Ty's First Cold

Well, the time has come. Ty is sick. He started getting a little stuffy Friday night and by Saturday afternoon, he was "snotty". There is some coughing and sneezing going on and alot of nose sucking. He does not have a fever and is still eating and sleeping just fine. We are using saline drops every 3 hours to keep the mucus thinned. His poor little eyes are red and watery and you can just look at him and tell he does not feel good. I feel so bad for him. The wheezing is breaking my heart. I hope things will go away fast since I am sucking the nose as often as possible. Keep him in your prayers that this will not turn into anything any bigger like an ear infection. I cant imagine having to give him 3 medicines at once. Yikes.

Merry Christmas!

I can hardly believe that Christmas is here! It has been so much fun with Ty here. We took some really cute pics of him as Santa. I know when he gets older, he is going to be a little embarrased by them, atleast his daddy thinks he will be.



Christmas eve night, we spent the night over at my sister's Missy's house. We have done this for years. We read The Night Before Christmas and left cookies and milk for Santa.


Everybody went to bed early except for Ty. He decided to go to bed around 11:30. Mommy had to wake him up at 3:30am to feed and then his tummy was hurting so we did not go back to bed. Aunt Missy came down around 4:30am to get us up because Santa Clause came. This is not early for us on Christmas. In the past we have gotten up as early as 3:00am. This is a problem me and Missy have had since we were little. We are just so excited, we can's stand it. Ty decided to sleep through Christmas, which was Ok. Santa brought him toys and diapers.

After opening presents and eating a little breakfast, there were some tired old people. Grandad and Ty decided that it was time to take a nap. Ty is used to being up so early, grandad not so much!

What an amazing Christmas. I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family. God has truly blessed us with so many things to be thankful for, but our most precious gift he gave us was his his son Jesus Christ. I hope everyone had a most wondferful Christmas as our family did.

Fun new pics

Getting ready for Christmas!

Wow, getting ready for Christmas has been so much fun! Ty and I have been shopping a little. We got him a cute little outfit to wear for Christmas.

Ty has got to meet alot of family for the first time. Friday night we had my dad's side of the family over to our house and then Saturday morning we went to Charleston to see Travis's stepfather Ron, and then Saturday night we went to the Jackson's for Christmas over there. Santa came by to say hello to all the children. It was so much fun. All the kids were so excited, as was I. We all got to take pictures with him. I am happy that I wont have to take him to the mall to see Santa with all the kids and germs there.

Santa and Ty

Santa, Momma, Daddy, and Ty

Cousin Kathy and Ty

Today we went to my mom's house for my side of the family Christmas. Ty got to meet a bunch of new family there too.

We are so thankful to have such a large family. Between my side and Trav's, Ty has a lot of cousins to grow up with and I am so happy about that.

Ty's first road trip

Ty had his first road trip today. We went to Charleston, SC to see Travis's stepfather Ron. Ty got to meet his Pops and grandma Sue. He also got to meet lots of cousins and Aunt Leann. We couldnt stay long, but Ty was able to get lots of kisses and hugs.

Ty was very good all the way there and back. He slept the whole time. We did not have to stop once. Hopefully this is a good sign for trips in the future.

Another Doctor's visit

Well, we were at the doctor's again on Tuesday. This time for REFLUX! Ty tends to have ALOT of spit up with everyone of his burps and tends to be fussy. We are going to try Zantac to see if it helps. So far, things look good. We also found out what was going on with all these rashes he has. Well, he has 3! Baby acne, milk bumps(i don't remember the official name) on his nose, and cradle cap on his head and between his eyes and on his eyebrows. It is so pitiful looking. There is nothing to do for the milk bumps or baby acne, but we have to wash his hair with Selsun Blue 3-5 times a week for his cradle cap. Poor fella just cant catch a break.

Here's the crazy news. He weighed 12lbs 6ozs! Can you believe it! I can. After holding him for ten minutes, I feel all 12 lbs. He is heavy.

Playing with Mommy

Today is the first day Ty has really held eye contact with me while I played with him. I would make funny sounds and he would smile at me. I didn't feel any pootin' going on so I really do think he was smiling at me. It just melted my heart. I wish I was able to get a picture of the big grins he was giving me. I can't wait for him to start lauging and giggling.

1 Month Old Today

Can you believe it. My little monkey is 4 weeks old today. My how time flies. I can not believe that it was a month ago that I was pregnant and ready to meet my little one. It is so funny how some of the quirks he had in my belly are the same quirks he has now. Like kicking and punching all the time. He likes to move his arms and legs constantly. He hates to have his arms pinned down when he is wrapped in a blanket. He has to be able to move them. He is growing so fast. I can not wait to get him weighed again. I am going to make him an appointment at the lactation center to get weighed next week. They have a top of the line scale there and he does not go back to the doctor until January 14 so I don't want to have to wait.

We got up this morning and grandma came over to help get us ready for pictures. We headed to Olan Mills to get the new baby package. FREE PICTURES!!! He did great for his pictures. He was awake, but smiles were few and far between. He didn't cry once though. Just not in the mood for smiling. We got a couple of good shots. Once they come up online, I will send the link. I am going to go broke on pictures. I just love them all. While we were picking out his pics, Ty decided to go potty and somehow it was so bad that it,(poop), went all the way up his back and was all over his clothes (went through both his shirt and overalls). Thank goodness this happened after his pics. Lucky for me, I was not finished with the pics so grandma had to go clean him up. It just about wooped her. It was funny.

Happy One Month Birthday to my little monkey, little man, moose, my Ty, pumpkin, and I am sure many more names to come. I love you.

Congrats!

Congrats to Jason and Stacey on the birth of their little girl Savannah Jane Starnes. She was born on November 24 and weighed 5 lbs and 14.5 ozs. She has a beautiful head full of hair. Congrats to you too Jackson! You are going to be a great big brother.


Thank you Mrs. Stacey for the cute little Thanksgiving outfit. It fit me perfect and I took a much needed nap in it after eating turkey and pumpkin pie (from my mom of course).

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a very special Thanksgiving! We are so thankful to have such a wonderful addition to our family. We went to my sister's house to eat eat eat and Ty had a blast. Here are a couple of pics from today:

4th Doctors Appointment

Ty had his 2nd check up today. He loves his doctor. Today we found out that most babies loose a bunch of weight after they are born and hopefully by the time they are 2 weeks old they have gotten back up to their birth weight. Well, Ty not only reached his birth weight, he gained a pound! Yep, he weighed in at 11 pounds exactly and grew from 22 1/4 to 22 3/4 inches. He is a growing boy. He is waaayy past the national average.

Ty is also starting to look at people more for a longer period of time. Last night he looked at his daddy for a while and responded to his voice. It was so awesome. He also picked up his head and turned it over all on his own while he was laying on daddy's chest. Here are some of Ty's "quirks":
-He hates to have his arms pinned down. For example, when we swaddle him, he does not like to have his arms under the covers. We have to pull them out.
-Anytime you move him, he grunts and moans like we are messing up his comfort. It is so funny.
-He likes to purse his lips in a circle. It looks like he is trying to whistle.
-He doesn't care for his feet to be messed with. I assume this comes from being stuck in the NICU so many times.
-He likes to "poot" alot and he smiles when he does it (like his daddy).

He is such a good boy and we enjoy every minute with him. Here are some cute pics:

Belly Button

Finally, Ty can show off his adorable belly button! His umbilical cord fell off on Sunday. It kinda scared me because I went to change his diaper and saw that it was missing. I looked in his pj's and found it in there. I am glad it fell off on its own. I was so scared I was going to pull it off when I changed his clothes. Here is that adorable belly button:

What a Journey

On Thursday November 6, I went to the doctor and we scheduled a C-section for Monday November 10th. Well, that plan changed real quick. Thursday night, Friday morning at 12:30, I started having contractions. At 1:15am, I woke Travis up and we timed them for about an hour and a half. They were anywhere from 2-8 minutes apart. We called the doctor and she said to come on in to the hospital. We got there at 4:00 and by 6:15am, the doctor had come by and said we were doing the c-section right now. I was in active labor and the contractions were getting real strong. After getting 2 bags of fluids in me, they prepped me for the surgery and wheeled me back.
Everything was happening so fast. At 8:40am, Tyler Kenneth Jackson made his debut. He cried almost instantly when he came out. I cried the whole time. They cleaned him up and I got some kisses. Trav went with him to the nursery and I went to recovery. Once they got him measured and cleaned up, he brought Ty to me and I got to hold him for the first time. What a blessing form God.

We had lots of visitors on Friday and Saturday. Ty was very excited to meet his new family and friends.

(I can't believe I put such a beautiful picture of me up on the blog.)

On Sunday, Ty started making a rhythmic motion with his arms and legs. To be safe, Theresa, his nurse, took him to the nursery to observe him for a while. This is a sign of seizure activity. At around 4:00, I went to the nursery to hold him for a little bit. While I was there, his arms and legs started moving in motion again. His new nurse Susan was there, and she timed him this time. He went on for about a minute. She did not like the look of it and had the doctor come back in and do another exam. She decided to be safe and had him admitted to the NICU. I can not describe to you how I felt. My heart just broke. Travis and I were so scared. They took him back right away. An hour later they let us come down and see him. The NICU is about 2 months old at Baptist. When you come in, you have to scrub in for 3 minutes. Each baby has thier own room where a nurse sits outside a window to monitor them at all times. There is a pull out couch and a tv there for the parents so they do not have to leave and can spend the night. Being able to stay with him at all times really helped me. When we got back to his room, he was in an isolet with so many wires hooked up tp him.

The sight of that just tore me up. Once I got settled down, Katie Beth, Ty's nurse, told me what all the doctor had ordered for Ty. He was going to have an Ultrasound ouf the brain, and EEG, spinal tap (which they did twice and still could not get any fluid because he was not cooperating), blood cultures and urine test. I have never prayed so hard in my life. Over the next 4 days, we waited for test to be done and results to be given to us. Each day was looking better and better. All the test can back negative and the ultrasound and EEG came back normal. This was great news. On Wednesday, we were finally discharged and how happy were we. I have never been so ready to be home.

Here is my "little monkey" ready to come home

Although, all of Ty's test came back good, he still has to take Phenobarbetal for seizures. He will more than likely be on this med until he is 4-6 months old. The doctor said he will eventually grow out of the dose. Since we have been home, Ty has not had any more "seizure activity". We have seen the doctor 3 times and everything seems to be just fine. My only concern right now with him is that the meds that he is on makes him real drowsy and sleepy. I hope that we can decerease his dose so that he will be more alert and focused. Thanks to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers. God has truly blessed us with such a wonderful support system and a BEAUTIFUL baby boy. Here are a few more pics of our little angel:

Welcome Tyler Kenneth Jackson

I would like to introduce to you Tyler Kenneth Jackson, Born on November 7, 2008 at 8:40am. He weighed 10lbs 1oz and was 22 1/4 inches long.

Toddler

Ok, so I had my growth ultrasound this morning. I went in being optimistic but just knew in my heart he was going to be big. Well, I was right. He came in at 11lbs 7ozs. Some of his measurements didn't even measure on the charts. It was somewhat funny. Me, Travis, and the tech all sat there and just laughed. It was amazing how big he was. He is my Toddler!

With him being so big, we are sure we wont be able to naturally deliver, so we have scheduled a c-section. I really didn't want to go this route at all. I wanted to experience everything that comes with labor, but I don't think I will be able to squeeze this one out.

I am excited to know when he is coming though. I am going to have to go back to Babies r Us and exchange a good bit of his 0-3 month outfits for 3-6 months. Now that I know when he is coming, my list of things to get done has lengthened and the work begins. There is still so much to do. As I sit here and write, I think to myself: the next time I post, I will probably have a little baby boy in my arms. I just get so excited. If anything comes up before the delivery, I will post, but if not, be on the lookout for delivery photos!

No baby yet!

I went in for another NST appt this morning and had the same problem keeping Ty's heartbeat. He just did not want to cooperate. We finally got a good rhythm and he made some good movements after we buzzed him TWICE! I was in there forever! I went to see the doc afterwards and she said we are maybe dilated 1cm. Oh come on!!!!! I am ready already. She said we are just waiting on some consistent contractions. She also changed my appt on Thursday from and NST one to a growth ultrasound. Yep, If I make it to Thursday (which I hope I do not) I will get to see how big he is now. It kinda scares me. If he is measuring to big, they may just schedule me a c-section. Not sure though.

Since about 2 o'clock today, I have been having some pretty good contractions. Some being 7 minutes apart and some as much as 15 minutes apart. Nothing consistent though. It is kinda frustrating not know what to expect with a first child. I am sometimes not sure of what I am feeling. Ugghhh. I'm learning though. I will keep all posted. It could be any day now, but knowing my luck, I will go past my due date!

My second Baby Shower

I know this is REALLY late, but I wanted to say thank you to Stacie, Travis's cousin, for a wonderful baby shower at her new house (which by the way is GORGEOUS!). All the Jackson's and Mooneyham's got together and had a very nice shower for me. It was so nice to spend time with them and to talk about the baby. I was able to find out how much Travis weighed when he was born, 8lbs 1oz. He was the biggest baby on that side of the family. Maybe Ty is just trying to out-do his daddy. If he is, I think he is winning. Travis and I are so lucky to have family that loves us so much. We appreciate everything you do for us. Thank you for all the lovely gifts. I can't wait for each of you to come over and use them with Ty.

Getting Closer

First of all, let me say thank you to everyone for all the prayers. For those who do not know, my grandmother Colleen passed away Tuesday. She had her second stroke and just didn't recover from this one. She was a fighter though. It really breaks my heart that Ty will not get to meet her. She was such an amazing person with so much love. She was really looking forward to meeting him. Every time I would visit her, she would rub my tummy and say "We are waiting for you Little Man. You are just so precious." It would just melt my heart. I am truly going to miss her.

I went to the doctor this morning for another fetal monitoring session. Usually, Ty is very cooperative and I am in and out in 30 minutes. Well, not so much today. He kept moving around and we couldn't get a steady heartbeat. I couldn't feel his movements but we kept loosing the heartbeat. Once we got a steady rhythm, I couldn't get him to make any moves so we could record them. We gave him a quick buzz and that woke him up. I am having some pretty good contractions in my back and now in my abdomen. The doctor says that I am maybe a fingertip dilated but nothing to substantial. This is really important for me right now considering I am having to travel to Spring Branch which is about 2 hours and 45 minutes away for my Grandma burial. The doctor said I should be fine to travel, but to turn around and come back at the first sign of labor.

Just a funny story real quick. The other day I was eating lunch with my dad at Providence hospital. It was just him and me and while we were sitting there eating, I had a pretty good contractions. I made the mistake of telling him, because as soon as I said it, he turned WHITE!!!! He asked if I needed to get to my hospital. It was so funny. The panic on his face was priceless. I loved it. Sorry Dad. I just had to have a record of that one. Anyway. I will keep you posted as soon as something exciting happens.

Thanks again for your prayers.

The Baby Room is Finished!!!!!

Finally! We are done with decorating the baby's room. Here are a few pics of how it turned out.





I still need to get some picture frames to go by the lamp and hang the mobile, but that is easy work. I also have his name to hang on the wall or I might just stand it on his dresser. Still debating this. Don't you just love his little hat hanging on the wall. That is in honor of his daddy. I am sure Ty will have as many hats as his father.