Baby Wise vs. Happiest Baby on the Block

Should it even be a "vs?" Maybe it should be an "and." Okay, I guess I'll explain myself.

The time is quickly approaching that little sweet Jackson will have to be placed in his own room. And I am dreading the thought. Aaron and I are moving to our new home on June 1st. (YAY!) Here's a picture from the outside.

Corona Del Mar, here we come! 3 bedrooms, and two baths. We couldn't be more excited. Our rent currently in Newport Beach is just too much, so after 3 wonderful years of living there, we've decided to depart. Jackson's room is currently in the loft upstairs, which I'm not too crazy about him sleeping alone up there with the cats roaming free. They're so good with him, but hey accidents happen. And I'm a paranoid new mother!

We're so excited that he's getting his OWN room! But, this means no more bassinet. So, he'll be about 4 and a half months old when the official switch is made.

I read "Baby Wise" before Jack was born, and really thought that it made some great points about self soothing and attempting to sleep through the night. Jack has always been a pretty good sleeper and self-soother, so I was hoping it would just be a natural transition.

From when he was 10 lbs all the way to three months, Jack would sleep (un-swaddled) for 6 to 7 (sometimes 8!) hours a night in our room, uninterrupted. So wonderful!

Here's a pic of the little man taking a nap in his "natural" position!

Then, three months came around. Right after his shots, he started waking up every 2 to 3 hours to eat. He wouldn't start crying, but he certainly would be awake and apparently upset. I'd feed him and he'd go right back to sleep. It was then recommended to me to read the book "Happiest baby on the Block." And boy, has this book absolutely changed my sleeping life. I feel like a new person. (But hey, I think every new mom could use more sleep than she's allowed!)

They recommend the 5 "S's," which do make sense. Swaddling, side/stomach, Shhhhing, swinging, and sucking. Now, this book tells you to do these items in a certain order, especially if you have a colicky baby. Well, thankfully this was not Jack's problem. But, at the end of the book, they talk about how to get your baby to sleep through the night. So between 8-9 pm, I give Jack a full feeding. At this point, he's usually very tired, but cranky because he can't quite get to sleep. Then, we swaddle him. One thing I didn't know that I found so interesting is that babies don't like the ACT of being swaddled, so most parents assume their babies hate BEING swaddled. Well, this concept worked for Jack. We swaddled him as tight as we possibly could (even using packing tape to keep it secure. Aaron thought I was nuts!) with his arms at his sides. Then, we walk around the house with him for about two minutes, so he is calmed again. We then place him in his bassinet (half awake, is possible), and VOILA! The sweet child has slept for 7-9 hours consistently every night. Definitely recommend this book to any new mom. No letting him "cry it out..." at least yet. I'm hoping I never have to go there, as that may just break my heart. Literally.

I think moving him into his own room will be more tough on me than Jack. My little boy is growing up.

In other news, our sweet boy is loving his BUMBO chair! He looks like an old man sitting in it, but it's so adorable. When we eat at the house, he always sits in this on the table and we can have a little conversation with our little man. He's starting to grab things, he loves rattles and toys that play music. We have this adorable little aquarium that his Great Aunt Kate bought him, it rotates little fishies and plays music. It's like baby TV. He's enthralled!

 As I wind down my second week at work full time, I am constantly trying to remind myself of how many blessings God has provided to us. He says, "follow me, and I will show you."  He does not show us, and then asks us to follow. This has been extremely difficult considering the large decisions that I have to make by tomorrow afternoon at 5pm.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful and supportive family that loves me either way. But, I am having such a hard time deciding. Prayers & support are so greatly appreciated.

Happy 3 month birthday!

Okay, I'm a day early. Sorry Jack! But I was too excited to post updates on life. It has been such a wild ride. We are trusting in the Lord daily that His plan will be shown. And it is beginning to materialize. We are truly blessed.

I say this every time, but it is certainly the truth. I can't believe Jackson is 3 months old tomorrow. It's just crazy how fast time flies during the happiest time of your life.

Seriously, best thing ever.

Here are some happy moments to share. Hope all of you are doing well! Prayers and love to all!

Trip to Colorado...in snapshots

What a blessed life

Sometimes I am amazed at how fast time just flies. These have been the happiest months of my life. I feel as if we are complete.

The trip to Colorado was an eventful one. We were so busy hanging around with family and doing nothing, which is the perfect thing! The trip began in Beaver Creek (Arrowhead) at my parents home. We snowboarded every day, had fantastic dinners and just enjoyed each other, along with our family of the Pluckers, Rue's and Case's. Above is a picture of Jessica knitting a hat while Jackson slept. We were blessed with beautiful weather.

Close up shot.

We gave him a baths every other day singing him "Showers of blessings." It was so wonderful to share these moments with my sister and mother. 

Jackson is now cooing, smiling, laughing, staring into your eyes, batting at his gym and he rolled over for the first time!

We then headed down to Denver to enjoy some more extended family time. My nana met Jackson for the first time. What a wonderful experience to see old and new together. She was so precious while kissing his little hands and feet. We also enjoyed evenings with the cousins, watching the Bachelor and eating lots of pizza. It was so wonderful to connect and watch them interact with Jackson. 

Aaron and I also went up to Fort Collins for the day. We visited with Kerry  (& Bryce) and got to see her new place and life. It was very nostalgic as neither of us have spent a significant amount of time there since we graduated back in 2008. It was great to see the campus and re-live old memories of us where we fell in love. Time goes by too quickly. 

A dear friend from high school, Jessica Barth, is having a baby any day now! So, her friend Monica threw her a surprise baby shower for her and Jacob. I was so excited and blessed that I was able to be a part and surprise her. Can't wait for your arrival sweet boy!

We were blessed enough to stay at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, the place where Aaron and I got married. There is a fantastic Sunday brunch there. This is Jackson's first Sunday brunch meal...pretty much the same as every meal, but he had a fancy bib and onesie on! (which he preceded to spit up on later!) 

Of course a visit to Granny Jan was necessary. We played Dominos and ate some of Aunt Kate's homecooked chili (it was AMAZING!) with Scott and Dan there as well. It was so much fun to be back and celebrating time with them.

After time in Colorado Springs we headed back up to the mountains. Here is our family at Splendidos with my parents. I just love Jack's face here, it's priceless. It reminds me of Jack's second cousin Ella, and her "stinky face!"

A bit of a small paragraph does not do justice to how amazing the trip was. We were able to bond with so many family and friends and enjoy a fabulous life for 4 very short weeks. 

We came home and Jackson got his two month vaccinations. I went by myself, and it was the most horrific experience to date. To watch your child go through pain like that is gut wrenching. The last two days have been Jack sleeping and whimpering while he's awake. Some "smiles for miles," but not too many. Get better soon my love. 

 Thanks to everyone we saw for your love support and prayers as our sweet baby continues to grow. 

And thanks to God, from whom all blessings flow.

Two Months!

I hate that I haven't written, but no one can say that we certainly haven't been busy. We have been blessed to be in Colorado since February 29th, staying through the entire month of March. It has been filled with wonderful memories of laughing and sharing time with amazing friends and family.

I will update more on the trip when we get home, adding pictures and such. But I couldn't skip our baby's 2 month birthday.

Happy Birthday sweet Jackson. We can't imagine our lives without you.

One Month Birthday!

Jackson Taylor McLaughlin

Wow, I can't even believe Jackson is two weeks old as of tomorrow. I am constantly reminded at how absolutely blessed we are to have such a wonderful, perfect baby boy.

Okay, I must start with the basic details of Jackson. He was born on Sunday January 22nd @ 12:21 am. He weight 7lbs 13oz, and was 19.5 inches long.

Here is a couple of photos of Aaron and I on Friday evening prior to going into the hospital at 12am. The first couple hours after he was born, I kept telling Aaron how strange it was, movements he was making I could recall him making while inside my tummy. I said more than once to sweet Jackson, "so that's what you were doing while inside!"

Once arriving at the hospital at 12 am on Friday night (technically Saturday morning). They placed the pill inside and said, "now try and get some rest." Needless to say, Aaron and I both got very little sleep. I started to feel the "wave" motions of contractions early in the morning. I didn't feel the need to call the nurse, I just let them ride. They were uncomfortable, but didn't hurt too much. When 7am came, they checked to see that I was naturally 3cm dilated! What a great way to start off. So, they started the pitocin and the contractions really started to kick in.

They still weren't too bad though. Jessica was able to french braid my hair and we were able to sit around and watch movies. Please excuse how bloated and exhausted I already look. Those IVs pump you with an insane amount of fluid! 

At 11:45 am they felt it was best to break my water, since I was not progressing naturally from 3cm. This was by far the weirdest feeling of my life! It felt like they were breaking a balloon inside of me. So strange. Then, after that, the contractions really started to kick in. I wanted to try and go as long as possible without the epidural, but I knew if the pain got one step above where it was, I couldn't handle it. So, about 2 hours after they broke my water, I received the epidural. Talk about scary. When they tell you not to move, and you're having a painful contraction while they're placing something in your spine...it's quite scary! 

But alas, epidurals are your friend! Things became numb for about 3-4 hours. I had progressed to 5cm, but things were not going any faster. When evening started to approach, I began to feel an immense amount of pain in my lower back. It was horrid. Come to find out Jackson's head was turned to the side, which creates and insane amount of back labor. They ended up providing me with more pain medication because it got so intense. 

The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur. They placed my on oxygen due to Jackson not receiving as much because of the placement of his head. I still was not progressing past 5cm, so the thought of a C-Section became very real. Then, at around 8pm, I felt the sudden urge to push. I asked Aaron to get the nurse immediately, they came in an said I had dilated to 9.5cm. What a shock!

The quick jump from 5cm to 9.5cm was a bit too much for Jackson. His heart rate quickly plummeted and was eventually lost. This put the staff into overdrive. All of the sudden a group of nurses and doctors came rushing in. They threw me on my side and gave me a shot to immediately stop my contractions. They kept switching my positions to try and relax Jackson as much as possible. 

"Be still and know that I am God." is the only words that kept running through my head as I panicked. Absolutely, the scariest moments of my life. 

Thankfully, Jackson relaxed and his heart beat came back (we knew he had a strong heart!), and the contractions stopped. I asked the nurses to give me an hour (if it was medically okay to do so) to recover from this horrific event, prior to starting the pitocin again. 

We prayed. 

Once the pitocin started again, it was pretty quick after that. One can push anywhere between 1-3 hours. I was determined to get him out as soon as possible. About 45 minutes after pushing, Jackson McLaughlin was born into this world! 

First picture of Jackson, just minutes old. 

What a surreal and wonderful experience. I could not do everyday life without my wonderful husband and support from such a loving and fantastic family. We thank the Lord every day for a healthy and wonderful baby boy. 

God is good. All the time. No matter what.