Jack Meet Dash. Dash Meet Jack.

After Jackson was born, we asked my parents to take Dash for a little while so we could get our feet wet with the whole parenting thing without the extra stress of taking care of Dash. They kept him a little longer than I really meant for them to... from Sunday the 3rd until Friday the 15th, but they didn't complain at all!

I was REALLY nervous about my two "little boys" meeting because I was afraid Dash would be protective of me or trying to jump in my lap when I was nursing, etc. BUT he's been great! He just sniffs Jack's feet and goes on his way.

Both Dash and Snooker are just plum worn out with a baby in the house.

And Dash thinks that the Boppy is just his size.

He's a cutie. I think we'll let him stay!

Never Say Never

In my short (almost) 4 weeks of motherhood, I have learned something very important - never say never.

I will never feed my baby a bottle before 6 weeks, because I've heard they may not nurse as well afterwards and I'm not going to chance it!

I will exclusively breastfeed and not formula feed at all, because "breast is best!" - see last paragraph HERE

I will not give my baby a pacifier!

Let's just be honest. You don't know what you will do (or what you will need to do) until the time comes. Definitely stand firm on important things, but know the key to not FREAKING OUT is being flexible. :)

I'm learning to never say never...

Jack Meets the Roomies

I'm a little late on posting this, but on Saturday, July 16th, Jackson got to meet my roomies, Emily & Samantha! It was so fabulous to see them!!! We chatted and hung out for a few hours and then they headed to our friend Kim's house to meet her baby boy Evan (who was born in early June)!

As always, it was so great to spend time with them. I will never stop thinking about them as my roomies! Love you both!!!

Sweepy Boy

The Best Before & After

I loved being pregnant, but I sure love the result even more!!

Thanks again to Becca Rocha Photography for the wonderful photos!

Tummy Time & Walks

Mr. Jackson isn't really a big fan of "tummy time" yet. :) I put him on his activity mat on Monday (thanks Taylor & Roger!!) and this was the sweetest shot I took. Most of the others are him struggling to figure out why he was laying on the ground. Haha!

Yesterday, for the first time, Jack rode with just mommy up to Mimi's house! We hung out and talked for a while...

...then put him in the stroller for the first time...

...and went on a walk through Old Town!

Mimi and Alex joined us and we walked 1.5 miles! Little man was asleep the whole time. :) 

I will definitely be back for more long walks with 3 of my favorite people!!

Baby Bili

Our little buddy has had jaundice from the beginning. On Monday the 4th (after we went home from the hospital on Sunday) we went to Memorial Northpark to get a bilirubin test. We got a call later from our doctor saying that it was 10.7 which was an okay level.

We had a doctors appointment on Tuesday (5th), and when we were there our doctor felt like Jackson was looking really yellow and went to go check the numbers from the day before. After calling the lab back, she found that they had mis-communicated and his levels were actually 15.7. So we went to get another test at Children's downtown, and at 6pm his levels had gone up to 19.3. Our doctor said that it would be best if we go ahead and plan to spend the night at the hospital so that Jack could get phototherapy treatments.

Here is daddy (in his NEW DAD shirt) hanging out in the waiting area.

Our precious little man in the "tanning bed". We were so afraid that when we put him in there, he would just scream and cry and we wouldn't be able to do anything, BUT he was an angel. He loved the warm comfy box.

While we were at the hospital, they wanted to make sure that Jackson was getting enough milk, so they had me pump and feed him his very first bottle! He had to drink 1.5oz and then he could nurse as long as he wanted to. 

They also hooked him up to an IV so that he wouldn't get dehydrated under the lights. His precious little hand was taped to this board all night. 

Here's crazy daddy feeding Jackson a bottle...

...and loving on him.

By 12am his counts had gone down to 18, at 6am it was 16, at 11am it was 15. They said that if his levels got down to around 15, then we could go home (thank goodness, because I was about to lose it at this point - I just wanted to go home!!). The next day (7th) we took him back to get another bilirubin test and it had gone back up to 16.2, but they said not to worry, to just keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't get too yellow again. 

On Monday (11th), we felt like he still wasn't getting better, so we had him tested and it was back up to 18.1, then on Tuesday (12th) it was down slightly to 17.7. So the doctor suggested we formula feed Jack for 24 hours to see if his levels would come down anymore. By Thursday (14th) it was down to 16.7, and at that point they said not to worry about it anymore. We've still been keeping him in the sunlight during the day, just in case, but hopefully we won't be back to the doctor until his ONE MONTH checkup!!

Did your kids/you have jaundice as a baby?

Newborn Pictures

Thank you to Becca Rocha Photography for the amazing pictures. You truly captured our little family. Jack looks as precious in these pictures as we see him through our eyes. 

You gotta watch the Slideshow

Jackson's Sleepy Smiles

My little buddy in the pre-falling asleep stages. He makes the funniest faces! I caught a couple smiles (at 8 & 24 seconds) and a big yawn at the end. 

Hopefully I will be able to video some of his goofier faces soon. :)

Pictures with Family

with Mimi

with Grammy (or Grams, still undecided)  :)

with Granddaddy Lawhorn aka "Jack"

with Grandmother & Granddaddy Cox

with Mamaw

with Uncle Nick

with Poppy

with Uncle Sam & V

with Auntie Jess

Jackson's First Bath

On Saturday, July 2nd, Jackson had his first bath at the hospital. She had to use a toothbrush to clean his hair! So precious! :)

On July 9th, Baby Jack had his first at home bath. He didn't know what to think of it, and since it was mommy's first time too, it took quite a bit longer than it probably should have.

(favorite picture)

Thanks to Mimi for helping and taking pictures!