Jackson is One!

***

It’s been one year since this little man has entered our lives and turned our world upside-down and inside-out in the most gloriously beautiful way. When Molly came, we were already parents. We knew how to do the mother-father thing. Jackson was the one that patiently made us into the people we are now. He brings us the simple pleasures of raspberry kisses and splashing in the bathwater, jumping on the bed and playing peek-a-boo. He is constantly observant, inquisitive, curious. He is the best snuggler, slobberiest kisser, and most joyful giggler. He is stubborn, protective, insistent. With his inane sense of rhythm, fierce blue eyes, meatball hands, bullheadedness, tenderness, he is his father’s son. With his sensitivity, fidgetiness, determination, he is his mommy’s boy. He taught us to laugh more and love more.

Happy first birthday, Bubby! We love you so much!

Molly's First Easter and Jack's, too!

Our little family

Yep, he's trying to bite her (out of love, of course!)

Holidays are soooo much fun with little kids! Jack and Molly acted wonderfully all day on Easter (only little bits of fussies) and tolerated leaving home at 7 am and not getting home until 7 pm extremely well!

In other news, Molly is now 8 lbs (7 lbs and 15 oz. on Tuesday) and waking us during the night so she can eat. No more setting the alarm to wake her up!

Jackson's birthday is coming up next week so I'm doing all the planning and stuff which is good for me because I needed a project. I'm officially bored with maternity leave and excited to go back to work in a couple weeks. I'm really glad Andy will be home with the kids so I don't have to worry while I'm at work and that I only have to work for four weeks and then I have all summer with my little kiddos!

You are 38 weeks pregnant...

Nope, I don't think so. The magic email telling me how far along I am in pregnancy is wrong. They apparently don't know that I had my baby...

Anyway, according to that email, the baby should be 6.8 lbs and 19 inches long.

According to Molly's one month checkup, she is 7 lbs and 19 1/4 inches long.

Mom got Molly a baby doll that was roughly her size when she was born, and we are using that to gauge Molly's growth.

One month old

Two weeks old

I promised Molly that someday we will be less focused on her weight... don't want to give her a complex just yet:)

***

In other news, we gave Jackson some whole milk on Tuesday afternoon. He then threw up in his crib Tuesday night and then on Mommy, and then in his crib again... He got three real baths and a hillbilly bath... Mommy just got to smell like vomit for a couple hours...

A Day

Wakey wakey! I love how he sleeps with his butt in the air. Miss Molly looking like a baby doll

Big breakfast bottle and snuggle time with Mommy

Naptime for Jack and showertime/cleaning time/breakfast time/ laundry time, etc for Mommy

This is basically all Molly does all day other than eat and poo

Playing peek-a-boo at the front door

Yummy yummy spaghetti for lunch

Auntie Ann is here to play with Jack Jack while Mommy goes to the store!

Celebrating Grandpa's birthday and playing "hat"

Ready for bed... Night night!

***

Jackson turned eleven months old and Molly turned one month old the next day. Molly goes to the doctor on Wednesday so we will see how much weight she has gained. She is getting bigger and filling out her newborn clothes. I was only too happy to pack away the preemie stuff. Someday I'll pull it out and be amazed that she was ever that little!

I'll be going back to work at the beginning of May because Andy is able to be home every weekday with the kids. I'm really happy that they'll be with Daddy seeing as Molly will only be 2 weeks in adjusted age by then.

Other than that, life has been pretty quiet. Andy is finishing up a stretch of working nine days in a row and we are sooooo excited to have him home!

Our Family

Molly went to the doctor today and tips the scales at 5 lbs. and 4 oz. We were hoping she would maybe be 5 lbs. so we're thrilled that she's picked up 6 oz. since Tuesday. The doctor says she looks perfect and we agree! It's also reassuring to know that we're doing the whole parenting-a-preemie thing right!

Jackson tips our scale at 22 lbs. so we know he's eating just fine. He was nice enough to share a little flu with Mommy this week, but we're over it and back to playing, crawling, laughing, and trying to figure out what that little, red, noisy thing is that Mommy and Daddy are always holding and feeding. He hasn't figured it out yet, but he knows it gets attention!

Andy and I want to say again just how much your thoughts and prayers meant to us during Molly's stay in the NICU. We always knew she was continuously being blessed by so many people that love her. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!

Molly is home!

Molly is home! Molly is home! Molly is home!

We went to the NICU on Tuesday just to visit and they siad she was being discharged! What an awesome surprise! Good thing we had the car seat with us!

She is doing really well... sleeps all the time. We have to set the alarm to wake her up every three hours to feed her, so we're back in the sleepy parent phase and incredibly happy to feel sleepy because SHE'S HOME!

Molly Update

Molly is still doing very well in the NICU. She is still in her incubator under the lights for her jaundice, but her levels dropped a lot and she should only be under the lights until tomorrow. She is taking a full feeding (27 cc-- a little less than an ounce) on a bottle without tiring out, so the nurses are feeding her through the bottle three times a day and the rest of the times are still through her feeding tube. I have had the chance to nurse her twice. Yesterday, she did not actually eat any from the breast, but this morning she was catching on quickly. I'm going back for her 8 pm feeding and we'll do this everyday (2 breastfeedings: 11 am and 8 pm) until she's home. I also got to changer her diaper twice and was surprisingly nervous. I've changed hundreds of diapers and Andy and I usually are quick to call "Not It" for the dirty ones, but I absolutely loved changing Molly's. It makes me feel like I'm not just borrowing her from the nurses.

The next step, as much as we can tell, is to get her off the IV and into an open crib to see if she will maintain her body temperature without the warmer. We're still very hopeful that she will be home soon.

Leaving her at the hospital and coming home was one of the hardest things we have ever done, but we're very excited to actually bring her home in the near future, free of wires and tubes.

Please continue to pray for our little girl and our family.