enjoying our boy

So life is starting to settle down and become a little more normal.  Well, I mean, it's a new normal.  I'm still getting used to having Jackson in the house, and today I heard a noise and was surprised to see him there! LOL.  I laughed at myself, thinking that he's been here almost two weeks and you'd think I'd know he was in the house.  It cracked me up. 

For the first week or so we entertained lots of visitors and our church arranged meals for us, and the last one is coming Tuesday night.  Lots of family came to meet Jackson and he slept through most of it.  Charlie went to put the balloons out on the mailbox and got half way down the driveway and then came back.  He asked me to get my camera because he wanted me to capture the moment.  I thought it was funny, but obliged him.  He's been so cute to watch through this entire thing, and he's enjoying the celebrations. 

Most of the people so that have met Jackson so far have known our story and have known he was adopted, but I finally went somewhere where there were lots of ladies who didn't know the story and all they saw was a woman with a three week old baby.  A couple of them asked me how I was recovering and it took me a moment to understand they were asking about my labor.  One asked me if I'd had a C-section and I finally confessed that he was adopted and that except for the sleep deprivation I was doing fine. 

Although, I did learn how it feels when I don't feel good and I still have to be mom.  I had a horrible headache Saturday night and Sunday morning and Jackson seemed to just want to be held. It was an interesting morning, but we made it through. 

Anyway, that's the update for now.  We are all sucked into the Olympics around here and it's nice that games are on all day while I'm cuddling and feeding Jackson and trying to get used to being a mom.  It gets easier, right?  :)

more about Jackson

So, we've had the baby for almost a week now and he's doing pretty good.  Charlie and I are getting used to having another person in the house and getting used to taking care of him.  I think learning how to change his clothes was the most awkward part.  He does not like to stretch out his arms, so getting him into the sleeves is the most challenging.  We've done pretty well switching off nights to get up and feed him and so that part hasn't been too bad.  That's the bonus of not breast feeding, I guess. 

We had our first doctor's appointment this morning and it went well.  We had no idea what to expect, but it was fine.  He's 3oz over his birth weight and they were happy with that.  Everything else went well and they gave us some cans of formula!! YAY!  People are asking us what we need and we tell them to look at our registries or to get us Target cards for formula.  Luckily, we live about three minutes from a Target so if we need anything, Charlie can just run out. 

We've had a steady stream of visitors, but today we are getting a little alone time.  I ran the dishwasher today and did a few normal housework things, like changing our sheets.  I know it will take time to establish the routine that will work for us. 

I think the thing that has been the most fun was watching Charlie put together the swing last night.  It cracked me up, and not because of Charlie's assembly skills.  I could not believe how many pieces were in the box!!  I guess most people put the things together before the baby comes, but I had to laugh at how Charlie took over the living room to assemble it and I spent time in the nursery.  The bonus is that Jackson loves it and it swings and vibrates.

Ok, some of you need to tell me how you chose baby things.  When looking at all the baby pack and plays and swings and things at Babies R Us, I kept gravitating towards the items with muted colors.  I finally realized it was because I wanted the stuff to match the rooms in our house.  Not the nursery, mind you, but the living room and our living room is a beige/gold color with rust and pale green accents.  The swing and pack and play we picked out are khaki and green and peach and does not stick out like a sore thumb.  Anyone else like that or just me?

So, that's the update for today and we'll see how much time I get over the next couple of days to share.  Again, too, I realize that some of you may stop reading now that this adoption blog will have baby pictures on it and that's alright.  I understand.  I don't think I'm going to be gushing all the time about Jackson, but we'll see. 

Hope you enjoy the pics!

More to the story

So, to fill in a little more information, we found out about the baby about two months ago, but the mom didn't want to meet us and she didn't know the sex of the baby.  We chose not to tell anyone and wait it out.  Eventually, we were told it was a girl and then we patiently waited for her to be born. 

Baby was due July 4th, but about a week before that, the birth mom, R, asked if we would come meet her at the hospital after the baby was born.  Her parents wanted to meet us also.  We were nervous, but said we would do that as long as the papers were signed. 

She didn't have the baby until the 9th, and when they called us to tell us, they said "the baby is a BOY."  I was so shocked.  Totally. 

She signed the papers the next day and we drove a couple hours to meet him and the family.  It was really a great meeting and the family was so sweet.  R had asked that we have a room where we could spend time with Jackson.  And they all loved the name we chose for him. 

We got to spend a little more time with him the next morning and with R before she was discharged.  It was a special time and we were glad to have those moments with her.  We then had a little more time with Jackson before we had to drive back home and wait out the revocation period.  Jackson went to interim care and we went home and boxed up all the pink stuff and shopped for blue stuff. 

Tuesday afternoon we spent the day registering for baby things and then we drove to the agency, signed all the papers and then the foster mom arrived and we cried and smiled and laughed and took pictures.  Then we drove home, a family of three. 

Say Hello

Only have a few moments to put this out there, but say hello to baby Jackson, born July 9th and adopted July 17th! 

Getting better

HI All!  I hope you've missed me, and I've missed you all, but this last month has been busy and hard and full of tears and laughter and a ton.  I promise that I'm alive, but I've been away from the blogs for awhile and have been living life and healing. 

The last post I wrote was about the panic attacks I'd been having and how I'd been dealing with fear and those weeks were horrible.  But I want to fill you in on the fact that I'm doing so much better.  I haven't had a panic attack in five weeks or so and life is much more calm.  The school year finally ended and I'm on vacation and making plans for some things to do this summer. 

Here are some random thoughts for you:

• Our school year was two weeks longer than the rest of the county, so that felt like an eternity.  I was a little emotional when it finally finished, but then as soon as it was over, I got sick.  I've got a sore throat and cold and it's been hanging on for over a week. 
• We're getting ready to paint our den.  Our den is a weird set-up with two doors, it's open to the kitchen, and it serves as the office and the place where the dogs hang out all day.  
• Because we're going to paint the den, we got rid of the ripped up couch that we were keeping in there and now the dogs are weirded out because they slept on that couch.  
• I've been watching Gilmore Girls while I've been sick, and I totally wish there was a Luke's Diner around the corner.  The food always looks so good.  
• We have two sets of dishes, one that I had from being single and one that Charlie had from being single and we've kept both for 8 years because I liked both, but now I'm going to donate them both somewhere and get something new.  I want some plain white dishes, so that I can accent my table with any color I want.  Charlie offered an opinion on the new ones, but said it was ultimately my choice, so that was nice.  
• We got a pool membership for the summer and have been enjoying going over to swim.  The best thing about it is the baby pool, which I discovered when we invited friends that had babies.  The kiddie pool is a zero entry pool, like a beachfront, so you can sit in three inches of water and let it lap at you. The best.  
• I've lost almost 16 pounds and am feeling great.  We bought a treadmill and I've been getting on it several times a week and walking.  I would like to lose another 20 pounds or so, so if you have any low fat recipes you'd like to share, I'd appreciate it.  
• I helped Charlie move our ripped couch out to the curb and it was a comedy of rolling it down our front yard and sliding it out of the house.  

OK, just wanted to give you the updates.  I should have more time in the summer to post and keep up with you all.  The past month has just felt so emotional that getting out my computer has seemed like hard work.

Talk to you again, soon.