What the hell is wrong with my face?!

It seems I always have to have some medical problem to make my life interesting. Today I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy. Basically it's paralysis of one side of your face. Yesterday, all of a sudden I couldn't move the right side of my face! It completely freaked me out. My eye doesn't really blink or close all the way, when I try to smile nothing happens on that side, and even my taste buds on that side don't seem to be working. And my speech is also slurred, and eating and drinking on that side is quite difficult. I feel like I look like complete freak show, especially when I try to smile. I went to the doctor this afternoon and he confirmed the diagnosis I had already came up with from my great friend Google. But my doc is also sending me for a consult with a neurologist on Monday morning, just to be sure there isn't something else that he's missing.

Apparently, Bell's Palsy is inflammation of some nerve in the face that causes the paralysis. It can be caused by many many things like infections, viruses, colds, flu, and even pregnancy. He thinks it was probably triggered by the bad sinus infection I just got over. He said I should recover within 6 weeks, but maybe sooner or even later. WTF?! How am I supposed to go out in public like this? I got a steroid shot from the doc and some other meds that may speed up the recovery time, but who knows. Needless to say, I'm pretty freaked out about the whole thing and got really upset about it tonight. So, you all may see less of me in person until I get back to normal.; I'm just really self-conscious about the way I look and talk right now. :( Please say a prayer that this goes away; the sooner the better.

2 Months Old?!!? Time is flying by!

Happy 2-Month Birthday to Austin!!! I can't believe my baby is two months already; the time has just flown by. We took him this morning to the pediatrician for his checkup. He weighed 13lbs. 2oz. and was 22 1/2 inches long. What a little meatball we have!!! His weight was in the 90th percentile, but heighth was in the 40th percentile. But we knew from the get-go that this kiddo didn't stand a chance at being tall. He also had to get three shot vaccines and one oral vaccine. I made Jordan hold him while he got the shots. It broke my heart to see him scream like that. But the nurse was really fast about it and then I scooped him up in my arms and he quit crying just like that. What a champ!! All he needed was his momma. :)

He's been staying awake alot more during the day, which I love. We have plenty of time to play on the playmat, have tummy time, practice rolling over, etc. He has been smiling more and more each day and has been cooing alot. He definitely recognizes me and my voice. And of course, Jordan loves his morning time with him before work and usually races home in the evenings to see him. And we usually go have lunch with Daddy once a week, too. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who is so helpful at taking care of Austin. Although, he does get kinda squeamish with some of the nasty diaper changes. ;)

We also went and enrolled Austin in daycare this week. It's so sad to think that I am going to have to leave him in two and half months. But I guess that's just a fact of life. Staying home is not really an option for me. We really liked this daycare and are confident that he will be in good hands. But geez, childcare is so expensive! Good thing we only have one kid right now; two just might break the bank!

I'm pretty sure we're related.....

So, the past few weeks, we've been trying to figure out who Austin looks more like, me or Jordan. Well, at birth, what can I say. He looked exactly like me when I was born. I think our pics are almost identical, even the hand placement under the chin is pretty crazy. But as the weeks have gone by, he looks more and more like Jordan did as a baby. We both had a head full of hair that stood straight up, but he looks so much like Jordan in this old pic that I found. I guess there's no denying that this kid is ours. Not to mention the fact that he did inherit Jordan's 'Fred Flinstone' little round toes. Poor kid. :)

Holiday Cheer!

Whew! The holidays are finally over and we are pooped! So many people to see, places to go, and taking care of a newborn. Thanksgiving was the week after we got home from the hospital, so we took it easy. Went for lunch at my mom's house and then just relaxed around the house. Then Jordan had to go back to work and I was left alone to take care of Austin, all day, all by myself. It's pretty exhausting! I feel like I am constantly feeding him, changing diapers, doing laundry, and washing bottles. But I wouldn't trade it for the world! I definitely look forward to when Jordan or Katrina get home in the evening to give me a little relief and to have some adult conversation. We had so many visitors those first few weeks after Austin was born, accompanied by many delicious meals from our friends and family. So, thank you all so very much!

I rushed around over the past few weeks to get all my Christmas shopping done. Geez, it's challenging pushing a stroller, carrying all your bags, and looking through clothes racks all at the same time at the mall. Luckily, Austin usually goes to sleep in his stroller, so he's well-behaved when I take him out. My Nana came in for two weeks for the holidays from New Hampshire. This was her first great-grandson, so she was pretty excited about seeing him. We spent Christmas Eve with Jordan's side of the family at his parents' house in Arlington. Then we did my family's gathering on Christmas Day at our house. I cooked the turkey and everything; it was quite a feast! Being that Austin was only 6 weeks old at Christmas, he didn't have a clue what was going on. But he did get lots of clothes and toys that he will enjoy soon enough! Jordan and I exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve like usual. But the best gift came from Santa.........Guitar Hero World Tour for our PS3. We have seriously been rocking out to it, with two guitars, drums, and a mic. I didn't think I would enjoy it this much.

Austin stayed the first night away from home the day after Christmas at my mom's. It wasn't intentional though. We had all gone to dinner for my sister's birthday, and then Jordan and I were going to join her at the bar afterwards for two drinks while my mom watched Austin. Well, having not drank since mid-March, two drinks turned into alot and we ended up staying for four hours. I missed him so much, but we had a much needed break and got to sleep in a bit (even though we still didn't get to bed until 4am).

We had planned on going to hang out with some friends on New Year's Eve and stay the night. We had it all worked out for Jordan's parents to come stay at our house to watch Austin. But the crazy Texas weather lately has gotten me pretty sick, so we had to cancel. I laid in bed most of the night, and I think Jordan had 3 bottles of wine. ;) So, it was a pretty mellow night.

The holidays are always so busy, so I'm kinda ready to get back to a normal schedule. Austin has been sleeping 6-6 1/2 hours at night this week, so we're pretty excited about that. I got the all-clear at my post-partum checkup this week. My blood pressure has finally returned to normal and my incision from the c-section has healed nicely. And Monday morning I'm starting back at the gym. It's been a year since I've been, so it's going to be tough I'm sure. But they have a daycare on site, so I can go during the day and they'll watch Austin for me. I can't believe he is already 7 weeks old! This week we took advantage of the warm TX weather and went for a walk around the neighborhood. (He got some super-cool sunglasses from his favorite Aunt Katrina, so of course he had to put them on!) He has gotten so much more alert and awake during the day lately. The time has just flown by. In the beginning it felt like I was going to be off work forever, but now I only have 3 more months with him. I am definitely going to cherish every moment together that I can!

Austin Jordan is Here!

Austin Jordan Hougham arrived via c-section on November 13, 2008 at 12:32pm. Although three weeks early, he was a healthy 8lbs. 3oz. and measured 19 1/4 inches long. My doc opted for a c-section due to my blood pressure still being pretty high and Austin's size. While we considered doing an induction, the doc thought we would still end up with a c-section at the end of the day. There was definitely no more room for that kiddo to grow. The surgery went well and Jordan was there with me when they finally managed to pull my big boy out.

Even with the c-section, they still had to use the vacuum and the forceps to get him out of there. Let me tell ya, being cut open is serious business! Standing straight up the next morning was excruciating. Jordan took great care of me during our stay though. We were in the hospital for 5 long days. Austin developed some jaundice, so they had to keep him under the Billi lights. But we got finally got the all-clear and brought our baby boy home.

We are so thankful that our little man is finally here. This pregnancy was a huge blessing. Our journey to get where we are has been difficult and frustrating. After taking a year to get pregnant, our first pregnancy ended in an early miscarriage last summer. We were completely devastated and I kinda went into a depression phase. After another eight months of trying we got pregnant with Austin. I was completely terrified in the beginning that something was going to happen again. But we just held onto our faith that everything would be fine. And here we are holding our special gift!

Being a mom has been one of the greatest blessings. Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to be a mom. Now here I am. But I'm still a wife, sister, friend, and auditor. How I will juggle all of these roles will definitely be a challenge. I have the next 4 months off from work to spend with Austin before I have to go back. It's going to be so tough; I don't even want to think about it yet. If any KPMGers are reading this, yes, I'll be back! ;)

Here are a few pics from Austin's first few weeks.....

Welcome to the Hougham Herald!

I figured it was time to start a blog so that people could keep up with what's going on with the Houghams. We have a MySpace page (www.myspace.com/jenandjordan), but I thought it might be easier for some of you to follow if we had a blog. Bear with me, as I try to get the hang of all this blogging stuff.