Bringing Baby Home

Jackson has been home for just over a week now and I must say he is an absolute delight.  I know, he’s still in his super sleepy stage, but he has been so easy so far.  He’s a good eater, doing pretty well at night already (going 4-5 hours) and most importantly, puts up with his adoring big sister.

I knew Hannah would like having a baby around.  She’s been talking about it for weeks.  In fact, the week leading up to his arrival, anytime the doorbell rang she thought it was the baby coming to our house.  Unfortunately, it’s not THAT easy. 

She first met him in the hospital.  She spotted him as soon as she came in the room.  She climbed on the bed with us and mostly just pointed and said, “Baby”.  She gave him kisses and giggled at the faces he was making.  After a few minutes she became more interested in the peanut butter sandwich my mom brought for her and the ice cream I had on my lunch tray.

His head looks broken….I know.  Good thing babies are so flexible.

After a little while, my dad told Hannah they were going to go to McDonald’s.  Hannah was just as excited about that as meeting her new brother.  She said, “Bye Momma, bye Dadda, bye Jackson” and left.

A few days later when we came home from the hospital Hannah got to see Jackson on her turf.  Her response to him being in our house was adorable.  My dad brought her back to our house and right away she ran in and found the baby.  She climbed up on a chair so she could get a better look.  Then, she took my dad upstairs and a few minutes later they returned with a stroller full of Hannah’s favorite stuffed animals.  She introduced Jackson to each of them as she laid them on top of him.  Can you spot the real baby?

(Please excuse the next several pictures of Hannah.  My dad was her primary caregiver at this time so she kind of looks like an orphan.)

She wanted to hold him right away.  She thinks she can pick him up and carry him so we have to watch her closely.  She’s finally learning that only Mom and Dad get to walk with him but Hannah can hold him on the couch.

Next she wanted to put him in the swing.  We’ve had the swing out for a little while now and we kept telling Hannah it was for the baby so she was ready for the baby to be in it.  First she wanted to push him in the swing…

And then she wanted to give him toys to help keep him company.

Good thing he’s so sleepy and doesn’t even notice.

Hannah loves this little guy and loves to show him off.  We’ve had a few visitors since we’ve been home and she runs to show them Baby Jackson.

 

Great Grandma Jean                                  My Aunt Chris

Great Grandpa Queed

Aunt Cherilyn                             Cousin Kendra

 

Every night Hannah wants to give Jackson a kiss good night.  She’ll check on him to see if his eyes are open or closed.  She’ll rub his hair and give him hugs.  She laughs when he makes funny faces, “talks” or blows bubbles.  She likes to have him hold on to her finger.  She is always wanting to help regardless of what I’m doing with him.  She knows he has a “yucky” on his tummy (umbilical cord) and has to be soft.  I’m so proud of her for how she’s responding to Jackson even though he’s taking up more of my time and therefore taking attention away from her.  She has yet to show any jealously though towards him.  For now, she just loves to love him and LOVE him she does.

Welcome Jackson

My due date was April 15, 2012.  Hannah came 4 days early and I was half expecting this baby to also come early.  I didn’t necessarily want him to come early though because my mom was going to be the one to watch Hannah and she was working a lot more than usual the week leading up to my due date.  Also, my doctor, Dr. Ryan Jones, was out of town until the 16th.  I knew it would be fine if a different doctor delivered, but I really liked Dr. Jones and wanted him to be the one to deliver.  My mom’s ideal date was April 13th.  In fact, she called me at 4:37 on Friday, April 13 and told me she was off work and I could go into labor now.  I didn’t.  When my due date came and went I was a little disappointed but it was OK.
 
April 16th - 9:00 AM - The hospital called and told me I was first in line to be induced the next morning.  They said they would call sometime between 6:30 and 8:30 and I would be given a 45 minute heads up to get to the hospital.  Most likely it would be around 9:00.  I had mixed feelings about being induced.  I loved the idea of having an “end” date.  I loved knowing I could have my house clean, bags totally packed and hair done when we left for the hospital.  I LOVED knowing that once I went to the hospital I wouldn’t be sent home and my doctor would for sure be there.  I loved that I wouldn’t have to sit at home for who knows how long wondering if I should be heading to the hospital and if I should be making calls arranging a sitter for Hannah.  I didn’t love the idea of getting the process started artificially.  I feel like babies should come when they’re ready.  Either way, I was ready enough to be done being pregnant so I didn’t turn down the opportunity to be induced.

8:00 PM – My dad came down to get Hannah.  Knowing I was to be induced as early at 7 am the next morning we decided it would be best for Hannah to already be at Grammy and Papa’s house.

April 17th - 12:50 AM - I woke up to an AWFUL cramp in both my sides.  It took a good 10 minutes of massaging for them to be completely gone.  Then I had a hard time falling asleep.  I laid in bed waiting for sleep to come but instead contractions came around 2:00.  They were painful but bearable.  I started timing them with the bedroom clock until about 3:30.  They were about 8 minutes apart.  At 3:30 I got out the computer and pulled up a contraction timer online.  Jonathan woke up around this time.  I could still talk through the contractions however walking hurt.  They continued to be about 6 and 8 minutes apart.

5:30 AM - I texted my mom and said, “I may not need to be induced.  I’ve been having contractions since 2:00.”  She immediately responded in all caps saying “GO TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!!!  IT GOES FASTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND”.  I didn’t feel like they were close enough together or painful enough to justify going to the hospital.  I also wasn’t sure if I’d make it all the way to being induced around 9:00 though.  Luckily, at 6:10 the hospital called, apologized for calling so early, but said they were ready for me and wanted to know if I could be there between 7 and 7:30.  I said absolutely and I had already started having contractions so the timing was perfect.  We gathered up our few loose ends, got ready and headed out.


7:15 AM - We checked into the hospital.  They were ready for us and we went straight to our room and I got changed.  The nurse, Kelsey, started asking me all the questions and I got my IV going.  At this point I was dilated to a 3.  Kelsey told me I could either get my epidural now or around 9:15 because the anesthesiologist was going in for a c-section and wouldn’t be available until 9:15.  I opted to get it right away.  By 7:40 my legs were numb and I was no longer feeling any contractions.  Around 7:50 Dr. Jones came in and broke my water.  He said I was at a 5.  My contractions had slowed down a little so they went ahead and gave me 4 mg of Pitocin.  I guess you can get an amount anywhere from 4 mg to 20 mg so I got the lowest dose just to keep them coming.  We continued to answer questions and sign papers, make phone calls, and eat jell-o.  The time went by so quickly.


9:40 AM - I could now feel pressure with each contraction.  They didn’t hurt, but I could tell when I was having them.

10:00 AM - Kelsey came in to check on me and I was now at a 10.  It was go time.  She called Dr. Jones and started prepping the room.  A couple of other nurses also came in.  Dr. Jones got there at 10:08.  I started pushing at 10:11.  I pushed 3 times (10 seconds each push) through the first contraction.  We waited about 2 minutes for my next contraction.  I pushed 3 times again.  Everyone said I was close and I could tell I was close.  I gave another 2 short pushes and he was born at 10:15.  Total time pushing was 4 minutes.  It was kind of a wonderful labor experience. 
Jackson weighed in at exactly 9 pounds.  He was 20 inches long.  Like we did with Hannah, we had all the weight guess on the board.  Jonathan was closest – but we all guessed too small.






We had lots of visitors in the hospital.  Hannah and my parents came first.  I was so excited for Hannah to finally meet Baby Jackson.  Their meeting did not disappoint.  She gave him hugs and kisses and was very interested in all of his features….for about 3 minutes.  Pretty good for a 2 year old.  Then the room and all the people in the room became more interesting.  Once we got home she had an even cuter reaction to him – more on that in a later post.




Tom and Carrie also came to visit.  Lisa did too – but we didn’t take a picture.

Welcome to the world Jackson Jonathan!

April 17, 2012

9 pounds

20 inches

Easter

Hannah is getting to the age where holidays are pretty fun.  She gets excited about the activities but doesn’t expect anything so she’s happy with everything.  We started out the festivities by dying eggs.  Of course, Hannah had no idea what that was, but when I told her on Friday we were going to color eggs she jumped off the couch, clenched up her fists next to her face and exclaimed, “I so excited!”  We dressed her in one of my shirts and got to work.  She helped drop the tablets in the vinegar.  She also helped drop the eggs in, which was a little messy.

It’s been awhile since I’ve dyed eggs and I forgot what a long process it is, and almost-2-year olds don’t have a lot of patience.  Good thing we had stickers to entertain us while we were waiting.

The next morning we went to the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt.  There was a roped off 3 and under section, but the difference between an almost 4 year old and Hannah is pretty big, especially when it comes to being aggressive.  She only got 5 eggs, most of which I put in her basket.  She didn’t care though.  She was thrilled with each egg and didn’t know any differently.

Sunday morning was pretty laid back.  Again, the beauty of a kid with zero expectations.  Jonathan hid the colored eggs outside and Hannah set out on the hunt.  It took a few eggs to understand what to do but then once she figured it out, she loved it (that being said, she needed a lot of help knowing where to look), but once she saw the egg, she’d run up to it and hold it up and say “EGG!” then drop it in her basket.

After eggs we found her basket - filled with practical gifts I’ve been wanting Hannah to have for awhile.  It was hiding by the couch.  She was most excited for the eggs which she opened one at a time and ate the candy immediately.  By the end she had a mouth full of jelly beans and was loving her life.  She also got some Dr. Seuss books and play-doh.

That evening we headed to Sandy for Easter dinner with my parents, Tom, Carrie, Lisa, Austin and my grandparents.  I thought everyone would love seeing Hannah do an egg hunt so we filled more eggs and hid them around the yard.  Turns out people weren’t as interested as I thought they’d be but Jonathan and I had a great time walking around, helping Hannah find her eggs that were scattered about.  Note to self though - 18 eggs is a LOT of eggs for a 2 year old to find.  Also, hide them close together because they’re hard enough to find in plain sight, let alone when they are far apart.

Some eggs required a little more work to get to.

This particular egg had yuckies on it which she didn’t care for.