Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas!!

~The Alburgers

The elusive smile...

Jackson has been smiling for a week and a half now and since then we have been trying to catch that elusive smile on camera...

Not quite...

...Almost...


...just missed it...

...little smile...

THERE IS IS!

We love watching our little guy smile and interact more and more with us.

The stroller parade...

Yesterday Jackson and I ventured forth to the mall to meet up with 3 other moms and babies from my childbirth class. It was great to be able to see them all again and meet their babies! We of course spent a good bit of time over lunch discussing babies, sleeping and eating and development and swapping ideas over what worked and didn't work. It was great to have some moms with kids the same age as mine to bounce ideas off of!! And of course it was great to see everyone's cute little babies!! The oldest is a month older than Jackson (he's the youngest) and there is one girl who was born the day before Jackson and whoes mom we got to catch up with while we were still in the hospital. Jackson is still the smallest of the 4 babies (and the only c-section, though one of the other moms also had blood pressure issues like me). We're hoping to make this a monthly event, we'll see how that goes once everyone goes back to work...

The Mama's and babies :-)

Getting ready for Christmas/Play time

I am constantly amazed at how fast and how much Jackson has grown in the last 6 weeks!!! Last week we took him to get a Christmas tree. It was fun for Dan and I to go and pick one out and find the perfect one (it turns out it was a little too tall and we had to cut the top off a little) Jackson slept the whole time but at least he wasn't fussy!

Getting our Christmas tree.

After Dan and I decorated our tree I decided it was prime time for some baby Christmas photos, Jackson again managed to sleep through most of them.... Sigh, what a hard life he has- eat, sleep, play, eat, sleep. I am jealous ;-)

Our favorite present!

I am constantly amazed at how much Jackson has grown and changed over the past 6 weeks!! The 0-3m onsies we had when he was born that he was swimming in now fit him just right. He has gotten longer and chubbier his face is filling out and his head is bigger (It makes me glad he was only 6lb at birth!) He is now learning to smile and to play with toys too!!

Jackson playing with his 1st toy.

1 month check-up

Jackson had his one month check-up with the nurse practitioner today, he's gained 2lb 10oz since his last appointment, he now weighs 8lb 10oz and 1/2inch to a big 21.25inches. So not too much taller but definitely gained his birth weight back (he had dropped to 5lb 14oz and at his last apt was 6lb even). She said that everything is looking good and to expect that smile sometime in the next 2 weeks. We've seen a few smiles but nothing consistent so I am anxiously awaiting the constant 'social' smile :-)

Jackson also recieved his 2nd Hep B vaccine today and did well with it, he's a trooper (next month is 3 vaccines though.... yikes!).

Mrs. Thistle also gave us the good news that Little Hoot's cradle cap and infant acne should clear up during this next month woo hoo! :-)

I can see!

Jackson has started tracking movements now with his eyes and focusing on objects now. He actually looks at the pictures in his books now instead of just staring into space as we read to him. It's been amazing to see just how much he has changed in just the last 3 days! We love showing him new things and watching him stare at things. Hoot has always been a very alert baby but it is even more evident now that he can focus on objects. (Our favorite thing is still when he turns to Daddy or me when he hears us talking and then looks to find our face and the way his eyes get bigger when he finds us) :-)

Jackson's 1st Thanksgiving

Today we celebrated Jackson's 1st Thanksgiving at my parents house with family and friends. It was great to catch up with some friends who I haven't seen in a while and to meet some new friends as well.
Jackson was his usual charming self and everyone loved holding him. We also had a chance to visit my Grandmother, Jackson's Great-Grandma Ellis and introduce her to Jackson.
Here are some pictures from today...

Great-Grandma Ellis and Jackson

1st Snow, NC, etc.

Last weekend my parent's hosted the youth group retreat at their home in NC. Dan and I went down to hand out with the youth and help out my parents. It was a lot of fun! On Fri morning we had snow, so of course we bundled Jackson up and took him out to let the flakes fall on his face and take a few pictures. Now this wasn't a great snow but hey it was still snowing.

Along with spending time with the youth we had the chance to catch up with some of the families in NC. I love going to NC because it is so relaxing and laid back and everyone there is so friendly and thoughtful. Two of the neighbors made food for the youth group and 3 familes gave us baby presents for Jackson!

Jackson's 1st Snow

In NC with Jackson.

Some of the Youth Group kids with Jackson.

M. and Hoot and the blanket she made for him.

Now we are geting ready for Jackson's 1st holiday- Thanksgiving at my parent's on Thurs and then a post Thanksgiving dinner here on Fri with both Dan's and my family. ( I don't think I am going to see my baby much in the next few days :-( )

Our 'big' boy!

Tonight when I was changing Jackson I noticed that he looked different and then all of a sudden it hit me.... He lost his umblilcal cord today!!! Yay for our big boy and yay for real baths coming up. :-)
This past week we have had lots of visits from family and have begun to plan our 1st family Thanksgiving :-)

(all gone!)

(Daddy and Jackson)


(Aunt Megan)

(Daddy's starting Jackson early...)

MY side of the story

98% of the time, little Jackson (aka "Hoot") is a super-easy kid to raise. Granted, he's only 11 days old, but that's another story.

The other 2% of the time, however...

Lindsey wants him to stay little forever, but I'm ready for him to grow up because right now he doesn't really like any of the games we play. When we go to do "fun things" like going on walks or going to a store (tonight we went to Home Depot to get less-bright light bulbs), he falls asleep. Then there's the times he cries for seemingly no reason at all.

BUT, we have good bonding time and I think there's more pictures of Hoot and me than there are of anyone else. This is not to say that I hold him more than anyone, just that Lindsey takes more pictures.

I'm glad that this is the least of my worries. I was pretty frustrated when he was on UV blanket and didn't sleep the first night at home.

For the record, Becoming Baby Wise has been an amazingly helpful book since we started following it 3 days ago. The hardest part is keeping him awake between feedings and naps (since he doesn't really focus on things or like to stretch or play games or whatever).

I'm glad to be a father. And after a couple days, Jackson is making it really easy.

Yay for a good night!

The past few nights have not been good nights for Mommy, Jackson had been staying awake and crying from midnight till 3- 3:30am and I couldn't seem to calm him unless I was holding or feeding him. Of course this left for one very tired Mama. So, we decided to try the babywise method yesterday and get Jackson on more of routine and we got a good night of sleep! We went to bed at 11 and then Jackson only woke up at 1am and 3am before getting up for the morning at 7am (and we had to wake him up at 7). It was so wonderful to get a good night's sleep for once.

The funny story from yesterday was that as we were getting ready for bed Dan was checking/changing Jackson's diaper before we put him down for the night and the diaper was dry..... All of sudden I (who was sitting on the other side of the bed) saw this stream of pee shoot across the bed and onto the quilt, Dan seemed to be a little oblivious of the fact that Jackson was peeing all over the bed. So quick diaper change and much laughs later.... just as soon as we got the next diaper on he left Daddy another present to change before bed ;-) Ah I love my little boy. Needless to say Daddy has learned to do quick diaper changes and always keep Jackson covered up. (He was even good enough to change all of our sheets and the quilt on the bed, even though I was laughing at him).

Labor Story

So here's the hospital story- my blood pressure had been elevated so on Thurs (oct 30th) the dr's decided that I needed to be induced.

Fri- we went to the hospital for my induction to start. I spent the night listening to the soothing and WONDERFUL sounds of my baby's heart beat on the monitor. Each time the nurses came in they would turn the sound down low so I could sleep but I hated not being able to hear the beat so each time they left I'd roll over and turn the volume back up so I could hear that beautiful sound.

Sat- we stared pitocin to induce the labor and I got and epidural- the nurses wanted to run the pitocin at a high rate and I knew that meant really really strong contractions so I went for it. By 5pm I was ready to start pushing. After 2 1/2 hrs of pushing the doctor decided that there was no way this baby was going to be delivered vaginally, he was facing upward rather than down so he kept getting stuck, it also made for painful back labor, I kept asking Dan to push on my back because it made it feel better- later I found out that Dan had been putting all of his weight into pushing on my back (it explains why it felt so bruised 2 days later!) but I felt like he was barely touching my back. The doctor tried everything to get the baby to come down and turn but it didn't work, the baby was too high up for forceps or a vaccum delivery. He even tried to help push the baby down durring my contractions while the nurse worked at guiding and turning the baby's head- no success.

My epidural failed 3 times in the delivery room- enough that I could roll over in bed and get up on my hands and knees to try and push. So I had to have anestheisa come in and bolus my epidural multiple times during labor. I kept expecting that at any minute my pushing would be the last push that would bring my baby into the world but Jackson had other plans. Dan was a HUGE help and encouragment!! He kept saying encouraging things and was more than willing to bend over backward to do and get whatever I needed. He is an amazing guy and I am so lucky to be married to him!

Anyway, after 2.5 hrs of pushing they decided I needed a c-section. My epidural again failed so they had to continuously bolus me with pain medication in the OR until they could get the baby out, then they put me under anesthesia while they closed me back up (and yes Dan did watch that part- after he kept telling my "I saw your intestines!")

I don't remember much about the time in the OR but I remember the doctor saying that he needed someone to go back and push the baby (from below) back up higher into my uterus so he could get the baby out, apparently Jackson had gotten suck in his decent, oh boy, and didn't want to be born from a c-section or vaginally.

After they got the baby out they put me completely under since the epidural kept failing. Dan said he thought I had died because all of a sudden I was completely silent and not moving where as the begining of the c-section I kept screaming through it because I could feel it all.

Right before they pulled Jackson out they asked if Dan wanted to tell me what we were having (since he knew and I didn't) Dan really just wanted me to see but he told me it was a boy. If I wasn't so drugged I would have been shocked but at that time I was so groggy from all the pain meds and the anesthesia they were starting I just said "Oh". Dan kept repeating to me whenever I was awake and all that night and next day what gender baby we had because he was pretty sure I didn't hear and didn't remember. I do remember seeing the babies nose to top of head as they took him over to the warmer but that's about it. There are pictures of Dan and I in the OR but I don't remember them being taken.

I don't remember much of Jacksons 1st day of life except that all I saw in the OR was his nose to eyes and that he was a boy and that I kept asking to hold him in the OR but was so groggy they wouldn't let me. I know I saw him in our room but I really only remember holding him the next day :-)

Apparently I got to hold Jackson on my chest as they rolled my bed back to my room but I don't remember that at all.

My Dad and Grandma were in the waiting room and came back after the surgery to see the baby. I remember a few hugs and congratulations and my dad saying he was proud of me but I don't remember the baby being there (though the pics would say otherwise).

For the 1st 24 hrs all I could see of Jackson was his head and hands so it wasn't until Sun afternoon/evening or Monday that I actually was able to see all of him- head to toe.

Dan and I love our little guy and despite the sleepless nights we are so excited about having him here!

Jackson Daniel!

Jackson Daniel Alburger made his arrival on Nov 1st at 9:17pm weighing 6lb 6oz and 20 3/4 inches long. He decided to be stuborn and had to be delivered by c-section.

Our Little Pumpkin!

Jackson Daniel was born Nov 1st at 9:17pm weighing 6lb 6.1oz and 20 3/4 inches long. It was a long labor that ended up with mommy having a c-section :-( and not really remembering much of what happened after except that they put her under after Jackson was born because her epidural wasn't working well. So, my 1st memories were of 1 day old Jackson and not too much of his actual birth. Dan was a HUGE support and I couldn't have asked for more encouragment or a better coach. One of the amazing things about labor is how it really cemented us together as a couple.



Dan is an amazing daddy, I think that Jackson likes him more than me! He got to hold Jackson 1st because I was so groggy that I wasn't allowed to hold him till after the c-section was complete and even then I don't remember the 1st time I held him, only the 2nd time after he came back from the nursery. Dan is so patient with Jackson and loves to just swaddle him and hold him, he's quite a natural! I am so proud of my husband and his love for our son.



Here are a few pictures of our little one :-)

Any day now...

Dan and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little bundle of joy... I am ready to hold my baby in my arms and no longer have to hold my belly as I struggle to get off the couch or out of bed! :-) Soon Baby Burger will be here and we can introduce him/her to you all.