Jackson weighed in at 15lbs and is 25 inches long at his check up. He fights naps and really only takes 30 minute power naps a couple of times throughout the day. We've reached the point of him having what I would call separation anxiety. Anytime I leave his sight he starts to fuss and if I don't check in quick enough he breaks down completely. From what I read it is normal, anyone have any suggestions? I've tried a couple of times to have his arms out at night when he sleeps, but he flops around like a fish and I end up not being able to sleep. From the times of having his arms out, Matt and I learned that he is a side sleeper. After learning that, we decided to not swaddle him completely and we leave one of his arms out just in case he flips himself over. Scary thought!
Jackson made his first trip to America’s Mart in Atlanta with my mom, dad, and I. My mom and I go every year to buy things for her small business and always have a great time. The market wasn’t actually happening, but they were having cash and carry to sell their samples and anything that they were not going to carry anymore. Normally we don’t find very much, but there was tons of stuff this time. I took the Boba wrap and the Lillebaby carrier that I borrowed from the lending library and used them often. However, we are both very hot natured so I would have to take him out for both of us to cool down. He’s gotten to the point of wanting to look around so he got fussy some while in the carrier because he couldn’t see much. Whenever that happened or if he was too hot the three of us took turns carrying him which wasn’t easy since he’s becoming quite the chunk and we had suitcases full of stuff that we bought, but we made it work.
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| My dad playing with Jackson in the hotel room before we headed over to Atlanta Mart |
We get a visit from an educational therapist once a month. She comes to provide me ideas of things that I can do with Jackson to keep him on track in regards to his development. This month we talked about things I could do to encourage more tummy time. I also asked for a developmental checklist. I know that he has more time than what the checklist says, but I just want something that I can look at and compare. I think that’s the teacher in me. I want to make sure that I know the things I need to look for so that if a concern should arise I can get it figured out in a timely manner.
Physical therapy is still coming once a week to work with Jackson. She agrees that there's a big difference in his rotation from when we first started PT... Yay! Jackson will now turn his head completely to the left and will actually sleep on both sides. He tracks objects fairly well unless he just wants to stare at the person that is moving the object. Have I mentioned lately how much of a stinker he can be? He was a stinker in utero and not much has changed in 5 months! :)
Jackson is starting to hold and pull on his bottle and toys. We're working on getting his hands to flatten out and to keep his thumbs from tucking in, but he's starting to get the hang of it. He has a toy lion that he loves to pull/push up to his mouth so that he can slobber all over it.
We're starting to think that Jackson may be teething. He constantly has his hands and fingers in his mouth. On top of that, he's become the biggest drool monster. Matt and I think we may see a white spot on his lower gums, but we aren't positive. It's hard to get a good look because he keeps sticking his tongue out. Haha!
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| Chewing on Nana's finger... Yummy! |
Jackson went for his follow up appointment with Dr. Martus on 10/30. Jackson had the same set of casts on for 3 weeks! Before the tenotomy, he would get his casts changed out weekly so it was different not having to go to the doctor each week. According to Dr. Martus everything looked great and he was very pleased. Jackson was suppose to go into KAFO's the day that his casts came off. However, there was a miscommunication between the doctor and the brace guy. The doctor feels that Jackson would benefit more from KAFO's than going down the "normal" route of the ponseti boots and bar which is what the brace guy brought for Jackson to leave with. Jackson was molded for his KAFO's, but they will take 10-15 days to get here. Because of the miscommunication, Jackson left with naked legs and I was given clear instructions on how to stretch his feet. I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't nervous. I scared that his feet would turn back in or that something would happen and erase what the surgery corrected. Unfortunately, Jackson had to go back into his casts the following Tuesday because his feet turned in slightly. However, they didn't turn in nearly as much as they would have before the surgery, so I would say that surgery was successful.
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| Removing the casts |
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| Naked legs! |
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| Cute little feet - Getting ready to go back into the casts for hopefully the last time |
Jackson has started to notice the fur babies more and more. He will stare at Aubie when she jumps up on the back of the couch. Chevelle is starting to come around more around Jackson, but he’s still pretty standoffish with him. He is very protective of me and will lie in between either Matt and I or Jackson and I (the bassinet and I) depending on which way I decide to sleep.
Unfortunately it was time for Jackson to get his 4 month checkup which means it was also time for his next round of shots. I did the same thing that I did with his 2 month shots, I spread them out over a couple of weeks. I just have an issue with him getting so many at one time. **Note – If you are anti immunizations, that's great, but please be respectful that we are not. You do what’s best for your family and I will do what’s best for mine.**
I don't know if you remember or not, but after him getting the rotavirus vaccine at his 2 month checkup we ended up in the hospital because he had a reaction to it. The fear was that he ended up with intussusception, but everything checked out fine on that end thankfully. Spina bifida kiddos are labeled as latex precaution when they are born because they have a higher risk of developing the allergy. After talking with the doctor and looking at the pamphlet for the rotavirus vaccine we figured out that one of the warnings to the vaccine is a latex allergy due to the tip cap and the plunger being made of latex. So, we've gone from a latex precaution to now being labeled as him having a latex allergy.
Jackson always sounds congested and it's gotten to the point of waking him up in the middle of night because he starts to cough. I spoke with his pediatrician again about it and she suggested we try Zantac for his reflux. It is very pepperminty smelling and Jackson doesn't seem to mind it until the last little bit. He takes it all like a champ except for the last few squirts and those always come back out with a very disgusted look. :)
Jackson's 1st Halloween was great! However, we didn't get to take him out since it was raining and just plain yucky. My mom and I found him an outfit when we were at Atlanta Mart and it was perfect. It was a little big on him, but he didn't seem to mind especially since he liked to slobber on it. :)
Since we can't put Jackson in the Sit-me-up he does everything possible to get himself up. He has figured out how to dig his elbows in and push himself up. It's very interesting to watch him push himself up because he grunts until he is finally up. He hasn't figured out how to get his arms out from behind him so he starts whining when he wants to lay back down. However, shortly after laying back down, he'll push himself back up and the process starts all over. :)
I hate to admit it, but then I again I don't, Jackson LOVES to watch cartoons. His favorite seems to be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Now, please don't think that all he does is sit in front of the tv all day long, that is the farthest from the truth. However, there are times when I just need a minute to do something and that keeps him entertained for a little bit.
I am so excited for the holidays! Kim, Matt's sister, will be taking Jackson's pictures with Santa. I can't wait! He has a perfect outfit and I know that she is going to do a great job. Matt and I are going to IL for Thanksgiving to spend time with my side of the family and then we will be spending time with his side of the family shortly after we get back into town. As far as I know we will be spending Christmas at home. We're trying to figure out how to have a Christmas tree with the fur babies. Last year we tried to put up a small tree and they attacked it pretty consistently. Any suggestions? I don't know what we're going to do, but I do know that Jackson WILL have a tree for his 1st Christmas.
I don't know how I found the time, but I got a little crafty and made a wreath for Thanksgiving. I think it turned out pretty cute. My next project is an ornament garland for our mantle and a Christmas wreath. I also started working on my embroidery machine. My dad helped me get started and I made Jackson a bib and burp cloth. I still need to practice a lot more, but my plan is to try and sell my creations. I'm also looking into selling toys or books to try and make money to supplement my missing income since I became a stay at home mom. Fingers crossed that it works. I really want to be able to stay home with Jackson, but I am also realistic and realize that going from two incomes down to one may become a struggle and I don't want that.
Unfortunately it was time for Jackson to get his 4 month checkup which means it was also time for his next round of shots. I did the same thing that I did with his 2 month shots, I spread them out over a couple of weeks. I just have an issue with him getting so many at one time. **Note – If you are anti immunizations, that's great, but please be respectful that we are not. You do what’s best for your family and I will do what’s best for mine.**
I don't know if you remember or not, but after him getting the rotavirus vaccine at his 2 month checkup we ended up in the hospital because he had a reaction to it. The fear was that he ended up with intussusception, but everything checked out fine on that end thankfully. Spina bifida kiddos are labeled as latex precaution when they are born because they have a higher risk of developing the allergy. After talking with the doctor and looking at the pamphlet for the rotavirus vaccine we figured out that one of the warnings to the vaccine is a latex allergy due to the tip cap and the plunger being made of latex. So, we've gone from a latex precaution to now being labeled as him having a latex allergy.
Jackson always sounds congested and it's gotten to the point of waking him up in the middle of night because he starts to cough. I spoke with his pediatrician again about it and she suggested we try Zantac for his reflux. It is very pepperminty smelling and Jackson doesn't seem to mind it until the last little bit. He takes it all like a champ except for the last few squirts and those always come back out with a very disgusted look. :)
Jackson's 1st Halloween was great! However, we didn't get to take him out since it was raining and just plain yucky. My mom and I found him an outfit when we were at Atlanta Mart and it was perfect. It was a little big on him, but he didn't seem to mind especially since he liked to slobber on it. :)
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| Our sweet little owl |
In my previous post I wrote about wanting to buy Jackson either a Sit-me-up or a Bumbo seat since he wants to sit up all the time now. I broke down and bought him the Fisher Price Sit-me-up seat and it was the best purchase I have made recently. He LOVES sitting in it. However, when he got his casts back on, they were a little thicker since all of his fat rolls migrated down over the weekend. Because they are thicker we can't get him in the seat now. Thankfully his braces should be in soon and he'll be able to bend his knees.
Since we can't put Jackson in the Sit-me-up he does everything possible to get himself up. He has figured out how to dig his elbows in and push himself up. It's very interesting to watch him push himself up because he grunts until he is finally up. He hasn't figured out how to get his arms out from behind him so he starts whining when he wants to lay back down. However, shortly after laying back down, he'll push himself back up and the process starts all over. :)
I hate to admit it, but then I again I don't, Jackson LOVES to watch cartoons. His favorite seems to be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Now, please don't think that all he does is sit in front of the tv all day long, that is the farthest from the truth. However, there are times when I just need a minute to do something and that keeps him entertained for a little bit.
I am so excited for the holidays! Kim, Matt's sister, will be taking Jackson's pictures with Santa. I can't wait! He has a perfect outfit and I know that she is going to do a great job. Matt and I are going to IL for Thanksgiving to spend time with my side of the family and then we will be spending time with his side of the family shortly after we get back into town. As far as I know we will be spending Christmas at home. We're trying to figure out how to have a Christmas tree with the fur babies. Last year we tried to put up a small tree and they attacked it pretty consistently. Any suggestions? I don't know what we're going to do, but I do know that Jackson WILL have a tree for his 1st Christmas.
I don't know how I found the time, but I got a little crafty and made a wreath for Thanksgiving. I think it turned out pretty cute. My next project is an ornament garland for our mantle and a Christmas wreath. I also started working on my embroidery machine. My dad helped me get started and I made Jackson a bib and burp cloth. I still need to practice a lot more, but my plan is to try and sell my creations. I'm also looking into selling toys or books to try and make money to supplement my missing income since I became a stay at home mom. Fingers crossed that it works. I really want to be able to stay home with Jackson, but I am also realistic and realize that going from two incomes down to one may become a struggle and I don't want that.
I almost forgot, a wonderful lady put together a video about all the mothers and their children that underwent fetal surgery. It's a great video and I encourage you to watch it. The video can be found here:Faces of Fetal Surgery 2015. I've watched it several times and each time I've cried. It's amazing the things that can be done now to improve the quality of life of a child even before they are born. I am proud to be a face of fetal surgery and I hope that Jackson will proud as well. Until next time, we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!
Crystal
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| My favorite picture to date. Jackson at 22 weeks in utero and now |
