Not Very Merry.

We had our first trip to the hospital on Christmas night. We noticed that Jackson was a little warm on Monday morning after opening his presents. So we took his temperature. 100 degrees even. Not cause for alarm really, but we called the pediatrician's after hours hotline. Betsy told the operator the symptoms and the Dr. called us right away. She told us to give him Tylenol and monitor his temp.. So that's what we did.

After a relaxing morning and afternoon we went over to Grandma and Grandpa B's for Christmas dinner and festivities. Jackson had gone through phases of fussy, sleepy, sleeping, and happy all day and the evening was no different. We kept checking his temperature and giving him Tylenol and although Jackson was clearly not himself, the treatment seemed to be working pretty well.

After we left Grandma and Grandpa's house, We gave him another dose of ibuprofen and checked his temperature. 100.6 degrees. After about thirty minutes he seemed to be hotter. So we checked again. 101.2 Not good. The fever was going the wrong way. Another thirty minutes or so and we checked again. 102.1 degrees. We called the doctor again and she called right back again. She told us we could either go get him some Motrin and and keep monitoring it or head downtown to the Children's hospital. We chose the latter.

We got to the emergency room at about 12:45am and we were quickly moved through to triage. The nurse checked his temp (the hard way) and it was 101.2. They then led us to an exam room and we were thinking "wow! this is moving quickly." Wrong!

We dressed Jackson in a tiny hospital gown and began the wait. At one point he even perked up a bit.

That didn't last too long. He slept some and we waited and waited. Finally after two and a half hours a nurse came in and took his temperature. 103.3! He was burning up. They brought in some Motrin and we gave it too him. At first it seemed to have no affect, but within about thirty minutes he really started to cool off some and the redness in his cheeks lessened and he was able to get some sleep.

Eventually, the doctor came to see him. The doctor barged in, turned on the lights, and ordered us to sit Jackson up. (the doctor was far from friendly) He wanted to see if Jackson would track his movements as he walked back and forth (a test for menengitis). Jackson passed. The doctor felt fairly certain that menengitis was not the issue and ordered a blood test and some chest xrays.

Two nurses came in to put in an IV (the iv was in case there was a later need for antibiotics) and draw the necessary blood. That was the hardest thing Betsy or I ever had to witness. They placed a splint on his arm to keep the IV in place and poor Jackson looked like a wounded bird.


So then we had two xrays, which was less of an ordeal than I expected, and we went back to the room to wait an hour for the results of the blood test. Jackson was able to fall asleep again and after about an hour, the doctor came busting in again barking orders for us to wake Jackson up and get him playing with a toy or something. Easy for him to say. He'd be back in five minutes to see him. He came back in and checked for Jackson's eye movement tracking the doctor across the room etc. He again was satisfied. He told us that the blood work looked good and the xrays were clear. He dicided to go ahead with the antibiotics although he did not suspect bacterial infection.

A nurse came in and hooked up the antibiotics to the IV and said in 30 minutes it would be done and we could go home. With the Motrin still working, Jackson managed to have a little fun while the antibiotics were being delivered.



How cute is that little hospital gown?

That was it. They set us free with the instruction of having his pediatrician check him out the next day. It only took seven hours! We got home around 8:30 am (with the gown!)

Fast forward to today. After a long day yesterday of fussy, happy, sleepy, fussy, asleep, fussy, fussier, sleeping, happy, fussy, fussy, fussier. Betsy took Jackson to see his doctor. Within minutes she could tell he had hand, foot, and mouth disease. She couldn't believe the ER doctor didn't catch it. She really couldn't believe he didn't look in his mouth and see the tell tale sores.
Anyway, the long and short of it is that we have a sickly baby on our hands for several more days. He has a sore mouth and therefore doesn't want to eat or drink. Dehydration is the primary concern. He'll get through it, it's just gonna be no fun for a few days.

Friday we are having Christmas number two with the Mills'. So Jackson gets another chance at having a happier holiday. Check back on Saturday for Christmas pictures from both actual Christmas and from the upcoming Friday Christmas. I figured this post was long enough so I'll post all the Christmas pictures together.

9 Months!

Today, Jackson turned nine months old. He visited the pediatrician for his nine month check up and another round of shots. He was weighed and measured as usual. Not much change since the last time. Still just under twenty pounds.

On Tuesday, Jackson took his first steps. He was standing at his piano, as he often does, then he decided to turn around and walk to his momma. She was just two steps away. I think he could have made it a couple more steps if she had been further away. Big trouble is just around the corner.
Here he is practicing his technique.


Other than getting older and learning to walk, we've been getting ready for Christmas. Over the weekend we worked on some top secret crafts.
Red on Saturday.

Green on Sunday.


Dressed up and under the tree just for fun.


Bye Bye for now.

Nothing is Safe

This little monster is mobile and he knows it. Jackson is no longer content to just sit where you put him. He's gotta move! Of course he only wants to crawl to and climb up on things we don't want him to get into. Sometimes he does choose a safe target.
Here's an example.




It used to be that if Jackson was hungry you could give him a bottle and he'd sit still and drink it. Sometimes he'd even fall asleep. Not anymore. The bottle doesn't interfere with his roaming.







When Jackson does reach his destination he has to put something in his mouth. If he can't bring it to his mouth he just brings his mouth to it.

So that's life at the Birdsong house lately. Chasing a baby around and saying "No! Don't put that in your mouth."
And finally, here's a couple extra pictures that are just cute.

Jackson with his pants on his head.


And Jackson ready for the cold weather we had last week.

8 Months Old.

Jackson turned 8 months old on Tuesday. He's doing great. We just cant believe that he's been around for 8 months. I know I've said this before, but time is just flying by. So I'm sure you are asking yourself, "What does the cutest baby ever look like at eight months?" Something like this.


You may also be asking yourself; "what's an eight month old baby do for fun?" Well, thats simple.

He plays in an empty diaper box.

And he wears goofy hats.


Yesterday was Jackson's first Thanksgiving. We started out with lunch at the Grandma and Grandpa M's. We were having such a nice time that we forgot to get the camera out and take any pictures until after Aunt Jackie had already left. So I just photoshopped her in. Don't mind the roller derby girl Halloween costume.


We then went from there to Grandma and Grandpa B's house for Thanksgiving dinner. We ate more yummy food and continued to have a great day. Here's Aunt Bunny (Dianna) with Jackson.


Grandma had us all make hand turkeys as our place cards. They turned out really great. Excellent idea Mom. Jackson's was too cute for words.


So there you have it. Eight months and and Jackson's first Thanksgiving are in the history books. Next stop, Christmas!

Some Firsts

We've had a couple of first since our last post.

Jackson's first Halloween was loads of fun. Here's the family at Uncle Greg and Aunt Diana's annual Halloween party.

That's me as the cardboard robot, Jackson as a penguin, and Betsy as a roller derby girl.

On Halloween, we had our annual haunted house at Grandma and Grandpa B's house. Here's the family again.

We had lots of fun as always.

Last Sunday, after football we went for ice cream. Jackson got a free baby cone. Betsy had given him a taste of ice cream a couple of times, but this was his first ice cream cone of his very own. He dove right in!

(Thanks for the picture Denise.)

Now for the big one. Jackson has gotten his first teeth.
Both bottom front teeth arrived this week. We've seen them coming for a while now and they've finally broken the surface. Betsy took a photo of the teeth and it looks like there may be a third one popping up in the back. You be the judge.


Along with these firsts, Jackson continues to pull himself up on everything he can get his hands on. He loves to stand up.


Jackson continues to perfect his crawling technique. It's much less crab-like and much faster. He's also babbling away. We were out having dinner the other night and Jackson just jabbered away the whole time talking to everyone within earshot. It was really funny. He makes friends everywhere he goes.

Here's a quick little video of him having fun in the play pen.

Seven Months Old Today!

So what's new at seven months? All sorts of things. Jackson has teeth that are coming in. They haven't broken the surface yet but they are close and they hurt. Chewing on a rubber duck's head seems to be the best remedy for gum pain.



Jackson's vocabulary is growing daily. He doesn't say any actual words of course. He does say something that sounds a bit like Mama. 11:30pm is usually the time that jackson likes to practice his words of the day. Very helpful when trying to sleep. Our favorite so far is something that sounds like "glop glop". We use it as a sort of hello or goodbye greeting. "Glop Glop Jackson".

Crawling is nearly there. He does have a slightly unorthodox technique but it gets him where he needs to be. He'd really rather be walking, so he gets down on his hands and one knee. The other leg is used as a pusher. He plants his right foot, pushes off, and kinda drags the left knee. It's very comical to watch. Here's a video of the little crawler in action. You'll see I had to put out some bait ( in this case the remote) in order for him to crawl toward me. He veers a little off course but you'll get the idea.



Then the reward.

Tasty remote control.

There is one other thing that I've been afraid to mention for fear of jinxing it. The spitting up has decreased dramatically. Once a day, maybe twice is all we are dealing with now. It wasn't long ago that it was more like ten to twelve times a day. The volume is considerably less also. To quote Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing". If we could just get the little booger to sleep by himself it would all be too good to be true.

Wrong Team!

Ah man! I think we made a big mistake. The Florida Gators lost their first game of the season to the Auburn Tigers. Look what Jackson was wearing all day.


"T" is for Tiger. More like "T" is for Traitor. He should have told me he was an Auburn fan. Not cool.

Anyway, Jackson went to the doc yesterday for his six month 'well baby' check up. So we have some official stats. He is 17lbs 12.5 oz. 27 inches long and and has a head circumference of 17.5 inches. All of those numbers are in or around the 50th percentile. He's our average little man. He got four shots again. He did great with them. no fever today. Very impressive. He did eat one of the band-aids on the car ride home from the pediatrician's office. Don't worry! He didn't swallow it or anything. Momma just dicovered that he was chewing on it when they got home. Pretty gross I know.

Jack in the Box

Just a quick post to get this picture I took this morning on here.

Balloons and the Beach.

Here's a video of Jackson having a good ol' time with a balloon at Grandma and Grandpa M.'s house.


We all went to the Beach on Sunday. Jackson had a good time. He wasn't too crazy about the sand.


He is crazy about his momma!


Scott brought Hunter down to hang out with Jackson.

I guess they had to see if that was a real baby in front of them or just that baby they see in the mirror at home.

Jackson continues to grow and progress. He still cant sit himself up, but once you sit him up he can stay sitting indefinitely. He gets a little closer to figuring out how to do it everyday. If you hold his ankles he'll pop right up. In the last few days, he seems determined to stand up. He's grabbing on to things and pulling himself forward. Yesterday he grabbed on to his chair and stood right up. It's all very exciting. I'll keep ya posted.


Bye!

Look who's six months old.

Who me?


That's right. It's been six months. I find it hard to believe. That was by far the fastest six months of my life. It was also, without a doubt, the best six months.

So we told Jackson he was six months old and he couldn't handle it.


Actually he just missed his momma. She was sick Monday and Tuesday and didn't go to work. Jackson got a little bit used to Betsy being home. He was really sad yesterday and was a little upset tonight.

The good news is, he got over it.


Fortunately for Jackson he had a recent ear infection. I know, that doesn't sound fortunate, but it meant he didn't have to get his six month round of shots today. He did go to the doc to check out his ears. He's good to go. Despite the fact that Betsy and I both have had colds in the last two weeks, Jackson doesn't seem to have it. The pediatrician gave him a clean bill of health. He was weighed with his diaper and shirt on and weighed in at 17lbs 8oz. They figure that is about 17lbs even when you subtract the clothes.

Here's one more picture. Jackson is grabbing at everything whether it's within reach or not. The latest in a long list of nicknames is Grabby McGrabberson. Here he is in action.

Quickie picture update!

Here are some fresh pictures of Jackson

Jackson geared up for the start of Gators football.


This guy can drive his walker in any direction he chooses now. That meeans he drives it straight for stuff he wants to grab.


Rice cereal is still on the menu once a day or so. Today it was breakfast.

Five Months Old Today!

Jackson is five months old today. He's taking it well. Especially since this month does not require a trip to the pediatrician or any shots in the thighs. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait til next month for an official weigh-in.


Along with the five month benchmark comes infant cereal. Jackson had his first go at eating something other than breast milk or formula last night. I guess you could call it a success. As long as you consider 5% in the mouth and 95% all over the face, all down the shirt, and all over everything within a four foot radius a success. He definitely enjoyed the exercise.

After the feed.


Yesterday, Jackson was baptized at St. Paul's Catholic Church. It was a very nice ceremony and we had lots of friends and family join us. Jackson, of course, was the cutest and most well behaved baby at the baptism. There were a half dozen other kids being baptized along with him. He was the only one that didn't cry. What a guy! Here's a picture of the freshly baptized Jackson with his proud momma.


After the baptism, everyone came back to Grandma and Grandpa B's for a nice lunch and some swimming. Grandma M. made a delicious spread of food and we all ate too much.

Don't worry! We waited fifteen minutes before swimming.

Hard to believe it's been five months.

On a Roll!

Jackson is now rolling front to back and back to front at will. What's the result of such a development?
Runaway Baby!


As I've mentioned before, Jackson loves to roll around in his walker. This past weekend, Jackson took his ride outside and got his feet dirty.

Real Dirty!

We are getting lots of vocalizations from this boy. It's really great to witness language being learned. It seems like everyday, Jackson comes up with a new sound or a variation of a favorite sound. Betsy and I have loads of fun having conversations that consist mostly of grunts, groans, and raspberry noises.

Next week Jackson turns five months old. Come on back!