Black and White Pics

4 weeks old

Laid back

"Be gentle, Char!"

Just pondering...

Tiger and Jackson

Our dear friend, Burgess, gave Jackson this precious blue elephant. Since she is an avid Auburn fan, she said it pained her to buy such a gift; therefore, she named him "Tiger" in honor of her alma mater. Adam loved that it was an elephant, but refuses to call it by its given name. I think Jackson just loves it though. Thanks, Burgess, for this great gift. We won't tell Adam that Jackson loves Tiger! :)

3-week pictures (These were some of the first pictures that we have of little Jackson at home since he was in the NICU.)

The sweet gown was made by Bambee for little Jackson.

Happy Days!

Sweet brothers...I love the Jackson is smiling!

Hey folks, why do you keep taking my pics?

Baby in the Hood

Ahhh...fat and happy after a bottle!

Whew!

A peaceful easy feeling...

Home at last!

Seeing Baby Jackson for the first time...more dramatic pictures to come!

After a week home with little Jackson, time has seemed to fly by! I have not found time for blogging, imagine that? I thought I'd give you a little update. Our computer is almost out of memory, so I'll try to post pictures this weekend, but here is a little recap of the last week.

Jackson came home on July 15th, two weeks after being born into this world. Adam and I spent the night with him in the family room in the NICU to make sure that we were comfortable with him and his new sleep apnea monitor. The family room is a room off of the NICU where families can stay the last night their child is there. Adam likened it to a room on a cruise ship...very small and cramped, though we were just excited to be there with our new little man. Jackson had a good night and the nurses kept coming in every four hours to check on us and him. He has to wear a sleep apnea monitor for a little while, and we are thankful that it has only gone off once in the hospital for a low heartbeat. It measures his breathing rate and heart rate. He doesn't seem to mind it being on and usually he only wears it when he is sleeping at night.

Jackson's breathing has improved greatly and he does have acid reflux. The doctors are treating it by letting us add rice cereal to his bottles and that has seemed to help. It definitely helps him to sleep. Did I mention that right now he is dream baby? He eats, sleeps for long periods of time, and then eats again. He definitely will cry when he's hungry and when he's getting undressed. He loves to be swaddled and just propped up to snooze. Even though being in the NICU for two weeks was so hard for us all, it did have its perks. One major perk is that Jackson will go four hours in between feedings and about five hours at night. This is a big blessing for this mama of an active two-year-old. We are thankful that that is part of the silver lining in the whole NICU experience. We also hope that we can be an encouragement to other families that have to go through a time without their little one.

Thank you to all of our friends and family near and far for praying for us, bringing us meals, sending us encouraging emails and cards, and just for being our support through this mini-trial. We are so thankful that God has blessed us with you all.

Many of you have asked, "How is Charlie adjusting to being the big brother?" Well, that has been a challenge. We hear "Hold you, Mommy!"/"Hold you, Daddy!" when we are holding baby Jackson. That translates into, "I want you to hold me instead of the baby. Put him down now." I'll try to post some funny "coming home" pictures of Charlie "welcoming" Jackson into our home....the pictures tell the story better than I could. Overall, Charlie seems to be adjusting now that we are all home and we've had a couple of normal days. He has been showered with friends and family who have stopped by bringing food and gifts for both Jackson and him. He is a big brother and stops by Jackson's crib along his path saying, "Baby Jackson is making noise, Mama. Hey Baby Jackson!!!" Did you notice the three exclamation points? Charlie will tell me in his loud voice that Baby Jackson is making noise (which is a small grunt or coo). I pray that they will be the best of friends one day.

I'm off to rest a bit while both boys are sleeping. We'll try to get some pics uploaded this weekend. Thank you again for everything.

In the mean time...

Charlie's cousins have been here this week. As you can tell, he has been quite entertained. They have gone to the Mcwane Center, Clanton, and now to Smith Lake. He hasn't met his little brother yet, but he has had fun in the mean time.

Charlie is thinking, "I wonder if I can do that."

All of the kids had fun making silly faces for the camera.

Who needs a crib?

Jackson graduated from his open bed to a crib yesterday. I told Adam that it's funny when you are a first-time mom, you think you have to have the finest crib set up and ready for your newborn....but as you can see, a box will do just fine. Jackson is off all of his IVs and in a crib. He is eating well and sleeping well. The good news is he is on a 4-hour feeding schedule, which will be a blessing for this mama when he comes home. He will stay in the NICU at least through the weekend. The doctors are still watching a few things with his breathing.

He was a snoozing so peacefully, and we decided to snap a few pics...thus the grimace.

The little man is above his birth weight. Again, we are so thankful for the calls, emails, and prayers. God continues to encourage us along this journey.

A Day in the Life of a Newborn

Priceless Pics

Our Little Man

Happy due date, Little Jackson! Here are few pictures from this last week. Little known fact....babies have great veins in their scalp, so that is why his IV is in his head. He looks a little like Alfalfa to me. This was taken after I got to feed him a bottle. Don't you love the drip of milk on his chin? He is eating like a champ. This was so special for me to feed him with a bottle. It's amazing what you take for granted when they are not with you each day.

A little smirk appeared on his face after his bottle. I think he likes it!

Here is a side profile shot. The heart-shaped "sticker" (as Charlie called it) was used to keep his bili-sunglasses velcroed onto his face.

Who's your daddy? Adam is such a proud papa! This was one of the first times that he got to hold him for more than a minute. We had just said on the way to the hospital that night how much fun it would be to be home giving him a bottle, burping him, and just rocking him. God continues to answer our little prayers!

Baby Jackson: Day 6

Hello friends,


Thank you so much for your prayers. God has truly sustained us this last week. Although there have been some down times, we overall have been encouraged and excited about our journey. Jackson is back up above his birth weight today weighing 6 pounds and 15 ounces. The last few nights have been such fun. Last night I got to feed him a bottle which was heaven...just to hold him for a little while. He definitely knew his mama and his daddy as he would look all around at us. Today, I got to go up to the NICU around 9:30 thanks to a sweet friend, Ashley, who was going up for a doctor's appointment. It was perfect timing. He was ready to eat when I got there, so he snuggled into my arms and gulped down his milk. The doctors have increased his feeding amount to almost two ounces every three hours. Also, I got to meet the doctor who was very encouraging. Jackson has graduated to a "nursery crib" and is off all of his IVs except to get some antibiotics. He will continue to eat every three hours, as they will monitor what he takes in each time. Adam and I got to go up there at lunchtime today and feed him again. He was happy to see us and ready to eat. Hopefully, our journey in the NICU will end soon, but we'll report on that later on this week when we get some confirmation.


Thanks again to the Lord for his answered prayers for Jackson's eating and progress so far. Pray that we can continue to be encouraged and encourage others up in the NICU. God has shown us how blessed we are. The other day we met a couple who had a baby girl who was born ten weeks early. She was two pounds, and they live in Cullman (an hour away). Adam and I were both thankful that we have a full-term baby and he hopefully only be there for a little while. They have a long journey, so it put things in perspective for us. We will continue to pray for their little one as they endure. Those trips to St. Vincent's are long to us, but we only have a 10-minute commute. We cannot imagine what they are going through...we only pray that they have a community surrounding them like we have in our lives. Praise God for His gifts to us.


I'll post more pictures later. Thanks for your prayers!

A Funny Answered Prayer

Tonight at dinner, we were praying as a family. As a real prayer request and one to keep Charlie praying and not eating yet, Adam prayed for little Jackson to have a big dirty diaper. He hasn't had one in a few days. Since that will help get his bilirubin level down and just keep him regular, this was a valid request. Charlie thought that was funny at dinner. Well, tonight when Adam and I went to see him in the NICU, we got to see the request answered. Mandy, our sweet nurse, let us help with his bath and getting him weighed. After all that, I got to hold the little man for a few minutes before he had to be put back under the light. He definitely let out a big bomb for us all...and taking after his brother, it stunk! All that to say, God can answer even our little prayers.

Jackson was doing well tonight. It was so much fun getting to watch him get bathed and wiped down with sweet-smelling soap. Also, I got to rub that Johnson's baby lotion all over him. What a gift to hold him and tell him that we loved him! We are so thankful for God's gifts to us in our children. He is a miracle worker, and each child is definitely one of His miracles. Thanks to all for your encouragement throughout this process. Sweet Jackson can't wait to meet all of you soon. We'll keep you posted on his progress.

Jackson Hyatt Blair

Jackson Hyatt Blair made a quick entry into the world on July 1, 2010, at 10:14 a.m. weighing 6 pounds and 13 ounces. We are so thankful for our little man. Although he was ready to come, Jackson has needed a little bit more attention than Charlie did when he arrived. Quickly after he was born, we noticed that his breathing was very labored, so he was taken for some observations to figure out what was going on in his little body. After a few hours of waiting, Adam and I got to see him for a few minutes, and then he was taken to the NICU for some further care.

Although this has been hard, we all know that he is definitely in the right place right now. He will be there until his respiratory rate is back to normal. We are trusting God to heal him quickly so he can come home to meet Charlie. Even though Charlie has been up to the hospital, he hasn't gotten to meet his baby brother yet. When he came to see me, he kept saying, "See baby, see baby." It's been fun for us to see him love little Jackson, even though they haven't met yet. He knows that we take Jackson milk and go see him at the "doctor's office" each day. I can already tell that they will be big buddies. I can't wait to snap the "first meeting" picture of the two Blair brothers.

Here is his little sign by his bed in the NICU. As you can see on the third, his weight had dropped a little bit, but that is normal for all newborns. He has had great nurses who watch him round the clock. Adam and I have gone up there about twice a day to take him some milk and to give him some love. On Saturday, all of the grandparents were allowed to visit little Jackson. KK and Bubba drove down from the lake, and Bambee and Big Charlie were here from Gulf Breeze.

The verse that God has given me this week as we are in the "waiting" game for our little man is Isaiah 26:3. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord is everlasting strength." We don't know when he will be out of the hospital, but we do know that our good God is in control. He has given Adam and me a perfect peace. Little Jackson is right where he needs to be. This has also given us some extra transition time with little Charlie and a time for me to heal and rest. God has also been so good to give us encouragement from friends and family during these last few days. We are so thankful to have friends who have gone through this before and have been so encouraging. Thanks to all who have called, emailed, and visited with us. We look forward to introducing little Jackson to all of you soon. Pray for continued rest and peace for all of us and for healing for our new little boy. This mama is excited to be a mother of two boys. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in the coming years. Praise be to God for His gift of children. They are definitely a blessing from the Lord!