Baby Legs!!!

This is by far my favorite outfit of his so I had to share how cute it was!! Besides, it was a gift of Aunt Sheriecey and Aunt Nikki so I had to show them how cute their creation was! Thanks guys!!!!!!

More Pictures!!!

Even though it is just gas, this picture is PRICELESS to me!!!

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE him? Gah!

I'm back!!

So, I think a big thank you should go out to Sheriece for taking it upon herself to share my whole experience with labor and delivery. It's good she did it. She was able to keep it short and sweet whereas mine would have been long and drawn out...bad for the writer and the reader!! So, thank you, Sheriece!

Ron has been home for 2 days now and it doesn't even seem like he's been gone. It's the strangest thing. It's a discussion that we have had about 3 times now. We are both amazed at how things are just as how they were when he left...only better, of course. I can't stop thanking him for giving Jaxon to me. I'm sure he thinks I am crazy, obsessed by now. :)

Oh, motherhood. It's the most amazing thing ever. I freak out at the tiniest things. I am so paranoid about everything. I tear up everytime I even think about how much I love Jaxon. I, now, understand how a mother can infinitely stare into the face of their nursing baby. It has been one of the most life changing weeks of my life. It's the strangest thing but I really don't know how I have gone so long without Jaxon in my life. I sure was missing out on a lot!

Nursing has been a wonderful experience. Sheriece was a wonderful help with the whole nursing thing. I think she wanted it to happen just as much as I did so that was a great motivation to get through the sour spots. My hospital didn't offer any kind of lactation consulting so Sheriece got on her nifty IPhone and found someone to come out that day to help with it. What a great sister! Today has been a breeze as far as nursing goes so I think this may work! I am really excited about it. It's such an intimate time for Jax and I...I am amazed at how I am able to provide him with the nourishment that his body needs.

Anywho, I will close with a picture of the most proudest Aunt Sheriecey EVER!!!

Wow.

Dad is home.

Going home!!

Cuddling with his aunt.

:)

Eyes open.

Good morning.

Baby leggies!

Can I just say....

How proud I am of Maegan!? She's a natural at this! So attentive and
affectionate and dedicated. Jaxon is off to such a beautiful start and
I feel so lucky to have been here to share it.

-SM

In his cute clothes!

Good Morning!!

So far so grand! He's doing fantastic and has successfully nursed
three times now. Maegan is in some pain but is distracted from it with
her little man. They're doing lots of skin on skin contact. I'm
trying to track down a lactation consultant since this hospital
doesn't have one on staff. More pictures later.

-SM

Mommy and son.

Maegan update

I haven't been able to see Maegan yet, but the nurse said she's doing
great. Mom and baby will be reunited when she gets out of recovery.
Did I mention how precious he is!?

-SM

Another

Sleeping after his bath.

I just like this one.

His pout.

Sad face. So cute.

Measurements

7lb 10oz

20 inches

And perfection.

-SM

HE'S HERE!!!!!!!!!

C-Section it is!!!!

In about 30 minutes or so!!!!!!!!!

-SM

Doc just came...

And Maegan is now "barely a 3." So they did something I didn't
understand and said they won't let her go much longer before they just
do a c-section. So I think it will be a c-section around 9 or so.

The nurse also said she felt his head and he's totally bald!!

What else?... She's starving. Ron is still in Iraq but they are
texting a lot.

I'm getting more and more anxious to meet him.

I'll keep this updated as we go along.

-SM

Finally resting.

Maegan's happy!

She just got her epidural and she is so much more comfortable.

Unfortunately she is STILL NOT MORE dilated!! We are predicting a c-
section, but the nurse is hopeful that the epidural will help relax
her uterus and move her along.

Also, the anesthetist was so freaking grouchy and rude. If she hadn't
been the bearer of bliss I would have had to put the smack down. She
had a grouchy little comment about everything! Ugh.

-SM

They just checked her again...

She is still barely a 2... And they won't give her the epidural until
she is a solid 3.

Also she had me set the air so that it's an igloo in here! Brrrrr!

-SM

Water is broken

Lots of pain now but still not dilated enough for epidural. :(

-SM

Maegan started Pitocin

And is having frequent contractions. She's being really tough. Still
not dilated but is 50% effaced. (this is Sheriece)

Think Green

I have tried to live a more 'green' life by using the reusable shopping bags (which I LOVE because they are so sturdy and hold so much more) and recycling. Well, I am adding cloth diapering to the list. I am so excited about this. Have you ever seen a cloth diapered baby's bottom? Oh, it's so scrumptious to me! However, that's not why we are choosing to cloth diaper. We will save money, prevent hundreds of disposables from going to the landfill, keep those nasty chemicals from coming in contact with our baby's skin...and to top it all off, they're so cute! Ron has been on board with it from the beginning and I'm so thankful. A lot of dads aren't so receptive.

These diapers are one-size, all in ones...meaning, they are basically just like disposables except you wash them when they get soiled AND he will be able to wear them until potty training! I'm not really looking forward to the cloth diapering laundry but I think the benefits far outweigh the negatives of extra laundry.




These are our cloth wipes. They are made by a work at home mom who does this for a living! They are so soft. One side is velour and the other is flannel. The cloth diapering community is stocked full of work at home mothers who make things like this and they make so much money! I need to learn how to sew!


I have gotten so many ugly looks from people when I say that we are going to cloth diaper. You would think that I had just told them that we were diapering our baby in sandpaper! A lot of people think it's a lot more work and completely unnecessary but I would beg to differ. I am very proud of our decision to use cloth. I think it's everyone's responsibility to at least make an effort to preserve our beautiful Earth.

On a sad note, I saw my first stretch mark today. It's on the underside of my belly and is about an inch long. How much damage could another week and a half do? I guess we'll see.

RIP, my beautifully smooth pre-pregnancy stomach.

Our deployment adventure

We all know that Ron is currently serving in Iraq. We just hit our 7 month mark and I couldn't be more proud. Our relationship has blossomed with trust and confidence and it really has been an eye opening experience. I have heard a lot of people say that these deployments will make or break your relationship and I'm so thankful for how we have made it work so far!

It's been hard, don't get me wrong. Being married to my husband over instant messenger definitely comes with some difficult moments but I am so thankful that I get to talk to him at all. I can't imagine how difficult it was for the wives of the men who fought in past wars when communication was little to none. I can't even imagine.

We really are lucky. I haven't taken any of this for granted. Ron's life has been in extreme danger more than once and I thank God everyday that he is one day closer to coming home to me.

Here are some pictures of Ron in Iraq. We will be able to call him Sergeant Swain on November 1st! He makes me so proud.

The beginning!

So, I thought that since Ron and I were about to venture out into a very wonderful and scary part of life called parenthood, I should start a blog about it!

I love reading my family and friend's updates on their lives so I thought I would return the favor to those who are interested.

I can't wait to share!