Happy St. Patrick's Day (and Birthday)!

Today is Jackson's 1 month birthday! Also, it's the day Chris and I met four years ago. Wow, how the time flies. This past week we made our first overnight trip to visit Mimi and Pop. I had the flu and Chris went out of town for a work trip so Mimi and Pop pulled night duty and gave me some much needed rest so I could get well. I thought grandparents were supposed to spoil the grandchildren, but I felt pretty spoiled as well! What I wasn't prepared for was the inordinate amount of "gear" that a newborn has to travel with. Between the pack and play, the clothes, the diaper bag, the breast pump, his tummy time mat (okay, I probably didn't have to pack that, but I'm a rookie), his nursing pillow PLUS the "gear" for the dog (food and water bowls, bed, treats, etc.) poor Makai barely had any room in the back of the Durango on the drive home. He was a trooper as he laid on his bed squished in between the pack and play and the many bags that we packed! We had a great time and look forward to many more visits. Next visit will be to see his GG in Aiken and I'm already planning on how to consolidate the baby gear for greater efficiency (Chris' brother forewarned us about this dilemna)!

What's in a name?

Jackson (surname that originated in the 14th century and Angi's maiden name) Toby (originally a nickname for Tobias, meaning God is good and Chris' dad's name) Sklar. It did not take us too long to decide on Jackson's name. Although we told everyone that his first name was going to be Jackson, we waited until his arrival for Chris to introduce him to his parents as "Jackson Toby", his middle name given in honor of Chris' dad. However, one of the most vexing issues grandparents face today is deciding what they want to be called by their grandchildren, lest it make them sound -- and feel -- old. We've had over nine months to discuss, deliberate and decide what each of our parents would like to be called. Fortunately, our nieces already chose Chris' parents names as Mimi and Pop. Whew. That was way too easy. Angi's mom decided she'd like to be called by her initials, GG (this can stand for Granny Gail, Glamma Grandma, etc.). Then there was Angi's dad and stepmom. For Angi's dad, it's Papa Ray (who, by the way, asked Nana Jana when Jackson's eyes would open thinking that they were still sealed shut when he was born!). And for Janet, the winning name is Nana Jana which our mailman really likes as evidenced by his comment one day when he brought a delivery to our door that had "Nana Jana" on it! So we have Pop, Mimi, GG, Papa Ray and Nana Jana with bets on which name Jackson will say first. Preferably, we'd like to hear Mommy or Daddy first. :o)

First Two Weeks

A few of Jackson's "firsts":

1) First night at home (2/19/09): Mommy was a basketcase. We got home just in time for Jackson to go to bed. He spent his first two nights in the nursery at the hospital where the nurses knew exactly what they were doing. Thank goodness he didn't know he was spending his first night at home with parents who really didn't know what the heck they were doing. In the middle of the night, Daddy awoke to a fussy baby and right on cue, changed his diaper. However, Mommy didn't fasten his diaper well enough and he'd wet his clothes. Since we didn't have any extra clothes in our room for him, Daddy put on a clean diaper and "swaddled" him in the softest thing he could find...............a changing pad cover. Mommy awoke to see this and started laughing and crying hysterically because she'd failed to secure his diaper well enough. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions, but we survived the night and are confident that Jackson will not hold it against us.

2) First trip to the doctor (2/20/09): We took Jackson to the doctor today because we were concerned about his breathing which sounded a bit labored. Turns out he had a really big booger stuck in his nose. Soon enough he'll start picking them out of his nose on his own, but we learned how to suction them out in the interim. When GG (Angi's mom) and I arrived we had to undress him for a temperature and weight check. Once I undid his diaper it was clear that he'd pooped and needed to be changed before we weighed him. Almost simultaneously, he proceeded to pee on himself and his clothes and now we needed to change his clothes AND his diaper. The nurse was kind enough to help and asked if we had a change of clothes for him in his diaper bag. HUH? DIAPER BAG??? What diaper bag? Turns out, I was so excited about getting him to the doctor in one piece that I'd not even thought about packing his diaper bag! Of course, I cried over being a horrible mother (our first week was full of these kind of moments). Yep, I'll only make that mistake once. Fortunately, the doctor's office was stocked with diapers and we proudly left the office with Jackson in a fresh diaper and booger free, and his little half naked body was wrapped in the blanket that we brought with us.

3) First "field trip" and installing the safety mirror (2/24/09): I took Jackson to Chris' work to meet the crew. After spending about 20 minutes gathering his diaper bag, my purse, a glass of water, his car seat, his snap and go stroller, buckling him in his car seat and placing him securely in the car I embarked on the challenge of putting in the safety mirror so that I could keep an eye on him while I was driving. Twenty minutes. That's how much longer it took me to complete the ONE task of adjusting the mirror so that I could see him in the back seat! We braved the interstate and made it to the office for his big debut.