Spring and New Thing(s)

I'm terrible at blogging, I admit it. Life has been crazy - but a good crazy! Jackson hit that magical three month mark a few weeks ago and has been a happy camper ever since. We've started him on rice cereal, which he loves, and he's doing well sleeping in his crib. He still wakes up for a middle of the night feeding, but hopefully he'll get over that sometime soon. He goes right back to sleep and usually sleeps until 7:30ish, so it's not terrible. Max is still the one that's up at 5:30am everyday - go figure! We've been doing our Spring Cleaning - I've cleaned out all of the closets in our house and let's just say that Goodwill has acquired a lot of clothes from the Fawley household between Mark and myself. Max and Jackson's clothes that don't fit/winter clothes went into storage just in case I lose my mind and ever decide to have another baby....which will 98% not happen. We're gearing up for the fence to be put up in our backyard the end of this month/early next month. I can't wait to take the boys outside to play and not have to chase Max down the street - it will be much more relaxing and fun! Mark and I...er, I mean the Easter Bunny...are planning to get Max a trampoline we saw at Sam's Club for Easter. It's not a mini one, but it's a kid size one with the mesh sides - Max will love it in his newly fenced in backyard :) In other news, Jackson has learned to roll from his tummy to his back pretty good....and is working on back to tummy. He's babbling up a storm and is drooling like crazy. I'm pretty sure I'm seeing/feeling a tooth poking through on his bottom gums, too....I wouldn't be surprised, since Max got his first tooth around four months old. He's a smiling, happy baby :) Someday I will post the pictures on my camera for all to see my happy kids...but for now, I am far too busy/lazy. So, you'll just have to take my word for it! Moving on - starting next school year in the Fall, I will have a new teaching position! I have been chosen as the social studies teacher for the new South Bend New Tech High School opening this Fall! I'm super excited about this amazing opportunity! SBNTHS is not an alternative school, but it's cutting edge in the education world and focuses on using technology and collaborative learning for students in the classroom. The students will work in teams on a lot of group projects and use the computers on a daily basis as the foundation of the curriculum. I'll be going to some trainings very soon and will have more information to share then...but for right now, I'm geeked!

P.S. Mark and I are THISCLOSE to our Vegas vacay! Woohoo!

It's been awhile...

Wow, I've been so busy with work, kids and attempting to keep my house clean enough to not be condemned that I have completely neglected my blog lately. I'd love to say I'm going to be better at updating, but with the crazy life I'm living right now, I will make no such promise...but I WILL try ;) Since I never know how much time I'll have on here (ahem, sleeping baby and curious two year old), I'll just give a keep updated list of what's new in our life over here:

• Jackson is almost 11 weeks old...and is slowly but surely starting to enjoy life a little more. We had a rough go of it with this little dude...not only was he unhappy most of his waking hours (make that our second colicky baby...wah!), but we also had a small stint in the hospital where he had H1N1 and RSV at the same time. We had to stay in the hospital for two days so they could make sure he could breathe and drink okay...they also had to use their high powered suction tool to suction out all his secretions every once in awhile since babies that young aren't too good at hacking it out. Luckily, he's all better now and growing at a great pace...I don't think he's going to be the solid quarterback Max looks like, but he's still growing everyday :) We've gotten him on a pretty good schedule of eating, playing and sleeping. He likes to smile and coo now, which makes me feel a little better to know he's getting happier and more pleasant by the day. We have fully transitioned him to his crib like we swore we would since we were so bad about it with Max. It's been awesome...all we do is look for his tired cues, then put him in his crib and walk away....he puts himself to sleep! Wow...why didn't we do this with Max?! More on that topic later, grr. Anyway, we've had a few nights where Jackson slept for an extended period of time (about 7 hours, eat, then go back to sleep for awhile)...and right now we're back to the sleep 3-4 hours, eat, go back to sleep. I'm hoping that he starts sleeping for longer periods of time very shortly, but it's nice to know that after he eats, he'll go right back to sleep. At his last checkup when he was 2 months, he weighed 10 lbs 3 oz and was almost 24 in long.
• Max....oh, Max. The terrible twos are in FULL SWING at the Fawley household! Max has also decided that he does not want to sleep anymore at night as well. This is the kid that already got up at 5:30am EVERY.FREAKING.DAY. Well, Max has now decided that he wants to wake up about five times a night just to scream and cry. He wants milk. He wants cartoons. He wants up. It's pretty frustrating when you've just trained an 11 week old to sleep (for the most part) and now you're almost two and a half year old wants to be up all night yelling. I'm kind of at a frustrating loss right now for what to do....he's old enough to get out of his bed and run out of his room....so I can't barricade him in there. I also don't want all the yelling and screaming to wake Jackson up right across the hall and get his new sleeping pattern all out of whack. Any help in this department would be appreciated! :(
• I am only 5 lbs away from my prepregnancy weight and fit into about 99% of all my old clothes :) I have totally dedicated myself to losing the weight quickly (50lbs gained and lost with both boys...woohoo!). I'm up and at the gym at 4:30am everyday since that's the only time I have to go! Our family has totally revamped their eating style from my pregnancy comfort food back to the healthy and smart food we should be eating. I have to say, I'm amazed at how quickly I was able to lose the weight with Jackson, since I'd always heard losing it was harder with your second and it took me 6 months to lose the weight with Max. I attribute it to STRESS, work and pure dedication. I'm hoping to lose the last 5 lbs before our vacation next month!
• .....which brings me to my next point....VACATION! In about 4 weeks, Mark and I are going to Vegas for a much needed break! I am SO excited to spend some quality time with just Mark and I, since we barely ever get to hang out watching TV or just talking anymore with the chaos our house is with the boys! Mark has never been to Vegas, so it'll be fun to get to show him everything and get to do things on our time, not kid time :)
• Spring cleaning is in full swing over here! I've been cleaning out closets, getting rid of old clothes, putting the boys' clothes in storage that are too small, organizing, etc. We're in the process of putting up a new backsplash in our kitchen, finally fencing in our backyard (um EXPENSIVE) and just getting the house in order! I love organization and cleanliness...I can't wait until Spring has finally sprung and I'll be able to open the windows and breathe in the fresh air...ahhhh!
• Work. Going back to work has been a smooth transition....I really enjoy my job and the people I work with, so I'm glad to be back in the full swing of things!

Well, the boys and I are off to lunch at the good old DQ before Mark and I's date night tonight! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the warmer weather coming up!

One Month Old

This lil dude is turning one month old! What a month it's been around here....honestly, I knew having two kids would be more difficult, but I seriously underestimated how frustrating it could truly be at times! I also forgot how "high maintenance" my sons are the first few months of life as well. Without going into much detail, I will remind you that Max was an EXTREMELY difficult, fussy (ahem, colic) baby up until he was about 3 months old. My naive self kept thinking, "Oh, it won't happen twice!" HA! I have to say, Jackson is somewhat better than Max was....and seems to be starting to show signs of improvement already, which is encouraging :) Jackson gets so gassy throughout the day that he sometimes acts miserable, which breaks my heart. He was also just put on medication for possible acid reflux due to his difficulty taking a bottle sometimes and wincing in pain. I hope everything is turning around for my little man...and we're slowly inching our way to that magical three month mark! I'm also waiting to get some sleep again...Jackson is still a fan of eating every 2-3 hours and I'm patiently waiting for that to space out and get him on more of a schedule.

In other news, Jackson has gained TWO whole pounds since birth....that's right, he now weighs a whopping 8lbs 14oz. He's been giving us some smiles and coos lately...I'm looking forward to a lot more of those once he starts feeling a little better. Max loves his little brother and loves to be our little helper...although sometimes he does get a little jealous, which breaks my heart as well! All in all, we are all doing well and still alive over here! I love having two little boys and can't wait until I get to watch them interact and play with each other a little more. Our family feels very blessed to have our healthy (for the most part) and personable little men :)

Other family side-notes since I haven't blogged in awhile and might now have time until next month:

• I'm only on maternity leave for 3 more weeks....I go back on Valentine's Day. I have mixed emotions about this - I'm ready to return to my students and my school and get our family back on a regular schedule....but I'm not looking forward to leaving Jackson. I'm also hoping we're on a little bit more of a schedule by then and getting a little bit more sleep.
• Mark and I booked a vacation - woohoo! We're going to Las Vegas during my Spring Break for a few days, and we can't WAIT!
• Operation "Get Back Into My Pre-Pregnancy Clothes" is in full force. Since I gain uber amounts of weight in my pregnancies (ahem, about 50 lbs), I've been dieting and working out hardcore the past 3 weeks. Yeah, yeah, yeah I haven't even been cleared by the doctor yet....but I need to fit into my work clothes, dangit! AND our Vegas vacay will be here before you know it. So far, I am down 11 lbs. from when I first weighed myself 3 weeks ago. I still have some more to go, but more and more clothes are fitting everyday and I'm loving it! I do miss my pizza though...especially on some stressful days with the boys!
  

Jackson Anthony

He's here! Jackson unexpectedly entered the world on December 22nd at 9:21pm....6lbs 14oz and 19 3/4in! He was about a week and a half early but is extremely healthy and amazing :)

That Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling like crap. Achy. Tired. Headache. BLAH. I took a nap shortly after waking up. I then realized that I really hadn't been feeling the baby move as much that day as I usually do....he was always quite the mover. After about an hour of poking and prodding at my stomach, I really wasn't getting much response. A little panicked, I called my doctor's office and told them the situation. I also mentioned the headache and not feeling well since I have been monitored for high blood pressure the past few weeks. The nurse was going to talk to the doctor and call me back. Mark and I assumed they'd have us go into the office for a non-stress test and then we'd be good to go. We called my grandma over to baby-sit Max while he took a nap and planned on a quick trip to the doctor, then to the store to get some groceries and finish up some last minute Christmas shopping. When the nurse called back, she told us to just go to the hospital to be monitored since I was so far along and had already been there twice for high blood pressure. This irked me a little bit, since I assumed we'd go and have to sit FOREVER...then get sent home with nada! I even made Mark go to McDonald's on the way there so I could eat something since I figured we'd be sitting there forever as usual. We got to the hospital and, again, went to a triage room where they took a urine sample and took my blood pressure. Blood pressure, again, was pretty high. This time the urine came back with a little bit of protein in it, though, which could indicate pre-eclampsia. At last the doctor said the words I never thought I was going to hear....."This has gone on long enough....We're inducing now". WOOHOO!

I was taken to my birthing suite and hooked up to Pitocin. The plan was to keep me on the Pitocin and watch my cervix....if it wasn't doing much by about 10pm, then they'd give me Cervadil to help "ripen" my cervix overnight and then try the Pitocin again in the morning. I was pretty confident the Pitocin would work since it had pretty easily with Max, but who knows! I was hooked up at around 3:30pm. Mark ran home to pack Max up for my parent's house, grab our bags and camera and head back to the hospital. While he was gone, I did a lot of walking to help get labor started. It must have worked....at about 5:30ish the doctor decided to break my water. Just like Max, as soon as my water was broken, the contractions started coming hard and strong. I asked for my epidural about 10 minutes after my water had been broken. I was told they had the order in, but there were two people in front of me on the floor. I cringed, thinking, "Holy crap, how long is this going to take?!". 45 minutes later...after me telling the nurse several times I think they forgot about me and they needed to come now....I received that glorious epidural and felt immediate relief. It was just a waiting game from here on out. At about 9:00pm, I was ready to push. The nurse called my doctor, who was on her way to the other hospital and had to turn around to get back for my delivery. I had to wait about 10 minutes for her to return, and the nurse got herself ready to deliver the baby since we all knew he was coming fast and wasn't sure she'd make it. Thankfully, she did make it, and after only about 10 minutes of pushing, Jackson entered the world screaming :)

Jackson has been as awesome baby and his big brother Max is so in love with him. Having two kids has been a tiring and interesting challenge, but I'm so in love with our family of four and gladly welcome the chaos that is currently our household :) I'm also so blessed to have two healthy children...two little boys....brothers. Having two little boys is awesome...I must say, they are extremely cute together and cannot wait to watch them grow up together...just not too fast! Well, I snuck some time away to write this quick blog, but I have to get tending to my boys now. I hope everyone had as blessed and wonderful of a holiday as we did.

An early Christmas wish!

The past few weeks have been a struggle emotionally, physically and mentally. Not only are you just so done in general with being pregnant at the very end of pregnancy, but you start getting anxious about the new baby and everything else that goes along with it. On top of that, throw in some serious physical pain and annoying medical issues, and you will about have had it. I have never been in so much pain every single day and feel like it's taken a toll on my mood and the Holiday season. This is my favorite time of year, and it's sad to say that I really haven't been able to enjoy it much....all I can focus on is the end of this pregnancy, because frankly, I don't have enough energy to do much more.

I go back to the doctor today and am PRAYING for one of two things to happen:
1.) If my blood pressure is still elevated as it has been for two weeks, they decide to just go ahead with the induction now. That way, we can all be home by Christmas Eve to still celebrate traditionally with Max and my family.
2.) They set the induction date for Sunday like we discussed months ago.

Either of these outcomes would give me an exact finish line that I really need right now. If neither of these things definitely happen, I may fall apart right then and there! Even if they set the induction date for Sunday, a huge fear of mine right now is going into labor past tomorrow, which would put me in the hospital over the holidays :( I DO NOT want to be away from Max or any of my family on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day....I want to celebrate with everyone and watch Max get excited opening all of his super cool presents. Sooo....Jackson either needs to come today, tomorrow or hold off until Sunday to get us through the holidays! Please pray for our family to be able to celebrate the holidays together and for Jackson to be born nice and healthy and ready to join this crazy brood :)

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and expects great things for the New Year!

Reality is setting in....

....that I'm about to have TWO kids....two BOYS. Holy moly! Am I ready for this? Can I handle two? Will Max adjust okay? Will the baby be an easier baby than Max was? Ahhhh! I think it's natural for moms who are about to go from one to two kids to freak out a little bit as reality sets in. Don't get me wrong....I am more than DONE being pregnant and can't wait for Jackson to arrive....but each day as it creeps closer I get more and more nervous thinking about it. I'm also starting to freak out about the delivery....I had such an easy labor and delivery with Max (HELLO, epidural!)....I'm really hoping for the same this time around as well!

I go back to the doctor again for another blood pressure check as well as my almost-38 week appointment. If my blood pressure is still extremely high, I'm really hoping we can starting discussing induction for this weekend....these past few days have been pretty uncomfortable and depressing. I won't even go into detail...just know that it suuuuucks. I have zero patience left and I feel like I can't even enjoy the holiday season anymore at this point. Hoping to blog some good news tomorrow...stay tuned!

'tis near!

Baby Jackson may decide to grace us with his presence sooner rather than later...what a treat :) After work yesterday, I went to my regular weekly OB check-up...37 weeks. As soon as the nurse took my blood pressure, she said "WHOA!....your blood pressure is extremely high". She then took it again to make sure she was correct, which she was. Right away she went to get the doctor to let him know. He came in, reviewing my charts from when I was pregnant with Max, and told me it looked like my body was doing the same thing it did with my first son. All of my blood pressure readings would read fine, then all of the sudden it skyrocketed up. The only issue was when it did it with Max, I was already 40 weeks pregnant, so it was a no brainer to just induce me. This time, it's a tad bit sooner, and they really would have preferred for me to be at least 38 weeks. They kept me in the office for a little bit to observe my blood pressure, which did not go down. The doctor then checked me and said I was 1 1/2 cm dialated, 50% effaced and the baby was very low...at about -1 station for you moms who know what that means :) That would explain all the bruising-like sensation I've felt the past few days! These numbers didn't excite me too much....I walked around almost 3 cm dialated with Max for almost 3 weeks, so I'm not convinced it means all that much just yet. Finally, the doctor told me they were sending me over to the hospital for them to run tests and observe my blood pressure. Uggggh....now I was missing a Christmas party I was suppose to be at AND I hadn't seen Max since 7am :( I called Mark and let him know to meet me at the hospital.

Once we got there and were checked into triage, my blood pressure was still really high. At this point, I also starting contracting about 4-5 minutes apart on a consistent basis....not all that painful of contraction, but kind of annoying-catch-your-breath type. The nurse there thought maybe there would be no need for an induction if that's the route they were going to go since my body just might be going into labor on its own anyway. We were stuck in triage for FOREVER waiting for the test results, which all came back okay. The only problem was that my blood pressure was still very high, which made them admit me into the high-risk OB patient wing on the maternity ward. The doctor was in an emergency c-section at the time, so we had no idea what he had planned for us. As soon as I got settled into my room there and Mark went to grab us some food (I hadn't eaten since lunch....STARVING!!!), my blood pressure went down to normal. I asked the nurse if I could just go home then if everything was fine....which she needed us to talk to the doctor first. Until the doctor came in, my blood pressure would fluctuate between normal and high on almost every other reading. When the doctor was finally able to come in, he told me he wanted me to stay overnight for observation to be sure I was okay to go home. He said he had no problem inducing me at this point if my blood pressure continued to be so high and erratic. He also informed me that if I was discharged that I would be on bedrest until delivery. UGH....I only had one more week of work until Christmas Break!

So, we were discharged this morning when my blood pressure read fine, but I have to go back to the office first thing Monday morning to have my blood pressure checked. If it continues to do what it's been doing, they will more than likely induce sooner rather than later. Looks like we may have a Christmas baby after all...guess we'll have to wait and see :) As for me, the orders of "bedrest" aren't easy. I have a lot of things to accomplish now that Jackson could truly be here any day, plus I'm not fully prepared for Christmas! I wish I could just kick my feet up, relax and watch some Christmas movies, but unfortunately I have a million things to accomplish and a crazy two year old son to still raise! I guess we'll see what Monday brings....