Audrey is 1 Week Old!

Audrey is already 1 week old! She's close to being back to her birth weight, and is doing really well overall. She's sleeping great during the day, and once we can finally get her down at night, she sleeps well then too. We'll see if that keeps up!

Her big brother loves her so much. He is always excited to come home and see Audrey. Yesterday after he got home, we were giving Audrey a little tummy time on the floor, and Jackson decided to join her. We quickly grabbed the camera so everyone can see what a sweet, loving big brother Jackson is. It melts my heart!

And here's the proud Daddy with his kiddos.

As always, there are more pictures in the album

Cowboy JDT

After school on Tuesday Nana took Jackson to get his first pair of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. As you can imagine with his love of wearing shoes and hats, he was pretty excited! There are more pictures in the album, but here's a cute one, as well as a video.

Audrey's Delivery from E's Perspective

So I thought I'd share/document my perspective and a little more info on how things went for Audrey's birth yesterday. I was scheduled for a c-section at noon yesterday, so we arrived at the hospital at 10. They hooked me up to the monitors, and we quickly discovered that I was having pretty regular contractions. On Monday I had made zero progress towards labor, so it was decided that a repeat c-section was the way to go this time. Given the change in progress, we waited a little while to see how labor progressed. When the doctor arrived to check me we discussed our options and opted to go ahead with the c-section and finally meet our little girl.

At noon they wheeled me to the operating room where I was given my spinal block/epidural. Then Ross was allowed to join me in the room, and the surgery began. Audrey McKenzie Taylor was born at 12:31 PM, and baby and Dad were whisked away to the nursery while the doctor and nurses wrapped up the surgery.

Just after they wrapped everything up and my doctor headed out, I started feeling awful. I was very nauseous and sick feeling in general. I could tell my awesome nurse was concerned about something too by the way she was looking at another nurse that had assisted in the surgery. She very quickly called for my doctor to come back, and in the mean time I was given some medicine to help counter my low blood pressure. They decided to wheel me back to my room and monitor me for a little while. I was covered with a "bear hugger" to try to bring up my body temperature, and they checked and rechecked my blood pressure, temp, etc. while they also kept pushing on my belly. Ross was back in the room when I arrived, which was a huge comfort to me.

After about 20 minutes or so they decided they should open me back up just to be sure nothing was wrong. I was quickly wheeled back to the operating room and everything was re-prepped. It felt like I was in there for an eternity. At this point I didn't know what they had discovered, but I heard my doctor request another well known specialist doctor to come assist him, which was when I got a little nervous...I trust my doctor completely, so I wasn't worried until he sounded worried. That doctor didn't end up making it before they got everything taken care of and were able to explain what happened. Apparently an artery in my uterus had separated and ruptured in an unexpected area. My doctor was able to repair everything and remove the lost blood. They determined I'd lost 3 liters of blood during the course of the procedures and requested 2 liters of blood be transfused to me.

When I returned to the room they continued to work on bringing up my body temp and ensuring there was no more internal bleeding. I was shaking uncontrollably, which many people who've had babies know is part of the process of recovering. It wasn't until I finally got to hold Audrey that my body calmed down...that was a pretty neat feeling.

I have been recovering quickly and pretty well. I was allowed to eat solid foods late yesterday evening and was up and walking around this morning. My epidural is expected to come out tomorrow, and we are supposed to go home on Saturday.

Jackson came to visit yesterday and today, and he is SO sweet with Audrey. He gives her the most gentle hugs and kisses and seems genuinely excited about the baby. When I was pregnant and you asked Jackson where baby Audrey was, he would point to my belly and give it a kiss. Yesterday we asked him where baby Audrey was, and he walked over to her, pointed, and gave her a kiss...too sweet! Today Jackson held her for the first time, and this is what he did...

All of the grandparents have been here to meet Audrey and help take care of JD while we are at the hospital. Jackson is really enjoying the time with them.

Morning Play Time

Jackson was sent home sick from day care on Thursday, which of course means I am sick again too. Jackson is on an antibiotic and seems to be recovering quickly though!

We have had lots of fun the last couple of mornings. Jackson loves hats. Yesterday's hat was the fireman's hat my friend, Lauren, gave him.

Of course, no outfit is complete without mardi gras beads, and "Chomp, Chomp" (Gator's new name) and Mama's lunch box are a must when running in circles around the house.

Today's hat was the painters hat the nice man at Sherwin Williams gave him. The mardi gras beads were a must, and today's extra accessories were his pirate finger puppets!

There are a few more in the album too...including one where JD "dressed up" Ross!

Rough Times

We've had a rough couple of weeks since Ross' return from Hawaii. My Papaw passed away that week, and since I am so close to my due date, we weren't able to travel to the funeral on February 20th. It was very hard for me not to be with my family during this time. I have many fond memories of my Papaw from walks around the boulevard in front of their house and learning to play croquet in their backyard to watching him love and adore my Mamaw. The last time I saw my Papaw was at my cousin, John's wedding. Here's a picture of him proudly listening to my Mamaw play the piano at their reception.

On top of that Jackson got a really bad stomach bug that Friday. I won't go into the details, but I will say I can't even count the number of times we all had to change clothes. It lasted through Monday when I finally caught it. I guess my immune system was even weaker than Jackson's because I had it until this past Friday. I was finally able to eat real food Saturday evening. 5 days of being sick and hardly any food while you're 39 weeks pregnant is NOT fun! Fortunately, I was able to enjoy our first crawfish boil of the year to celebrate our friend, Stephen's birthday! My energy really returned on Monday, so I've been able to take care of a few final things around the house. Now we're ready and eagerly awaiting Audrey's arrival!

Valentine's Celebrations

Jackson's class had their Valentine's Day party on Friday. During the day the kiddos exchanged valentines by putting them in the specially decorated boxes the teachers made for each one. All the kiddos enjoyed a special snack and then spent some time entertaining us as they danced to their favorite songs. Jackson loved the party if you can't tell...

Barbara, Heath, and Carter also gave Jackson and us a bag of goodies while they were here on Valentine's Day. That afternoon Jackson made his own special card for Dada, which he was able to give him today! That's right...Ross is finally home, and we are SO excited!

More Fun!

Another fun day for Jackson and Carter. They had more fun playing together first thing this morning and even gave each other a very sweet hug.

Then we made our way to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather. Because it's been raining all week, there weren't a lot of kids at the park, so both Jackson and Carter had fun running all over the park, sliding down slides, and of course, Jackson spent a lot of time on the swings.

Heath, Barbara, and Carter made there way home this afternoon, and we are already missing them. Fortunately, Ross will be home tomorrow! We can't wait to see him!!!

Best Buds!

Heath, Barbara, and Carter are here visiting for the weekend, and it's the first time Jackson has been old enough to really play with Carter. They have had a blast! It started when they woke up this morning since JD was asleep when they got to town last night. Here are the two enjoying breakfast together.

Then they spent some time checking out the toys in their PJs. Jackson dumped his milk on himself during breakfast...therfore, no pants.

After getting dressed, we made our way to the Children's Museum. Carter was styling in his blazer, and both boys enjoyed a snack on the way there.

Jackson loves his Aunt Barbara and Uncle Heath if you can't tell from these pics.

But I think his new best friend is Carter!

More pics in the album.

Who Dat!!!

Jackson declared the Saints Super Bowl victory earlier today since he was asleep for most of the game. He was sporting his new Saints shirt, some Mardi Gras beads with gators on them, and saying touchdown!

Way to go Saints!!!

Zoo with Pop

Yesterday we made our way to the Houston Zoo for the afternoon with Pop. Once again, the monkeys were a big hit. The giraffes, known as "necks" by JD since they have long necks, were also a favorite. Here are some pics from the day, and there are more in the album.

Checking out the monkeys...

Comparing JD's hand to one of the monkey's...

Checking out the "necks"...

Getting a close look at the cheetah...

Children's Museum and Other Adventures

I've fallen a little behind on my posts this week, but I have to say...it's been a bit of a rough week. We'll start with the fun weekend and pictures first though. Last weekend my mom, now known as Nana, was here to help with Jackson. Since it was pretty cold and had been raining a lot, we decided to take Jackson to the Children's Museum. This was the second time he's been, and I'm not sure he was really old enough to remember the first visit. He had a blast though. He loved driving the red pickup truck and even made a few friends in the process.

He is apparently a two footed driver. This truck had two accelerators, and he had his foot on both!

He enjoyed getting a closer look at the ceiling with the telescope.

Racing cars with Nana was fun too!

He got serious about pouring some tea.

His favorite by far though was playing outside with the popper.

It was only topped by riding the fish AND holding the popper!

There are more pics of the fun in the album.

Monday provided my first real pregnancy scare with Audrey. She decided to stop moving for a LONG time. After realizing I hadn't felt her move in quite a while, I spent 2-3 hours Monday evening doing everything I could think of to get her to move...a glass of cold water, eating something sweet, lying on my left side, and even pushing and poking her. It just felt like a brick moving around though. I finally decided I should probably go to the emergency room, so I called my friends Heather and Todd to come watch Jackson. Of course, as soon as they got to the door, she made a little movement. They very nicely sat with me for a few minutes to make sure she moved some more before heading back home. The next day I was still very nervous, but her movements continued to get stronger, which was very reassuring.

Wednesday started a whole new adventure. I started itching all over, which apparently isn't good when you're pregnant. The itching kept me up all night, so I went to see the doctor first thing Thursday morning. They let me know it could be one of two things, either PUPP or ICP. They are running some lab work to determine which one it is. PUPP isn't a big deal at all. It's just irritating. However, ICP is much more serious and would likely result in delivering Audrey early. I expect to know more on Monday when I go back for my next appointment. Until then they have given me some medicine to help with the itching. The only side effect is that it knocks me out, which meant no work for me on Thursday or Friday. My dad came down to help with Jackson for the weekend on Thursday night, so I've been well taken care of between family and friends...more on our fun weekend in the next post.

Bath Time!

Bath time is often an exciting and humorous event for Jackson. He loves to dump water on his head, splash water every where, and play peek-a-boo with the shower curtain. Tonight was no exception. There were lots of giggles and smiles during JD's bedtime routine...

Checking out the bed before his bath.

Bath time fun...

Drying off and having lotion put on, which JD says "feel good" and apparently tickles too!

Jackson loves brushing his hair and teeth all by himself.

The "Daddy is my Hero" PJs were intentional tonight. Apparently, Jackson woke up from his nap at daycare crying for Dada, and since I think Ross has had a few rough, stressful days, this is a reminder of how much he means to his precious little boy! We love you!

More pics in the album.