Alot going on

It has been a while since I have posted, so I thought I would give an update on everything that is going on.

We are packing, and not doing to bad. We have pretty much the whole upstairs packed and we brought alot of it down and stacked it in the dining room. I started on the kitchen and we have the living room packed. The basement has been repacked also. I am hoping to get everything but the essentials packed over the next week.

The seller decided to change things up on us with the appliances, which really makes me mad. The way the contract is worded, he was to come and pay his portion of the appliances when we picked them out, now he wants to give us a check at closing. That means that we have to pay for all of the balance so that they can be delivered and installed before closing. I don't think he would come back and install if we didn't have him do it before. I am going to pay the balance tomorrow, so they will be delivered on Friday. I am almost to the point that I don't care if he does install them because i am afraid he will not handle them with care and scratch or dent them. I will be there when they are delivered to inspect for any damage, so i will know if something does happen to them.

My brother needs your thoughts and prayers. Last week he started having some chest pains and then on Friday he was starting to get really out of breath, so he went to the on campus dr. They took x-rays and sent him to the er, they took more x-rays and then admitted him to the hospital. He has a spot on his lung and they thought it may be collapsing. They have since done 2 ct scans and will be doing a biopsy of the spot on his lung tomorrow. When they did the barium study, they also found a spot on his spleen. The thoracic surgeon said that he could have 1 of 3 things: 1. A calcium deposit 2. a fungal infection 3. Lymphoma-he has some swollen lymph nodes. This will occur when you have any type of infection also. We will not know anything until the biopsy results come back. I am just really hoping it is 1 or 2. I don't think my family could go through another family memeber having lymphoma so soon, that is what Grandaddy had.

I will try to keep everyone updated as best as possible, but it may be hard since we are pretty busy packing and soon unpacking.

Old Picture

I found this on google maps, it is what our house looked like before it was remodeled! Pretty rough looking!

More pictures

I hope you like to look at Jagger, because I have been camera happy today!

Another picture comparison

2-11-09
5-28-09

His new favorite way to sit in the swing! He is being a silly boy!

10 days

That is when we could close on the house! The mortgage broker wants us to move it up because he is going on vacation. We were supposed to close on the 12th, but now it could be the 8th! We have gone through the basement and it is ready to be moved, but the rest of the house has not been touched, I guess you know what we will be doing this weekend!

May 27, 2009

Here is the picture of the day from yesterday. Jagger LOVES his precious planet jumperoo! He is learning something new about it every day and he likes that he can see what is going on in the room.

P.S. Vote on what you think Jagger's weight will be at his 4-month visit. He last weighed 12 lbs a week ago.

A picture a day

My new goal, now that I am home, is to take a picture a day of Jagger. I am hoping to capture a picture that reflects on how our day has been. So today, it may be a picture of him sleeping because he nor I slept good last night. I am really hoping this is a growth spurt and that it goes away soon!

Look at me grow!

Look at how much Jagger has grown and changed in just 2 months!

He is talking to us in the second picture! If you can't tell, he is about to outgrow this little tub!

Site for photos

I created a new site that i plan to upload photos to. You can check it out at: http://aaronjamieandjagger.shutterfly.com/

I mostly did it because I get free prints :)

Jagger's new best friend!

I am working on getting Jagger to put himself to sleep, and it is not going too well. We have a white noise machine that also projects images on the ceiling, but it only works at night, so I began my search for something to use during the day. I looked at lots of mobiles, but then decided not to spend a fortune on one when he will outgrow it soon. I came across the fisher price seahorse. It was cheap and had good reviews, so I thought what the heck, I'll give it a try! I put it in his carseat with him when Aaron and I ran an errand and he was quiet the whole time the music was playing, which is rare for him! I then gave it to him in his swing, which he is not a fan of anymore, and he started putting it in his mouth like he was kissing it! When it came nap time, I put him in bed drowsy and turned it on, he is out! Maybe this will be the trick!

Here is a picture of him and his new friend!

Bottle review

I thought I would give a review of the different bottles we have tried. Jagger is almost always breastfed, especially now that I am always home with him.

1. Playtex Drop-ins
These seem to be the best we have come across. I like them because you do not have alot to wash, just the nipple and then occasionally the ring, top, and actual bottle. If you are going to use them, use the playtex brand liners, the others suck. I bought the off brand one's at wal-mart and they do not collapse as nice, which causes gas. They are supposed to be some of the best to help with gas, but Jagger still gets gas every once in a while. He only likes the latex nipple, not the silicone one.
2. Breastflow by First Years
Very neat bottle. It works like the breast and lets down as it sees how baby sucks. Baby has to work for the milk, it does not just poor in his mouth. It has more parts, so more to wash. You have to know just how to get baby to lath well on it, or it leaks. Aaron doesn't like it for this reason. Jagger also gets gas if he is not latched on correctly. I really like this bottle.
3. Dr. Brown's
Not for the breastfed baby. Jagger will not take this one. I bought it since it is so highly raved about for gas issues. The nipple is NOTHING like a breast. It is also the hard slicone, so he doesn't like it. It also has TONS of parts that you have to wash and know just how to use it. I don't recommend this to a mother who is going to breastfeed. Maybe it is better for those that formula feed because the baby doesn't know what the breast is like, but I don't like them. My mom knows alot of moms who really like this bottle and recommend it, this is why I tried it, but I don't recommend it.

New Pictures

Here are some pictures from yesterday!

He looks scared in this one, probably because Abby just licked him in the face.

Jagger Man

So, you can now go to jaggerman.com and it will bring you here! I am contemplating moving the blog to a different host, so you may want to bookmark jaggerman.com instead!

Side view

House

Here are some pictures of the house and the appliances that we are getting! It is so exciting, less than 3 weeks!!

Stairs that lead to garage on left and stairs that lead to the second level to the right.

Back of house, the window is in the master bedroom.

Me and Jagger in his room

Stairs that lead to Jagger's room on the left and guest room on the right.

Again, to the right is the computer nook and to the left is the washer and dryer closet.

Living room

Washer and dryer closet

Kitchen

Jagger's room

Jagger and I on the front porch

Guest bedroom

Garage, driveway, side of house

Computer nook

Back of house and backyard

Convection Oven, can't wait to use it!
French Door Refrigerator~ I was hesitant at first to get one of these because I am not a huge fan of the freezer on the bottom, but then decided it would be nice to be able to put big trays or plates in one of these and it would not be possible in a side by side.
Dishwasher
Front Load Dryer
Front load washer

12 pounds!

That is how much our little man weighs now!! We had a weight check today with the dr. and he gained 14 ozs in 14 days! She was quite impressed with how well he held his head up when on his tummy and that he was already rolling. I told her that when I did tummy time he would roll back over and she said we needed to keep on trying to get him to stay longer because that helps build his back muscles for crawling. We have his 4 month shot appointment in 2 weeks. I don't think I mentioned last time, but she said he is very sociable. He smiles and coos at her when she is doing the exam! I will have to get Aaron to download a picture that he took on his phone of Jagger laying on his side while playing on his mat, it is really cute!

It is official, I am a stay at home mom now! I am glad I made the decision to be at home with my little boy and watch him grow into a big boy! He has been going through a growth spurt because he ate every 2 hours last night and has eaten more today.

We went out to our house yesterday to get measurements for the appliances and the windows. We also found me the oven of my dreams!! It is a range with a convection oven for half price! Yes, yes friends that means more baking!! I am going to have to start shipping you some of this yumminess! There is a public pool that we saw in the village also, so me and Jagger might go for a swim every once in a while. I am wanting to start him in swim lessons and I found some that we can do. I am going to check into them. He loves his bath time, so I think he would like being in a pool! Closing is 3 weeks from today and we have SO much to do! I am glad we went with a move in ready home! We have decided how we are going to paint all of the rooms except our room and bathroom and the guest room. I will try to see if I can find the colors online. I will obviously post pictures once we have it all painted! Aaron took some more pictures yesterday that I will get on here.

Lastly, there are big changes to come, well maybe not that big! Just keep "Jagger man" in mind :) (That is his nickname, btw!)

One last thing! Jagger was a tiny little blastocyst about this time last year and we didn't even know the joy that was coming!

The things they don't tell you

We were talking about the things that you don't read or that you aren't told about child birth and postpartum at work a few days ago. There are several things I wished I would have known about, so here you go you expecting ladies!!

1. If you are induced, expect the unexpected. I was told that I should have no problem with the induction and it should end in a vaginal birth, wrong. The main reason I never wanted to be induced was because I didn't want to have a c-section. I wanted to experience a vaginal birth. My plans going into the hospital was to not have an epidural, but pitocin contractions SUCK! Even though I made it for longer than I had liked since the anesthesiologist took forever, they SUCKED!
2. Expect vomiting! I thought I would probably vomit, because that is just me, but not like I did. Then they made me drink some nasty crap that was supposed to stop the vomiting before going into surgery. It felt like acid going down and coming up. Not a fun experience!
3. Mesh panties. They are SEXY!! They are the ugliest, grandma panties you have ever seen, but they are so comfortable! They hold those big mama pads perfect too!!
4. Baby Blues. They are horrible and you cry at the drop of a pin. I cried so much for so many unknown reasons. I thought something was wrong with me! Everytime I thought about having to have a c/s I cried, everytime they came to poke my tiny little baby's heel, I cried, when I got home and looked at myself in the mirror, I cried, when one of the dog's peed in the floor, I cried. Seriously, I should have been dehydrated I cried so much!
5. If you have a c/s, expect ever little movement to hurt at first. I could barely get out of bed at first it hurt so bad, when I coughed, laughed, sneezed, it hurt.
6. You don't forget your birthing experience, I don't care what anyone says! I can remember it all and mine sucked. Yes Jagger was worth every bit of it, but I could care less about going through it again!
7. Your house will be the dirtiest it has ever been for several weeks after giving birth. I could care less what my house looked like because I did not have the time or energy to clean it.
8. Sleep deprivation. Yes, you have heard it, you will be so tired, so sleep when the baby does. You some how learn to live with such little sleep and are able to funciton on 3-4 hours of sleep and feel like you got a full nights rest. I rarely slept when Jagger did because I felt like I finally had time to be to myslef, go pee, clean up, cook, watch tv, or browse the internet.
9. Breastfeeding. You are the only one who can do it, so there is no relief. If you have to feed your baby every 2 hours, that means if he starts eating at 2 and eats for 45min to 1 hour, you are ready to start again at 4. It is very exhausting and you will question yourself constantly about if you made the right choice, but believe me, it is SO worth it. After about 6 weeks, it gets so easy. I love breastfeeding now.
10. Postpartum period. Just because you breastfeed doesn't mean you will not get your period for a while. I got mine at 6 weeks pp and have had it a second time. Mine were not bad, but I have heard they can be.
11. Your body changes. I am one of the lucky ones that was all baby and lost all of my weight by 2 weeks pp. I am now down 10lbs. below my pre-preg weight, but ladies, that doesn't mean a thing! I wore a size 6 pants before baby and now I wear a 10. The extra skin makes you have muffin top bad! Oh yeah about the extra skin, it is so disguisting. Seriously, when I first looked in the mirror at my belly, I wanted to vomit. It was so saggy I had to pull it up to even see my c/s scare. It has gotten alot better, but it is still there.

That is all I can think of right now, but I am sure I will add too it!

Cloth Diaper Review

I thought it was time that I tell you how my cloth diaper journey is going! I am so glad I decided to go this route. Before I was even pregnant with Jagger I had been looking at reviews on cloth diapering and read such great reviews on them. When I told people that I was going to use cloth diapers, they kind of turned their nose up like I was crazy not knowing how far cloth diapering had come. I would always explain that the diapers I was planning to use fit just like a disposable, but no change! When I read how much a child's diapers filled up the land fill and how long it takes for them to dissolve, I knew that I was making the right choice! Another benefit, they are so cute!! Downside, they are bulky. Another benefit, you pay just over $400 up front and you have bought all the diapers you are going to buy for your child's life! This is only if you use BumGenius 3.0 one-size. We had to buy sposies to use on Jagger for the first 5-6 weeks since he was so small and spent probably over $100 on them. (Mommy brain makes me forget how many boxes we bought!) So, now you see the savings that will come your way! I love the BG's! They are so easy to put on, no blow outs, the moisture is pulled away from the booty, they grow with baby, and cute colors. I haven't tried any others, so I can't compare. From all the reviews I have read though, the BG's are the favorites. The only complaint is they are bulky. As Jagger has gotten bigger, they do not look and fit as bulky.

Now, to the cleaning of the diapers. This is so easy and not gross. When changing the diaper you just throw it in a can with a lid. Then it comes time to wash them, about every 2-3 days. You take out the inner liner and then throw the liner and outside in the washer. You wash the first cycle on cold and then the second on hot with a 1/4 of the amount of detergent you would normally use. You have to use a free and clear detergent. I want to buy some Crunchy Clean to start using, I am hoping to when I get done with All free and clear. To dry, I throught the liners int the dryer and line dry the outsides.

How many do you need? We have 24 and it seems to be a good number. Like I said, I wash every 2-3 days and it should decrease as he gets older.

So, if you are having a baby or already have babies, you should definetly consider cloth diapers. I am so glad we did! If you have any other questions feel free to shoot me an email!

Good resources:

Cotton Babies
PinStripes and PolkaDots
Jillian's Drawers
Diaper Pin

Wrap

I am so excited!! I finally bought the material to make me a baby wrap! I made a sling when Jagger was small, but it seems to be getting too small and he can't see out. I can carry him in many different positions! This will be perfect for when we go shopping or want to go hiking!

I am addicted to.....

baking! I can't get enough of it! I am constantly looking at food blogs getting ideas for cookies, cakes, pies, tarts, and so on. Last week I baked chocolate cobbler, peanut butter surprise cookies (very yummy!), strawberry cupcakes, and chocolate cake cookie sandwiches. Yes, Aaron and I should weigh 300 lbs.!! Right now I am baking a giant cupcake for our sitter and sugar cookies to ice with royal icing! Is there a bakers anonymous, because I need to go to it! I could care less about cooking dinner! I would be fine eating out every night, or maybe I could just live off of the baked goods!

Emma & Abby

Here are pictures of Emma and Abby, the one's of Alex didn't turn out.

13 weeks

Here are some pictures of me and Jagger from today. He is 13 weeks old today!

I love this one!

Enough already!

We have a roller!!

Yesterday I had Jagger on his tummy for tummy time and he rolled over to his back!! I knew it was very close before he rolled! He is close to rolling from back to tummy too. Jagger changes and learns so much every day that goes by. I love being able to see him change daily. He is also now grabbing his toys on his play mat and we have this ball that plays music when it is touched and he has it playing music all the time! My little man is growing so fast!

Update on the reflux. He barely spit up yesterday. The dr. said that the medication does not stop the spit up, but it seems to have helped him. He was also SO happy yesterday, he was never fussy. He is still not back to his sleep schedule, but hopefully that is coming soon. When he wakes up at night now, he stares right into the monitor with big wide eyes! It is like he is saying come get me, I am awake!

I hope all of the mother's that read this have a wonderful day!!

Happy 3 month birthday!!

Today is Jagger's 3 month birthday!! Time has flown by and it makes me sad, but I am also so happy to see him grow and change everyday.

I took him to the dr. today because of his spitting up. He weighed 11 lbs. 2 ounces, just a little peanut still! The dr. was not concerned about his weight and thought he was growing normally. He does have acid reflux and now he takes zantac twice a day. I feel so bad for him because I had horrible reflux when I was pregnant and know how bad it felt. I think it is already making him feel better because he put him self to sleep at a normal time tonight where for the past 2 nights he hasn't. He has also be very restless at night and me and Aaron have gotten very little sleep.

Before I was a mom....

I love this poem, so I thought I would share it with other mothers whom I am sure feels the same!


Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom ..

Woohoo!!

I am officially 6 lbs. below my pre-pregnancy weight!! I had to go have my IUD checked today and I was very happy to see that I had lost even more weight!! I still would like to lose about 15 more pounds. The crazy thing is that I eat and do whatever I want to. I go for walks around the block when I am home, but that is it. I suppose breastfeeding could be a reason. Whatever it is, I am happy about it!

My little man is going to be 3 months old tomorrow! He is getting to be such a big boy. The sitter said he almost laughed for her yesterday. Oh, this working thing is not going to work out for very long, I miss my little man too much!

I am taking Jagger to the doctor tomorrow because he has been having projectile spit up and I don't think he is gaining weight like he is supposed to. We will see what the dr. says.

Laughs!

Jagger had his first real laugh today!! It is so cute!! I was making a funny noise at him while we at the inspection and he busted out laughing. He kept on and on! Then when we got home, Aaron started making the noise at him, he started laughing again! This is such a wonderful experience! We are going to try and get it on video and I will post it when I get a new computer!

I always new I wanted to be a mom and that it would be a wonderful experience, but I never imagined it to be this awesome! My mom asked me recently if I thought I could love another child like I love Jagger, and I honestly don't think I could. I love him so much and it is a love that you never experience until you have a baby. I have read that alot of mom's that have a c/s don't fell the connection with there baby at first, but I definitely did. My love for him grows more and more everyday.

Back to work

So, I decided at the last minute that I wanted to go back to work and I started yesterday. I only work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, not to bad. I found a lady to come to our house to watch Jagger. She said that he did really well yesterday. He even took a 2 hour nap for her, now why won't he do that for me!! I did way better than I thought I would going back to work. It was nice seeing all of the ladies at work and having a conversation with someone other than Aaron, not that I don't like talking to Aaron!! They threw me right back in the line of fire as soon as I got there! I liked this though because then I didn't have much time to think about how much I missed my little man! I get to come see him at lunch, which is nice also. Overall, it was a nice day and I will repeat it tomorrow!

I think we may have a roller on our hands very soon! Everytime I put him down for tummy time he gets on his side, but never makes it to his back. Watch out world, here comes Jagger!!

We go for the inspection of our house today, I am excited!! We are going to take more pictures too.

Opinions Please

I am trying to decide how I want to decorate Jagger's nursery when we move to our new house. I found 2 that I LOVE, but can't decide which one I like better and Aaron is no help! Vote on the poll to the right!

Option 1
I love the multiple colors. I would still do it like the next picture with the chair rail and paint the bottom the blue color.

Option 2

This screams boy to me and would grow with him as he gets older. I love the color combination's!

Happy little man!

Need I say more!

We have a house!

We put in an offer on a house yesterday, they countered today and we accepted!! Our closing date is June12th. We get to pick out appliances and the buyer is going to pay up to $2000 for them. We want stainless for all of them and we are wanting to get a front load washer and dryer. That will not cover all of it, but it should pay for all of the kitchen appliances minus an above the range microwave. Here are some pictures. You can't tell how neat of a floor plan it is in these pictures and it looks tiny from the outside, but you can get an idea.

Front/Side View~we want to add shutters and extend the front porch in the future

Jagger's room or the guest bedroom

This picture is standing in the dining area with the living room towards the front and the kitchen to the right. The guest bathroom would be directly behind.

Standing in the corner of the living room look towards the dining area, kitchen to the left and the door leads to the bathroom
Master Suite

Kitchen

Landing at top of steps. The washer and dryer would be in the closet to the right, we have an office area to the left, the master is straight ahead, and you would turn the corner to go up another set of stairs to go to the other 2 bedrooms. It is really neat!