Archive for June, 2008

goodness, this week has been intense! i probably experienced both my worst and my best days in this week alone… the worst being 3 straight days of me being the only care-taker for jackson which left me absolutely spent of all energy… the best being when mom arrived in my time of need and has helped us once again see the light at the end of the tunnel.
after much effort and deliberation, jackson is officially a formula fed baby. his one month check up with his pediatrician more or less sealed the deal with that for us. he is on a non-allergenic formula (basically no lactose, soy, gluten, etc…) and is doing sooooo much better. the change in his tummy and pottying is unreal. the poor little guy was so uncomfortable for so long. it’s wonderful to see him more content. because jackson’s feeding patterns (or lack thereof) were so erratic, getting him adjusted to any sort of routine has been impossible… until now. in my most desperate moment (and after a solid 24 hours of me sobbing with my son who was in pain) salvation came in the form of grammy!!! she has helped paul and i adjust jackson to his formula feedings, and begin to see how we can instill a routine in him one step at a time. we are eternally grateful for my mom’s help and for her flexibility to come down and relieve us in a moments notice.
as for jackson, he is doing so well… he is now weighing a healthy 11 and a half pounds and is 23 and 1/2 inches tall. such a big boy!!! i am learning to set my expectations for him according to his age though, and not his size. too easily i find myself expecting more (especially in terms of the amount of formula he can take) according to him being a “bigger baby” but then realizing (again thanks to mom) that he is not even 6 weeks old yet, and still such a newborn. keeping that in mind gives me better perspective and reminds me that though he may be big, he is in need of so much coddling and care because he is so new.
with grammy being here, we have been able to have our first family outing to st. john’s town center this weekend. we packed up jackson’s stroller and walked him around the shops until we were all dripping with sweat. it’s gotten so hot here so quickly. with jackson being 6 weeks old on tuesday, his ability to grasp things (whether it’s our fingers or a toy) has come into play more. we got him a couple of rattles on our shopping trip to encourage his grasping. we took our first family photo at the town center and then of course took lots of pictures of jackson “making phone calls” with his new rattle. after our shopping excursion in the heat, jackson needed some cool down time in only his diaper in order to make his calls to all of his grandparents and uncles.
not only has our “salvation” (mom) allowed us to transition jackson to formula, figure out a feasible schedule, and given us a family outing, but she babysat jackson last night, giving paul and i an evening out with jackson’s GODparents, billy and rachel. how great it was for paul and i to have some time with such wonderful friends. jackson got some snuggle time with “his billy” and “his rachel” too which was great. they hadn’t seen him since the hospital and have been anxious to get some time with him. of course jackson’s grammy had him in such a peaceful state when we came home that he could hardly open his eyes for his GODparents, but they enjoyed him nevertheless. it’s so wonderful to see such great friends of our’s lovin’ on jackson.

lastly, i owe you avid blog readers an apology for not posting until now. i know all of you have been anxiously awaiting news on magoo’s tummy troubles. we appreciate the thoughts and prayers so much. they have worked!!! jackson has gotten relief FINALLY and we are all so much more content knowing that he is content.