Look at my Cutie!

Haven't blogged in FOREVER. Being a new mom is pretty much insane. I hardly have time to eat, let alone write blogs-so this will be short. I just wanted to post an updated picture of my adorable son! Jackson will be 10 weeks old on Friday. I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. I can't believe that he'll be 3 months old in only 2 more weeks. They tell you to savor every moment, and I am making sure to do just that.

A Few Things I've Learned About My Son...

Jackson loves to be held and more than that, he loves to be held as tight as you can hold him without squishing him. He is a big fan of the pacifier, or his fingers or even the side of his bib if his options are limited. He recognizes Scott's voice and seems very interested when his daddy is talking to him. He doesn't like to be alone, EVER, even when "alone" means sitting in the bouncer while Mommy takes a quick shower. Loud noises don't seem to bother him whatsoever, we can have the TV on, both of us can be talking on the phone and the dishwasher and washing machine all going at the same time and he snoozes right through the noise. He HATES being changed - diaper and clothing, mostly because his temperature naturally runs low and I think he despises the feeling of cold air. He LOVES bath time and totally calms down during a nice warm soak, (like father like son, as Scott takes a bath every single day after work to wind down from his work day).

This little boy has so much personality, and its so much fun to learn more about him every day. I am Jackson crazed, its official.

Blissed Out

Just a quick post, (I'm a busy mommy now!) We're home from the Hospital...finally. Sitting here at home with Jackson yesterday afternoon and all day today has been so wonderful. I can't believe that this is my life - I feel like I need to continuously keep pinching myself, this cannot be real. I am hands down happier than I've ever been in my entire life. I've never felt such joy and felt so at peace. Jackson is everything that I could have ever dreamed of and more than I know I deserve.

NICU Update

Today Jackson is 1 week old. Most of his life thus far has been spent in the hospital. I feel so awful for him, although I'm sure I am not alone in this as I watch other NICU parents trudge through the hallways of the unit, worried and weary. Jackson is definitely one of the healthiest babies in the NICU at the moment. I feel like I can't complain about our situation, because we have been so blessed with this being the only complications he faced at birth.

Jaundice (also known as hyperbilirubinemia) is really not a serious problem unless it is left untreated at high levels. It is fairly common, effecting about 1 and 3 newborns. It is definitely more commonly seen in preemies, but not limited to them alone. For those of you who are not familiar, or who know very little about Jaundice; it is a yellowish discoloration of the skin, the membranes over the whites of the eyes and other mucous membranes caused by increased levels of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a substance that is made when the body breaks down old red blood cells. Phototherapy is the most common treatment for Jaundice. This consists of one or more high powered lamps as well as something called a biliblanket, which is basically a strip of blue lights that the baby is laid on. The strange eyewear you see him wearing in the pictures is important - it protects his eyes from harmful and permanantely damaging rays given off by the lamps, (much like goggles for a tanning bed). Phototherapy treatment is used for a few days until the liver is mature enough to handle the bilirubin on its own.

Jackson entered this unit with a bili-reubin level of 22, which is pretty significant as babies are sometimes hospitalized for a number as low as 12. It takes days, and in rare cases, sometimes even weeks for these levels to fall even a few points, and once taken off of the phototherapy, those numbers usually rebound a few points. Today, we have been told that his levels are a 10.3 - which is awesome! Dr. Hertz (the NICU Resident Physician) just came in and let me know that it was up to me ultimately, but he'd like to keep him for one more day so that he can be released tomorrow with a level so low that a rebound would not be significant whatsoever.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers again. One more day and we should be out of the woods and able to bring our healthy boy home again...this time to stay.

My Handsome Little Man

Here is a picture of my littlest guy in his crib for the first time during the brief period that we were able to spend at home. I can't wait to take him home again here soon!

So This is Love...

I am a Mommy! My sweet baby boy surprised us with an early arrival on Friday, March 27th! We named him Jackson Garrett Atwell and I promise you...he's perfect. He is literally everything I dreamed of and more. He was 6 lbs even at birth, measuring 20 1/4 inches long. Long and lean, just like his Momma. He favors Scott definitely, sharing his forehead, his eyes, his cheeks, his mouth and even his weird pinky toe. But he has my nose, the same nose that my mom has and the same nose that my Grandpa jack had - the man Jackson was named after. He also clearly has my attitude! He doesn't like to be messed with, and he'll let you know about it right away.

We made it home Sunday night and enjoyed our first couple of days together as a new family...God I'm blessed. Then Tuesday we were re-admitted to the hospital after discovering that Jackson's billi-reuben level (for Jaundice) had gone up to a dangerous level. So now, here I sit, in the NICU watching my son sleep under bright florescent lights. The lights are known to "bake" the billi levels right out of the skin. I know God's hand is on us. I've felt him with me since my labor started. I know that he will bring us through this and send my baby home with me in just a few short days. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

I am so overjoyed that I can't even see straight. I've never been so happy in all of my life. I've never felt so FULL of life! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. What did I do to deserve such a beautiful boy? I must have done something right.

"Must be doin' somethin' right
I just heard ya sigh
Lean into my kiss
And close those deep blue need you eyes
Don't know what I did
To earn a love like this
But baby I must be doin' somethin' right"

- Billy Currington "Must be Doin' Somethin' Right"



If you're interested in hearing the whole story, let me know. I'm currently writing about the entire experience, and I'd be glad to e-mail it to you. It's a little intense to just post in a blog, so I won't be posting it here.

Have You Ever?

I found this fun little survey on facebook, (these things are always circulating,) and thought I'd participate. All of the things that I've done are in bold. I wish that I could say that I've done more of these things...hopefully I'll be able to add more to the list in the near future!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world Both!
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight Aww...Jamaica :)
46. Been transported in an ambulance just once!
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing LOVE it! (aren't you surprised?)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling snorkeling in Mexico...I HATE it.
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies I was a daisy, a brownie and a junior! ;)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy Brownie Honey!
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square NYC is one of the greatest places in the whole world.
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - twice!
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Done a kegstand
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - My Nissan Murano was brand new when I bought it! 1st time ever though!
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - fish for the 1st time last year in Ft. Lauderdale with Scott after a deep sea fishing charter!
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Gone Streaking
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby I get to bold this because I'm working really hard on it!
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Met someone famous - I met Juan Pablo Montoya the Colombian race car driver when I was a grid girl for F-1 back in 2004
98. Owned an exotic animal
99. Been stung by a bee