2 Weeks Old and From the Mouth of Naomi

Can you believe it? My little, big man is already 2 weeks old. Well we went to the doctor on Friday and he now weighs.....(drum roll please)......10lbs 7oz. He has gained more than a pound since coming home from the hospital. The doctor said, "Normally, the baby is up to birth weight by 2 weeks." Not my boy, go big or go home is his motto.

Look at those cute chubby cheeks and his facial expressions, makes you think of Naomi huh?!

Well Naomi also had her 4 year check up. Yes I know she is almost 4 1/2, but I figured I'd just wait til Jaxon was born. Her stats are 37lbs, 38 inches tall. She is in the 50th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height, this is how it has always been for her. She's doomed to be a shorty like me. During any meal, I tell her that if she eats all her food she'll grow to be taller then mommy. And she likes that idea so she digs right in. Also, she would want me to mention that she got 4 shots: 1 on her finger, 1 on one leg, and 2 on the other leg. She did not enjoy them, but she had to get them. It was sad to hear her say, "mom, they hurt so bad" :(

Naomi always wants to take pictures with Jaxon, so here are some cute ones.

And the other night Naomi made the funniest comment. Cory and I just looked at each other and wondered where that came from.

Naomi had just come from playing upstairs and started asking Cory what he was doing.

Naomi: Dad, what are you watching?

Cory: A spy show, it's called Covert Affairs.

N: What's it called?

C: (enunciated a little clearer this time) Covert Affairs.

N: Conquer the ferrets? (I started laughing once she said this)

C: No, Covert Affairs.

N: (imagine the sassiness that came with this comment)But Daddy, I don't speak Spanish.

Yes, this came from the mouth of Naomi, and I have no idea where she got it from. But I love listening to her because she says the funniest things.

Oh, how I love my kids!

1 Week Old and the Birth Story

I can't believe my baby is already 1 week old. He is so much fun! Naomi loves him to death! And it is so nice being able to trust her with him when I leave the room to get a diaper or something like that. When he left the hospital he was down 5 oz and Friday at his check up he had gained 2 oz back. Friday is his next check up and I'm pretty sure he'll be back to birth weight if not more by then.

Thought I'd start with a picture of my handsome Sleeping Jaxon.

Today Naomi helped me give Jaxon a bath. She loved it, if I let her she would have bathed him all by herself. He didn't mind the bath at all.

Before we got him dressed he made the funniest face.

I love this outfit! Guitar camo, can't get any better than that. Perfect for 1 week old pictures! If you look closely I got a partial smile. It looked like he was going to start giggling.

The Birth Story

(sorry if this is TMI but I wanted to write it down so I wouldn't forget anything)

At my last doctor's appointment, which was the day before my due date, I decided that I did not want to go a week over due so we scheduled the induction. My doctor was out of town for the weekend so we scheduled it for 3am on Monday July 25th (only 5 days over due).

Side note: before I get too far into this story I should tell you that my goal was to have a natural birth. And continue.

Sunday July 24th we dropped off Naomi at my sister-in-law's house so that we wouldn't have to get her up in the middle of the night to leave. Cory and I were too excited to sleep, but we did take short naps. At 2:15am I called the hospital and they said be here at 3am because they weren't busy. We get to the hospital at 3, get all the paperwork in order and get set up in a room.

My first nurse of the day, Stefanie, got the pitocin started by 4. I was still only dilated to a 3, kind of frustrating, but I decided that I would be happy as long as when the doctor checked me I was at least a 4. Nurse change came and Cherie was my nurse for the day. She was awesome, she got me an exercise ball that I sat on for most of the day. I hardly felt my contractions when I sat on the ball, so I was pretty happy. Doctor came and checked on me at 9am and yes I was dilated to a 4. He asked me if I wanted him to break my water and I stupidly decided to wait and see if it'd break on its own (next time I won't wait). So he said he'd come back around noon. Well at 2pm he came and broke my water, that was probably the most pain I had felt so far that day. The contractions really started going and moaning through them really helped. Cory was so awesome, he helped me to focus and was so encouraging. He was ready to help me get through all the contractions and he was my rock. Around 4pm I asked my nurse for an IV drug to help with the pain. And that helped, so much that I got a nap. I woke up from my nap probably around 5pm and the contractions were even stronger. My doctor and the med student, Jenni, came in to see how I was doing. I was okay, Cory was so encouraging and was awesome but I was staring to get exhausted. He kept me going. But by 6:30pm I was dying and had no energy left; I was dilated to a 9 but it didn't seem like Jaxon was in a hurry to come out and I didn't think I had the energy to push him out so I asked for the epidural. My doctor hustled out of the room to get the anesthesiologist. While I was waiting for the epidural I threw up (luckily I had only eaten popsicles all day so it wasn't too bad). The anesthesiologist came in and wasted no time. She gave me a dose and came back to see if I needed more which I did because the epidural wasn't quite having an effect on the left side of my abdomen because I could still feel the painful contractions. It was shift change for her, so she introduced me to the new anesthesiologist but she stayed till I delivered anyway. Nurse shift change came so Mary Kay came in getting ready to deliver baby. My nurse Cherie was so awesome that she didn't leave until after Jaxon was born. So my epidural had kicked in by 7pm and it was time to start pushing. My doctor did an episiotomy to help get Jaxon's head out. But once his head was out his shoulders were stuck, so nurse Mary Kay pushed on my belly to help him pop out. After 33 minutes of pushing (7:33pm) Jaxon was here, all 9lbs 4oz of him. My doctor was really glad that I had decided to get the epidural when I did. They showed me my boy and then took him over to nurse Merrie Kay (yes a different nurse who had been in the room during delivery too) to have him checked. They said that Jaxon grabbed on to his umbilical cord for dear life and that he had a good grip on it. They called him my gerber baby because of his big cheeks. That's what they said about Naomi too, must be brother and sister. We called Naomi and told her Jaxon was born and she was so excited. It was her bedtime so we told her we'd see her in the morning.

It was a long day. Good day, but long. And I was so happy Jaxon was finally here. I went about 14 hours without an epidural and had an epidural for the last half hour or so. I may not have gone completely natural but I definitely don't feel like a failure.

So does Jaxon look like Naomi? I think so, what do you think. (Naomi on left and Jaxon on right)

We'd like you to meet...

Jaxon William Crowley, born on July 25 at 7:33pm weighing in at 9lbs 4oz and 21 1/2 inches long. I'll share the labor story with you in another post but I wanted to get some pictures up of him because he is so dang cute. Enjoy!

The proud big sister, she couldn't hold him for very long because he is "so heavy."

The nurse weighing Jaxon and getting him all cleaned up.

Jaxon's going home outfit.

The yummy chocolate cake my sister-in-law got for me, I mean us.

Daddy and Jaxon just resting at home.

Belly Shot and Nursery Construction Update

So I only have 4 days left. Wahoo! Hopefully he decides to come by then. And just when you thought I couldn't get any bigger here is another belly shot.

Well most everything is put together now and we actually have things on the wall. Cory put some things together and hung stuff for me today because this is the first Saturday in a while that he hasn't had to do some kind of work or calling stuff.

(The crib and Jaxon's name sign made by my sis in law)

(My awesome chair and one of Cory's guitars)

(The changing table and mirror with hooks and fingerprints all over it)

We still need to put together a bookshelf and hang these cute canvases my friend made and other minor details. But we're almost completely done.

And sorry, I haven't done the bedding yet. But someday you will see pictures of that finished project.

Oh and I got this super cute book off of Amazon. I felt it went perfect with the theme of his room. Naomi loves when I read it to her.

Of course we had to take a break today and let Naomi have some fun (especially since we spend a lot of time inside because it is too hot to play outside).

She's getting so big, I can hardly believe it.

Hopefully the next time I post it will be the big announcement. I guess we'll see.

Almost There!

I can't believe I have 16 days to go. Two weeks ago the doctor checked me and I was dilated to a 1 1/2. Last week I was dilated to a 2 1/2, so we'll see what the doctor has to say this week. I've been feeling lots of strong contractions lately, so I definitely feel like he will be here soon.

So here is my belly with 16 days to go.

I've been super tired and uncomfortable lately, so luckily Naomi doesn't mind me sitting while we play. Her new favorite game is beauty salon. We pull out the water bottle, combs, blow dryer and curling iron (not plugged in of course) and we take turns doing each other's hair. We even pretend to cut each other's hair, but the only scissors we're allowed to use are our fingers.

Naomi is such a cutie, she is going to be such a good big sister.

Swimming, Showers, and Belly Shots, Oh My

The last couple weeks have been super busy, but I have lots of pictures so here goes.

Two weeks ago Naomi started swim lessons. She did great last summer, but she had regressed a little since so I wasn't sure how it would go. But she picked up where she left off. She was swimming under water and learning to take breaths while swimming. She can jump in to the pool, turn around, and swim back to the side. She can float by herself for 7 seconds (but she doesn't quite enjoy it). She even loved going down the slide (which she hated last year). She did great! I'm so proud of my little fish!

(In the pic on the right Naomi's teacher is just out of the shot but yes she went down the slide, under water, and popped back up all by herself)

Naomi hates to get her hair combed almost as much as I hate combing it. I have threatened to chop it off if she doesn't let me comb it and that always works. But I decided it was time she got her haircut, since she hasn't had one since she was 2. She was actually really excited, she wanted her hair to be short like Penny's (the girl on the movie Bolt). And she loves her new cut.

This last week I had a couple baby showers. My sis-in-law, Amy and friend Kristina Miller threw one for our ward friends. The dessert was delicious, especially since it was my favorite white texas sheet cake. It was fun chatting with friends, getting cute things for Jaxon and we even played a Michael Jackson dance game on the Kinect. It was way fun!

(The sign on the stand is part of some wall art my friend Kristina made, and it's awesome, once the nursery is done you'll get to see the entire thing)

(This sign my sis-in-law Amy made. I love it and it will go on the wall over the crib)

Then a couple days later my sis-in-law, Sondra and friend Nicole Cope threw me shower for family and friends up more in the Mesa area. The food was yummy; there was cheese fondue and chocolate fondue and lots of stuff to dip with. We had fun eating, chatting, playing shower games, and getting some more cute things for Jaxon. It was way fun too!

(Isn't the diaper cake super cute, Sondra and Nicole did an awesome job)

And now for the belly shot. This is me at 34 1/2 weeks. If you look closely you can see my belly button sticking out.

Did you know?

Naomi is hilarious some of the funniest things come out of her mouth. I wish I wrote them all down, but I never have a pen on me.

Anyway, Naomi was "reading" this book about bug habitats and there was a picture of an ant hill. Naomi puts her book down and says, "did you know that ants live in Volcanoes."

I said, " wow, but I think you mean ant hills."

Then Naomi says, "No. Ant volcanoes."

And I left it at that. What a funny girl.

Don't worry next post will have lots of pictures :)