Our first week

Check out my two favorite men!
Well, we made it through the first week! Whew! What a whirlwind! I can't remember life before sleepless nights, 3am feedings, poopy diapers and the trials of breastfeeding!!!!! This is no walk in the park! Nevertheless, one look at this little guy's face and my heart melts! It is all so worth it!!!

We got home from the hospital last Monday, December 18th. Lucky for us we had Grandma Ginn (Scott's mom) waiting at home to help get us through! What a lifesaver! She cooked, cleaned, did laundry, and of course gave unconditional love to Jackson! I don't think we would have made it through the week without her! Tuesday we had a nurse come to the house to do a check up of both Jackson and I. He got a thumbs up from the nurse weighing in at 6 lbs 3 ounces. They say babies can lose up to 10% of their birthweight before they leave the hospital, luckily he didn't. The first night was crazy!!!! We had his Pack-n-Play in our bedroom. Any little sound he made the covers were flying off and I was at his side making sure he was okay. Needless to say I did not get any sleep! This was also probably the worse day for me since my milk had come in. When the nurse checked me I was completely engorged!!!! She just looked at me like you poor thing! I was miserable! It literally looked like I had a boob job! They were painful to the touch and even more painful when he nursed. The nurse had to massage the milk out while Jackson was feeding and it had to have been equal to the pain of the contractions I had giving birth!!!! I sat there crying my eyes out while she did this. Luckily after this was over breastfeeding got better.

Wednesday Scott and I went and bought me nursing bras. It turns out that the nursing bras I had bought from Motherhood Maternity were too small and were not fitted properly. That was what was making me engorged! So we went to the hospital's lactation store and got fitted for nursing bras. Literally later that day it was so much better!!!!

Thursday night I started feeling sick like I was coming down with the flu. I was getting cold and hot and had muscle aches. I also had a fever of 100.8. I called my doc and she informed to me take some Tylenol and rest. Soon after that I was feeling so much better.

Friday was Jackson's first pedi appt. I was scheduled to see the doc after him. (We have the same doc). He weighed 6lb 6oz. Doc said he looks great and is gaining weight fast! That night we also decided to put him in his own room to try and get some sleep. I was a little nervous but at the same time was lacking in sleep! To my surprise he did so well!!!! I maybe got up 2 or 3 times to feed throughout the night and the rest of the time I got to sleep!!! It was great!

Sunday (Christmas Eve) we had to take Grandma Ginn to the airport. :-( It was so nice having her here the first week. Now that I'm feeling better and able to do things it's a little easier to take care of him. When we got back he slept and slept and did well again last night. We also opened our Christmas gifts. It was nice being at home, the three of us, spending Christmas Eve together as a family.

Well that was our week in a nutshell. My dad, stepmom, Alyson and Chris are coming to visit today (Christmas Day) They ended up going straight to Aunt Gloria and Uncle Rob's because my grandfather is in the hospital. Hopefully he'll get better soon and we'll make a trip out to North Carolina to see him and let Jackson meet his great grandpa. Scott's dad, stepmom and brother Nic are coming this Thursday and staying a week as well. Uncle Mat and Aunt Amanda are planning on coming mid January. We can't wait for everyone to meet him!!!!

Well that's it for now.....someone is hungry!!!! :-)

Love,
Steph

Here are some more picks...I'll take more closeup shots today and post again.

He's Here!!!! Jackson Henry was born December 16, 2006 at 2:52 pm, weighing in at a whopping 6 lbs. 12 oz. He showed up 2 weeks early, what a great Christmas gift. Steph did great, she was a pushing machine, and very determined.... I surprised myself and was able to stick by her side throughout the entire delivery! Trust me when I say~women are incredible...it looked very very very painful, but Steph managed to keep her composure. Here are a few pictures of my beautiful wife and son. Oh, and there may be a few pics of me as well. Enjoy...hope to see everyone soon.

Proud Father.

The Samuel Family

I'm in labor! Contractions started at 3:45 AM. We called the doctor and told them that contractions were 5 to 6 minutes apart, lasting 45 seconds. The doctor told us to try to wait another hour or two. They started coming every 5 minutes so we called the doctor again. He told us to come into the hospital. So we left the house at 8:08. We got to the hospital and they put me on a fetal monitor to check Jackson's heart rate. The doctor came in to check me and I was 5 centimeters, 90% effaced, 0 station. Now we are just waiting for the doctor to come check us again. By the way, my name is Micah and today I am the blog poster. Stephanie is dictating what she wants on here. Bye for now the doctor is here again.

38th week appointment

Well I'm still progressing!!! We saw Dr. Owens today who is my original doctor. We finally got to see her after we've made all the rounds with all the other doctors. She said everything looks great and his heartbeat was normal. I actually lost a pound from last week! I've been eating like crazy so I don't know how that happened! I am at 138. The nurse said my weight can start tapering off now since we're towards the end.

My internal exam was a little unpleasant but tolerable. I am now 2 cm dialated, 80% effaced and 0 station. She said he is really low and she actually felt the bag of water!!! How weird is that! I told her she could go ahead and pop it if she wanted to! She told us she thinks he'll come within the next ten days which would be at the end of next week!!!!

We are so ready for him to get here! Hopefully I can kick this cold before he arrives. I feel horrible so sorry for not calling anyone after my appointment. I had no energy to talk. I just want to lay down!!!! :-( Well that's it for now. Hopefully it will happen soon!!!!!

Steph

I have a cold! :-(

Perfect timing huh? I am feeling horrible! I thought I was doing good keeping away from Scott when he had his cold last week. I was doing really good about washing my hands and spraying anything he touched with Clorox antibacterial spray! I guess it didn't work. Hopefully it will be gone before Jackson comes. I can't imagine having to wear a mask during labor!

I have my appointment this afternoon at 3:30. I'll post later this evening and let you know if I've made anymore progress.

Send get well vibes my way!!!!!!

37th week appointment

Had another appointment today and Jackson is progressing fast! From just last week I have gained 3 pounds from 136 to 139! I really don't feel like I'm eating all that much but at least he's putting some fat on!

Dr. Culver checked his heart rate and it was in the 140's then all of a sudden jumped into the mid 170's! He continued to check his rate but said that it is common for the heart rate to jump around like that. I'm sure it didn't help that I was having a contraction at the time he was measuring his heart rate. He finally got it stabilized in the 140's. He reassured us that that was normal.

On to the internal exam.....drum roll.....I am now 1.5 cm dilated, 75% effaced and 0 (zero) station! Just last week I was 0 dilated, 0 % effaced and 0 (zero) station! I couldn't believe the progress and from the look on the doc's face neither could he! He told us that I am farther along than most women at this gestational week. Then again anything can happen! He could still decide to be on time or go past his due date! I guess the exercise ball is paying off! Well, that's all for now....my next appointment is next Tuesday!

Off to go bounce on the ball!!!!!

December is here!!! 36 weeks

Well, we finally made it to December!!! I have my next appointment on Tuesday. I've had no more contractions but he still feels like he is going to fall out! I went walking today to see if that would help but it just brought on more Braxton Hicks contractions.

I think Scott is coming down with a sore throat. :-( I'm trying to keep my distance as the last thing we need is to both be sick when Jackson arrives. Hopefully he'll wait a little longer till it passes to make his arrival. Watch.....he'll come at the most inconvenient time! :-)

We're headed out tonight to go get our Christmas tree! I'm so excited. We put all of our Christmas decorations out last weekend but have no tree!!!! Though the weather outside does not make it feel like Christmastime! We have highs in the low 70's!!!! It feels like summer! I think we're supposed to get a cold front today to bring the temps back into the 30's and 40's though. Texas had some snow yesterday! How weird is that!

Update: We finally got our Christmas tree up last night! I had fun decorating it while Scott watched. He's still feeling crummy but up and about. I went Christmas shopping on Saturday and walked around forever! I even bought a birthing ball to sit on to get things moving! I started feeling a little like I was coming down with a head cold....I took some Tylenol sinus and it went away....whew! Can you tell from the pic how much I have already dropped? I finally noticed it in the mirror yesterday. He is way low!

Well, that's it for now. I'll update next Tuesday!

36 week appointment

Well today was my first internal exam appointment. I was so nervous I actually had butterflies in my stomach sitting in the waiting room. I also had to pee so bad because I drank so much water and I was holding it for when I had to give my urine sample. Well, turns out my doc was running behind schedule and I had to sit in the waiting room with a full and heavy bladder! The secretaries at the front were asking me if I was okay because I was making these horrible faces! :-) I think they thought I was having contractions! Finally got into see Dr. Montgomery ( the last doc I had to see). He was really nice and more importantly gentle! It was more so a lot of pressure than anything but not too bad. I had told him that I was feeling a lot of pelvic pressure and felt like he was going to fall out! I also told him I hadn't noticed if I had "dropped" or not or if I did I couldn't tell. He told me he would know once he did the exam. Sure enough I was right! Jackson has dropped! He didn't check to see if I was dialated or not (he said there was no reason) but he said I was at 0 (zero) station which was farther along than most at 36 weeks! He told me that that meant he was engaged in my pelvis and would most likely not turn breech. Also primigravidas (women having their first baby) typically engage before labor and may enter labor at -1, 0 or even +1 station. I was so excited!!! Maybe this means he'll be a little early! I've read that some doctors think that labor is imment when a woman gets to 0 - +1 station. We'll see soon enough! I also gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks! Two weeks ago I was 132....now 136. Must have been that Thanksgiving meal!!! MMMMmmmmm!!!! He also said don't hold our breath for a 10 pound baby. He looks like he'll be a little peanut! Yeah for me!

When I got home I had to finish up my work for the day and I started having contractions (Braxton Hicks). I decided to time them just for fun and they were coming every 8-11 minutes for over 3 hours! But they were only lasting a couple of seconds so nothing to get excited about! :-( I think it might have been from my internal exam today which brought them on. They were not painful just uncomfortable. They told me to call when they are 5-6 minutes apart and lasting 60-90 seconds. Well I'm off to bed. I think I'll put my bag in the truck just in case!

Good night!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We had a great time in North Carolina hanging out with family. We made it back home with no baby! Whoo hoo! The ride there was bad. It rained the whole way, very cold and horrible traffic. We decided to leave on Saturday morning to miss all the traffic and it worked out nice. Jackson was acting up a little giving me some contractions that were probably about five an hour. Once I got up or had a glass of water he stopped. Did some after Thanksgiving day shopping and all in all had a great time. We got back and started putting up some Christmas decorations. 1 month left!!!!!

34 week appointment

Everything is still going well. I gained a pound in two weeks so I am now at 132. Doc says my weight could start tappering off now that were getting close. Jackson's heart beat was in the 12o range and he's still head down! She did some palpations around my belly to feel how he was positioned and he did not like it one bit! She told me he was going to be pretty active the rest of the day because of it! My next appointment is in two weeks and that will be the start of my internal exams which I'm not looking forward to! Ouch!

We got the go ahead to travel to North Carolina for Thanksgiving next week. She told us to put the carseat in the truck and bring our hospital bags just in case.

That's about it for now. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Scary feeling Saturday night

This past Saturday we went to a wedding reception and they had a dj playing. The base was so loud Jackson kept kicking and rolling around in my belly all night. As we were leaving I felt fine but as soon as we stopped to drop some friends off I started feeling a little queasy. My mouth started watering like I was going to get sick! The whole way home I was trying to take deep slow breaths just to keep the nausea away while at the same time Jackson was kicking me the whole time. When we pulled into our driveway I started shaking and my body got kind of weak. Scott helped me upstairs to bed and it finally subsided. I wasn't concerned it was anything to do with him such as early labor because I wasn't contracting. Sunday I felt blah all day but nothing like Saturday night. We figured it was the loud music and his excessive movements were just making me nauseous. All is better now though!

32 Week Doc Appt.

Everything is going well. I gained another 4 pounds! (So that is were the Halloween candy went!) "-) I'm now at 131 pounds! Eeek! Doc said baby is doing well. Heartbeat was 140. He is head down. Hopefully he will stay that way! Asked him about my night sweats and he said that is perfectly normal. Not really much I can do about that!

I go back in two weeks until 36 weeks, then I go every week until he's here! It's getting close!!!!

Well that's all for now. It was a short visit!

Halloween Costume Party

Some pics of our Halloween Costume Party last Saturday night. Don't laugh at my wierd faces! I promise I wasn't drinking! I went as a Harlem Globe Trotters basketball player and Scott painted my belly like a basketball. People actually thought he cut a basketball in half and pasted it onto my belly before they knew it was my real belly! Scott went as the Crocodile Hunter with a sting ray through his chest. Morbid I know but it was probably the best costume there! We had tons of fun!

UVA Football Game

Here we are at the UVA football game. We couldn't pass up free tickets! We had a great time tailgating drinking mimosas and having breakfast tacos. Only OJ for me! :-) We had fun hanging out with friends and enjoying the victory over North Carolina State.

 

32 weeks

Here are some pics of me at 27 weeks (top) and 32 weeks (bottom). A span of 5 weeks. I don't think I look any different than my 27 week pics! Ya'll can be the judge. I don't see a difference!!! This kid is going to be a peanut if he doesn't start growing! :-)

With exactly 8 more weeks to go I'm starting to have trouble sleeping at night. I constantly switch positions from my left to right side and when Scott turns I turn, and when I turn Scott turns. Needless to say we both are having sleepless nights!!! And to make matters worse I'm now having hot flashes in the middle of the night. I wake up soaking wet! It is so disgusting! I can't wait for this part to be over with!!!! My appetite has increased a little too. I made the HUGE mistake of buying Halloween candy early only to have it all gone the day before Halloween!

I have my next doc appointment this Wednesday. Our last class is also this Wednesday. Actually it's not a class but a tour of the hospital and the labor and delivery dept. Scott is so thrilled! Needless to say I signed up for a breastfeeding class as well as a Welcome to Parenthood class! So two more days and we'll be through!

I'll give an update at my next appointment.

Steph

More pics of gifts

Our three drawers are already full to the max of baby clothes, blankets, socks, shoes, hats, etc. We will soon need to buy the matching dresser to fit all of his clothes! And these are just onsies, shirts and sleepers! Eeek!




Here are yet more pics of gifts.

More pics

Sorry for the pic overload. They are long past due! I couldn't help but post these little sneakers and booties! The second pic is part of Jackson's going home outfit. He'll look like a little snow bunny! Third pic is the Daddy diaper bag I bought for Scott. I got Jackson's initials monogrammed on it! Fourth pic is of our bags packed and ready for the hospital. Better safe than sorry! :-)


 

More Gifts from Shower

Here are some more gifts we have received. Couldn't fit all of them in so I'll do several blogs of them. The Pack n Play is from Dad, Teri and Alyson. We now have 2 Pack n Plays so we decided to keep both and have one to stay at the house and the other to travel with. Thanks for the wonderful gifts everyone!