Newborn Pictures!

We had newborn pictures taken when Evan was three weeks old. We just got them back!

All pictures taken by the talented Carrie Harris Photography

















Lots of Love,
KJsbabe

Evan is 1 Month!

This month flew by! My squishy boy is already a month old! He's grown a lot! His birth wight was 8lbs 13oz, he lost over a pound by the time we left the hospital on day three because my milk didn't come in until day four. But since then he's gained like crazy. At his two week app he was back up to 9lbs even. Today, at four weeks, he's 11lbs 3oz. My little chunker! He spent about 2 1/2 weeks in new born clothes and is now in 3 months. The hospital gave us a nice fleece Halo sleep sack with the swaddle attached in size NB. He's already growing out of it, so I'm having to buy a 3-6m one with the swaddle now. The ones we already have don't have the swaddle and it really helps him sleep.

The end of our first and going into our second week was kind of rough. Evan had his new born doctor app at 5 days old. He looked fine, except for his circ. Our doctor wasn't available to do it at the hospital, so the NP in the nursery did it... And didn't do it well. It kept spotting at every diaper change while we were at the hospital, and while the NP said a little spotting was normal, it seemed like a lot to me. I kept telling the nurses about it and asking if it was normal and none of them really gave me a straight answer. So, at his app our doctor didn't like the way it was looking. The NP used the Plastibell method and didn't tie the string tight enough so the blood supply was not fully cut off on one part, so it wasn't falling off like it should. She told us to come back in a couple days to see how it was doing. We went back on day 8 and it was still the same, so our doctor had to fix it and remove it herself... That was fun. Obviously he was bleeding from the procedure, but he was clotting up pretty well by the time we left the office. She told us to leave his diaper alone for a few hours so he could clot well. I gave him about three hours and in that time I heard him poop twice (he's a really loud pooper!) so I figured I had better take care of it. I opened up his diaper and it was soaked with blood... I freaked out. That's definitely not a sight you ever want to see! He was actively bleeding so I had KJ call the doctor and see what to do, while I tried to clean him up. She had us run to the hospital to get this special clotting gauze called surgicel. She had looked for some at the office originally but was out of it. Once we got the gauze wrapped around the bleeding stopped   instantly. Thank goodness!! It took about three days for it to heal up completely after that. I was so glad when it was over!

Since the whole circ ordeal, though, things have been pretty smooth sailing. It's been really dry in our house so Evan's gotten pretty dried out and stuffed up from time to time. I've been using saline drops and that's really been helping to get the boogies out. He hates it, but he needs it.

And now for pictures!

Three days old


Showing some Steelers love
 

Lexi and I taking care of our babies


Trying out the pouch sling


First cloth diaper at 3 weeks. We had to wait to start them because of the whole circ ordeal.


Lexi cuddling Evan


Sister and brother <3


Floor time


Big yawn!


And asleep...


Napping on the quilt Grammie made.


Lots of Love,

KJsbabe

Evan Wesley's Birth Story

Short version: Evan Wesley was born Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 9:26am via repeat c-section, weighting 8lbs 13oz and 21in long. 

Long version: KJ and I arrived at the hospital at 5am Thursday morning. They got me admitted and in a bed to prep me for the c/s. When the nurse hooked me up to the monitor she asked of I was feeling the any of the contractions I was having. Honestly I wasn't! I had been getting a crampy AF feeling on and off for the two days prior, and figured it might be the very beginning stage of labor. Sometimes I would get a BH along with it, but since it didn't hurt I didn't think it was the real thing. Apparently it was! 

As I sat and waited for my c/s the contractions did start to get more uncomfortable and painful. By the time we were ready to go in they were 4 minuets apart. I'm pretty sure we would have been having a baby that day even with out the c/s! 

I had to wait much longer than anticipated for my c/s. We were supposed to start at 7am, but my doctor was late getting there. By the time he arrived we lost the anesthesiologist and had to wait for his next opening, which was 9am. So all the while I sat in an uncomfortable hospital bed, having real contractions, with a catheter in that hurt, in an insanely hot room. I got so warm at one point that DH opened the window for me. It was 15 degrees out and snowing, and felt great!

But once we actually got started, things went very smoothly. Evan Wesley was born at 9:26am weighing 8lbs 13oz and 21in long. He has strawberry blond hair, which was a bit of a surprise! Recovery has been up and down. The first day I felt like I had a major hang over. I was tired from getting up at 4am, dizzy all day from the meds (I couldn't see or think straight), and nauseous from the meds (I couldn't keep anything down). I did feel good enough to get out of bed and stand for a few minuets at the end of the day, though. Day two I felt much better. I had great pain killers, so no pain from the c/s. I did develop major swelling in my legs, though. I had compression stockings on my calves, but as soon as they came off my legs just ballooned. If you had looked at me from the thighs down you would have thought I weighted 500lbs! It was ridiculous! It was harder to move around because of my elephant legs than it was because of my c/s. Thankfully they have since started to deflate. I'm a week out now and they are pretty much back to normal. Other than that, I've been feeling good. My incision was sore for a few days, but I'm really feeling good now. 

Breastfeeding went really well the first day, Evan's a total natural. On day two he developed his super suck, though, and OMG it hurt!! My nipples quickly got very sore, and were cracked and bleeding. That's been something we've really had to work through. On day three my milk still hadn't come in and all he wanted to do was eat. He got very frustrated each time because he wasn't getting a lot, which made him suck even harder. Ouch!! But on day four my milk came in and things have improved a lot. Even though I'm completely engorged, he's much more satisfied. When he's happy, I'm happy. 

Lexi adores her baby brother! She's always wanting to help hold him or hug and kiss him. It warms my heart to see how much she has accepted him into our family and how excited she's been to meet him. I forgot how tiny new borns are! It's amazing that she started out that small and is now such a big girl! 

I'm just so happy our little boy is finally here and in my arms! 

Evan and proud big sister Lexi!

Mr Bright Eyes

Going home outfit

Momma and Evan

Big sister, Daddy, and Evan

Home at last

Finally home and comfy

Lots of Love, 

KJsbabe

My Boy is Here!

Introducing Evan Wesley Jackson! He was born at 9:26 this morning. He's 8lbs 13oz and 21in long. He has strawberry blond hair and is pretty perfect. He has KJ's nose and looks a lot like his big sister. 

It's so nice to finally have him here! Our little family of four is complete <3

Lots of Love, 

KJsbabe

Joanna Rose

Today I am heartbroken. A very dear friend of mine lost her baby over the weekend. She was 26w and had just had an app last Monday. Her baby seemed to be healthy and growing then. The last time she felt the baby kick was Christmas morning so she went to the ER to get checked out on Saturday. She texted me Sunday morning to tell me the sad news. 

I'm just so heartbroken for my friend. This is the same friend who had a miscarriage in April right before I got pregnant. She got pregnant again in July and everything seemed to be going well. She had good betas and a great early ultrasound. The baby was growing right on track... And now they're not. Just like that, her baby is gone. This is so unfair. 

My dear sweet friend is the best person I know. She is sweet, loving, kind, and generous. She loves The Lord with all of her heart. How could He let this happen to her? She's always wanted to be a mom. Even as kids growing up, she always loved babies (even when they grossed me out) and would talk about having a whole bunch of them when she grew up. She was meant to be a mother. She is the last person on Earth that this should have happened to. 

Joanna Rose was born sleeping at 8:07 tonight. Rest in peace, sweet girl.

Photo by Carlie Marie The Seashore of Remembrance

Lots of Love,

KJsbabe

8 Months - 32 Weeks!

Another month down! We are getting there! 

Ugh, not that I've had a lot of energy to begin with the entire pregnancy, but third tri fatigue has hit me hard. I'm so freaking tired all the time. More than once I've fallen asleep on the couch while Lexi watched Frozen. She's such a sweet girl. She puts a blanket on me, whispers "night-night mommy", and kisses me on the cheek. 

30 weeks

Another awesome thing I've been dealing with is being insanely warm all the time. It's 20 degrees outside and I'm wearing a tank top! Mornings are the worst. I get out of the shower, get dressed, and I can't cool off for the life of me. I usually have to stand out side for a minuet to feel better. I also can't drink hot tea, coffee, or hot chocolate because it makes me too hot. For once I've been really grateful for the cold weather!

The third tri aches and pains have set in. My belly gets sore a lot. It's uncomfortable to lay, sit, stand, everything. I'm so, so grateful for this healthy baby boy, but I'm looking forward to being done. Truthfully, I'm looking forward to be done with TTC, trying to stay pregnant, and the aches and pains of pregnancy. I'm looking forward to completing our family. I'm looking forward to closing this chapter of my life and moving on and just enjoying our little family of four. 

My apps have been going well. I'm going every two weeks now. Nothing really exciting to report. Baby boy seems to be doing well. I haven't been doing actual kick counts, but he moves a lot throughout the day. Some days are slower than others, but I always feel him here and there. My only concern is that at my past couple apps his heart rate has been around 130. I feel like that's low. Lexi always stayed around 150. On my Doppler at home some days he's 130 and other he's 150.

32 week comparison - Lexi in pink and baby boy in blue

How far along? 32 weeks

Total weight gain: 28lbs... I don't want to talk about it...

Maternity clothes? Yes. I still hate my pants. And now my favorite yoga pants are getting tight...

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Most nights are ok, but I'm still dealing with the once or twice a week insomnia. Either I can't fall asleep to begin with, or I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.

Best moment this month: Feeling lots of movement. Baby boy is definitely a mover!

Miss Anything? Not having heartburn every night.

Movement: Most days he moves a lot, but every couple days he'll have a quiet day and it'll freak me out.

Food cravings: Fruit and yogurt Special K cereal

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really

Gender prediction: Still boy :)

Labor Signs: none

Symptoms: heart burn, swelling, 

Belly Button in or out? Out. Way, way out.

Wedding rings on or off? Off. I made it to 31weeks and then my fingers started to swell a lot. They're just not comfortable any more. I broke out my fake ring I wore last time, but it turns my finger green.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, but tired

Looking forward to:  Being done

Next app: November 21 and December 1

Lots of Love,

KJsbabe

Adventures In Potty Training - Round 1

I'm doing the "Oh Crap" potty training method with Lexi

Day 1 10/13

It's the end of day one and I'm exhausted. Lexi peed 10 times today. One was a complete miss because she ran away from me, two were completely in the potty because I made her sit, and seven were caught mid stream and most of it got in the potty. She likes to help me dump her pee in the big potty and flush. Then we wave and say "bye bye pee pee!". She didn't like the couple times I told her to sit on the potty. She got mad and said "no I not sit on the potty at all!" She is a crotch grabber. 8 out of 10 times she peed today she grabbed herself and then peed any where from a couple seconds to a few minuets later. She did good at nap time, no peeing. I put her to bed without a diaper. She peed about an hour before bed, but didn't right before. She was willing to sit on the potty (improvement from earlier in the day) and sat for about 10 mins and didn't pee. I'm going to try to have her go around 10:30... If I can stay up for another hour. I'm seriously so tired. No poop today.

I couldn't find a potty chart that I liked, so I made one up myself with her favorite characters. She gets a sticker every time she gets some pee in the potty, sits on the potty, or helps her toys "go to the potty"

Day 2 10/14

Last night Lexi peed somewhere between 12 and 3. I tried to have her go at 12 and she didn't. I checked her at 3 and she was wet (changed just her pants, not the sheets). She had almost dried by 7 when she got up for the day, so she only peed the one time. I'm going to have her try at 1 tonight. 

I wish I saw some definitive progress today, but it was pretty much the same if not worse than yesterday. We started off the day with a 99% miss. I waited and waited for her to pee, finally I had to pee myself. So we went up stairs, I peed, then sat her on the big potty with her Ariel seat. She sat for a minuet and then said "I want off!! I all done!" So I let her off. She ran into mine and KJ's bedroom and peed yelling "I leaking mommy!" I ran and tried to get her back to the potty, but all that really happened was we just spread the pee everywhere. She did poop on the potty this morning, one tiny nugget. She was really proud of making poo poo in the potty. She finally did really poop in the afternoon, but it ended up on the floor. She had just peed, we flushed it, and then I thought I would have a couple minuets to start some laundry (bed sheets from last night). When I came back up stairs she ran to me and said "mommy! My big poo poo fell on the floor!" I was huge, poor girl! Lol I had her help me clean it up and flush it. While I was finishing up she pooped again. "Mommy, I have another tiny poo poo!" Well, at least she's getting used to not pooping in a diaper. 

She peed eight times today, two complete misses, two completely in the potty, and four mid streams. She was willing to sit on the potty when I told her to, which is an improvement from yesterday. I know was over prompting her, though. She kept faking me out by itching herself. I need to get better about reading her signs. I tried to take her outside to play because it was beautiful out today. She had peed not long before, so I put pants on her (commando), and we went out. Not five minuets later she peed her pants. One step forward, one steep back. I'm feeling discouraged. I don't know if we're ever going to get out of "block one".

Day 3 10/15

Day three did not go well. In fact momma's pregnancy hormones took over and I cried most of the day. Not good. I posted on a mommy's group I'm in. A lot of the moms have already gone though PT or are training now. It went a little something like this: 

Day 3 of potty training (ocpt) and I'm so, so discouraged. I feel like we've made zero progress. I've done nothing but stare at her, play with her, and follow her around the house with the potty for the past 3 days and I'm still only catching pees mid stream. I've missed a couple completely. She never gives the same signal twice. One time she'll grab herself, the next she'll run away from me, the next she'll look down as she starts to pee. I truly suck at this. I feel so bad because it's not her, it's me. She's willing to sit on the potty when I tell her and she's excited when she gets some in the potty. I'm a mess, though. I actually cried twice today when I didn't catch her in time she 90% of the pee went on the floor. I'm sure that's sending her the worst message ever, "peeing on the potty makes mommy cry". I just can't keep it together. :(

The general consensus is that she's just not ready. I really thought she was because she's been showing a lot of the readiness signs. But most everyone said that it shouldn't be this hard. She should be catching on more by now. If she's not getting it, she's just not getting. She's still on the young side and there are a lot of changes on the horizon. If I'm getting stressed out to the point of tears I'm not going to be an effective teacher. 

I hate to just up and put her back in diapers, though. We've been focusing so much on potty things and I don't want to confuse her. I also really hate to give up after all the work we've done in the last three days. I think we're going to try pull ups for a while and just take it one dat at a time. 

Day 4 10/16

Well today was much less stressful. We still worked on potty things, but it was much less pressure. Lexi and I even ventured out of the house in a pull up! First time we've been out of the house since Sunday! No real improvements today. I tried putting her in underwear and pants to play in the back yard and told her to keep Elsa clean and dry (Frozen undies), just to see what happened. She pooped, and now she keeps saying "I pooped on Elsa". I guess I won't do that again. I don't want her to get into the habit of going in her undies. 

Day 7 10/20

Well, I guess I didn't realize pull ups would be so much like diapers. When Lexi wears them she treats them just like a diaper. She still tells me when she starts peeing, which I guess is a good sign, but they aren't really helping us a long by any means. I put her back in a regular pocket diaper today and she wasn't phased at all.  *sigh* I guess attempt #1 is over. I'm bummed. I might try again in a month, or just wait until after baby boy is here.

Lots of Love,
KJsbabe