Quite a Weekend!

This was quite a busy weekend with Jackson's first trip to the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday and his first Twins game on Sunday. It was a gorgeous day for a trip to the fair and Jackson did pretty well. Scott and I overindulged ourselves but oh well -- what else are you supposed to do? Hotdish on a stick anyone?

This is how Jackson spent most of the day -- peacefully sleeping in his stroller.

It wouldn't be the State Fair without a few tractors. Gotta love John Deere!

And after three hours of wandering around with thousands of people, we had a meltdown. He did well though! Unfortunately there was no formula on a stick.

On Sunday we ventured to the Metrodome for the final time. The Twins are moving to their new outdoor stadium next year. Yeah! Jackson loved his first Twins game! He was awake and looking around for almost the entire game. The Twins won by the way. It was a great day!

Father and son in the Baby Bjorn.

Jackson keeps growing, developing and changing. He's even started sleeping through the night every once in a while -- maybe twice a week or so. I was fully expecting that it would be sometime in 2010 before he would be sleeping through the night. We're off to the cabin this week. Jackson's first trip up north! We're all really excited for the final trip (and only our second trip) of the summer. More pictures when we return!

Just Chillin'

I couldn't resist posting these cute pictures of Jackson just relaxing on the couch and looking adorable in his sleeper.

Why so serious dude??

And finally, Mom testing the timed setting on her new camera. Too bad Jackson had tired of taking pictures. Oh well.

It was an exciting, or rather harrowing, day around here yesterday weather-wise. Jackson survived his second tornado warning of his short life. Luckily all is well. No damage around here and the damage in Minneapolis is minor. We enjoyed another stint in the basement though which we're getting pretty used to. More rain today which put a damper on plans for long walk. Maybe tomorrow will be better!

6 Weeks Old

Can you believe it? Honestly, the last six weeks have flown by but it also seems like Jackson has been apart of our lives forever. I can't imagine my life without him! Things have been going really well. He's sleeping really well -- usually getting up once or twice a night which I don't think is bad at all! I had visions of getting up with him every hour or two so once or twice is totally doable. I'm getting more and more comfortable taking him out by myself and managing the stroller. We went to the outlet mall on Friday and did a little shopping. He slept the entire time (probably a very good thing) and I was able to try on non-maternity clothes for the first time in a very long time. YEAH!!

We've been having alot of fun with "tummy time" with Jackson. He seems to be really strong and can hold his head up by himself (although of course I can't seem to get any good pictures of that). Here are some pictures of our playtime:
This isn't the greatest picture but at least it shows him holding his head up.

Love that smile!!

Ok Mom, I've had enough of this whole "tummy time" thing. Stop taking pictures and change my diaper.

For Scott's birthday last spring, Elizabeth sent him a San Francisco Giants onesie for Jackson. Here are father and son dressed to cheer on the Giants! Somehow I see lots of these types of pictures in their future. Thanks Elizabeth!

And honestly, who could resist that face?

Well, not much else to report right now. As you can see, Jackson is really growing and changing. At our last appointment (about 2 weeks ago) he was up to 11 lbs and 22 inches. He's constantly moving and I think he gets frustrated when he realizes he can't do it all quite yet. We're working on it though.

We take our first trip up to the cabin in a couple of weeks. Jackson's first trip to the woods should be interesting. Mom's first trip alone with him should also be interesting! Hopefully he will sleep the entire time. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the last few weeks of summer!

I can't believe it's been a month!

This is what the cats have been thinking for the last month! They are adjusting pretty well but I'm sure they could do without the crying and with a little more attention.

Well, yesterday marked Jackson's one month birthday! Very exciting! I can't believe an entire month has passed already and yet it seems like Jackson has been a part of our lives forever at this point. He's changing daily it seems -- doesn't really have that "newborn" look anymore. He's also developing quickly -- he can push himself up with his legs and can lift his head and turn it side to side easily. We might be a little biased but we think he's way ahead of the curve in that department. Clearly he's going to be a strong guy. He's learned to grab a hold of my hair and pull like mad, something I don't really love but I know someday I'll look back and smile at it. He truly is wonderful and we're loving every minute of being new parents (although we could do with fewer diaper changes). Hehe!!!

I bought a new camera today so hopefully we can post some more pictures soon. I know, I know...this is a bad time to be without a functioning camera.

What a Welcome Home!

I know...I'm not exactly keeping up with the blog now that Jackson has made his arrival. What can I say? Things are a little busy around here. It's been wonderful though! There have been a few "new parent" moments where Scott and I look at each other and wonder what the heck we're supposed to do but that's normal, right?

I wanted to post a few pictures of the wonderful "Welcome Home" we received when we brought Jackson home from the hospital on July 5. Danielle and Zoe really made the arrival special with the driveway messages! I cried, of course. It was such a nice thing to do and really made Scott and me feel special!

So sweet!!

This was a big week for us. We made our first trip to a restaurant! I've been craving french toast from Perkins, one of my favorite things for breakfast, since I left the hospital. On Tuesday Scott, Jackson and I made the trip to Perkins and everything was wonderful! The french toast was yummy and Jackson slept the entire time. Of course, Scott and I were constantly worried about him waking up and crying but it all worked out. The staff were all oohing and aahing over Jackson which sure made his mom smile!

On Thursday we traveled out to Stillwater, a beautiful town right on the St. Croix river. It was Jackson's first real venture out, other than to Perkins and the occasional trip to Babies R Us (that's right, it's become the place where we spend all of our money). Because I'm a mom still learning the ropes, I forgot my camera so there aren't any pictures but he was wonderful. It was a perfect day and we all had a great time.

Scott returns to work next week (BOO!) but my parents are coming to help out for the week (YEAH!). We are beginning to settle in to more of a routine and Scott and I are slowly learning Jackson's various cries. Speaking of which, I hear him right now so I should probably get going.

More later!

Jackson David Carter

HE'S ARRIVED!!!

Ok, I know this is late and that most of you already know that Scott and I welcomed Jackson David Carter on July 3, 2009 at 2:30am. He weighed in at 9 lbs. 0 ozs and was 21.5 inches long. Here's how it all happened...

I had been scheduled for an induction starting on the evening of July 1, 2009. Well, starting in the evening of June 30 I was having contractions -- nothing particularly regular but they were fairly intense and I could tell that things were progressing. By the morning of July 1, the contractions were more regular and after a quick call to the OB, Scott and I headed to the hospital. After a few hours at Labor Assessment, the nurse deemed me not far enough along to admit so we headed home. The OB decided to skip the dose of meds to be admitted that evening and told us to just come in early on July 2 to start the induction.

Well, about 12:30am on July 2, I woke up with extremely intense contractions that kept getting closer together. I continued to labor at home until I was scheduled for the induction -- around 7:00am. These were by far the most painful contractions I had ever had. It's true what they say -- you'll know it's the real deal once it starts. There was no mistaking these for Braxton Hicks contractions. Once we got to the hospital, the induction meds were started right away and before too long everything was getting to be unbearable. My idea of trying to do this without an epidural went right out the window and by noon I was begging for pain relief. Ok, now for some advice for my pregnant friends....GET THE EPIDURAL!!! It's heaven, seriously! Once it kicked in I was able to relax and actually have a conversation. My mood changed instantly which I know Scott appreciated.

All the nurses kept telling me that I was progressing so quickly that I would probably have the baby by 5-6pm. No such luck unfortunately. Things stalled and by 9pm the OB started to talk about other options, namely a c-section which I really wanted to avoid. Before that happened I really wanted them to try every other option so they decided to up my pitocin and see if that moved things along at all. Well, it worked and by 11:30 I was pushing. Three hours later (yes, that's right -- THREE HOURS!) Scott and I welcomed Jackson into this world. They had to take him immediately to the NICU for some respitory issues but everything was fine and we were thrilled!! It was exhausting but worth every minute! We are completely in love!
Adjusting to life with a newborn has had it's challenging moments but we couldn't be happier! Jackson is wonderful and learning his little noises, tendencies and quirks has been fun.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Waiting Game Continues...

We've made it to Week 38 and we're still waiting on little Elmo. There is still lots of movement although I think things are getting a little cramped in there because it seems the kicks and jabs have slowed and it's more rolling and stretching at this point. The other night while watching TV, Elmo decided he needed to stretch every limb to the point where I wasn't sure my skin was going to hold up. I think he wanted to come right out through my belly! Cute but also quite painful!

Here is the update on development this week:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Exciting times! This weekend we are just planning on running some errands and relaxing before Elmo's arrival. Hope everyone has a good weekend and stays cool!