Jackson weighs 10lbs and is 22 (almost 23) inches long!
I've gotten into this whole babywearing thing and absolutely love wearing Jackson and he seems to love it as well. He can be fussy one minute and I can wrap him up and he will either fall asleep or stop fussing - It's like magic! :) I don't know how people go grocery shopping without wearing their little kiddos. I know that I wouldn't have been able to without putting Jackson in my Ergo carrier. Buying the Ergo and Boba wrap was definitely money well spent. However, I now have this new obsession with wanting to buy more wraps because there are so many beautiful ones there. Oops! Learning how to use the carriers with his casts definitely took some time to figure out, but now I can get him in either one pretty quickly which is a good thing when he is being a stinker and screaming.
We're starting to get into a routine with baths. We didn't have a baby bathtub at first, but I quickly decided that we needed one after the first few times of giving him a bath the first month. Jackson is a huge wiggle worm and it made me so nervous to have him on the counter. Now with the bathtub, he can wiggle all he wants and I feel better about it. Jackson LOVES the bath! He just soaks it all in and looks around during the entire time.
There is nothing sweeter than baby smiles and laughs! Jackson smiles all the time while he is asleep and just recently started smiling socially while he is awake. Jackson laughing is the cutest sound I've ever heard and I keep trying to get it on video. I even got him to laugh one time when we were playing "patty cake."
We've been working on tummy time to try and strengthen his muscles. When he lays on someone, Jackson will lift and turn his head. However, when he is on his tummy, he just lays there and most of the time falls asleep. It's a constant "Wake up, wake up, wake up." While most of time he tries to fall asleep, he also has times when he moves his head from side to side and kicks his legs like crazy.
With the two month check-up comes the two month shots. :( Matt and I decided that we didn't want Jackson to receive all of his shots at one time. We wanted him to get one shot and then give it some time to work through his system and see if he has a reaction before he gets the next one. Jackson ended up getting the BIG shot - DTAP first. He did a great job! He cried for a split second and then acted like nothing happened. Meanwhile, I was in the corner crying. Thank goodness my mother in law went with me. Why is all the stuff that our children go through so much more difficult for us than them? I kept a close eye on him after he got the shot. He didn't have any side effects and didn't even appear to have any pain in the area where he received the shot.
Jackson got "shorty" casts since he had to get shots. They were so cute! :)
8/24: We had our first spina bifida clinic. Matt and I didn't have any idea as to what the day would consist of other than us being at Vanderbilt all day long and being able to see all of the doctors that work with spina bifida. We were put in a room and every doctor, social worker, physical therapist, etc. came to us. We never had to leave the room. We didn't have to go from doctor to doctor, they came to us. That was nice, but it did get pretty hard after being in the same room for so long.
Jackson's first appointment was getting his hips and head ultrasound done. Then he had to get an x-ray of his spine. Other than him fussing because he was hungry, he did great! Each time that he's had an ultrasound done, I often wonder what he is thinking about. What does he think is going on? What are his thoughts of the lady putting jelly on his head and then pushing down on it with some type of wand thing? Does it bother him? I guess we won't have answers to those questions until he's older.
The orthopedic doctor came in and discussed the findings of the hip ultrasound. Originally the orthopedic was concerned that one or possibly both of Jackson's hips were dislocated. There is a high incidence of hip instability in children with spina bifida as a result of muscle imbalance around the hip joint. Twenty-five to fifty percent of newborns with high to mid-lumbar lesions have subluxed or dislocated hips. In the early childhood years, at least 25% more of these children will have hips that become unstable. This tendency toward hip instability is explained by problems in the nerves in the lumbar and sacral spine that control the muscles involved in moving the hip. Jackson was at a risk for dislocated hips due to his lesion level (lumbar-3). However, the doctor explained that while both hips are tight, neither hip is dislocated.
After discussing Jackson's hips the doctor proceeded to discuss his spine. Jackson has a habit of laying curved to one side. Matt and I were concerned about his spine becoming curved and possibly ending up with scoliosis. According to the doctor Jackson's spine looks fine and he doesn't have any concerns with it at this time.
While the orthopedic wasn't concerned with Jackson's hips or spine, he did decide that Jackson needed to start casting again for his clubbed feet. We will be doing another round of serial casting to see how his feet do and then will go from there. The plan is to have an Achilles tenotomy when he is big enough. During this quick procedure, the doctor will use a very thin instrument to cut the tendon. The cut is very small and does not require stitches. A new cast will be applied to the leg to protect the tendon as it heals. This usually takes about 3 weeks. By the time the cast is removed, the Achilles tendon has regrown to a proper, longer length, and the clubfoot has been fully corrected.
Nurse practitioner Haley Vance (neurology) came in to discuss Jackson's head ultrasound. His ventricles have rounded a little bit,but don't appear to have increased in fluid. She still isn't concerned with them and is pleased with how everything looked. We will go back for another ultrasound in 6-8 weeks for a check-up, but for right now, we're in the clear and he still doesn't need a shunt! :)
Physical therapy and occupational therapy came in to check Jackson out and see how he was progressing. They gave us some tips and tools to use at home to get him moving more. We need to start working on turning Jackson's head to the left instead of the right. The right side of his head has started to develop a flat spot and his neck is tight when you try to turn it to the left. After PT showed us some stretches I could tell that his neck had loosened up some. Since he was put back into his casts we won't have to work on stretching his feet, so we can focus on his upper half for the time being. All in all they were pleased with him and even got excited to see him bringing his hands together.
The last doctor that we saw was urology. When Jackson was first born urology conducted a test on him called a urodynamic test. Urodynamic testing or Urodynamics is a study that assesses how the bladder and urethra are performing their job of storing and releasing urine. Children who have Spina Bifida usually have damage to the nerves that control bowel and bladder function. Early evaluation of the kidneys and bladder is very important in order to prevent kidney damage. The first urodynamic test that was done when he was in the NICU showed that he was emptying his bladder completely and we didn't need to catheterize him. Jackson needs to have the test done again to ensure that he is still emptying completely. If the test shows that he is not, we will have to start catheterizing him and he may possibly need medicine to help with his bladder. Fingers crossed that the test comes out alright. The thought of having to catheterize him terrifies me.
Worn out!
On Sunday we all went over to my aunt's house for a "Pampers party." We got several packages of diapers and it couldn't have happened at a better time. Jackson being the stinker that he is decided to outgrow his newborn diapers on the way to IL... I kid you not! I brought mainly newborn diapers and few size ones just in case and the stinker ended up having a blow out. All of my cousins came and their kiddos except Nikki, she was running a fever, and Melanie's stepkids. It was so great to see everyone and for all of them to finally meet Jackson. Jackson loved all of the attention and lovin' that he got. He is such a good baby and doesn't seem to mind being passed around. Everyone talked about how Jackson was the only boy and how lucky he was to be surrounded by so many women. Jackson is going to be quite the ladies man. :)
Four generations: My mom, me, my grandma, and Jackson
Overall we had a pretty busy month and Jackson made great strides in reaching some of his milestones. The doctors are still really happy with how he is doing and Matt and I are so thankful that he's healthy. He's starting to get the best personality and I love everyday and minute that I get to spend with him. Don't get me wrong, I am one stressed out mommy at times, but it's all worth it.
