being picked up so much. So he laid in the swing or chair all day. So it was a wonderful weekend but we are tired. We will be going back to Memphis soon but we will be resting until then. Hopefully that is!! Hope everyone had a great weekend.

EASTER PICTURES!!!

Ok well we are about to be going to Memphis. I am trying to pack Jackson and don't know how much to pack. Some days we go through 4 outfits the other days we only go through one. I will probably pack too much. Oh well. Nothing much has changed since the checkup. He did very well with his shots. I was very impressed. Oh well gotta get back to packing. Also have to pack the dog to go to a friends house so very busy day!!

2 month check up

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I actually didn't have to work so we went to church and then took pictures after. Well me and Jackson took pictures. I am at work posting this so I will have to post pictures later. So we had a great time at church. Then Tuesday we had Jackson's 2 month check up. He now weighs 12lbs 0.9oz. He is getting to be a really big boy. He also had to get shots. He got 2 in one leg and one in the other leg. He screamed a little but I just picked him up and gave him his passy back and he went to sleep. I had to go to work so I didn't get to see him much. That is the hardest thing. I miss getting to see him on the days that I work back to back. It is very sad. Justin sends me pictures and things that help me get through the night. Oh well I guess I will get back to work. I will get to go home soon and sleep then pick up my baby!!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Happy Sunday!

Well not much has happened since I last posted. Natasha is in town this week to hang out with us. I did get to go yesterday out with the girls from church. Tash went with us too. We went to Mimi's cafe then to get a pedicure. It was wonderful. Then I had to go to work. I am about to get off and go home to go to sleep. Justin, Tasha, and Jackson are going to church so I will have a few hours by myself to sleep so that I can come back to work tonight. Oh well that is all the excitement for now. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well my birthday has come and gone. I really didn't get to do much. Yesterday was my first night back at work. I did a lot better than expected. I cried before I left when I was telling Jackson good-bye but after that I didn't cry. Now there might be a good reason for that. Monday night we went to Red Lobster to have a nice night out for my last night of freedom and for my birthday. So we get there and Jackson has been good all day running errands with me. Then we go to eat and he cries the entire time. I change him and feed him and he still cries. So while I was doing that Justin ate his food by himself then Justin would walk around and get him to calm down while I was eating. Needless to say it was not a fun night. I cried the whole way home. Think it was more a combination of being tired, not wanting to mess up everyone else's dinner, not being able to get him to stop crying, and knowing that I had to go back to work the next night. So I ended up getting a lot of my crying done the night before. So Tuesday, Jackson was really good and let me get a nap. Well we actually took a 3 hour nap together on the couch. Then I went to work. It wasn't a bad night. Then Jackson went for his first day at daycare. They said that he did great. His teacher loves him. He is the youngest there. All the other kids are crawling or walking so they like seeing a little one again. He was up from 10-2 while he was at daycare. Justin went and picked him up and brought him home on his lunch break so that I could sleep a little more after my first night. When Jackson got home I fed him and he went to sleep. I put him down in his little chair then laid on the couch and took a nap with him. Then I went back to work. So basically my birthday consisted of getting off work, sleeping, feeding Jackson, sleeping, and going back to work. Not a whole lot of fun but what can you do about it? We are going to try to go out again while Justin's sister is here to keep Jackson. So that is about all the updates for now. Hope everyone is doing well. Sorry there are no pictures on this one but I am not on my computer to be able to add them. Hopefully next time.

Over Due Update

Well it has been a long time since I posted. We had a great visit with Tanya, Granny and Nanaw. The week after they were here we just relaxed and got some things done around the house. On Sunday we were about to get ready for church. I was feeding Jackson and turned to Justin to tell him I had a headache and he asked me what was wrong. Apparently all the color had drained out of my face. I wasn't feeling well at all. I finished feeding Jackson and went to bed. So we didn't get to go to church or home group. Monday Jackson and I had a had a lazy day. Tuesday we cleaned up the house a little cause we had company come over. Aaron and Andrea came over and brought us dinner. It was great. They came and hung out with us and we watched a movie. We will be really sad when they move to California in May. :( The rest of the week we just hung out. Friday my mom and dad got here. I had to go to the doctor. I got cleared to go back to work. Then we went and ran errands. We were starting to head to Walmart when Justin called and said he could get tickets to the blackhawks game. So we went home and got ready and we all went to Jackson's first Blackhawks game. It was also dad's first game in Chicago. We had a great time. Jackson slept for most of the game. He can apparently sleep through anything because it was really loud and it didn't bother him at all. So then Saturday we went out for breakfast then went to the mall and walked around. After that we came home and mom and Justin took a nap while dad and I had to change Jackson and give him a bath because he had a blowout. Then we all went to dinner at Weber grill to celebrate my upcoming birthday. Then this morning mom and dad flew back home. Well they are trying to at least. We woke up to snow so their flight got delayed by an hour and a half. Not that suprising because they are flying out of OHare. So that was our week so far. I go back to work Tuesday night. I am not ready but don't have a choice. My fellow nurses know that I am coming back so they are prepared to help me through the night. So hopefully this week will go smoothly. Jackson will be headed to daycare for the first time. I will try to post more often than I have been. Hope everyone is doing well.

Busy week

Well we have already had a busy week and it is only Wednesday. Friday night Jeremy, Ashley, and Maggie got here and finally got to meet Jackson. Maggie loved him at first. She wanted to hold him and everything but then she got bored cause she figured out that he wasn't old enough to play with her. After that she just went and played with Zack. Zack was very happy to have a playmate. He has been feeling neglected. We play with him and get him new toys but he still doesn't think it is enough. he especially gets jealous when I take pictures of Jackson and don't take any of him. It is really funny. Well while they were here he loved to lay on Jeremy and just relax with Ashley. Maggie did hold him once each day but that was it. Saturday was a busy day. We got up and ate breakfast at Flat Top, went to the Woodfield mall, and then went to IKEA. After such a busy day, we came home and had Giordanos pizza. The best Chicago pizza. We then relaxed and then got up Sunday and had to say goodbye. Ashley got to hold him before they left and then Maggie said that she wanted to take him with her. But then I would have to go with them so that he had food, and Justin would be left alone so they decided to leave him with us. So after they left then we got ready for Tanya and Justin's grandmothers to get to Chicago. They made it around 3:30pm. So we hung out with them and let the great-grandmothers meet Jackson. On Monday we just had a lazy day while Justin was at work. We enjoyed hanging around the house. We had tummy time and played with Elmo. It was a good day. Justin came home and we had a good dinner and went to bed. Tuesday we got up and Justin went to work. The rest of us got ready and got on the train and went downtown. Tanya and the two grandmas went up the Sears Tower. Jackson and I did not go because Justin wants to be there the first time that he goes up. So we stayed down and he ate. After they came back down, we went to Giordanos for lunch. At Giordanos, Jackson was asleep with his pacifier in his mouth. I looked down and he was awake but without a passy. I looked all over the place and we could not find it. You know how great it is to be away from home and lose the passy. Well luckily I had brought another one. So we looked for 15 min. I was on my hands and knees on the floor looking for it. We couldn't find it. So I gave up and we were leaving. I was the last one to leave and I turned around to make sure I didn't leave anything and found the passy underneath the table next to us. He had spit it out and it bounced from the side of our table to the next table over on the opposite side. We have no idea how it got there. So we came back home on a REALLY hot train. He was really great. He was a perfect baby while we were out. Then Justin came home and we had dinner. We were all great. Then at 945 he started crying. I knew that his tummy was hurting because he didn't poop all day. Justin got up at 10 and I went to bed. I got up at 1245 and fed Jackson because he was still awake crying. After I fed him he went to bed at 1am and slept till 6. We have decided that it was propbably a combination of the wind, heat, and pizza. So I am going to try to avoid pizza for a while. Today I am eating bland things so that his tummy has time to rest. Today we are just having a lazy day to let Jackson rest. He is basically eating every 2-3 hours and other than that he is just sleeping. We did finally have a poopy diaper. Actually it was an explosion but right after that he instantly went to sleep. So I am thinking that he is feeling better. Hopefully he will have a better night tonight. Other than that we have plans to go out to dinner tonight then go out tomorrow. Hopefully he will start feeling better. Well it is about time to wake him up to feed him. We don't wake him up during the night but I do during the day! Hope everyone is having a great week. I figure since I put 3 pictures of Jackson, I should put up one of Zack!! Everyone needs to see him too!

One Month

So as you can tell we have a new computer! I can't remember if I told you but I killed the other computer by spilling Jackson's vitamins into the keyboard and it got into the motherboard. So that computer no longer works.

Can you believe Jackson is already a month old! He is getting so big. We had his one month check up yesterday. He now weighs 9lbs 2oz and is 21.5 inches long. He is between the 30-45 percentile for his age. So we are doing well. Time is flying by way too fast. I go back to work on March 31st. I am not looking forward to that. I want to see all the people that I work with but I don't want to leave Jackson. :(

Since I last updated we haven't done much. Jackson is starting to be able to hold his head up pretty well. He still can't go from laying flat and lift it up but he can if he is on his boppy pillow on his tummy. He can only do it for a little while before he gets bored or mad. Other than that we haven't done much. We are enjoying family this weekend and all next week.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and week!!!

Update

I know I haven't been on here in a long time. Basically I killed our computer. We have ordered a new one and it should be here this week. Jackson is doing great. We got family pictures taken for his newborn pictures. It was great. Jackson is sleeping wonderfully. He only gets up once a night. And he is asleep right now so I am going to go to bed. Once we get the other conmputer I will update more. I am on Justin's computer right now and can't get on it much. Hope everyone is doing well!!

Busy Week so Far

Well this week had been very busy so far. Justin took this week off so that he could help me out. I am very glad too. Next week will be my first week on my own. On Sunday, Mom and Dad went home. It was definitely not easy for them to leave. Then we went to home group that night.

Monday was our busiest day so far. We had to get up early to get to the doctor for his weight check. His appt was at 9:30 and it takes us about an hour to get there. So we got there and everything is great. He is back up to his birth weight, 7lbs 12.7oz. So they are very happy with that. His eye has completely cleared up so we don't have to use the drops anymore. It could be a problem again up until he is about 9 months old but it isn't anything to worry about. We don't have to go back to the doctor for 2 more weeks for his 1 month old check up. Then we came home from the appt and got ready to head to the mall for family pictures. We got our pictures taken at Studio One to One in the Woodfield Mall. It was interesting. Jackson didn't want to wake up for the pictures. We did get a few pictures with his eyes open. After the pictures we had to wait 30 min to see them so we went to the Disney place and saw our friend Diane and hung out with her for a few min. Then we went and saw our pictures. They were all so good that we couldn't decide which ones that we wanted so we told them we would look at them at home and come back to order once we had decided. Then we went to Ruby Tuesdays to eat. After that we were all so tired we came home and went to bed.

Tuesday was a lazy day. After how busy Monday was we just wanted to rest. We layed around the house taking it easy. Basically Jackson just ate, slept, and pooped ( basically what he does all the time) :) it was a good day. We did clean up the house some, so we did do something productive. Then he actually slept for 6 hour over night. I was very excited.

Today is just another lazy day. Justin ran a few errands but me and Jackson are just hanging around. Tomorrow we do have plans to actually get out so we are just chilling today.

That has basically been our last few days. We are doing really well. I am just enjoying this time that I have with him and not looking forward to having to go back to work here in a few weeks. I am actually trying to forget that I have to do that. Hope everyone is having a great week!!

Long Time

Well I just noticed that I haven't posted since Wednesday. We have been doing well. Mom is here and taking care of us. My stitches are still sore but getting better. We have just been around the house not doing too much. Yesterday Jackson started having yellow gunk coming out of his left eye. We didn't think too much about it, it looked like a clogged tear duct. Well this morning it was still coming and it was still yellow so we called the doctor and they told us to come in to the ER. I do not want to go to the ER so we took him to our family practice doctor. They gave us eye drops to put in the eye. It isn't bothering him other than he can't get it open very well. So other than that we are doing great. Oh he weighs 7lbs 11oz today so he is gaining weight pretty well. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!!

One Week Old

I can't believe that Jackson is already a week old. It has flown by. Tuesday we just had a lazy day around the house with Pop (my dad), MeMe and David. It was a great day. Today we had a busy day. We had to go to the doctor for me because me stitches were starting to hurt really bad. So we went to the doctor and they fixed the problem. After the doctor we went to eat lunch with Justin and then sat in the parking lot for an hour trying to get Jackson to eat. After he refused to eat we went to Babies R Us to get somethings. Mom went in and me and Jackson sat in the car and he actually ate. We called Justin back to see if he was done with his meeting so that we could go meet the people that he works with but he had another meeting at 3 so we didn't go. We went home and Justin called us and said that we should have come becuase the 3pm meeting was a suprise baby shower. We got several nice things from them. He was very suprised.

Well we are up at 4. Jackson just got done eating and he isn't ready to go back to sleep. We have gotten 7 hours of sleep so far. He is doing well. They keep telling me that he needs to eat every 2 hours but he won't eat every 3-4 hours. I am not worried because he is definitely filling his diaper quota for the day. Well he is trying to fall asleep again so on to bed. Hope everyone is having a great week.

Jackson Update

Well I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. Saturday night he actually slept for 4 hours straight and I had to wake him up to eat. He has been doing very well breast feeding. I took a nap Saturday after we went to the doctor and woke up and my milk had come in. So that has made Jackson happy. He actually has a full belly after he eats.

Yesterday we hung out with the family at the house and just chilled. Last night we did get to go to home group to see everyone. That was exciting. It was great to see everyone. Jackson did extremely well.

Today we went to the doctor again for a weight check. He is now 7lbs 6oz so he has gained 5 ounces in 2 days. The doctor was very excited about that. We still have to go back on Monday to get it rechecked but they think that he is doing great.

Well not much else is going on. Justin is back at work for this week since mom is here. He will stay home with me next week. Zack is doing extremely well with Jackson. We have been very impressed. So almost time for me to go to bed so I can be up during the night with him so Justin can sleep for work. Hope everyone is having a great week.

Happy Valentines Day!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentines Day. This morning we had to go to the Doctor for Jacksons 24 hour post hospital check up. They were impressed. He is doing well, but he has lost some weight. Today he was 7lbs 1oz. They are not really worried about it right now. We will go to the doctor again on Monday to recheck his weight. Other than that he is great. We are trying to get him used to sleeping in his bassinet instead of in peoples arms. So we are doing ok. Justin and I are doing pretty well on little sleep. So nothing else to say so far. Hope everyone is having a wonderful valentines day.

Jackson is here!!

Ok so I prematurely posted on Wednesday. Jackson arrived and had a very eventful birth. Well around 9pm I started having back contractions. At first I didn't think much of them but soon after they started I was unable to sit down. I was pacing around and laying on the bed. Then at 10pm I started leaking fluid. I called the hospital and they said to come on. Justin packed the car and we left around 10:30 for the hospital. Justin was driving very fast because I started squeezing his hand every min and half to 2 min. On the interstate my water actually broke. We were finally on 1st Avenue, the street that the hospital is on.

Justin was flying because my contractions were so close together. Of course there was a cop. All of a sudden the cop was pulling us over. Justin wasn't going to stop but I told him to pull over and tell the cop that we had to go to the hospital so that he wouldn't get arrested. So he pulled over and the cop was taking his sweet time getting to our car. Justin stuck his head out the window once the cop got out of the car and yelled at him that he we needed to go to the hospital because I was in labor and my water had broke. He looked into the car to make sure that Justin wasn't lying. I was yelling at this point that I had to go to the hospital NOW. I couldn't breathe through the contractions anymore. The cop said to hold on and went back to his car. He pulled up beside us and said that him and the cop behind him were going to block traffic at the light to let us through and they would help us get to the hospital. He said just be careful, don't kill anyone and congratulations. So we got a police escort to the last intersection before the hospital. At that intersection, there was a cop that had pulled someone else over and someone pulled out in front of Justin. Justin had to slam on his breaks and the guy behind us rear-ended us. We didn't stop because I was SCREAMING. (Luckily it was only a scratch that can be buffed out)

We got to the ER at 11:10 and they got a wheelchair for me. They got my paperwork through very quickly and ran me up to L&D. Justin was out parking the car and bringing some of the stuff in. I got to the floor and they immediately took me to a delivery room. The resident ran in and asked questions really quick and got me on the bed once the nurse helped me get my clothes off that were all SOAKED. The resident checked me and the nurse asked how far along I was. I was complete and plus one. She looked at me and said "You ready to have a baby". I was freaking out cause Justin wasn't there yet. Before I knew it I had 4 doctors, 4 nurses, and 4 of people from the neonatal team. Yea the neonatal team was there because they had trouble finding Jacksons heartbeat. They got a scalp monitor on him and said his heartbeat was low. They finally listened to me as I was screaming that I couldn't breathe and put oxygen on me that immediately got his heartbeat up. Oh by the way all this has happened and Justin still hasn't made it to the room yet.

Poor Justin walks into the circus and just looks puzzled. They tell him to hurry, get by my head and hold my leg because I am about to push. He got next to me and I started pushing. I think it took 5 contractions to get him out. I don't remember a lot because everything went so fast. He was born at 11:35 (yes 25 min after I got to the hospital). They immediately took him to the NICU team and his apgar scores were all 9's (the best you can get). So they got him ready while they looked at the damage done. I had to be cut and I tore so it took them 45 min to stitch me up and it took almost 40 min for the placenta to come. So I didnt get to hold Jackson till about an hour and a half after he was born. Justin was holding him the whole time.

Finally everything calmed down and I had to explain to Justin what all had happened. I was feeling ok. They gave me pain meds before stitching but that was the only meds I got. I didn't stay in L&D very long. At 2 I was moved to postpartum and they brought Jackson from the nursery and we got to bond. It was great. No one could believe that he was my first baby. It went so quick and he is perfect. He weighs 7lbs 12 oz and is 19.75 inches long.

Today we got to come home. We are so excited. He is perfect. The grandparents and aunt and uncle are here doting on him. We are having a great time. We are getting little sleep but are still excited that he is here. We will update on everything that is going on with him. This is long enough for now I think. Hope everyone is having a great weekend and a WONDERFUL Valentines Day.

Yucky Day

Well today was a nasty day. It rained all night and all day. So thanks to the nasty day, I woke up with a really sore throat and Justin had fevers throughout the night and woke up with a sore throat. So he stayed home and worked today. I am actually on a Z-pack so I am ok. We just hung around the house. Even the dog didn't feel good. For most of the day he layed with Justin while Justin worked and wouldn't go near his food. Luckily tonight we are all feeling better and just hanging out here watching TV. That is really all that has happened. We are just hanging out. Hope everyone had a great day.

Drs Appt

Well I was able to go to home group last night. We had a lot of fun. We ate, had our Bible study, then played Rock Band 2. It was fun. I didn't play because the Belly kinda gets in the way of holding a guitar but it was fun watching everyone else play. I made it the whole home group without a headache. Then on the way home I ended up with a headache so I went to bed when I got home and actually slept throughout the night. YAY!!

Today I went to the doctor. The nurse couldn't believe that I was still pregnant. So much so that she didn't even get my chart out cause she just knew that I wouldn't be coming in. So I was on the monitor for an hour because Jackson wouldn't cooperate as usual. The doctor, who also couldn't believe I was still pregnant, came in and checked me. I am still 3-4cm and Jackson's head is still low. They don't know why I haven't gone into labor yet. So he stripped my membranes again and told me what to come to the hospital for. I will go back in a week if I haven't delivered yet. So we will see. I am not getting my hopes up. I did ask him about the headaches and he gave me a Rx for a stronger headache med and a Z-Pack cause Justin thinks that I am getting sick again. If you haven't figured it out yet nurses are the worst patients. I am basically having the same symptoms that I had before I got bronchitis. So it is good Justin gets worried cause I figure that I am fine and should know better. So other than that nothing has changed. I hope something works and he comes soon. Otherwise the doctor won't induce me until 41 weeks. So 2 more weeks at most (hopefully).

Hope everyone is having a great week and I will update as things change. Oh the picture is one of my favorite. He climbed into my lap without any help, sat like that while I was playing cards and fell asleep. He was very good at that so I thought that I would share.

The Weekend

Well Jackson is still holding out. Saturday we had a lazy day. We watched all of our shows that we had recorded and just hung out. I took a nap for about 2 hours then Justin went and took movies back and got dinner and brought it home. There isn't much else that we did. We were just really lazy. It was a good Saturday. So I went to bed at 10:30ish and couldn't fall asleep so ended up getting up and not going back to bed till 12:30. After that I woke up about every 2 hours. So I was really tired and in pain when I had to get up this morning for church. Everytime I lay on my right side my hip and shoulder are throbbing and my entire right arm goes numb. So that is a lot of the reason that I woke up. It was more comfortable to lay on my back but I am not allowed to do that. It isn't safe for me or the baby. So I just woke up every 2 hours instead. Then when I got up I was about to start getting ready and went to get Justin from the other room. He just took one look at me and said I wasn't up to it. As I was walking back to the bedroom to lay back down I started coughing and got a massive headache. So Justin brought me some benadryl and tylenol and I went back to bed. So unfortunately I couldn't go to church this morning. Then I got up around 1130 and ate lunch and felt better but the headache came back so I had to go lay back down. It is now 3pm. I am up and feeling a little better. I am at least able to keep my eyes open without my head throbbing. So I am hoping that it is stays better and I can go to home group here in a few hours. At least I had one day without headaches. That is an improvement. So I will be going to the doctor tomorrow morning to see what they say about when Jackson will be coming and about these headaches that have started getting worse. I will update everyone after the appt. I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend. The weather here is much warmer. (Could have something to do with my headaches) All of our snow is now gone. It is a little sad. I really like the snow. Oh well doesn't mean that winter is over however. It is way too early for winter to be over here. Have a great day!

Out of the house

Yesterday was a lazy day. I didn't do much because I had several really bad headaches. So I took naps and sat in the rocking chair. Last night I couldn't sleep so I was up till about midnight and got another headache so I went to bed and woke up about every 2 hours. Luckily Justin was sleeping in the guest room so that I didn't keep him up all night. When I am afraid that I won't be able to sleep well, Justin sleeps in the guest room so he can sleep throughout the night.

Today I am feeling better. Only a minor headache right now. I did get to get out of the house today. I went to IKEA with Eryn and Allyah. We walked around and shopped. It was a lot of fun. Now I am back home and sitting in the rocking chair with my feet propped up. I do not know what this weekend will bring but I do hope that it does not involve my wonderful headaches. It wouls be a wonderful weekend if Jackson would come this weekend but I am not holding my breath. My next appt is on Monday so if he hasn't come by then we will have to make a plan on what is going to happen.

Not much more to report today. Hope everyone has had a great week and has a wonderful weekend. Oh the Picture is from the first day that we got Zack. Thought I would post an older picture since I haven't taken many recently. You can see how much he has grown and how much his color has changed!

Long Day

Today was a long day. I didn't feel well. The weather has changed a lot here. It was warm now it is really cold. That has messed with my sinuses a lot. Yesterday I had irregular contractions all day long. I would have one, then have one 2 min later, then have another 20 min later. It was like that all day. I ended up going to bed at 9pm and the contractions stopped. I woke up not feeling well. I felt like I had the crud all day today. Justin stayed home today and worked cause I wasn't feeling well. I have only had a few contractions today but my back has been killing me all day. I actually took 2 naps today. The first one was to get rid of a headache. The second wasn't by choice. Justin told me to go lay down cause I sounded so bad. I didn't put up a fight cause I didn't feel well at all. It was cool though. As he was helping me to bed he felt Jackson move. He had only ever felt Jackson kick but today he actually got to feel him move. He was so excited. After my second nap I felt a little better. Me and Zack went on a walk to the leasing office to pick up a package that had been delivered. It was extremely cold. So Jackson still hasn't decided to come. I hope it is soon. Oh well. I guess I will go. Justin is brushing out Zack because I just gave him a bath. He didn't like that very much but he does smell a lot better. Hope everyone had a great day. Stay warm!!

Back From the Doctor

Well I am back from the doctor. I am now 38 weeks along. Today they could actually feel my cervix. I am still 3cm but they did strip my membranes. Basically that means that when the doc was checking my cervix he separated the sac of fluids from the cervix to possibly induce labor. It was not horrible but definitely not something that I want done on a routine basis. So basically he thinks that I will go this week. Especially since last week he couldn't feel my cervix at all and now it is low enough that he could strip the membranes. So that is good. We will just have to see if Jackson is ready to come or not. I am ready for him to come. As you can see by the picture my stomach can't possibly get much bigger and me still be able to stand up straight. He is a big boy. Justin says that he is going to come out with pads and a helmet on ready to play for the Bears. I wouldn't be surprised. So now I have been 3cm for 3 weeks. I am ready to go now. The doctor agrees. So hopefully soon. Oh well I am going to do a little more around the house today and see what happens. Hope everyone has a great day!

Tired

Yes I am actually posting twice in one day!! I have been very busy today. I have cleaned all of Jackson room, washed the rest of his stuff and put it away, washed all of his pacifiers, and organized his closet. I have also done our laundry and put it all away, washed and put away all dishes, and got trash together. I have paid rent, taken the dog for 2 walks, got my oil changed and car washed, went to Babies R Us, and picked up a Rx. In the middle of all this fun I did have to take a nap. But after my nap I got back to work. Several have told me that I am nesting and that probably means that Jackson is about ready to come. I really hope that is what that means. There are only a few more things that I could do other than the deep cleaning. I actually don't do that stuff very well. Justin does that more, I am more of the clutter cleaner. So beyond cleaning up a little more clutter I think I am done with the house. Jackson needs to come soon before I run out of things to do. I know that when he gets here I will have a ton of things to do but I don't want to just sit here until he gets here either. That gets really boring. I will probably be going to bed soon so that I can get up early and go to the doctor in the morning. That is after my movie is over. I am watching Transformers on BluRay!!! My favorite movie ever I think. The second one comes out on our anniversary! I hope everyone had a great day and I will update everyone tomorrow on how things went with the doctor.

Busy Day

Well it is only 1045 and already I got the oil changed on my car, my car washed, been to Babies R Us, picked up a Rx and washed dishes. Oh as well as taking the dog out. It has been a busy morning. As you can probably tell I am still pregnant. Jackson decided to let us watch the game and have fun. We had a blast at the Super Bowl Party. Justin was a jungle gym for all the little kids. He had fun playing with them and watching the game. There were a total of 13 of us there. We had a lot of good food and fun watching the game.

Right now I am just hanging out getting things done around the house after all of my errands this morning. I plan on getting a lot more done today but I am already a little tired so me and Zack might have to take a short nap. Tomorrow is my doctors appt. I will update you after I get home from that. Hopefully I will be able to get more information than I got last week.

Hope everyone has a great week. Oh and by the way everyone LOVED the cookies. There were some there that had never had them before. They thoroughly enjoyed them.

Have a great day!!

Super Bowl Sunday

This weekend we have been very lazy. Yesterday we did get out and go to flat top for dinner because our oven would not light (we have a gas stove and oven). After flat top we went to blockbuster and rented 2 movies then came back home to watch them. We actually only got to watch one. Eagle Eye is a good movie. Other than that yesterday I had a bad headache and wasn't feeling well so I took meds and slept most of the afternoon. I am still having slight headaches but I think it is because the weather can't make up its mind on what it wants to do.

Today we went to church and went shopping for groceries. It was good getting to church to see everyone. Everyone at church couldn't believe that I am still pregnant (they arn't the only ones). It was a great day at church. Then we went shopping for stuff we needed for tonight. Tonight is our homegroup and we are having a superbowl party. We are taking quite a bit of food because I plan on eating quite a bit of food. What else are you supposed to do on Super Bowl Sunday! :) i am excited. We are taking shrimp and cocktail sauce, chips and dip, and cookies. Yes we are taking THE cookies. I don't know that everyone in the group has had the cookies or not. If you don't know what cookies I am talking about just ask and I will have to make you some. They have to be experienced to understand the excitement over them. So other than that nothing else is going on. Serveral people have said that Jackson will come today because everyone has plans tonight. I personally don't feel right now that he will come today but you never know with this little stubborn one. We have a doctor Tuesday so hopefully we will know more then.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday and a great week!

Lazy Thursday

Yesterday I went to the mall with Tiffany and her kids. We walked and shopped. It was a lot of fun. When I got home I laid on the couch to get the swelling in my legs to go down. We had dinner and then I went to bed at around 10. Although I went to bed I woke up at 3 and couldn't go back to sleep. So I came out and got on the couch and fell back asleep around 4:45 or so. So today I am just hanging out here. I am watching TV and doing things around the house. Baby is moving a lot but still isn't ready to make his grand entrance. I guess this is probably a good thing because my mom, dad, and brother are passing around the stomach virus. So I really do not want them up here with that. We have enough people up here passing around the stomach virus that we don't need to add more. Hope everyone is having a great week. Stay healthy and safe! Get ready for a fun Sunday!!!

Doctors Visit

Just got home from my doctors visit. Of course it took Jackson a while to cooperate while I was on the monitor. He likes to move away to where we can't find his heartbeat for a while. Finally he stayed still long enough for them to see that he was ok. Everything is still looking the same. No progress from what I understand. The doctor tried to tell if I have dilated any farther but he was unable to. I don't know why he couldn't but he said if I was about to go into labor then the cervix would be a lot farther forward than it is. So no baby today. I don't know when he is going to come. So until then I am back to the waiting game. I am going to walk around some more tonight. They can tell that he is coming down just not ready to come out yet. Hope you are all staying safe and having a good day.

Lazy Monday

Today I did well. I was really tired this morning so I ended up taking a nap. Unfortunately I had a sick puppy today. He threw up twice today so I had to clean up after him and make sure he was feeling ok. I also cleaned some in the house just so that I would be up walking. I am determined to walk until this baby decides to come out. Other than that I am doing well. I go to the doctor in the morning for my weekly visit. I will update everyone on what goes on with that. Hope everyone is having a great week. Be safe if you have weather issues where you are.

YAY!

I am excited. I got to go to church and homegroup today. It was great. I haven't been to homegroup since the beginning of December and church since the last week in December. It was great to be able to see everyone again. Today has been a good day. I feel good and Jackson has been moving all around. There isn't much else to say today. I am actually really tired right now and think it is time to go to bed. Just thought that I would write a little update to say how excited I was to go to church today. Oh also at homegroup we had a lot of fun. I watched everyone play rockband. I have never seen it played before. Justin played a little with them. It was great! It was good to be able to hang out with everyone. Hope everyone had a great weekend! I will be here just waiting on Jackson to come. My doctors appt this week is on Tuesday so hopefully I will have more news then. Have a great week!

Waiting

hello everyone. Sorry I meant to post yesterday and didn't get around to it. I actually got to get out of the house yesterday. It was great. I went with Eryn and Allyah (a friend from church and her daughter) to the mall and we walked around and had lunch. It was great getting out of the house for once. Although after I got home I laid on the couch because me legs were swollen and I was really tired. Going to the mall was more than I had done in the last 2 weeks combined. I went to bed at like 830 and woke up this morning at 7 but didnt get up till 1030 when Zack wouldn't let me sleep anymore. It felt great. I really needed the sleep. Today I got out and went with Justin to walmart because we had no food in the house. It is a lot colder today than it was yesterday. I think that our high today is in the teens if that high. So we went out and came home. We are watching the Chronicles of Narnia. It is a good movie I just think that I probably should have seen the first one before seeing the second one. Justin has had to explain most of the movie to me. Other than that we are just sitting around waiting on Jackson to make his debut. Hopefully it will be soon because I am getting very uncomfortable. Justin is feeling better which is good because he is now having to help me off the couch. :) Hope everyone is having a good weekend!!

No more Bedrest!!

Yes you read that right. I am no longer on bedrest. I am far enough along that it doesn't matter if he comes now or not. They told me that I could go back to work but not the 12 hour shifts. I told them that I don't feel like I can go back because I am having difficulty walking around because he is so low right now. They agreed and put me on leave for the remainder of the pregnancy. So now I can go to church, shopping, or whatever I want! YAY!! Now it really is just a waiting game for him to get here. So we will finish getting his stuff together and wait for him to make his arrival. I still go to the OB every week until he is born. I am hoping this week he will make his arrival but am not holding my breath. So that is what is new today. Oh other than the fact that Justin is home working cause he isn't feeling well. He needs to get better so that he isn't sick when Jackson does decide to arrive. Hope everyone has a great day!

Busy day

Well today was a typical day after a night at the hospital in terms of how I felt. I was exhausted and had to pee all the time. I am sure that had nothing to do with the fact that they ran a liter and a half of fluids into me yesterday. I did have to get up this morning and take Justin to work because I had a Drs apptointment and I needed the car. His car still has a spare tire on it so he couldn't drive it very far. So I took him to work then came back home and took a nap cause I had a really bad headache. I got up and went to the pulmonologist today. They were happy because my pulmonary function test was actually better than it was last month. I can only assume that is because the baby is starting to drop and give my lungs more room. So they are basically done with me because I am doing good. That was good to hear. So now I am only being followed by the regular OBs. I go back to them tomorrow. I don't know why they need me tomorrow since I saw them last night but I will definitely go because I have questions...Like when is this kid going to come. Other than that I am good. We put the deposit down on daycare so he will have a place to go while I get sleep after work. And Justin is now getting his car fixed so that we will have both cars functioning again. Hope everyone is having a great week. I will let you know what the OB says tomorrow! Have a great night!!

Hospital Visit #2

Yes you read that right. I have gone to the hospital yet again with contractions 5 min apart and not dilating so I got fluids and they sent me home. I am back home and still having contractions. They would not give me any medicine to stop them this time. Isn't that nice of them. So on top of no meds they blew my vein putting my IV in and my wrist swelled up. So I am now having contractions and a very sore and swollen left wrist. It is funny though, I had the same nurse that I had last week and when she was discharging me she said that she didn't know what to say cause I am doing everything that I am supposed to be doing and nothing that I shouldn't be. So since she couldn't think of what to say I just told her that I would see her next week, since it looks like I am making a weekly thing of this. So that has been my night and I am getting ready to go back to bed because I am tired and maybe if I lay down the contractions will go away. Hope everyone has had a better night than me. I am so ready for this kid to come...he needs to come soon before I go crazy with daily contractions that arn't doing anything!!

Oh Jackson Mearse was able to come home. He is still sick but not sick enough that he has to be in the hospital. Thank you for your prayers.

36 weeks Finally!

Sorry I didn't post this weekend or earlier today but I have actually had people home with me so I haven't been on the computer. Justin has been home with me since Friday. He worked from home on Friday because I wasn't feeling well. Then on Saturday we watched movies most of the day. It was actually relaxing. Oh and of course took a nap. I am getting really good at those and enjoying them while I still can. Sunday we stayed home and watched football. I am ready to be able to go back to church but haven't been cleared by the doctors so Justin won't let me go till they say it is ok. He is doing a good job keeping me doing what I am supposed to although we are both getting impatient and want Jackson to get here. So basically that was my weekend. Today we are 36 weeks which means that is a big relief off of my shoulders. At 36 weeks 90% of babies lungs are mature. So that makes me feel better and he can just come whenever he is ready which I hope is soon. Also today I had several friends come over and hang out with me. I have such wonderful friends here. It is great. One friend from work and one from work with her little girl. It was a great time. I love having company and so did Zack. He wouldn't let them stop playing with him which is not normal for him with people that he is not used to being around. That is a good thing for us. It means that he will be ok no matter who comes over to let him out when we go to the hospital till our parents can get here and take care of him. Oh well Just thought that I would update everyone and let yall know that we are both doing well and Justin is hanging in there. He is a little tired after taking care of me and Jackson and working and making dinner. He is being a good husband! Well have a great night!

Oh also we have a baby at church who was born last month, his name is also Jackson. Please keep him in your prayers. He was in the NICU for at least a week after he was born then got to come home right after Christmas. He was just readmitted to the hospital last week with RSV. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. Their last name is Mearse. Thank you!

Last ultrasound!

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I was recovering from false labor. I really hope that it doesn't happen again. That was definitely not fun. But today we had our last level 2 ultrasound. We are now done with the high risk doctors. Jackson is now weighing in at 6lbs 5oz and he is measuring a week and a day big. So we are really hoping (at least I am) that he comes soon and doesn't get too big for me. We were unable to see how my cervix was because his head is already really low so I don't know if it has changed any yet. Today has been an ok day. I am really glad that Justin worked from home today. I have been having back pain all day. Although I have only had 2 or 3 contractions today that I could feel. It has been a good day altogether though even with the pain. We are just preparing for him to come. Oh we actually hit positive degrees today!! not for very long but we did go a little above zero. Of course it now is back to negative. It was so cold yesterday and today that schools let out because it was too dangerous for kids to stand at the bus stops. We are under a wind chill warning not to stay out too long because frostbite can set in very quickly. So needless to say I have stayed in the house!! Hope everyone is doing well.

Hospital Visit #1

Well I just got home from our first hospital visit. Once I got home from the doctor I started having contractions that were irregular but not that bad. Then they started getting stronger but weren't painful. The only problem was the stronger they got the harder it was for me to breathe. So Justin came home and we headed to the hospital. On the way to the hospital they were 5 min apart and stayed that was for total of 3 hours. At the hospital they checked me and I still wasn't any more dilated than I was at the doctors office. So they gave me 1 liter of fluids and it did slow down the contractions somewhat but didn't stop them and actually made them stronger. So they checked me 2 hours later and I still had not dilated even after all the contractions so I was officially in false labor. So they gave me a shot of Terbutaline and the contractions stopped. So I got to come back home. I don't know how much longer Jackson will stay. He seems very anxious to come out. So that has been our night. I am headed to bed. I have visitors coming tomorrow!! Our parents are anxiously awaiting the call to come here. We thought it might be tonight but nope. I will keep you updated on any further changes.

35 week Drs Appt

Hello Everyone. Well today was my doctors appt. The blizzard that we were supposed to get yesterday we got today and it took me 2 hours to get to my appt. Well once I got there I was put on the monitor as usual and he actually cooperated. (I bet it had nothing to do with the sweet tea and orange juice I drank before the appt. Don't worry they told me to) Well the doctor checked me and now I am 3, almost 4, centimeters dilated and was told IF I am pregnant next week to come back. They sent me back home to bedrest and not to the hospital which suprised me. So I am home laying back on the couch and not going anywhere unless I get uncomfortable or my water breaks. We called our parents and told them to go ahead and pack their suitcases cause the doctors said I will go early. The doctors don't seem that worried about it. I am mainly worried about his lungs being mature enough. I know that God is taking care of him and he will be here when God is ready for him to make his grand arrival. We just hope that it isn't during a blizzard. :) So I will just be here monitoring my contractions and laying around. Looks like we will have a January baby instead of a February baby. We will keep everyone updated as things change.

Blizzard?

Well last night we were supposed to get a blizzard. It did snow but I don't think it was a blizzard although I was not out in it. I was not asleep either. I made the mistake of taking a nap yesterday so I couldn't fall asleep till 2 this morning and Jackson was up and kicking the whole time. He likes moving around and sticking his butt and hip out my right side. :) So today we are just sitting here watching TV and waiting on the doctors appt tomorrow. I hope we get good news tomorrow. I will definitely update everyone with the results from tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a great day. The pictures are of our balcony. It isn't all snow from last night but it is all from the last week plus last night and we are supposed to get more.