Jackson is obsessed with being "naked" and often takes off his clothes leaving only his undies on when we're home. The other night he was touching his nipples and said they're like crayons or colored pencils and I'm going to draw on you! He ran over to me and then Nick and rubbed his torso all over us. We couldn't stop laughing!
A couple weeks ago Bennett was crying and Jackson very seriously said, "I'm not enjoying all this crying."
Last week on the way to Atlanta, Bennett woke up SCREAMING and luckily instead of Jackson complaining about it, he started imitating Bennett and laughing hysterically.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
It's check up time!
Since the boys' birthdays are so close together, their doctor made an exception and let me bring them in together for Jackson's 4 year old visit and Bennett's two week old visit on Thursday, June 2nd. They both did great! Here's a quick recap of both...
During our hospital stay they checked Bennett's blood sugar quite often and ended up doing a series of labs on him but luckily all was normal and he was discharged with a perfect bill of health. He had a quick one week visit last week and weighed in at 5 pounds 11.5 ounces! I was thrilled he was gaining weight so well. The pediatrician told me to continue doing what I was doing and follow up in another week. This week, Bennett weighed in at 6 pounds 3 ounces so needless to say, I was over the moon! He didn't need any vaccines this week so it was an easy visit for him. The last two weeks have been relatively easy. He seems to have his days and nights mixed up a little but other than that, he eats and sleeps with a couple wakeful periods a day.
Now for Jackson's update...we have been lucky enough to have a healthy year especially since last year came with a big wheezing scare that landed us in the ER. This year, we haven't had one trip to the doctor! Unfortunately, the 4 year check up is a big one; including 4 shots, a finger prick, hearing test, vision test, and regular physical. Jackson passed all with flying colors and was such a trooper through all the shots, not a single tear was shed. He is 40 3/4" tall (60th percentile) and weighs 39 pounds (74th percentile). During his physical exam, the doctor asked him many questions to assess his development including identifying shapes, colors, writing his name, and general questions about what he wears when riding a bike (helmet), not talking to strangers, etc. Jackson did very well but also provided some entertainment too. Here are a few things that left me crying I was laughing so hard:
~ Dr. S. - Jackson what do you play?
J - I play football.
Dr. S. - What kind of football? Do you play flag football or tackle football?
J - No! I play Georgia football!
~ Dr. S. drew an octagon and when Jackson couldn't identify it, Dr. S. tried to give him clues to help him guess. He asked Jackson how many legs an OCTopus has and tried to make the connection to the octagon. Jackson simply replied by asking the Dr. S. if he knew how many legs a spider had.
~ Dr. S. went through a series of questions on strangers; do you talk to strangers, do you go anywhere with strangers, strangers equal what and Jackson answered all of these correctly. Until of course, the doctor asked what if a stranger has candy, is it ok to take candy from a stranger? Jackson looked back at me, smiled and said yes! I guess we have to work on that one!
~ Dr. S. had on a couple of silly bands on his wrist and Jackson asked him if he had a lot. Dr. S. replied no, those were just from his son. For some reason this prompted Jackson to tell him he had 100 cars at home. Dr. S. said "Wow, 100? Can you even count that high?" Of course this was a rhetorical question but Jackson told him he could and started counting very slowly, "1, 2, ..." until the doctor in between giggles stopped him.
During our hospital stay they checked Bennett's blood sugar quite often and ended up doing a series of labs on him but luckily all was normal and he was discharged with a perfect bill of health. He had a quick one week visit last week and weighed in at 5 pounds 11.5 ounces! I was thrilled he was gaining weight so well. The pediatrician told me to continue doing what I was doing and follow up in another week. This week, Bennett weighed in at 6 pounds 3 ounces so needless to say, I was over the moon! He didn't need any vaccines this week so it was an easy visit for him. The last two weeks have been relatively easy. He seems to have his days and nights mixed up a little but other than that, he eats and sleeps with a couple wakeful periods a day.
Now for Jackson's update...we have been lucky enough to have a healthy year especially since last year came with a big wheezing scare that landed us in the ER. This year, we haven't had one trip to the doctor! Unfortunately, the 4 year check up is a big one; including 4 shots, a finger prick, hearing test, vision test, and regular physical. Jackson passed all with flying colors and was such a trooper through all the shots, not a single tear was shed. He is 40 3/4" tall (60th percentile) and weighs 39 pounds (74th percentile). During his physical exam, the doctor asked him many questions to assess his development including identifying shapes, colors, writing his name, and general questions about what he wears when riding a bike (helmet), not talking to strangers, etc. Jackson did very well but also provided some entertainment too. Here are a few things that left me crying I was laughing so hard:
~ Dr. S. - Jackson what do you play?
J - I play football.
Dr. S. - What kind of football? Do you play flag football or tackle football?
J - No! I play Georgia football!
~ Dr. S. drew an octagon and when Jackson couldn't identify it, Dr. S. tried to give him clues to help him guess. He asked Jackson how many legs an OCTopus has and tried to make the connection to the octagon. Jackson simply replied by asking the Dr. S. if he knew how many legs a spider had.
~ Dr. S. went through a series of questions on strangers; do you talk to strangers, do you go anywhere with strangers, strangers equal what and Jackson answered all of these correctly. Until of course, the doctor asked what if a stranger has candy, is it ok to take candy from a stranger? Jackson looked back at me, smiled and said yes! I guess we have to work on that one!
~ Dr. S. had on a couple of silly bands on his wrist and Jackson asked him if he had a lot. Dr. S. replied no, those were just from his son. For some reason this prompted Jackson to tell him he had 100 cars at home. Dr. S. said "Wow, 100? Can you even count that high?" Of course this was a rhetorical question but Jackson told him he could and started counting very slowly, "1, 2, ..." until the doctor in between giggles stopped him.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Bennett's Birth Story
On Monday, May 16th, I started having contractions but very few and not very strong. Over the next couple of days the contractions continued in the same way, very irregular until Wednesday evening when I was making dinner. I guess being on my feet really did the trick because all of a sudden they were 8 and 9 minutes apart. I told the timing and he joked he was putting me on bedrest for the rest of the evening which was actually quite nice, he cleaned the kitchen, got Jackson ready for bed and I relaxed in bed until I fell asleep around 9pm. I woke up a couple times and fell back asleep until 11:30pm. Then the contractions came back full force and although they were still only 9 or 10 minutes apart, they were definitely stronger.
At 2am, I had one that was only 6 minutes after the last and this continued for half and hour. I called the OB on call and he told me they like to wait until the contractions are 5 minutes apart for 1-2 hours!!! I was shocked since my scheduled c section was only a little more than 24 hours away but who was I to argue with the doctor. I did go ahead and call my mom just to give her the heads up that things may be happening sooner than later. She decided to go ahead and get on the road. I'm sure my being nervous and her being overly prepared had nothing to do with Lila making her debut a week early ;)
An hour and a half later, I had been having consistent contractions that were 5 minutes apart so I woke up Nick and called the doctor. This time he told me to go ahead and come to the hospital. We got ready, woke Jackson up, dropped him off at a friend's house and were on our way by 5am.
I was taken back immediately to a labor and delivery room and hooked up to monitors. By this time the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart but I was only 2 cm dilated. The nurse called the OB and confirmed he was going to do the c section that same day instead of waiting until my schedule time the following morning. Luckily, my labor didn't progress quickly at all because it wasn't until about 7:30 or so that I was taken to the OR to receive the spinal block. Nick was taken separately to get into his scrubs and cleaned up before entering the OR. One of the nurses was prepping him on the different smells, things he may see, how he may feel lightheaded, etc. when he politely interrupted and told her he was a prediatric resident that had been in on multiple c sections.
So I was wheeled in to the OR alone and that's when the anxiety and emotions took over. All of a sudden there were so many people doing so many things to me at the same time and it was very overwhelming. On top of that, they began the spinal block as a contraction started so it was very hard to stay completely still and try to make sense of what the nurses were saying. Luckily that part passed relatively quickly and before I knew it I was lying down with the sheet blocking my view and the OB had walked in to begin. I'm pretty sure he started before Nick had even come back but shortly after Nick was by side holding my hand and wiping my tears. At 8:07 we heard the first of MANY screams! Nick stood up to take a peak and announced we had another little BOY!!! He gave me a kiss and dashed off to be with our son. I got a quick peek at Bennett before they took him to the nursery to get weighed, washed, measured, etc. As the doctor was finishing up my surgery, he and the nurses started "betting" on Bennett's weight. I could tell from all their guesses he was a little peanut, even smaller than big brother Jackson who was 6 lbs. 11 oz. A few minutes later the nurses received a call with the birthweight, 5 lbs. 9 oz.
I was taken to the recovery area and about an hour later joined by Nick and Bennett. In the meantime my mom had arrived with Jackson so Nick went out to announce that he had a baby brother. Unfortunately, my temperature was pretty low so I wasn't released from the recovery room for a few hours but they did allow my visitors to trade off so my mom and Nick's mom were both able to come back and see me and meet Bennett.
The rest of the day went by in a very happy haze as my meds wore off and we were all enjoying the newest addition to our family, Bennett Alexander Kelly, born May 19th at 8:07am, 5 lbs. 9 oz. and 19.5 inches. And just as the meaning of his name, blessed one, we are so thankful and blessed to have him in our family. We love you!
At 2am, I had one that was only 6 minutes after the last and this continued for half and hour. I called the OB on call and he told me they like to wait until the contractions are 5 minutes apart for 1-2 hours!!! I was shocked since my scheduled c section was only a little more than 24 hours away but who was I to argue with the doctor. I did go ahead and call my mom just to give her the heads up that things may be happening sooner than later. She decided to go ahead and get on the road. I'm sure my being nervous and her being overly prepared had nothing to do with Lila making her debut a week early ;)
An hour and a half later, I had been having consistent contractions that were 5 minutes apart so I woke up Nick and called the doctor. This time he told me to go ahead and come to the hospital. We got ready, woke Jackson up, dropped him off at a friend's house and were on our way by 5am.
I was taken back immediately to a labor and delivery room and hooked up to monitors. By this time the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart but I was only 2 cm dilated. The nurse called the OB and confirmed he was going to do the c section that same day instead of waiting until my schedule time the following morning. Luckily, my labor didn't progress quickly at all because it wasn't until about 7:30 or so that I was taken to the OR to receive the spinal block. Nick was taken separately to get into his scrubs and cleaned up before entering the OR. One of the nurses was prepping him on the different smells, things he may see, how he may feel lightheaded, etc. when he politely interrupted and told her he was a prediatric resident that had been in on multiple c sections.
So I was wheeled in to the OR alone and that's when the anxiety and emotions took over. All of a sudden there were so many people doing so many things to me at the same time and it was very overwhelming. On top of that, they began the spinal block as a contraction started so it was very hard to stay completely still and try to make sense of what the nurses were saying. Luckily that part passed relatively quickly and before I knew it I was lying down with the sheet blocking my view and the OB had walked in to begin. I'm pretty sure he started before Nick had even come back but shortly after Nick was by side holding my hand and wiping my tears. At 8:07 we heard the first of MANY screams! Nick stood up to take a peak and announced we had another little BOY!!! He gave me a kiss and dashed off to be with our son. I got a quick peek at Bennett before they took him to the nursery to get weighed, washed, measured, etc. As the doctor was finishing up my surgery, he and the nurses started "betting" on Bennett's weight. I could tell from all their guesses he was a little peanut, even smaller than big brother Jackson who was 6 lbs. 11 oz. A few minutes later the nurses received a call with the birthweight, 5 lbs. 9 oz.
I was taken to the recovery area and about an hour later joined by Nick and Bennett. In the meantime my mom had arrived with Jackson so Nick went out to announce that he had a baby brother. Unfortunately, my temperature was pretty low so I wasn't released from the recovery room for a few hours but they did allow my visitors to trade off so my mom and Nick's mom were both able to come back and see me and meet Bennett.
The rest of the day went by in a very happy haze as my meds wore off and we were all enjoying the newest addition to our family, Bennett Alexander Kelly, born May 19th at 8:07am, 5 lbs. 9 oz. and 19.5 inches. And just as the meaning of his name, blessed one, we are so thankful and blessed to have him in our family. We love you!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Baby Update 37 Weeks
Oops I missed my 36 week update but now that they're weekly I'm not sure how much will change in between appointments.
.
How far along: 37 weeks
.
Total weight gain: 19 pounds
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General disposition: Good
.
Sleep: Pretty bad, I take an hourly bathroom break and then one of those times I can't go back to sleep for about two hours. And the last few days it's been even worse because Nick has been working the night shift in the ER so when he gets home around 3 or 4am, I wake up.
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Best moment: Hitting the full term mark, there's just a little sigh of relief although prayers for a healthy baby are still ongoing :)
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Movement: Yes and from what I can tell this one is going to be an early riser.
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Labor signs/body changes of note: I'm pretty sure I grew substantially, I keep running into things with my belly. Jackson also hit my belly while trying to squeeze by me and told me my belly was too big and hard.
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What I miss: Not having heartburn!
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What I'm looking forward to: THE BABY!!!!! I had a very vivid dream last night that I had the baby, when I woke up this morning, it took me a minute to realize why I didn't have a baby in my arms.
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How far along: 37 weeks
.
Total weight gain: 19 pounds
.
General disposition: Good
.
Sleep: Pretty bad, I take an hourly bathroom break and then one of those times I can't go back to sleep for about two hours. And the last few days it's been even worse because Nick has been working the night shift in the ER so when he gets home around 3 or 4am, I wake up.
.
Best moment: Hitting the full term mark, there's just a little sigh of relief although prayers for a healthy baby are still ongoing :)
.
Movement: Yes and from what I can tell this one is going to be an early riser.
.
Labor signs/body changes of note: I'm pretty sure I grew substantially, I keep running into things with my belly. Jackson also hit my belly while trying to squeeze by me and told me my belly was too big and hard.
.
What I miss: Not having heartburn!
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What I'm looking forward to: THE BABY!!!!! I had a very vivid dream last night that I had the baby, when I woke up this morning, it took me a minute to realize why I didn't have a baby in my arms.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Jackson's Birth Story
As we are preparing to meet our newest family member, Nick and I have been discussing certain things about the day Jackson was born and although it hasn't been that long and we haven't had any other births to confuse it with, we're already forgetting some details. Oh and by "we" I mean Nick of course. So I decided just in case I start forgetting or mixing up details I would post Jackson's birth story.
Nick was on his OB rotation in medical school and he had an overnight shift on Wednesday, May 23rd. I had my weekly appointment that morning but nothing had changed from my previous appointment so the doctor did a membrane sweep and sent me on my way. Later that day I started having contractions, nothing painful and not too consistent. That night I met Erin for dinner at Flying Biscuit and I realized through dinner the contractions were definitely consistent although not quite close together yet. I updated Nick and enjoyed the rest of our dinner.
I got home and got ready for bed...realizing later there wasn't going to be much sleep that night! To my surprise, a short while later Nick came home early, they figured it would be better to let him go just in case I was in labor. At about 3am the contractions were painful enough to wake me up so I got up and started keeping track of the consistency, length, pain, etc. At around 6am they were bad enough for me to wake Nick up although not quite 5 minutes apart yet. We both showered and got ready and by that time they were increasing in every sense including time so we called the doctor and were told to head to the hospital.
A minor sidenote to this story...I had been rotating through all of the doctors at the practice during my pregnancy. There was only one appointment I left feeling annoyed with the doctor. That morning when the OB on call returned my call, I was relieved to find out it wasn't the one doctor I disliked, that is until the end of the call when the OB told me her shift ended in a few minutes at 7am and the new OB on call would meet me at the hospital. Well of course the new OB was the only one I was hoping wouldn't deliver my baby. However, I quickly realized she was totally different that day than she was at our appointment and definitely made me feel I had her complete attention and more importantly, she gave me a perfectly healthy baby boy and a successful surgery for myself too.
Okay back to the actual birth story. We arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning around 7am and got settled into our labor and delivery room. I was going into labor with an open mind, without having decided on getting an epidural although not totally against it either. Well things changed pretty quickly. Dr. Fairbrother came in to check how far my labor had progressed (4 cm) and unfortunately realized immediately there was meconium present. She explained that meant there was something that happened to the baby that caused the baby to poop and that led her to believe a c section might need to be considered. So without any hesitation or delay, she advised I had to have an epidural in case I had to have a c section, they didn't want waiting for meds to cause a delay. Needless to say I was so upset and the waterworks started immediately. Looking back I know none of it makes a difference but at the time I was mad I didn't get to make the choice of whether or not I was going to have an epidural and then of course freaking out that something could be wrong with the baby. On a lighter note, a few minutes later the anesthesiologist walked in with a big smile on his face and asked, "Someone wanting an epidural in here?" He was probably used to having moms in labor ecstatic to see him but I was far from it, so much so that I sobbed, "NO!" right back at him. At first he was shocked and started backing away until Nick called him back over. The epidural was the most painful part of labor, since I was only 4 cm I hadn't gotten to the really bad part yet.
The rest of the morning went pretty quickly. They were monitoring the contractions and the baby's heartbeat and saw that with each contraction, the baby's heart rate would decelerate which wasn't a good sign. They gave me some meds to stop the contractions and waited for Dr. Fairbrother to make the call. She came in a little before noon and said it was time for a c section. About an hour later, we were off to the OR to meet our baby. Dr. Fairbrother announced during the surgery (as she was quizzing Nick since she knew he was a med student) that the baby had tied the cord in a true knot. But none of that mattered anymore, she had safely delivered our baby BOY and we were finally able to relax knowing he was okay.
Jackson David Kelly was born on May 24th 2007 at 1:37pm, weighing in at 6 pounds, 11 ounces and 20 inches long. They took us to the recovery room but unfortunately, Jackson's blood sugar was low so they had to take him away and give him some formula and wait an hour to retest it. This went one for a couple hours before his blood sugar was back up and he was ready to meet us in our room. Unfortunately, our room wasn't ready for us for another couple hours but eventually we all made it and got to introduce our son to our family members.
Nick was on his OB rotation in medical school and he had an overnight shift on Wednesday, May 23rd. I had my weekly appointment that morning but nothing had changed from my previous appointment so the doctor did a membrane sweep and sent me on my way. Later that day I started having contractions, nothing painful and not too consistent. That night I met Erin for dinner at Flying Biscuit and I realized through dinner the contractions were definitely consistent although not quite close together yet. I updated Nick and enjoyed the rest of our dinner.
I got home and got ready for bed...realizing later there wasn't going to be much sleep that night! To my surprise, a short while later Nick came home early, they figured it would be better to let him go just in case I was in labor. At about 3am the contractions were painful enough to wake me up so I got up and started keeping track of the consistency, length, pain, etc. At around 6am they were bad enough for me to wake Nick up although not quite 5 minutes apart yet. We both showered and got ready and by that time they were increasing in every sense including time so we called the doctor and were told to head to the hospital.
A minor sidenote to this story...I had been rotating through all of the doctors at the practice during my pregnancy. There was only one appointment I left feeling annoyed with the doctor. That morning when the OB on call returned my call, I was relieved to find out it wasn't the one doctor I disliked, that is until the end of the call when the OB told me her shift ended in a few minutes at 7am and the new OB on call would meet me at the hospital. Well of course the new OB was the only one I was hoping wouldn't deliver my baby. However, I quickly realized she was totally different that day than she was at our appointment and definitely made me feel I had her complete attention and more importantly, she gave me a perfectly healthy baby boy and a successful surgery for myself too.
Okay back to the actual birth story. We arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning around 7am and got settled into our labor and delivery room. I was going into labor with an open mind, without having decided on getting an epidural although not totally against it either. Well things changed pretty quickly. Dr. Fairbrother came in to check how far my labor had progressed (4 cm) and unfortunately realized immediately there was meconium present. She explained that meant there was something that happened to the baby that caused the baby to poop and that led her to believe a c section might need to be considered. So without any hesitation or delay, she advised I had to have an epidural in case I had to have a c section, they didn't want waiting for meds to cause a delay. Needless to say I was so upset and the waterworks started immediately. Looking back I know none of it makes a difference but at the time I was mad I didn't get to make the choice of whether or not I was going to have an epidural and then of course freaking out that something could be wrong with the baby. On a lighter note, a few minutes later the anesthesiologist walked in with a big smile on his face and asked, "Someone wanting an epidural in here?" He was probably used to having moms in labor ecstatic to see him but I was far from it, so much so that I sobbed, "NO!" right back at him. At first he was shocked and started backing away until Nick called him back over. The epidural was the most painful part of labor, since I was only 4 cm I hadn't gotten to the really bad part yet.
The rest of the morning went pretty quickly. They were monitoring the contractions and the baby's heartbeat and saw that with each contraction, the baby's heart rate would decelerate which wasn't a good sign. They gave me some meds to stop the contractions and waited for Dr. Fairbrother to make the call. She came in a little before noon and said it was time for a c section. About an hour later, we were off to the OR to meet our baby. Dr. Fairbrother announced during the surgery (as she was quizzing Nick since she knew he was a med student) that the baby had tied the cord in a true knot. But none of that mattered anymore, she had safely delivered our baby BOY and we were finally able to relax knowing he was okay.
Jackson David Kelly was born on May 24th 2007 at 1:37pm, weighing in at 6 pounds, 11 ounces and 20 inches long. They took us to the recovery room but unfortunately, Jackson's blood sugar was low so they had to take him away and give him some formula and wait an hour to retest it. This went one for a couple hours before his blood sugar was back up and he was ready to meet us in our room. Unfortunately, our room wasn't ready for us for another couple hours but eventually we all made it and got to introduce our son to our family members.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Baby Update 34 Weeks
How far along: 34 weeks (I can't believe it!!!)
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Total weight gain: 17 pounds
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General disposition: Okay
.
Sleep: It's hit or miss, some nights I get a good amount of sleep in between all my bathroom breaks and other nights I am up all night.
.
Best Moment: Hearing the heartbeat...it never gets old!
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Movement: All the time and I love it!
.
Labor signs/body changes of note: None
.
What I miss: Hmmm when I don't have heartburn, I've been craving a deli sub from Publix. I've already told Nick that's the first thing I want brought to me at the hospital.
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What I'm looking forward to: Making it to full term, only 3 more weeks!!!
.
Total weight gain: 17 pounds
.
General disposition: Okay
.
Sleep: It's hit or miss, some nights I get a good amount of sleep in between all my bathroom breaks and other nights I am up all night.
.
Best Moment: Hearing the heartbeat...it never gets old!
.
Movement: All the time and I love it!
.
Labor signs/body changes of note: None
.
What I miss: Hmmm when I don't have heartburn, I've been craving a deli sub from Publix. I've already told Nick that's the first thing I want brought to me at the hospital.
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What I'm looking forward to: Making it to full term, only 3 more weeks!!!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Jacksonism and it's a good one!
Jackson and I were at dinner with friends tonight and he was scrolling through the pictures on my phone and came across this picture and announced, "This is when I was Jesus!" 
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