Time, stand still!

I sure wish I could just freeze time right now! I only have TWO weeks before I have to return to work. I'm trying to be as positive as I can seeing how I've been off for the past 7 months and I cherished every second of it with my boys. Being on bedrest was such a special time for Brody and I! And then once Jaxson came home we spent our time adjusting to being a family with two children. I must say we are so unbelieveably blessed.

Brody is finally warming up to his brother. I knew he would, if we didn't push and in his own time, come around to having a brother. It's not that Brody didn't love his brother from the moment he joined us, it's just that Brody is always on the go and well brother is not! Brody also had my undivided attention 24/7 while on bedrest and then all of a sudden brother needed mommy's attention 24/7. But now he is loving on his brother, checking on him, trying to share his tools with him and my favorite, kissing and rubbing his head. It melts my heart to see and it's probably the one thing I'm going to miss the most when returning to work, I hate the fact that they will be seperated all day long :( But such is life and I must remind myself that we will get spring break and the whole summer to ourselves. It's only 5 months til summer!

We attempted to get some pictures together but its almost impossible with an almost two year old!

Jaxson~2 months~~Brody~21 months

Wow, where to begin? I'll start with the present and possible work my way back :)

Jaxson was 2 months on the first and we had his check up with Dr. J today. He weighed exactly 9 pounds and was 21 1/2 inches long, he's in the 5th percentile but if we go by his adjusted age for being a month early he's more in the 25th percentile. I know eventually he will catch up so not worried about the percentiles. He looked perfect and I asked Dr. J after he looked at Jaxson's eyes what color they were going to be because at times they look brown to me and he said there isn't any brown in his eyes that they will either be green or blue. He said most babies eyes change or stay the color they are going to be by 6 months of age. They are a very dark/deep blue right now and depending on the light look green/hazel so I guess we shall see.

We are still having issues with Jaxson's breathing/reflux. He spits up, chokes or will turn blue around the lips after almost every feeding. It really doesn't matter if it's 30 minutes or 2 hours after he eats. You CANNOT lay him down flat, period. If you do he chokes and has trouble breathing. I have to prop him up for everything, including diaper changes and sleeping. It's quite normal for him to turn blue around the lips on a daily basis and has become my normal but Dr. J explained to me today that it's easy to get use to things when it happens on a daily basis but that it is by far not normal for him to be doing this. So we increased his pravicid to twice daily and I am to make an appointment with a GI doctor on Monday. If the pravicid works then we won't have to go but he defintely wants to get to the bottom of this. We are still on the monitors whenever I am away from him, can't see/get to him and always when he's sleeping. He's been really good at night with his breathing but does have nights where I just don't feel safe putting him down because he's choking a lot. I was hoping to have this issue resolved by now and hoping it will be when I return to work in 4 weeks so that I don't have to worry as much. Luckily he will be in good hands with his Nana who will be watching him next semester for us so that he doesn't have to go to daycare. I can also teach her how to use his monitor so that he is on it when he's sleeping or when she needs to do things around the house. It's a great piece of mind for sure.

He got his first set of shots today, 4 and an oral and he did pretty good. He cried for a bit but it's because we didn't have our regular nurse and this nurse did it the long/hard way. He's been quite fussy today during diaper changes so I think his little legs are sore. Other than that he's doing great. Still eating every 2 hours during the day and 3-4 at night on good nights, not so good nights he eats every 2 hours.

2 months pictures:







~2 Months~
-Loves to smile and coo
-laughed for the first time
-size 1 diapers
-still in newborns and some 0-3 month clothes

On the 20th Brody was 21 months! Cannot believe he is almost 2. It feels like yesterday that we were celebrating his 1st birthday and announcing that we were expecting Jaxson. Crazy how time flies!

Just this past month Brody started talking up a storm. He will attempt to say anything we ask him to, when he's in the mood and will say words almost daily that we didn't even know he could say. He's also stringing 2-3 words together to form sentences. I'm really excited about this because for the longest time I thought he would be a mute. Although he does communicate very well using sign language. So I guess to each their own. My favorite is recently he is saying love you when I tell you I love him :) It melts my heart.

He hates the camera and will either run from it, tell me no and to put it back or just turn his head away from it, little stinker! I have to bribe him with something to get him to sit still and take a decent picture(see lighter/pumpkin pic and Christmas tree/cup of water pic below(don't judge!:) ))

His favortie words right now are back, stuck and meme(paci), walk and door. How he comes up with some of these words is beyond me.





Christmas is going to be AMAZING this year! I never knew Santa had so much fun and having kids puts a whole new perspective on the season. We are so blessed this year with the health of our two beautiful sons. Having a hard, complicated pregnancy sure can make a person thankful each and every day for the health and life of their child/children.

I have several more post/pictures I need to catch up on including our trip to the Gaylord Ice! Hopefully I can get to it before this year ends :)

So behind ~ Halloween 2010

I've had pink eye and then our family was hit with the stomach flu. I'm so behind on my blogging but will catch up soon!

Brody was "suppose" to be a BEAR for Halloween this year...needless to say he was NOT a bear :)


Brandon ended up going to the World Series so I just hung out at my parents that night. We had a pretty busy weekend so we enjoyed some down time. My parents only had 2-3 trick-or-treaters but Brody loved looking at them and couldn't figure out why we were giving away the candy!

Next year we will definitely be trick or treating ourselves!

Brody ~ 20 Months

On the 20th of October Brody was 20 Months! I know I'm a little late but wanted to get this up.

At 20 months Brody is:
~in 24M or 2T clothes
~size 5-6 shoe
~we are working on Brody saying his shapes, colors and various other words.
~he LOVES trains, cars/trucks and construction equipment
~Obsessed with Mickey Mouse and we actually made a house rule this week that he only gets to watch an episode in the morning and evening because he was becoming so obsessive over Mickey Mouse!
~favorite food is pasta
~loves bubble baths

Brody has had a tough time adjusting to his baby brother. He has thrown more tantrum's, has had problems sleeping and is very clingy this month. He loves his brother and wants to know where he is and makes sure he's ok when he's crying but that's about all. He doesn't really want to have anything to do with him anyother time and for the first time last night he asked me to put the baby down because he wanted my full attention and tried to pull Jaxson off me while he was nursing. He's gotten alot better from the first day Jaxson was here and I'm assuming each day will get better.

Here's this month in pictures:

1 Month

On Monday Jaxson was 1 month! It's hard to believe he's been apart of our lives for a whole month! And boy what a month it has been! We've changed so much as a family and although it's a lot of work and at times rough I wouldn't change it for the world!

Jaxson went into the doctor for his month check up and weighed 7 pounds and 4 ounces!! That's 1 1/2 pounds in 2 weeks! I was shocked. He also grew to 19 3/4 inches. We have to go to a lung doctor to see if Jaxson needs the RSV shots since he's had so many episodes of not breathing our doctor REALLY doesn't want him to get this nasty virus and wants a second opinion on whether or not he should get the shots. He also doesn't want Jaxson to go to public places or be around school age kids to try and avoid RSV :( So we are pretty housebound during this RSV season.

RSV is just a cold for most children and adults so many people don't think twice about such a common illness but for babies, especially preemies or those with breathing problems it can be severe and even deadly. Brody got RSV last year when he was about 9 months old and it kicked his butt. He stayed out of daycare for 3 weeks and we had to do around the clock breathing treatments for 2 weeks, I cannot imagine if younger babies get this.

There's also a whooping cough outbreak and I had to get that vaccine and Brandon will too. The doctor recommends anyone who lives or is in daily contact with babies get them. I've never had whooping cough so I don't know much about it but know that it can be dangerous for babies.

Definitely not fun stuff.

I've been having issues with my eyes/contacts ever since Jaxson went into the hospital and I thought it was from wearing my contacts for too long but on Monday I woke up with my left eye killing me and in extreme pain. I knew it was more than that so I went to the doctor and I have had and still have pinkeye! It started in my right eye 2 weeks ago and that went away on it's own but I then got it in my left eye. This was the first time I've had pinkeye and boy does it hurt!

We changed Jaxson's reflux medicine to Prevacid because Zantac was giving him tummy issues. So far so good with the Pravcid. We were off the Zantac for 2-3 days and he had one breathing episode. So it's definitely the reflux that is causing him to stop breathing. It actually chokes him because it doesn't come all the way up, just sits in his airway/esophogus. We cannot put him horizontal at all or he will choke/spit up. So he's at an angle or vertical 24/7 unless changing his diaper and he spits up almost every time. Poor guy!

Here's what Jax is doing at 1 month:
~in newborn clothes
~NB diapers
~raises head
~smiles when gassy
~eats every 2 hours during the day and 3-4 hours during the night
~pees and poos ALOT
~loves his swing
~sleeps good in his carseat
~on apnea montior at night, in car or anytime I'm not in the room with him

Having two kids is challenging, rewarding, tiring, exciting and the most wonderful gift I've ever received. I love you Jaxson more than words can describe!

Jaxson~2 weeks

Jaxson was 2 weeks yesterday! He weighed in at 5 pounds 11 ounces at the doctor's. We are very happy with his weight gain considering everything he's been through. We are still breastfeeding only and he's a pro at it. I'm so happy that my boys are so easy with breastfeeding because it's so good for them and their little systems. It's also such a cherished time I have with them.

He is still having episodes of apnea so the doctor put him on reflux medicine. He thinks that maybe he is having reflux or over eating and this might be causing a blockage of his airway. We started it last night and he gets it twice a day. So far so good, I think it might be helping. If it doesn't and he still has episodes then we will have to see a pulmonologist.

He is now into newborn diapers and although newborn clothes still swallow him he can wear a few. The preemie outfits are fitting him perfectly now. He's eating every 2 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night. He doesn't ever cry unless he's extremely hungry
This is Brody at 2 weeks:

Here is Jaxson at 2 weeks:

I cannot tell if Jaxson is gonna look like his brother or not. I see a lot of Brody in Jaxson but I also can tell that they are different in a lot of ways.

Pictures

Here are some pictures I took this week...it's so much harder to take pictures with two boys!

Look at his poor bruised hand :(






I've been trying to get a pic of the boys together but Brody won't have anything to do with it SO here's my pic of them together :)

To hell and back...

I think the title says it all in regards to the last two weeks. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely blessed and I'm reminded of that daily when I hold my two boys in my arms and I thank God for those reminders.

Friday I packed up the boys and headed to my parents house because Brandon had a football game. Brody and I were playing with his cars on the floor and Jaxson was on his boppy pillow asleep next to us. As we were playing I glanced over at Jaxson and he was gray and had a bluish color around his lips, he had stopped breathing! I quickly grabbed him and he took two deep breaths like he was coming up for air. He then quickly turned bright red as the oxygen flooded his system again. I called our pediatrician and talked to the nurse, at first she said to just watch him carefully and if it were to happen again to take him into the ER but she then called back and said we better take him into the ER just to be safe.

I DID NOT want to take my 7 day old into the ER and expose him to all that nastiness that sits in the ER. If y'all remember we were in the ER twice with Brody last October when he had his seizure and high fevers. IT IS AWFUL! We waited 6 hours just to be seen with Brody and I dreaded doing this with Jaxson.

My mom went with me and I immediately started crying when I saw the waiting room. It was 5:00 o'clock and already packed with sick kids. I actually turned around and told my mom we were leaving that I wasn't going to expose him to this. She talked me into talking to the front desk where they asked what was going on as I'm standing there crying with my newborn. We explained that he had stopped breathing, that he was born at 36 weeks and we could not sit out in this waiting room. They agreed and took us back right away which I thank God for.

We saw the same doctor that treated Brody and he wanted to rule out a bacterial infection. So he ordered blood work, a urine sample, IV antibotics started just in case and the dreaded spinal tap. I did not want this for my baby and actually questioned him on it for a good 10 minutes. But it's the only way to rule out mengitiis so we had to get the test. I think it made it worse that I knew, from Brody what was about to happen and just didn't want to put my baby through that. It took hours to calm Brody down from his test and he would scream bloody murder anytime someone would try to mess with him afterwards. It was tramatizing for both him and I! I honestly could not stop crying, I think a lot of that was because of the postpartum horomones and the fear for my baby. The catheder was the worse part which was the same with Brody and Jaxson actually did better with the spinal tap than I thought, I think because he's so young and doesn't know any better. They also gave him his first paci and would dip it in sugar water to help him with the pain. He loved the paci and sweetie water. We were in the ER for 4-5 hours when the doctor said he wanted to observe him for a few days.

Being in that hospital is so rough. It was even harder because we were in isolation and couldn't see Brody. He too was having a hard time and even though he was in great hands with my parents he was hardly eating and was extremely homesick for his momma and dadda. Poor little guy has had a rough time these last few months.

It was the longest 2 days of our life. I didn't get any sleep Friday night and was just a mess until I took a nap Saturday afternoon. I slept for about 1 1/2 hours and felt a ton better when I woke.

All of Jaxson's test came back negative. He was dignosed with apnea prematurity, where they just forget to breath. We were released Monday and sent home on a monitor that watches his respiration and heartrate. If he doesn't breath in 20 seconds it beeps and if his heartrate gets too low or too high it will beep and it's very loud! He's had one night where it went off twice because he didn't breath within that 20 seconds but as soon as the buzzer went off he started breathing again.

The doctor said we will probably be on the monitor until he's 8-9 pounds because the chances of apnea occurring in babies that size is slim to none unless he is having a lot of episodes, then we will keep him on it longer.

The monitor actually allows me to sleep instead of worry whether he's going to breath or not so I'm very happy we have it here at home!

We are trying to get back to our new normal here at home. Brody is doing much better now that he has his family and although it's an adjustment having a new baby brother he's starting to warm up to him and getting use to sharing his time with momma.

We go to the pedi tomorrow for Jaxson's 2 week checkup and Brody will be getting his 18 month shots. I sure hope it's not too hard taking both of them!

Jaxson's Birth Story

Ok I'm going to attempt to put this together while both boys are napping. This is for my own memory more than anything and will probably be TMI for most.

Our schedule was pretty hectic while on bedrest. Hubby is a coach and it's football season. That means that Monday, Tuesday and Friday he doesn't get home until after 10pm because of football games and Wednesday/Thursday is practice days so that usually means getting home around 6:30/7:00. So Brody and I were at my parents house Monday-Friday going home on Wednesday nights and Saturday/Sunday to see daddy. My dad comes home for lunch during the day and could help me with Brody and then they are both home in the evenings. I also wanted to be in my comfort zone in case something were to happen I knew Brody could easily be taken care of while someone else was there to take me to doctor/hospital if needed. It worked out great and I loved spending time with my parents. It was a HUGE help in getting me to 36 weeks.

I'd been having menstrual cramping for 2 weeks prior to delivery that I knew had to be a sign because I hadn't had them with Brody. Some were stronger and more painful while others were just more annoying.

Wednesday: Brody had a rough night teething and I didn't get much sleep. I was anxious about reaching 36 weeks and I took out my terbutaline pump sometime between midnight and 6 am when Brody was having one of his teething meltdowns. I didn't feel much that day other than the usual contractions and cramping. We packed up an overnight bag so that we could head home to see daddy. During that day and all day Thursday I had been having to poop a lot. Not the runny, I ate something bad kind just like my body was getting rid of everything kind. This was my first clue that something was happening. I had read that it was a sign and thought it was odd. That night I began having back pains about once or twice an hour. It wasn't a pain that I could time because I never noticed when it started or stopped but I could tell that I was having back issues. I thought maybe I had just moved around too much that day.

Thursday: Brody had another restless night and was clingy that morning. I was technically 36 weeks and free from bedrest so we went to walmart to look for a very specific Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that my little guy is addicted to. We then went back home and he played while I did a little house work. We then packed up and headed back to my parents house.

3:00- I was really noticing my contractions were picking up with a lot of back pain. But now I could easily time when they started and stopped. They were roughly a minute long and coming every 15 minutes.

4:30-5:00- I called my mom to let her know that I was having some intense back pain and that I thought I should start timing them better but was too distracted with Brody to do this by myself. My dad got home shortly after 5:00 and he became my timer. At this point the back pain was pretty strong and uncomfortable. I was having them every 10-12 minutes

5:00-7:00- I sat in my parents living room having constant contractions and back pain. I would yell to my dad a time and he would write it down for me and ask the pain level. Around 6:45 I decided to take a shower to see if that would help them ease up and I called my mom to tell her she needed to get home. I had yet to inform Brandon because he was at the Rangers game and I didn't want him to worry. But I did tell him that he needed to take his own truck because I thought something was going on.

7:30-Shower didn't help, contractions were every 6-8 minutes and getting very uncomfortable. The only way I know to describe them was that I was having my usual tightening of the belly, menstrual cramps but that I felt like my spine was being pulled out from the inside. It would start in my back with the spine pulling and then wrap around to the menstrual cramping all while my stomach was getting hard.

I called the night line of my doctor's appointment to find out that my doctor wasn't the one on call. I left a message for them to call me back. About 5 minutes later Dr. B called me(thank God it was her!) and I explained what was going on. She wanted me to go into the hospital just to see what was going on.

8:00- 9:00-I let Brandon know on the way to the hospital that I thought this was it but wasn't completely sure. I was in some pretty severe pain at this point and having pressure in my bottom. My dad took me to the hospital where we went to L&D and got into a room right away. It took them about 10 minutes to get all my information and hook me up to the monitors. They monitored me for about 10-20 minutes and then checked my cervix. I was 2 1/2 centimeters and 75% effaced. So I had a pretty good change from fingertip-1cm and 30% effaced on Monday. She called Dr. B and she ordered that I get a bag of IV fluids started and pumped through me for 1 hour to see if that stopped labor thinking I might just be dehydrated. If I made any change to my cervix in that hour then they would be keeping me and we would be having baby. If labor stalled or I didn't have any change then they would be sending me home. I think I asked the nurse a million times if she thought "this" was it. She said with the contraction pattern that I was in she thought this was it :) She also got the IV started on first try and it wasn't a bad experience at all, thank you Lord!

10:00pm - was in extreme pain with the contractions. I had to hold on to the side of the bed and kept feeling like I needed to arch my back in order to relieve the back labor. The nurse told me to try laying on my sides to help relief that pressure of the baby's head on my back or to hang off the bed. I honestly don't know how women birth naturally. Any movement seemed to start a contraction. Getting up to go the bathroom or walking during a contraction was extruating. I was ready for my epideral and kept thinking that if my cervix hadn't changed they might actually send me home like this. Luckily the nurse came in and check me. I was 3 centimeters and 100% effaced. I was indeed having this baby!!

She called my doctor to let me know and went to get anethelogist for my epideral. The only probably was I had taken my Lovenox shot that morning at 9 am and couldn't have an epideral until 9 am Friday morning. WHAT?!?!?! I CANNOT HAVE MY EPIDERAL? At this point I panicked. I needed my epideral now, how in the world was I suppose to make it 12 more hours? There was no way I could do this any longer with the amount of back pain I was in let alone 12 hours, screw natural childbirth! I know what that epideral can do and I've been in labor for 10 weeks now!! I wanted and longed for that relief and numbness :) So the nurse talked with Dr. B and she suggested that I get some rounds of terbutaline, yes the drug I had just stopped 48 hours prior and take some dermeral to knock the edge off and hopefully stall labor until the morning when I could get my epideral. The problem was that if the terbulatine stalled my labor to much to the point that it stopped it then I would be sent home. I didn't want that! I also didn't want the demeral because it also goes to the baby and can make the baby tired and drowsy. Well, what if they couldn't stop labor, I delivered this 36 weeker really fast and then he had trouble breathing because he was all drugged up from demeral. I didn't want that but at the same time I was in so much pain! I had also heard terrible stories of demeral and how it makes you loopy and out of it. That's the last thing I wanted, you know I'm kinda a control freak, why would I want something that makes me feel OUT of control.

After a break down of me crying and talking to the nurse she said that if I was in labor the terb wasn't gonna stop it, only slow it down and by us some time. She also said the demeral only last for 2-3 hours and then wears out of your system. So I decided to take the terb and demeral. The terb sure didn't stop my contractions but did slow them down. It didn't have any effect on intensity. They went from 3-4 minutes to 12-14 minutes. The demeral made me very tired right away and I could still feel the contractions and the pain but didn't care. It's like it blocked it from my brain. It only helped for about 45 minutes - hour and I was able to really relax during that time but after that the pain was back.

I labored all through the night and at 5:00 am the contractions were back full force every 3-4 minutes so they gave me another 3 rounds of terbutaline from 5:00-7:00am.

8:30 am they came in to let me know I was next to get an epidural, whoa!!! I was so happy that I would soon be numb! It was the longest night of my life and I was so tired of the back labor. The epidural was easy breezy and 30 minutes later I was extremely numb. My doctor came in and was also happy I had made it to 9:00 am and she said she was just sick to her stomach all night because she was afraid I wouldn't make it to 9:00 am without delivering. I love my doc! So they checked me right after my epidural and I was 5 cm with a bulging bag of waters. 10 minutes later my doctor came in to brake my water and I immediately went to 8 centimeters dilated!!

9:00-11:00 am I couldn't feel a thing! I was extremely numb and very comfortable. The nurse checked me at 10:00 and I was still an 8 and then again at 11:00 and I was ready to push. She asked me to give one practice push and then said she was going to call my doctor. Dr. B was in the room within 5 minutes and before she even put on all her gear she wanted to see where I was. She asked me to push and then immediately told me to stop, Jaxson's head was already out!! The nurse put her hands under his head in case she needed to catch him while Dr. B put on her gloves...she didn't even have gloves on yet! During this time Jaxson's heart rate went down to the 90's so he wasn't liking it at all and we had to get him out immediately. She asked me to push again and then quickly said easy as Jaxson was born! I was so relieved and terrified at the same time. As he was being born my doctor was saying how tiny he was and then before I knew it he was on my chest. I cannot even describe the emotions I was feeling. He was so little! He was crying up a storm and then he quickly calmed down when we were skin to skin. The nurses had to keep rubbing on him and then asked to take him because he had calmed down too much and they wanted him to cry some more. They took him over to the warmer where they gave him a little O2 to get him going some more and then checked him out.

He weighed 4 pounds 15 ounces and was 17 inches long. He's perfect in every way. It was the quickest delivery and was born within 4 minutes of pushing, if that. Because he was so small they really wanted me to have skin to skin with him as much as possible. So for the first 48 hours he remained on my chest. Skin to skin is one of the most beautiful experiences. Knowing that I was helping my son stay warm, regulate his breathing and help his blood sugars all by holding him close to me is an experience I hope every mother has.

My milk came in fairly quickly, Saturday night, which I praise God for because Jaxson couldn't stand to lose a lot of weight. He got down to 4 pounds 12 ounces and then quickly started gaining. He's a champ at nursing and we haven't had any issues other than I'm having to pump a lot because I'm producing too much for this little guy. I already have a nice stock pile of 25 ounces sitting in my freezer!! We were discharged on Monday and Jaxson weighed 4 pounds 13 ounces.

Tuesday- went to the doctor to check on Jaxson's jaundice and it's still within normal range and going down. He weighed 4 pounds 14 ounces.

Thursday- went to doctor and Jaxson weighed 5 pounds 2 ounces. Doctor J said he's never seen a 36 week do this well and gain this much weight so fast. He said it usually takes full term baby's 2 weeks to get back to their birth weight and here we are already passed it at 6 days. He was very happy and momma was very proud!

We've already been warned several times that Jaxson cannot be out in crowds or around kids that go to school/daycare because RSV season has started. Brody had this last year that knocked him on his butt for 3 weeks. So we will be staying in and away for the next 6 months or so in order to keep Jaxson safe and healthy.

I have a lot more pictures to update with as soon as I can download them. I also need to take our 1 week picture and a brother's picture! I cannot believe Jax is already a week old! Crazy how time flies

Jaxson Lee

Our Internet is down at home so I haven't been able to update, plus my two little ones have kept me pretty busy.

Jaxson was born Friday- 10/01/10 at 11:08 am. He was 4 pounds 15 ounces and 17 inches long. He's perfect in every way. I will get our Internet up Nd running soon so I can update with birth story and pics

LABOR

I went into labor yesterday!! 48 hours after terb pump was stopped. I timed contractions until 7:30 pm then I figured I should call to see if I should go in considering they were every 6-8 minutes and getting stronger/painful.

I got to hospital and was 2-2 1/2 cm and 75% effaced. They loaded me up with iv fluid to see if that would stop labor, it didn't and after 1 hour I was 3 cm.

Because I took my lovenox shot at 9 am yesterday morning I can't get am epidural for 24 hours, 9 am today. So we stalled labor with 3 rounds of terb, tool the edge off with dermerol and now we are waiting until 9 am. Contractions have started to pick up again and I'm in pain! Major back labor...3 hours...Lord help me I want my epi!!!

35w4d Doc appt

I went to the doctor today and was very anxious. I had the ultrasound first only to find out that Jaxson only gained less than 200 grams or 3 oz. He is now 4 pounds 13 ounces. At this point in pregnancy baby's are suppose to pack on 1/2 - 1 pound per week. He's in the 10-15 percentile which makes for a small baby. Most babies weigh close to 6 pounds by now.

Dr. B isn't too concerned over this because she put him on a growth chart and that's where he's been the whole time. He's border line IUGR and we will continue to watch him. If he dips below 10% then we will worry. Ha! Like I'm not already worried. I'd much rather here that my baby is packing on the weight and thriving then wonder if he's not getting what he needs.

My blood pressure was 125/85 at my appointment but my urine looked good so that is another thing we will keep our eye on. If I get a headache that won't go away or start seeing spots I'm to call immediately.

Because Jaxson is not 5 pounds yet she said she doesn't want me to stop the terb pump until Wednesday when I turn 36 weeks so that he can have a little more time to reach the 5 pound mark. If born under 5 pounds, baby's are sent to the NICU because they have trouble keeping their body temperature up, that is why 5 pounds is such a push to get to.

I asked her about what she has seen in regards to people coming off the terb pump and then going into labor. She said its unpredictable. Sometimes women go into labor immediately and others take several days or don't go into labor at all. She said that isn't common so that I should be looking at going into labor soon after I stop the pump. She even mentioned that she wasn't on call this weekend in case I wanted to wait until Monday to stop the pump.

She checked my cervix and I have made a little progress! I'm 1 cm dilated and 25-30% effaced

I plan on going off the pump at 12:01 am Wednesday, ha! So I will update if anything happens.

Hmmm...

well it seems my blood pressure has been on the high side this past weekend. I noticed my face feeling puffy on Friday and especially Saturday. I started tracking my BP on Friday night and my diastolic pressure has been high. I've been running around 120/(90-100) all weekend. This can be a sign of preelampsia or maybe a side effect of prolonged terbutaline use, I'm not sure. Guess we will see tomorrow when I go to the doctor.

I've decided that a bday of 10-01-10 or 10-10-10 would be pretty cool. 10-01 is on Friday so that sure would work for me :)

I'll go ahead and knock on wood that I'm not jinxing myself for a latter delivery but if you can remember the reason I was induced with Brody was because my BP was high

35 Weeks

We made it another week! I'm getting very anxious for the 36 week mark when my terb pump will be stopped. Everything I've researched online points to going into labor within 2-7 days after the terb has been stopped. I'm sure I will be one of those few that goes the distance and will have to be induced! I'm definitely ready for this little guy to come out. I know he's better off right now staying inside but it's hard living out the movie "Groundhog Day". I'm ready for this chapter to be over and to have him safe in my arms. I've been on bed rest for 5 weeks now and will hopefully be given more privileges next week as I am about to go stir crazy.

I went to the doctor on Monday but didn't get to see my doctor :( She had been on call all weekend so wasn't in Monday morning. I did see her assistant and she checked my cervix which was still closed. I was contracting every 4 minutes but baby looked good. I am having a lot more cramping now. Feels like menstrual cramps that are pretty strong at times. I didn't have these with Brody so I'm not sure what is causing them. I hope it's my cervix starting to prepare for birth! I've gained 21 pounds thus far which I think is pretty good considering I've been on bed rest for 5 weeks and I'm not burning many calories.

Jaxson weighed 4 lbs and 9 oz which is still measuring 2 weeks behind but thankfully he put on some more weight.

Jaxson's 35 week development:
Your baby weighs about 5 ½ pounds now and measures about 18.9 inches long. As you know each baby has a different weight and length at birth, so these measurements are just an average. Now your baby will start it’s most rapid weight gain, adding ½ to ¾ of a pound every week until they are born.

You may be able to distinguish body parts such as a head, hand or foot now that your baby is getting larger and your uterus is getting thinner. Baby’s hearing has completely developed now and the lungs are very close to being complete and ready for birth.

The kidneys are fully developed and the liver is able to process waste products. Fat is continues to accumulate at a rapid pace now, which will help your baby stay warm after they are born

34 Weeks

This is a HUGE milestone! If Jaxson were to be born he is now making enough surfactant so that his lungs would be able to handle his breathing without needing support. It does make me sad to read below that he is suppose to weigh 5 lbs and we know this little guy only weighs 4. Please continue to pray that he grows and catches up in weight. It's very important for them to be plump so that they can maintain their body temperature and have enough energy to eat the amount that they need to eat. Brody was pretty small and grew by leaps and bounds once we got him here. I'm hoping that once Jaxson comes my milk comes in quickly so that he can do the same.

Just yesterday I felt like Jaxson had dropped because I was having a lot of pelvic pressure and pain but it might just be that he's getting bigger. Brody and I are doing pretty good together as long as Brody gets some outside time when Papa gets home for lunch or in the evenings. Otherwise he goes a little stir crazy. Daddy is missing us like crazy and hates coming home to an empty house. We are gonna go home tonight to spend some family time. Other than that I'm just trying to get through each week/day the best I can.

We only have around 28 days left if not less!

The quality of this pic is terrible because it was at night with my camera phone but I wanted to get something up.

Here’s Jaxson’s Development this week:
Besides looking like a newborn at 34 weeks of pregnancy, your baby is acting like a newborn as well. His eyes open when he’s awake and close when he is sleeping. His sleeping cycles are the same now as they will be when he is born. He has learned to blink and can see better when a bright light is shined on your stomach. He recognizes voice and sound patterns from the outside world and is most comforted by the sound of your voice.
He weighs about 5 pounds now and is about 18 inches long. His fingernails have reached the end of his fingertips at week 34 of pregnancy and he may even scratch his face before he is born. His fat layers are growing every week to fill up that wrinkly skin and he may have already turned into the head down position for labor. Your baby’s central nervous system is still maturing, and his lungs are almost fully ready to breathe air. If your baby is born this week, he has a 99% chance of survival outside of the womb, pretty darn good odds.

Random Pictures

Thanks to technology I'm able to get some pictures quickly from facebook or other sources that people have taken while I'm on bed rest and Brody has different events to attend!

This pic was taken at my uncle's bday party a week or so before I went on bed rest

Brody bowling at Ben's bday party! He LOVED it



Andy & Brody at TBall game

Playing in the pool at Granny's