Splish, Splash!

It was HOT today! We decided it was finally warm enough to fill up the pool for Jackson! He was SO excited to splash around in the water, begging Mommy time and time again to "swim" with him!

Weston joined us outside in a make-shift shaded contraption... the Pack 'n Play, bouncy seat inside (he really isn't comfortable laying flat these days - darn reflux!) with a blanket to keep out the sun. He seemed to enjoy the fresh air - at least until it was time to eat!

An Afternoon of Fun: Jackson & Mommy

Before I went back to work, I wanted to spend at least one day with just Jackson. So, luckily, Audrey was more than willing to watch Weston for the day while Jackson and I spent the day together.

I had decided to take Jackson to the Dallas Arboretum to see the Peter Rabbit Flower Village exhibit. Of course, when we woke up that morning, rain was in the forecast! Since the skys looked fairly good in the morning, we decided to risk it. The skys looked great... UNTIL we were five minutes away from the Arboretum. We really only got to spend about thirty minutes walking around before it started raining. Jackson was having a blast!

When it started to rain, we tried to wait it out, eating lunch under a covered patio. But, unfortunately, the rain was getting worse, not better. So, we decided to find something else to do. Boo! We ended up at Chuck E. Cheese, which of course, was just fine with Jackson. I have to admit I was a little bummed out about - I just wanted to do something a little more fun! We got a rain check for the Arboretum and plan on visiting again very soon!

The Duck house @ the Peter Rabbit Flower Village

Jackson LOVED the frog fountain. He laughed and laughed at those "big frogs spitting water!"

He was in awe!

He had so much fun screaming and giggling as he ran underneath the water streams. Note that he is bending down to go under the arches - I didn't even have to bend! Too funny!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub!

Fun Day Sunday!

We had a great day as a family on Sunday with errands and lots of fun! First we ran a few errands and Mommy was THRILLED to get a Moby wrap for Weston. It is super comfy and what's better, Weston LOVES it. He took to it and it kept him calm and cry free for hours at a time. It keeps him sitting up, which is much more comfortable for him and his reflux. Because he doesn't like to be put down, it also allows Mommy to get a few things done while holding him - love it!!!

After our errands we headed to Barnes & Noble to grab a few books for the boys. Jackson picked out a fire truck book and we got a bed time picture book for Weston. Then, we headed to the train playground at Firewheel - one of Jackson's favorites. He had a great time playing! He sure makes fast friends!

Weston had a good time outside too! After we stripped him down to just a onsie, he had fun coo-ing and practicing using his leg muscles! He is growing so FAST!!!

It was super muggy and hot out, but there was no slowing Jackson down! He absolutely loves the train playground at Firewheel!

Cheese!!! When we ask Jackson to smile for the camera now, this is what we get. A little over the top, much?!?

Dinner on the Patio

We had dinner outside on the backyard patio tonight. Jackson cracked me up the entire dinner long. He has a strange phobia of spiders, so we talked about them all dinner long. I can't tell you the number of times he told me that spiders have eight legs! After dinner Jackson and Daddy had a great time playing soccer and catch. Weston LOVED being outside as well. For the first time in days, he seemed calm and comfortable! I think he really loves being in the Baby Bjorn - maybe it feels good to be upright, relieving some of the pain from his reflux!

Another Day of Doctors

Well, it was another day of doctor visits for the Cornehl boys! We had a post-op follow up visit for Weston at the pediatrician in the morning and a check up at the pulmonologist for Jackson in the afternoon.

First off, at Weston's visit, he weighed in at 12lbs, 15.5 ounces!!! That is almost 13 pounds people - that is crazy!!! Jackson was 13lbs, 3oz at two months - not 6 weeks. What a blessing that Weston is growing so much considering all he has gone through in his short life. Weston's incision looks great and he is healing nicely. Because Weston's reflux is still causing a lot of discomfort and TONS of spit up at home, we took the chance to talk to Dr. Smart about it at our follow-up. She gave us a few more things to do to try and help with the problem, we are now thickening the breast milk (same thing we did for Jackson's aspiration) on bad reflux days to help keep some of it down. Also, we are giving him gas drops at every meal to try and help. I am researching some different types of reflux wedges for Weston to sleep and rest on to try and help ease his discomfort. He is most uncomfortable when he lays flat and most comfortable when he is in the upright position. Hopefully his reflux will get better with time, but if not, we will cross that bridge with the same vengeance we have with everything else!

Jackson's visit with Dr. Mandujano, his pulmonologist, also went great! He is now 35 pounds and just under 3 feet tall. What a big boy! Because Jackson has been doing so well, we are going to get to cut back on Jackson's daily asthma medication starting the beginning of June. Also, we are taking him off of his prevacid with hopes that Jackson's reflux is now under control. We will have to watch for signs of discomfort (regurgitation, coughing, wheezing, etc.), but hopefully this is it. We are down to TWO medications a day - can you believe it? We remember when we were excited about 6!

We are so happy that we have such wonderful medical care for both of our boys. These doctors feel like an extension of our family now and it is such a blessing that we feel so comfortable with all of them!

Unexpected Turn

Some of you already know, but the Upper GI we had scheduled for Weston on Friday, April 30th did not turn out the way we expected. We thought we would go in for the same test Jackson had and find out that we might have a severe case of reflux and possibly a case of aspiration. We had no way of anticipating the news we received that day.

The x-rays showed that there was a problem with Weston's anatomy, a problem with his small intestines. He has what we now know is called a malrotation which resulted in a volvulus (those with medical knowledge reading this - have pity on me! I am just learning and may not explain this all correctly). Basically what that means is that Weston's intestines did not rotate completely like they should have, leaving them free to move around in his abdomen. When that happens, the intestines have the chance to twist and cause problems such as vomiting, and worse case, a complete bowel obstruction.

We, thankfully, caught this early before Weston became very ill. This, and reflux, was the reason that Weston has not been able to keep his food down and eating non-stop. Apparently, most of the time, by the time this condition presents itself, babies are severely dehydrated and quickly loosing weight. But because our pediatrician was so aggressive with Weston, we caught it before any of that happened.

We found out this information late Friday afternoon and by Friday night we were admitted into the hospital and Weston was scheduled for surgery the very next morning. It was a whirlwind and we did not really have the time to process it all. In fact, Friday night the doctors were talking to us about doing a laproscopic procedure, but by Saturday morning, we found out that a more invasive procedure was going to be done. They ended up going in for exploratory surgery, completing a LADDS procedure and an appendectomy. We were blown away when they told us all of this!

At first we were frustrated and angry with God about all of this, and sad to admit, we were in a place of self-pity. Hadn't we gone through enough with Jackson?!? But then we thought about it and prayed. Truly, had we not gone through what we had with Jackson, our pediatrician would not have been so aggressive and we could have found ourselves in a more serious situation. Also, we are very comfortable with the staff and medical world, which is due to our experiences with Jackson as well. So, it was a blessing that we had the preparation to handle this. Moreover, thanks be to God that he has blessed so many wonderful doctors with the knowledge and skill to be able to fix and heal our sweet precious son.

We were in the hospital for five days with Weston. He healed quickly and basically with no complications. We did have a hard time keeping an IV in and it was horrific watching them stick him over and over again to try to get one in - but all in all, it was a great experience that went off without a hitch. It was hard to watch him be so hungry and not be able to feed him, but I did finally get ahead with pumping which I had been trying to do for quite sometime.

I know it seems strange to photograph Weston in this state, but I feel it is important to document this event in his life. Although he was "hooked up" while he was there, he really started to look healthier than he ever had and he finally started to "chunk" up.

We want to say thank you for all of our wonderful family and friends who really stepped up and showed us so much support through all of this. We could NOT have gotten through all of this without you and your prayers. Poor Jackson's little world has completely been swept out from under him, but thanks to our family, they were there to catch him during all of this.

Weston is doing just fine now and returned home without needing to be on any other medication besides his Prevacid for reflux. What a blessing. Again, thank you so much for all of your prayers!!!

Weston is 4 Weeks Old!

Though Weston won't be officially one month old until Saturday, he is 4 weeks old today! We cannot believe its already been FOUR weeks! It seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital, awaiting Weston's arrival.

Though he hasn't really started "fattening" up yet, he does seem to getting longer by the day. We are still struggling with Weston's reflux. Unfortunately, the spit-ups are seeming more like throw-ups these days. We called the Dr. about it on Wednesday of this week and she has us set up to go have an Upper GI done tomorrow. While we were a little down that it looks like we might be going down the same road we did with Jackson, we are just thankful that we will get it all figured out soon!

Doesn't he look just like his Daddy?

What a sweet smile!

Jackson absolutely loves his baby brother!

Having a Swinging Time

Weston is enjoying the larger swing these days! Although he isn't quite big enough for it yet, it does prop him up quite a bit, which helps his reflux. Speaking of reflux, because it was seeming to get worse and not better with the prescribed Zantac, the pediatrician decided to switch him over to Prevacid. That is exactly what his big brother takes as well. Hopefully this will make a difference because we are starting to go through bibs like candy!

Jarrod & Ernesto Visit

We always have such a fabulous time when Jarrod & Ernesto come to visit. This visit was particularly exciting because they got to meet our dear, sweet Weston! Trenton, J&E made scrumptious food and we all overate the entire week long! Jackson couldn't have been happier to have them here - two more big guys to play with!

Here are a few pictures that Ernesto took of the boys while he was here. Enjoy! And thank you, Jarrod and Ernesto for coming to visit!

Watch Me Grow!

The angles are talking to him - what a sweet smile!!!

Cars, Cars, Cars!

Jackson's toy(s) of the week are all of his cars. This week, for some reason, he insists upon bringing one of his playroom chairs into the TV room and setting up shop on the coffee table. Vrrrrmmm!

Daddy & Jackson Feed Weston

Trenton had the chance to feed Weston for the first time today, with a little help of course! Jackson could not wait for the chance to hold the bottle all by himself. He did NOT want his Daddy to help him. He was so excited about it he practically shoved the entire bottle in Weston's mouth. We are still working on being "gentle"!

Heading Out For My First Walk

We took Weston out for his first walk today. It was pretty slow considering I am still recovering and Jackson couldn't decide if he wanted to ride his tricycle or walk. Weston slept through the entire walk - yea! So once we get a two-kiddo stroller, we should be able to take nice long family walks!

Snuggling with Daddy

Davey, Davey Crockett...Errr, a Super Hero?!?

Davey, Davey Crockett! Jackson loves to dress up and pretend he is all sorts of characters. This day he said he was a super hero. Who knew a Davey Crockett hat, bandana and Boppy pillow had such super powers?!?

Note JCC's black eye - a run in with the slide!

"Up, up and away!!!"

Double Doctor Visit

We had our first double Dr. visit experience today. Weston had his 2 week check-up and Jackson had an eczema flare up. The visit went well overall!

Dr. Smart gave us some medication to help with Jackson's eczema which has really seemed to help. The flare up is most likely due to the increased pollen count this year. Pretty flowers = itchy child!

Weston is right on par with his growth. We also had a chance to talk to Dr. Smart about Weston's projectile spit-up. She went ahead and put him on Zantac, which should help with all that spit up and fussiness.

Here are Weston's stats @ 2 weeks of age:

Weight: 7lbs. 15.5 ounces

Height: 21.5 inches

Head: 37.5cm

A little brother lovin' after the appointment! Aren't they such sweeties!?!