Sunday, July 24, 2011
Bruiser
It occurred to me that many of you might be wondering about the bruise that has appeared on Garrett's head in recent pictures. At a July 4th party, he had a run-in with a wooden step, resulting in a purple goose-egg on his head and 2 black eyes. Fortunately, there was a nurse at the party who kept an eye on Garrett to make sure he hadn't given himself a concussion...if he hadn't of been there, I'm pretty sure we would have made an ER run!
Though the injury didn't seem to phase our tough guy for long (he was up & running around w/in 5 minutes of the crash), the visual after-effects have lasted a few weeks. As of today, his eyes look good, but he still has a little bruise on his forehead.
Following is a picture taken around July 5...
Though the injury didn't seem to phase our tough guy for long (he was up & running around w/in 5 minutes of the crash), the visual after-effects have lasted a few weeks. As of today, his eyes look good, but he still has a little bruise on his forehead.
Following is a picture taken around July 5...
Garrett's Food Fun
While Nana Kae was here she brought Garrett a cookie decorated like a cow.
As you can see, Garrett enjoyed the frosting very much!
It's a cute cookie...but we quickly learned for future reference, black frosting is not the best idea for toddlers (not that it bothered Garrett in the least!)
The same night as the cookie, Garrett experienced an Iowa first: Corn on the cob! He caught on to how to eat it pretty quick, emulating how daddy devoured his corn typewriter style!
As you can see, Garrett enjoyed the frosting very much!
It's a cute cookie...but we quickly learned for future reference, black frosting is not the best idea for toddlers (not that it bothered Garrett in the least!)
The same night as the cookie, Garrett experienced an Iowa first: Corn on the cob! He caught on to how to eat it pretty quick, emulating how daddy devoured his corn typewriter style!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Brothers
Garrett loves his little brother, Reece. We're working on being more gentle. For example, Garrett likes to grab Reece's head and move it to give him kisses, not paying attention to fingers jabbing eyes, or the direction he moves the head...but, overall, he is very sweet and proud around his brother.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Reece - Days 5-7
Day 5: Family picture time...
Day 6:
Notice anything missing?
Reece was taken off of oxygen today. He continued to wear the pulse oximeter on his toe, which registered around 100% all day long.
Reece had some Daddy time!
This is TOTAL relaxation!
Day 7:
Today we received excellent news!!
Reece's fantastic nurse, Jenni, was able to take off all of the cords and monitors today! We also got to move Reece into my hospital room for the first time. No more middle-of-the-night trips to the nursery! Big Brother Garrett was right there to help Jenni move Reece down the hall to my room. He was a proud little helper!
Mommy and Reece with no cords or monitors!
Tonight (Sunday) Reece will do a car seat test to make sure that his oxygen levels are maintained for the ride home.
In the morning (Monday), he have to be a brave little boy and endure his circumcision. After all Reece has been through this week, I'm sure he'll do fine.
As long as Reece's Monday morning checkup goes well, we should be on our way home sometime during the day on Monday!
Though it's been a long week in the hospital, we are blessed that Reece received the care and support of a loving staff of nurses who not only helped him, but also were a support system to me and Steve.
In coming days I won't have the "free" time that I've had to post to my blog while in the hospital...but I will try to continue with frequent updates about our boys to share with my readers!
Day 6:Notice anything missing?
Reece was taken off of oxygen today. He continued to wear the pulse oximeter on his toe, which registered around 100% all day long.
Reece had some Daddy time!
This is TOTAL relaxation!
Day 7:Today we received excellent news!!
Reece's fantastic nurse, Jenni, was able to take off all of the cords and monitors today! We also got to move Reece into my hospital room for the first time. No more middle-of-the-night trips to the nursery! Big Brother Garrett was right there to help Jenni move Reece down the hall to my room. He was a proud little helper!
Mommy and Reece with no cords or monitors!
Tonight (Sunday) Reece will do a car seat test to make sure that his oxygen levels are maintained for the ride home.In the morning (Monday), he have to be a brave little boy and endure his circumcision. After all Reece has been through this week, I'm sure he'll do fine.
As long as Reece's Monday morning checkup goes well, we should be on our way home sometime during the day on Monday! 
Though it's been a long week in the hospital, we are blessed that Reece received the care and support of a loving staff of nurses who not only helped him, but also were a support system to me and Steve.In coming days I won't have the "free" time that I've had to post to my blog while in the hospital...but I will try to continue with frequent updates about our boys to share with my readers!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Reece - Day 4 Pics
Garrett was excited to see his "Baby Reece" today!
Our little Angel after a big meal.
Garrett has noticed that everyone in his family has a bracelet on but him (Steve, Reece and I are wearing identification bracelets required by the hospital). Reece's WONDERFUL nurse, Janet, overheard Garrett inquiring about the bracelets, so she put one together for him that has his name and "Big Brother" written on it.
Garrett is very proud of his new bracelet. :-)
Our little Angel after a big meal.
Garrett has noticed that everyone in his family has a bracelet on but him (Steve, Reece and I are wearing identification bracelets required by the hospital). Reece's WONDERFUL nurse, Janet, overheard Garrett inquiring about the bracelets, so she put one together for him that has his name and "Big Brother" written on it. 
Garrett is very proud of his new bracelet. :-)
Reece - Days 3 & 4
Today has been a very good day for Reece...but I'll start by finishing up info from yesterday.
Day 3:
Reece had a chest X-Ray that brought to the doctor's attention a touch of pneumonia. What this means is that Reece will need to remain on his antibiotic for a total of 7 days in order to hopefully clear up the infection. Reece's nurse did some figuring, and since he started his antibiotic on Monday, she calculates that 7 days of antibiotic in it's entirety will be roughly 2 a.m. Monday morning. SO...we will be here until at least then. We pray that we will be able to go home sometime Monday afternoon.
Day 4:
As I mentioned above, Reece has had an excellent day today. The doctor lowered his O2 intake, and he has responded well. So hopefully he will be off Oxygen by tomorrow. Another stipulation for going home is that he remains off O2 for at least 24 hours.
Yesterday afternoon we started to feed Reece with a bottle, which he took very well. Today, my milk started to come in, so I have finally been able to nurse him. As Steve says, Reece is definitely a Jackson...he knew just what to do, and is nursing very well. He continues to look very healthy, and is often alert, with his eyes open and looking around. He's such a little blessing!
Garrett was happy to see his little brother yesterday. He had just given Reece a kiss when this pic was taken. He's going to be such a wonderful big brother!
Day 3:
Reece had a chest X-Ray that brought to the doctor's attention a touch of pneumonia. What this means is that Reece will need to remain on his antibiotic for a total of 7 days in order to hopefully clear up the infection. Reece's nurse did some figuring, and since he started his antibiotic on Monday, she calculates that 7 days of antibiotic in it's entirety will be roughly 2 a.m. Monday morning. SO...we will be here until at least then. We pray that we will be able to go home sometime Monday afternoon.
Day 4:
As I mentioned above, Reece has had an excellent day today. The doctor lowered his O2 intake, and he has responded well. So hopefully he will be off Oxygen by tomorrow. Another stipulation for going home is that he remains off O2 for at least 24 hours.
Yesterday afternoon we started to feed Reece with a bottle, which he took very well. Today, my milk started to come in, so I have finally been able to nurse him. As Steve says, Reece is definitely a Jackson...he knew just what to do, and is nursing very well. He continues to look very healthy, and is often alert, with his eyes open and looking around. He's such a little blessing!
Garrett was happy to see his little brother yesterday. He had just given Reece a kiss when this pic was taken. He's going to be such a wonderful big brother!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Welcome Baby Reece!
Reece Allen Jackson arrived on Monday, July 11, 2011 at 7:46 a.m.
He weighed 7 pounds, 7.25 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long.
My last "pregnancy picture"...
Reece's first diaper!
Snuggling with mama...
...and daddy.
Day 1:
Baby Reece was born via a scheduled C-Section...but it turned out that he would have had to be delivered that way regardless because he was breech. After the surgery, my doctor said that he reached in and grabbed what he thought was 2 legs, but turned out to be an arm and a leg. Reece was practically doing the splits - which I'm sure was not too comfortable.
Because he was breech, when he took his first breath he was still inside the womb, and therefore inhaled amniotic fluid, which went straight to the lungs. This has caused some breathing issues, and the doctors have kept Reece in a warmer, hooked up to oxygen, various monitors, and an IV containing antibiotics.
Day 2:
The doctor heard a slight heart murmur, so she ordered an EKG to check it out. Today we were told all is ok with his heart.
Day 2 & 3:
As you can see, Reece looks very healthy, has good color, and is a content little boy. The main issue now is that his respiratory rate gets too high and oxygen levels lower whenever he eats - which results in a kind of hyperventilation that could cause him to aspirate his food. So he will continue to be in a special nursery where he can be monitored until we get his breathing under control. This could take anywhere from 3-5 more days.
Reece has a thumb-like big toe just like his big brother Garrett!
Garrett is very sweet around his baby brother, but because of all of the wires and tubes, we haven't gotten him close enough to Reece for pictures...but I'm sure there will be many to come. At this point, Garrett seems to be more interested in the hospital's elevator and waterfall than baby Reece.
Steve and I are doing well. I should be released sometime on Day 4 (Thursday), but we will be able to keep a room at the hospital for us to use while Reece remains in the nursery.
He weighed 7 pounds, 7.25 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long.
My last "pregnancy picture"...
Reece's first diaper!
Snuggling with mama...
...and daddy.
Day 1:Baby Reece was born via a scheduled C-Section...but it turned out that he would have had to be delivered that way regardless because he was breech. After the surgery, my doctor said that he reached in and grabbed what he thought was 2 legs, but turned out to be an arm and a leg. Reece was practically doing the splits - which I'm sure was not too comfortable.
Because he was breech, when he took his first breath he was still inside the womb, and therefore inhaled amniotic fluid, which went straight to the lungs. This has caused some breathing issues, and the doctors have kept Reece in a warmer, hooked up to oxygen, various monitors, and an IV containing antibiotics.
Day 2:
The doctor heard a slight heart murmur, so she ordered an EKG to check it out. Today we were told all is ok with his heart.
Day 2 & 3:
As you can see, Reece looks very healthy, has good color, and is a content little boy. The main issue now is that his respiratory rate gets too high and oxygen levels lower whenever he eats - which results in a kind of hyperventilation that could cause him to aspirate his food. So he will continue to be in a special nursery where he can be monitored until we get his breathing under control. This could take anywhere from 3-5 more days.
Reece has a thumb-like big toe just like his big brother Garrett!Garrett is very sweet around his baby brother, but because of all of the wires and tubes, we haven't gotten him close enough to Reece for pictures...but I'm sure there will be many to come. At this point, Garrett seems to be more interested in the hospital's elevator and waterfall than baby Reece.
Steve and I are doing well. I should be released sometime on Day 4 (Thursday), but we will be able to keep a room at the hospital for us to use while Reece remains in the nursery.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Garrett Keeping Cool
With a heat index of over 100 degrees these past few days, Garrett found the best way to beat the heat by running through his beach ball sprinkler...
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