Swimming Lessons Success!

So I've been trying to get James to swim on his own for a couple of years now. I put him in swimming classes through various programs and we still couldn't get him to swim unassisted (without a pool noodle or floaties). We tried everything and he just didn't have the confidence to swim without something to help him. I had heard about a woman in our area that had the children swimming by the third day of lessons. She has a slightly unconventional way of teaching which is not for the faint of heart. She literally throws the children in and forces them to swim on their own. There is a lot of crying and screaming, but in the end they are swimming completely on their own and with full confidence. I was willing to try anything to get James swimming so I signed him up for her classes and even though he did quite a bit of crying, he was fully swimming on his own at the end of the first class. Now he is completely fearless when it comes to swimming and absolutely loves it. If you need a great swim teacher check out Diana Perry from Good Swim. She teaches all ages and they are 2 week classes for 30 minutes a day. She is amazing! Here's some pictures and videos of my little fish!

Coming home

So after a couple of days at the hospital, they determined both myself and Jackson were safe to go home. We were very excited to get home and sleep in our own comfy bed and have our whole family together again. James had been staying staying with my parents and was anxious to get home as well. Of course there was part of me that was nervous, because at the hospital I know if Jackson has a problem they are there to take care of it, but it was time for us to head home and take on the responsibilities on our own.

All ready to go home

He barely fits in the car seat!

At home at last!

Jackson Mitchell has arrived!

I am thrilled to announce that our little bundle of joy has made his grand entrance. We were originally scheduled to be induced on Tuesday, August 27th, but when we went in for our last OB appointment on Thursday, August 22nd my doctor decided we should go ahead with the induction. Jackson had previously been breached (head-up) at our last appointment so when my doctor saw that he was no longer breach, she decided it would be best to induce earlier to avoid him flipping over again. We were admitted into the hospital at 10:30 am on August 22nd and we started the induction around noon on that day. Jackson was still very high up in my uterus and I had barely dilated 1 cm, so we got my IV in and started the pitocin drip (the drug used to induced labor). Since we were starting from what they call "scratch", it was going to be a very long labor. I was still positive and hopeful that we would have him before midnight...yeah, not so much. The contractions didn't really start to get strong until after my water was broken at around 6 pm. Within an hour or so I received my epidural and settled in for a LONG night. After a very long labor (17-18 hours to be precise) we were finally ready to have the baby. At 5:10 am or so the labor and delivery nurse came in to check my progress and we were at 10 cm. She had me begin to push and sure enough it was time. She called the other nurses and my doctor and it was go time. I was mentally and physically exhausted after such a long labor, but also extremely excited to meet my new little boy. After about 6 or 7 pushes and less than 10 minutes Jackson made his debut. Jackson was born at 5:23 am on August 23rd, weighing in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 18.5 inches long. I anxiously waited to hear him cry and when I did it was music to my ears. He was beyond perfect and I was overjoyed that I was able to experience the "Golden Hour" with him. That is the first hour after birth that mama and baby get to spend together before they take him to the nursery to check him out and clean him up. I was unable to experience that with James because he had come out with the cord around his neck and he wasn't breathing, so he had been whisked away to the NICU immediately. It was such a wonderful bonding time and I am absolutely in love all over again. Here are some of Jackson's first pictures as he came into the world:

My first time holding my little guy

My precious baby boy

After our "golden hour" Jackson was taken away to the nursery to be cleaned up and checked out. We got some rest and waited to be taken to our postpartum room. Once in our new room we anxiously awaited for Jackson to be brought to our room. That was when we found out he was placed in the transitional nursery, which is where they are taken before they are admitted to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). His oxygen levels were a little lower than they liked so they wanted to keep an eye on him. I was devastated and beyond scared for my little boy. It was like when we had James all over again. We went to visit him in the transitional nursery and they said he was looking better but they wanted to keep him there for a few hours to make sure everything was good. We were thrilled when he was brought in to our room a few hours later. The next couple days were nothing but a whirlwind. Since it has been nearly 5 years since we had a newborn, it was as if it was our first time with a newborn baby. We are so overjoyed with the new addition to our family and although it has definitely been a difficult transition, it is most definitely worth all of the short tempers and sleepless nights. I can't wait to watch him grow into a little boy and enhance our wonderful family that much more.

Look at those chubby little cheeks!

James holding his baby brother

I don't look the best, but here's my beautiful family

First Day of School

I have been so preoccupied with my new little man that I haven't had any time to blog. I wanted to make sure I posted a picture of James on his first day of school. This is his last year of preschool...next year he will be heading to Kindergarten. That is still hard for me to believe! I am working on my blog post for Jackson's birth story and hope to post it soon. I completely forgot how much time a newborn preoccupies and how exhausting it truly is. I guess I'm not surprised since it has been almost 5 years since I've had one. It's completely worth it, but it definitely leaves me with little "me" time. I'm getting the hang of the schedule and hopefully things will be getting easier soon. Any way, this was supposed to be about James' first day of school! Here's a pic of my big boy!

Maddie's Birthday

As stated in my previous post, it has been one year since we lost our Madeline. I wanted to do something to honor her on her one year heavenly birthday, but I wasn't sure what to do. Unfortunately Mike was out of town for business on her actual birthday (August 14th) so we celebrated together on the 15th. We all spent the afternoon together and visited Maddie's grave with presents and balloons in tow. James picked everything out for her, from the little stuffed animal he got her to the flowers and balloons. We each wrote a special note for her on one of the balloons. Here are some photos from our special day:

James placing the angel statuette on Maddie's grave 

Me with my babies

James' note to Maddie

He loves his little sister

Happy Birthday My Precious Maddie

It has been a year today that we lost our sweet little girl, Madeline Diann. We had so many hopes and dreams for her and it's still sometimes surreal that she isn't here. We are excitedly awaiting the arrival of our little baby boy Jackson in 2 weeks, and I can't help but feel guilty for being excited. With his birth being so close to Maddie's, I feel like it is overshadowing the grief we should be having for her. I know she will always have a special and unique place in our hearts and I know we cannot replace her, but I feel that having Jackson will help us come to terms with her loss better. It's hard to believe that it has been a whole year since my worst nightmare came to fruition, but it proves to me that we can overcome anything that comes our way. With the strength and support of my wonderful friends and family, I know that I can make it through any storm that rears its ugly head at us. To close, I would like to share a poem that I came across that I feel encapsulates exactly what I'm feeling today:

I never got to hear you laugh
you never saw me cry
didn't get a chance to say "Hello"
you never said "Goodbye"
I didn't think that I could feel
so sad, lost and forlorn.
I never knew God chose his Angels
before some of them were born.
Your life was short yet special
I shared it all exclusively
I felt you breathe, I felt you kick.
You were alive inside of me.
Every baby is an Angel
and every angel is divine
God needed one in heaven
He came down and took mine
And although we are not together
we're not really apart
for you'll always occupy a space
deep within my heart.
Time has begun to ease my pain
It's only some days now I cry.
When I wish I could have said "Hello"
and heard you say "Goodbye"

Happy Birthday beautiful baby girl. We love you more than you will know and can't wait to be hand-in-hand with you one day.

2013 Beach Trip

We just returned from our family beach trip to Port A. I was hesitant to go this year seeing as I'm 35 weeks pregnant, but I decided it would be worth the discomfort in order to see my family have a great time at the beach. I figured I would just relax most of the time and let Mike handle James. It was a little tougher on me than I expected, but we still had a great time. My sister-in-law and our niece Louisa joined us for the first couple of days, which was nice because James just adores his little cousin. We were also lucky enough to have our trip overlap with some of our dear friends, the Byrd family, so James had his little buddy McKay there to play with. The first day we met up with them in Corpus to have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, The Waterstreet Oyster Bar and then took in the Texas State Aquarium. We took James there a couple of years ago and he wasn't quite old enough to really appreciate and enjoy it, but this year was much better.

James, McKay and Louisa after lunch

James and McKay checking out the sting rays

My crazy little boy

Checking out some fish

Shark!

James and McKay checking out some really pretty fish

Beautiful sea turtles

James and McKay...BFFs

Checking out the dolphins

After the aquarium we headed out to the island to check into our condo and settle in. We spent the evening swimming with the Byrds at their pool and they even treated us to a delicious shrimp and crab boil. The rest of the trip we enjoyed the beach as much as possible and even headed into town for a day for some shopping and arts and crafts (we painted pottery). We had an absolute blast and I was so happy that the Byrd family and my sister-in-law and niece were there to spend the time with us. I was thrilled that James was really comfortable playing out in the waves and he loved boogie boarding. We had a hard time getting him out of the water every day. The only really eventful day was our last day there. We went to the beach for one last time with the Byrds before we hit the road. Poor Dana was walking out into the surf with the kids and had the bad luck to step on a sting ray and got the barb through her toe. We learned something new that day. You are supposed to submerge your injury in hot water if stung by a sting ray. It eases the pain and helps to draw out the venom. Luckily she was fine and luckily it didn't happen to one of the kids. Surprisingly James wasn't even phased by the incident and wanted to head right back into the water. I apprehensively allowed him back in, but made sure he shuffled his feet from then on. Although the heat and humidity made me swell up like a balloon, I had a great time and really look forward to heading back next year.

My little man

The men in my life

James and Daddy flying his Spiderman kite

Little Louisa loved playing in the sand

Mr. Cool, James

James riding a wave in

James in front of his castle wall (I guess this is his new pose)

James and McKay in the shark mouth in town

James painting his pirate mug (it turned out awesome!)

Gotta go to the candy store while in town

James and McKay playing in the sand

McKay, Dana and my feet...can you pick my giant preggo feet out ;-)

McKay and James' kites

Just chilling

Beach trip 2013...that's a wrap!