The Suspense is over!

As most of you probably heard by now, Jackson Kenneth Shoup joined us at 1:02 pm last Wednesday, May 27th, 2009. He weighed in at 6 lbs, 1 oz, and 19 & 1/2 inches long. A few pictures of his first day:
My doctor holding HIM up for the first time. I'll admit that as soon as I heard Joey say "It's a Boy", I teared up with excitement. I assume I would have cried had he said "girl" as well, but while I wouldn't let myself have a feeling either way boy/girl, I really did lean more towards boy.


Such a proud papa!

Daddy changing diapers - he's pretty good - although the first change was done for an audience so there were some nerves and yes, he did get peed on. :)


I'm ready for my close-up!

We were so crazed trying to get out of the hospital that we FORGOT to take Jackson's picture in the car seat. I can tell you that he didn't care for it much, but today's trip to the pediatrician went much better so we did snap one this time!


It's been a whirlwind week, that's for sure, but we're loving it! Yes, we're probably a bit sleep-deprived, but that's "normal" so we're just taking it in stride as best we can, especially considering for many, the first week's can be much rougher, whether it's a sick baby or a sick mom that result in more hospital time than we were lucky to have. I'm still a bit sore from the c-section, but the more I move around, the better I feel and of course the pain pills don't hurt and I'm just trying to space them out further apart to ween myself as much as possible.

Joey has been the picture of a perfect father, doting on Jackson, encouraging me, and still making sure Buddy gets plenty of attention so that's made the whole process so much easier on us as a family. I'm sad he's heading back to work tomorrow, but know I'll be able to handle it, although I may not get near as much done as I hope, it will all come with time.

My mom came and stayed with us Friday (with me in the hospital giving Joey a break to come home, get a good night's sleep, and "prepare Buddy") and Saturday (our first night home!). Granny Habluetzel LOVED meeting Jackson (even though he wasn't a she as she had really thought). :) Unfortunately, due to my dad's illness, her stay was abbreviated, but hopefully she and dad will be able to come back for longer once he is on the mend. That said, his diagnosis of Stage 4 lung cancer was MUCH worse than originally expected and especially tough to receive while in the hospital just a day after Jackson was born, at least for me, and that's been tough, but we're confident that since the doctors seem optimistic that all will go well, although we know that the road will be a bit rocky with chemo starting in just a few days.

Jackson had his first pediatric appointment today and is already back at his birth weight so that's very encouraging with the struggles of nursing that I've felt, but it means that despite the small hurdles, things are going right. We'll go back again next week and hopefully have another uneventful visit.

Tomorrow, Joey's mom will fly in to stay with us for a week so that will be a great help since Joey is heading back to work and while I'm hopeful that I can do a lot on my own, I know that it won't hurt to have an extra set of hands and of course, introduce Jackson to his Grandma Shoup!

...Til next time, Keep Shuffling!