Matthew is a bit over 2 weeks old and I can not imagine our lives without him or before him. I have forgotten how much and how fast they change. I am going to try and wrap up a few memories over the last 2 weeks here, but hope to stay on top of the blog going forward to capture all of these precious times.
John's and Matthew:
* One of the funniest things that John has said about Matthew was when he told Nana and Da that we have to wash our hands AFTER we touch Matthew because he was going to be dirty! I think he got that turned around a bit! :)
* He is doing AWESOME with Matthew. He truly loves him and can not give him enough hugs and kisses. He "washes" (Germ-x, antibacterial stuff) his hands every time and then is super gentle with him. He does want to lean on him though, so we are working on that. One of my first and favorite memories that I will carry forever is the night that we came home from the hospital and Grammy, Granddaddy, Nana, Da and myself were at the table finishing dinner and Carl, John and Matthew were sitting on the rocking chair (John facing just the right way because he did not want to touch Matthew's feet at the time, weird?)...John sang "You are my Sunshine" to Matthew in a very sweet voice. Brought tears to my eyes!
* He has had some attitude towards Me and Carl, but totally understandable. We are trying to find the balance between patience/understanding/forgiveness and letting him run wild and form bad habits. We are getting there, but have some work to do; but what parent doesn't have some work to do?!?!? Right?!?!?
Matthew's routine so far:
* SLEEP! He sleeps so much that we thought there may be something wrong with him! John did not sleep this much the first few weeks. Grammie says that his choice to sleep over eat must come from the Jones side of the family! :) He is sleeping in our room in a bassinet. He is a pretty quiet sleeper. We swaddle him at night, but he does not fight to get out like John did, so he stays bundled up pretty easily.
* Eats....but not very well at first. I think it was the quick stay in the NICU during those crucial first hours out of the womb. We got off to a slow start and I was having to wake him up every 3 hours to eat. But we are going strong now and he wakes to eat about every 3 hours, give or take 30 minutes on either side.
* For the very little time that he is awake, we just hold him and love him. John likes to read stories during that time, or draw for him. John drawing on the chalkboard seems to be Matthew's favorite activity so far, he really does seem relaxed and appears to be watching (as much as he can anyway). He loves the sound of John's voice. So do I! :)
Matthew's appearance and personality:
* I am probably going to include a lot of comparison these first few months to John as I did not start this blog with John until he was 5 months old. I want to walk down memory lane a bit with John too. Matthew seems to be a laid back baby, he will lay there and take in the world in silence. I don;t even know he has woken up some of the times. John used to announce his awakening pretty loudly if I remember correctly.
* He will not look in my eye just yet. I know this is normal, but I really want him to!
* He has dark hair and dark skin (Carl calls him Mattito!), and I think his eyes have a chance of being brown, but too early to tell. Totally opposite from my fair-skinned, blond hair, blue eyed big boy!
* He is really skinny like John was, lots of loose skin to fill in!
* He has my toes (SUPER long) and my hair line (John had his Daddy's hair line very clearly).
* He has dimples on both sides and when he gets them both out, he looks like Grammie! I am not sure they are dimples that are going to stay though (can dimples disappear?).
Family changes:
* This is the first week that we are really getting back into routine as last week was spring break, but overall, things have not changed too much. Matthew just fits right into what we were already doing. The lack of sleep for me is the biggest change and I am still not accustomed, it is starting to catch up to me a little bit. When I nurse Matthew, it is all I can do to stay awake and then I crash about 2 or 3 in the afternoon.
* Carl was working from home last week and I have to say that it was the best thing EVER! It made the transition so much easier for us as a family. It really allowed us to work out some of those first few kinks that come with adding a baby to a family. And it helped me plan for when he is not here. I love him so much and am so blessed to raise a family with him!
* My WONDERFUL neighborhood play group is bringing dinner to us every night for 2 weeks! We are on night #2 and it is a true luxury! Seriously, taking out planning, preparing and cleaning dinner of the equation really makes the day a lot easier. And we get it for TWO WEEKS! I am blown away by the generosity!
* We our trying to spend separate and valuable time with just John which seems to be really effective. Carl and him went fishing one day already, and when Matthew is asleep or Carl is home, I make sure it is just the two of us for at least a little bit. I actually think it makes our time together more focused and fun this way.
Here are some pictures over the last couple weeks:
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Matthew Allen Jones 3.9.2011
5:00am - My alarm goes off so that I can get up and eat the last thing before the surgery. Not like I was going to be able to sleep much past that anyway. So, I eat, shower and get ready for the day.
6:00am - Carl is up and working out
7:30 - John, Grammie and Granddaddy are all up and eating breakfast and getting ready for school.
9:00 - drop John off to school - lots of tears on the way for me.
9:15 - 12:30 - Agony! Time could not have crawled any slower! I should have left something for myself to do that day. I tried to watch day time TV (blah!) but it could not keep my attention. I was doing all that I could to keep from crying. I was trying to keep my mind off of it the best I could because I was getting so emotional. I did not really like that either though, because I felt sort of numb. But I did not want to be a ball baby.
12:30 - leave for hospital. They were so full, that they had no rooms for me, so I had to start out in recovery. Which means my parents could not go back there with us. It felt rushed and we had ALL of our bags and stuff crammed with us, but we did not have time to separate.
1:30 - Start prepping me. Then Dr. Robert came in and asked if we were ready and to start the surgery process about 2:30. Luckily Nana and Da had picked up John from school and had a successful transition to Kara and they were already on their way. So off we went.
2:45 ish - get back into the surgery room. I remember all of this this time which was SO NICE! I LOVED the anesthesiologist, she was so nice and helpful, she walked me through everything. I was numb and ready to go.
The pressure this time was so much less intense than I remembered. There was one point that a girl was sitting on my chest and pulling back the top flap of my belly and Dr. Robert pushed Matthew out, and I had no idea. I only got nausea one time for about 2 minutes when the medicine first went in.
3:23: I hear Matthew for the first time and his scream sounded like someone was gurgling mouth wash. They swept him away to do the measurements and clean up and what not. However, he could not get control of his oxygen levels due to the fluid in his lungs and he was breathing too fast. After several attempts at putting him on oxygen and then him not being able to hold the levels, the NICU nurse came in, showed him to me, let me kiss him and then rushed him away. I had NO idea all of this was happening and it hurts to know that Carl had to watch that all by himself. I seemed like a long time of him crying and I did not understand why they had not let Carl hold him, but everyone was very calm and successfully diverting my attention.
This is where the time line and details become a little fuzzy, as they started to dope me up on some heavy meds.
I remember being in recovery and my Mom coming in. I think Carl was with Matthew or out in the waiting room with my parents. I remember them giving me an anti nausea shot in my leg that ended up hurting for over a week. I think she must have hit a muscle.
I do not remember going back to the room at all. But we got lucky and they had not regular rooms left so we got one of the rooms that the pregnant bed-rest patients use. I think it was bigger.
6:00ish - the next thing I remember is Carl bringing John up the hospital. He was SO EXCITED! However, when he walked in and saw me in my gown with all the tubes hooked up to me, he wanted NOTHING to do with me. Come to find out, Carl may have built up "we need to be careful with Mama" a little too much. He told John that the Dr. cut a whole in my belly to get Matthew out. I think he was a little freaked out. It took almost 3 days before he would let me hug him. He brought Matthew a teddy bear and a toy frog thing, and he brought me two beads for my pandora bracelet.
7:00ish through morning - My parents took John back home for bedtime routine. Nana and Da left, and it was just Carl and I. It did not seem right to not have Matthew with us. The time line is really fuzzy here, but I know I was pumping and trying to time it to get Matthew some of the good stuff for each of his feeding times. I did this through the night and we went to see him every 3 hours and tried to nurse. It did not go so well with all the tubes hooked up to him and I both. The funniest story of the hospital trip was probably the time that my nurse said I needed to skip going to see him and get some rest...so, while on some heavy drugs I called down to the NICU and told them that my husband was coming, but he could not breastfeed! WHAT? She did not say anything, but I am sure she laughed about it after we got off the phone.
8:00am ish on the 10th - we go down to the NICU and Matthew has ripped out his feeding tube! What a little rascal! But it was probably a good thing, because it was one less thing they had to do before they gave him to us. We were there when the head NICU lady to check him out and then she released him to us. It was awesome!
The next two days - We stayed in the hospital and enjoyed pretty darn good food in a nice big room... I highly recommend Baylor of Frisco to have your baby!
John came on Thursday in the morning and met Matthew, he was so excited and cute about it. He loves his little brother. He was smiling and was not scared, but a little timid in touching him; probably because we had drilled it in his head to be easy with the baby. He held him for the first time in Daddy's lap at the hospital and it was a precious site! He would not get near me or in my bed though. :( I am pretty sure he came back that night too, but for some reason I can not remember.
I started asking to be released on Friday on Wednesday BEFORE the surgery. I knew I would be ready to be home. Sure enough, we were on our way out Friday morning! YEAH!
Friday evening we had both grandparents over for dinner and celebration. It was a perfect time for Carl and I. I had happy hormones this time (at least until this point) and was only crying because I was happy.
You hear it, but you don't believe until you have one of your own, but my heart grew at 3:23pm on March 9, 2011. I have fallen in love all over again with all three of my boys!
6:00am - Carl is up and working out
7:30 - John, Grammie and Granddaddy are all up and eating breakfast and getting ready for school.
9:00 - drop John off to school - lots of tears on the way for me.
9:15 - 12:30 - Agony! Time could not have crawled any slower! I should have left something for myself to do that day. I tried to watch day time TV (blah!) but it could not keep my attention. I was doing all that I could to keep from crying. I was trying to keep my mind off of it the best I could because I was getting so emotional. I did not really like that either though, because I felt sort of numb. But I did not want to be a ball baby.
12:30 - leave for hospital. They were so full, that they had no rooms for me, so I had to start out in recovery. Which means my parents could not go back there with us. It felt rushed and we had ALL of our bags and stuff crammed with us, but we did not have time to separate.
1:30 - Start prepping me. Then Dr. Robert came in and asked if we were ready and to start the surgery process about 2:30. Luckily Nana and Da had picked up John from school and had a successful transition to Kara and they were already on their way. So off we went.
2:45 ish - get back into the surgery room. I remember all of this this time which was SO NICE! I LOVED the anesthesiologist, she was so nice and helpful, she walked me through everything. I was numb and ready to go.
The pressure this time was so much less intense than I remembered. There was one point that a girl was sitting on my chest and pulling back the top flap of my belly and Dr. Robert pushed Matthew out, and I had no idea. I only got nausea one time for about 2 minutes when the medicine first went in.
3:23: I hear Matthew for the first time and his scream sounded like someone was gurgling mouth wash. They swept him away to do the measurements and clean up and what not. However, he could not get control of his oxygen levels due to the fluid in his lungs and he was breathing too fast. After several attempts at putting him on oxygen and then him not being able to hold the levels, the NICU nurse came in, showed him to me, let me kiss him and then rushed him away. I had NO idea all of this was happening and it hurts to know that Carl had to watch that all by himself. I seemed like a long time of him crying and I did not understand why they had not let Carl hold him, but everyone was very calm and successfully diverting my attention.
This is where the time line and details become a little fuzzy, as they started to dope me up on some heavy meds.
I remember being in recovery and my Mom coming in. I think Carl was with Matthew or out in the waiting room with my parents. I remember them giving me an anti nausea shot in my leg that ended up hurting for over a week. I think she must have hit a muscle.
I do not remember going back to the room at all. But we got lucky and they had not regular rooms left so we got one of the rooms that the pregnant bed-rest patients use. I think it was bigger.
6:00ish - the next thing I remember is Carl bringing John up the hospital. He was SO EXCITED! However, when he walked in and saw me in my gown with all the tubes hooked up to me, he wanted NOTHING to do with me. Come to find out, Carl may have built up "we need to be careful with Mama" a little too much. He told John that the Dr. cut a whole in my belly to get Matthew out. I think he was a little freaked out. It took almost 3 days before he would let me hug him. He brought Matthew a teddy bear and a toy frog thing, and he brought me two beads for my pandora bracelet.
7:00ish through morning - My parents took John back home for bedtime routine. Nana and Da left, and it was just Carl and I. It did not seem right to not have Matthew with us. The time line is really fuzzy here, but I know I was pumping and trying to time it to get Matthew some of the good stuff for each of his feeding times. I did this through the night and we went to see him every 3 hours and tried to nurse. It did not go so well with all the tubes hooked up to him and I both. The funniest story of the hospital trip was probably the time that my nurse said I needed to skip going to see him and get some rest...so, while on some heavy drugs I called down to the NICU and told them that my husband was coming, but he could not breastfeed! WHAT? She did not say anything, but I am sure she laughed about it after we got off the phone.
8:00am ish on the 10th - we go down to the NICU and Matthew has ripped out his feeding tube! What a little rascal! But it was probably a good thing, because it was one less thing they had to do before they gave him to us. We were there when the head NICU lady to check him out and then she released him to us. It was awesome!
The next two days - We stayed in the hospital and enjoyed pretty darn good food in a nice big room... I highly recommend Baylor of Frisco to have your baby!
John came on Thursday in the morning and met Matthew, he was so excited and cute about it. He loves his little brother. He was smiling and was not scared, but a little timid in touching him; probably because we had drilled it in his head to be easy with the baby. He held him for the first time in Daddy's lap at the hospital and it was a precious site! He would not get near me or in my bed though. :( I am pretty sure he came back that night too, but for some reason I can not remember.
I started asking to be released on Friday on Wednesday BEFORE the surgery. I knew I would be ready to be home. Sure enough, we were on our way out Friday morning! YEAH!
Friday evening we had both grandparents over for dinner and celebration. It was a perfect time for Carl and I. I had happy hormones this time (at least until this point) and was only crying because I was happy.
You hear it, but you don't believe until you have one of your own, but my heart grew at 3:23pm on March 9, 2011. I have fallen in love all over again with all three of my boys!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
John's 3 year appointment
Johns 3 year appointment was pretty uneventful (other than the shots! AWFUL! ABSOLUTLY AWFUL!). Everything looks good and he is right on track for development. I just wanted to post his "stats" for the record books.
Weight: 31 pounds (42%)
Height: 38 inches (56%)
And the newest stat:
Blood pressure: 121/77
PLEASE NOTE: He has not gained one pound since his 2 year appointment but has grown 3inches! NOT ONE POUND!
Weight: 31 pounds (42%)
Height: 38 inches (56%)
And the newest stat:
Blood pressure: 121/77
PLEASE NOTE: He has not gained one pound since his 2 year appointment but has grown 3inches! NOT ONE POUND!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Our last few days as a family of 3
I wish I would have had the blog when it was our last few days as a family of 2, would have been drastically different than this I bet!
Carl and I have been working hard around the house and in the back over the last couple of months to get everything up and ready for John to be a big boy and for Matthew to join our family. I think we might have underestimated the time it would take to do all of these projects, but in looking back, I am so glad that we knocked it out. We were supposed to rest this past weekend, but it did not turn out that way.
This past weekend, we ran several errands including getting a dining table for out back. Not sure what it is with Carl and buying furniture right before babies join our family! I love the table and we will get SO much use out of it. We also ran around and picked up a few last minutes things for John's playroom and overall "stocking" of the house.
While John was awake he either helped us do our projects, or one of us would play with him and spend some QT. I know how precious it is and we are going to wish for more of it soon. We took some time out to go fly a kite for the first time in the park. Pretty successful, but needed just a tad bit more wind for longer flying times. Here are some pictures.
Carl and I have been working hard around the house and in the back over the last couple of months to get everything up and ready for John to be a big boy and for Matthew to join our family. I think we might have underestimated the time it would take to do all of these projects, but in looking back, I am so glad that we knocked it out. We were supposed to rest this past weekend, but it did not turn out that way.
This past weekend, we ran several errands including getting a dining table for out back. Not sure what it is with Carl and buying furniture right before babies join our family! I love the table and we will get SO much use out of it. We also ran around and picked up a few last minutes things for John's playroom and overall "stocking" of the house.
While John was awake he either helped us do our projects, or one of us would play with him and spend some QT. I know how precious it is and we are going to wish for more of it soon. We took some time out to go fly a kite for the first time in the park. Pretty successful, but needed just a tad bit more wind for longer flying times. Here are some pictures.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Mom?
Over the last 2 days or so I have become "Mom"?!?!? What?!?!? I thought that would not happen until he was at least in school. I realize it is no big deal, but I kind of like Mama and Mommy and wanted it to last. It is just one more thing to show he is getting older. :)
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