Jaxon - Month One

Three Days Old

I quickly discovered that Jaxon was a very typical wakes-up-every-two-hours-to-eat newborn and decided that it was a good thing that he was so darn cute because that schedule was not much fun for me!  I was a walking zombie for the first few days so I was very thankful to have such an intelligent and helpful little 3-year-old by my side.  Gavin absolutely loved having Jaxon home.  He wanted to hold him every chance he got and was so careful and loving with him, it just melted our hearts.

I tried to minimize my use of the flash, because he would flinch every time!

Baby feet!

Cuddling with Grandpa C

We settled into a great routine and with Jaxon napping a lot during the day, I was actually able to enjoy a few mommy luxuries such as showering, brushing my teeth, and occasionally even putting make-up on (very occasionally).  But with Matt home the first few days, it made it easier to get things done.

Four Days Old - Bonding time with Daddy

My good friend, Courtney, came over to snap a few newborn pictures of Jaxon when he was five days old.  I especially wanted a cute picture to use for his birth announcement (which I have yet to send out and as I write this he is 8-1/2 months old - I am sooo on it!).  She got some really cute shots!

This first one didn't come out quite the way we had hoped.  It was a Pinterest-inspired shot that could have really been cute, but the lighting wasn't great and we couldn't get the right angle or cooperation from Jaxon.  Hee hee...

Gavin continued to be a big help and really adored holding Jaxon.  It was so cute to see my little Gavin growing into such a helpful and loving big brother.  We are such proud parents!

Giving Jaxon his bath brought back memories of all the wonderful "spa times" we had with Gavin.  Jaxon looked so tiny in his tub, but he sure outgrew it quickly!

I used to love taking pictures of Gavin as he slept, but Jaxon was much more sensitive to the flash and would frown every time I snapped his picture when he was sleeping.

Gavin was worn out from the exhaustion of being a big brother!

One week + one day old

12 days old: A bit blurry without the flash, but I love this adorable smile!

Brothers :)

I saw this adorable photo idea on Pinterest where the baby is laying on a piece of fabric for each weekly milestone picture and the age of the baby is photoshopped into it.  However, my attempt at this did not go so well.  I kept it up for a few weeks, this being my first attempt at 2 weeks, but apparently Jaxon didn't like this idea at all.

2 weeks + 1 day

Enjoying the baby swing

Meeting Grandma B for the first time

2 weeks + 6 days

3 weeks old!

Attempt two, still not great...

Gavin wore newborn clothing for the first 3 months of his life, so I bought tons of adorable newborn outfits for Jaxon thinking that he would be the same way.  Unfortunately, I was wrong.  He stretched out of the newborn size by the end of his first month and I was quickly trying to put all of the cute things on him before they wouldn't fit him anymore.  Some things (such as the cute little outfit in this photo) were just put on him for a photo op and were never able to be worn again.  *sniff, sniff*

4 weeks old!

My sweet Jax,

You have melted our hearts this first month and we are so incredibly happy to have two sweet little boys.  Here are a few things you have already learned to do in the short time you have been on this earth:

• You are extremely strong and can already lift your head up when laying on your tummy.
• You are learning how to focus when looking at faces.
• You experienced your first bath and it went pretty well.
• You are waking up every 2 hours at night, but hopefully this won't last too long!

We love so very much, Jax!  You have brought us tremendous joy this past month and filled our hearts with so much love.  I never realized that I could fall so completely in love with two sweet little boys, but I have!  I have such an amazing and unconditional love for both of my sweet boys.  My heart is so full and so happy!

We love you to pieces!

Jaxon - Two Days Old

Our third day in the hospital, we were told that we could go home.  I was able to get up and walk to the restroom without too much trouble, and my hearing did seem to be improving very slightly.  I still couldn't hear very well, but since there was some improvement, it was determined that there wasn't really anything that could be done for me in the hospital and we would just hope that it would fully recover.

I made sure to have a cute going home outfit for Jaxon since I had forgotten one for Gavin and have always harbored just a little guilt for that.  I was so excited to get him dressed and ready to come home! It brought back memories when I placed him in Gavin's old car seat and saw just how tiny he looked in it.

So tiny in the car seat!

First time in the Pack N' Play

Resting with Daddy after a long day!

Jaxon - One Day Old

I enjoyed my first day as a mommy to two sweet boys.  I spent most of the day in the hospital bed, recovering from my c-section, but admiring my adorable Jaxon.  My in-laws picked up Gavin so he wouldn't be bored hanging around the hospital, so Matt and I enjoyed the day bonding with our new baby boy.  I was a little sad to see Matt leave after visiting hours, but quite confident that I would be just fine since I had spent quite a few nights alone with Gavin in the hospital.  As I drifted off to sleep that night, I was looking forward to going home in a day or two and starting our journey as a family of four.

Shortly after midnight, I woke up with a strange feeling.  I quickly realized that I couldn't hear anything.  I already have a slight hearing loss, but I couldn't hear anything.  When the nurse came in to check on us, I saw her mouth moving, but could not hear any words coming out.  I felt panicky, but I thought maybe it would pass and perhaps I just had fluid in my ears or something.  I tried to explain to the nurse what was going on so we could communicate somehow.  I ended up going back to sleep shortly after that and hoped that my hearing would return once I woke up.

Unfortunately, my hearing did not return when I woke up a few hours later.  I could only hear things that were right up to my ear and everything else sounded extremely mumbly.  The nurses sounded like the adult characters from "Charlie Brown."  It was awful!  I called Matt and luckily, I could hear his voice through the phone so I quickly explained what was going on and asked him to come to the hospital quickly.  I was so thankful when he arrived.  All I could think was that if I had lost my hearing permanently, how would I ever hear my sweet Jaxon when he cried at night?  My mom had worn hearing aids for many years and could not hear at all without them and I found myself wishing that she was there to talk to and comfort me.

Once Matt arrived, he worked as a liaison between me and the nurses.  He would "translate" everything anyone said to me by shouting it in my ear.  I cried several times because I just wanted to enjoy my first full day with Jaxon and not have to worry about my hearing.  The anesthesiologist who gave me the spinal block came to check on me and was quickly assessed on the situation.  He looked worried, but said that he had never heard of this happening before.  The nurses and several other doctors all agreed that it was very unusual and weren't quite sure why I had lost my hearing.

I tried to push it out of my mind and just focus on this adorable face.  When I went to sleep that night, I prayed that my hearing would return and that we would get to go home the next day and enjoy our time as a family.