Three weeks!

Abby turned 3 weeks old yesterday! It seems like she is growing so big yet she still has some pretty skinny legs and arms. We'll see how they look in a couple of weeks. As time goes by it seems to me that I can see more of Jason in her every day. I think she has his eyes.

She is also sleeping alot less these days. at first, it seemed like she was always asleep but now it seems like she is always awake. I think I need to get her one of those play stations so she can be entertained more.

Here is Abby doing her daily tummy time. She seems to be liking it a little bit more each day. At first she hated it but now she seems to try to move aroung and she can lift her head and turn it to the other side! It is amazing to see the changes and progress that she is making.

Jason has been sick since sunday. I really hope he gets feeling better soon but today he seems worse than he did yesterday. I think it is even harder on him because he hasn't been holding the baby although he really wants to in order to not get her sick. I hope for all of our sakes, he gets better soon.

2 Weeks!!

It's hard to believe that Abby turned 2 weeks yesterday!! In some ways, it feels like longer than that. Probably because I have been awake enough to equal more like 3 weeks. We took her into the pediatrician yesterday for her 2 week check up. She looks like she is doing really good. She has grown and inch and a 1/2 since she was born. I think since I see her everyday, I don't realize it. She weighed in yesterday at 6 pounds 10 ounces! I don't know how accurate that weight is though because when we took her to PCMC last thursday, she was only 6 pounds. Abby was squirming around alot then though and was really fussy so maybe that weight wasn't that accurate. The important thing is that she is gaining weight and she is growing! Yeah!! She is also starting to sleep alot less during the day which is fun to see her awake and interacting with Jason and I. Hearing that she is doing well has helped me realize that even though she has MCAD deficiency, she really is going to be able to live a normal life. Just have to keep up with the treatment plan. There is a website about her disorder that has a support group for families. Reading some experiences on there has also helped me alot. Last week, I spent every waking moment worrying about if she was going to be OK and what her life was going to be like. Then monday night I read some posts from parents on the website. One lady made a really good point. She said that as she was watching her 13 year old son who has MCAD play baseball the other day, she realized that she had worried his childhood away and how much she regretted it. That really helped me change my point of view. Sure there are risks with this disorder but even completely healthy children face risks. She is a beautiful and strong girl and we feel that she has truly been a blessing in our lives and we are so lucky to have her.

Abby's first valentines

So Carly sent this really cute onesie to us for Abigail. It says my first Valentine. We tried to take a picture but she was beyond ready to have her diaper changed (and her clothes) So we didn't get a great picture.

Abigail also got her first Valentines present from her daddy. Jason calls Abigail his little piglet because she makes this cute snorting noise sometimes before she eats so he got her this cute little piglet doll.

We also got this cute Congratulations cookie bouquet from all of my family. Thank you all for it, we really appreciate it.

We took this picture of Abigail when she was 7 days old. This sleeper says that it is supposed to fit 0-3 months. I don't believe it. It honestly looks like you could pull her through the neck hole she is so tiny!

I wasn't planning on introducing a bottle so soon but because of her disorder, the doctor reccomended we make sure she is able to take a bottle as soon as possible in case anything happened to me and I was unable to feed her. They also reccomended that we build up a supply of milk in the freezer and also make sure she is able to take formula in case none of my milk is available. She was a natural though and took the bottle right away and had no problem going back to breastfeeding later.

update

As I had mentioned before, Abbie had to spend some time in the NICU. She was having trouble eating and her blood sugar dropped really low. They had to put her on an iv and once her blood sugar was back up, we worked on feeding. when we left the hospital, she was feeding great an looks very healthy. At the time, they attributed the incident to the fact that she was so small. This week we learned that one of the newborn screening tests came back positve. It appears that Abbie has a genetic disorder called mcad deficiency. Her body is unable to process certain fatty acids. At first, some of the paperwork that the doctors gave us did not sound too promising but yesterday we met with a geneticist and a nutritionist up at PCMC. They made me feel a lot better. They feel that as long as we follow the treatment plan, she should be able to live a normal healthy life. She has to take a supplement twice a day and she can not fast. Right now that means she absolutely cannot go 3 hours without eating. That time frame will change as she gains weight. She will also have to follow a fat free diet the rest of her life. The scariest part for me is that any time she gets a little sick, we have to take her to the ER for an IV. I just hope that I will be fast enough to catch it when she is sick so that she won't have any negative outcomes. Well, I know this post is a bummer. Trust me, I have cried plenty and I haven't really felt like talking about it the past few days but I thought I should share with everyone what the situation is.

Can't get enough Abbie pictures? Here are more!

She really is our little angel!

She has cutest hands and feet! Both her fingers and her toes are long and skinny!

Daddy's little girl!

Mommy loves her little girl too.

It is amazing how much you can love a little baby so fast! We both just look at her and can't believe how amazing of an experience this is. Neither one of us wants to let her go when we are holding her. As I mentioned before, it has been a very long and emotional week. I do have to say that I have an amazing husband. He went with me to almost every single feeding in the NICU. (He says it was because he didn't want to miss the baby's first burp). I don't know what I would have done without all of his support and help, both physically and emotionally. Looking back now, I wonder how he was able to do it when I was taking all of the support and not giving much back. We are excited to start this new chapter in our family and look forward to the years to come.

Welcome home Abbie continued!

Jason says this is the first time that he saw her with her eyes open.
Jason did a good job picking out her first hairbows.

All cleaned up and getting her vitals checked.

Baby's first bath.

6 pounds (yes, our poor child was born with a cone head) She would have weighed more but she went to the bathroom 3 times before she made it to the scale.

Welcome Home Baby Abigail!!

Abigail Albert

It has been a very long week full of alot different emotions waiting to be able to bring our little bundle of joy home but she is finally here.

Putting on her going home outfit!


Signing the discharge papers.

Baby's first car ride.

First diaper and wardrobe change at home. (we had only been home an hour!)

A week for Birthdays!!

This is definately a week for birthdays. Yesterday was Jasons sister Carlys birthday. (Pictured above with her cute and color coordinated family minus one). Happy Birthday Carly!! Today is my Grandpa Josephs birthday but I don't have a picture of him to share (I must be one awful granddaughter).

And this is my father-in-law Chuck! His birthday is wednesday and he probably wishes he was getting these delicious cinnamon rolls that my mother-in-law makes for his birthday.

Hopefully we have one more birthday coming this week and that would be of our daughter!! Both my grandpa and my father-in-law would think it was pretty cool if she was born on one of their birthdays but I hate to tell you grandpa, I don't think today is the day. The doctor said that if I don't have the baby by my appointment on wednesday that he will probably schedule an induction. I don't really want to go that route but since my real due date is so up in the air I am somewhere between 40 and 42 weeks right now and very ready to be done!! Hopefully things start moving along naturally in the next few days or so. We will keep you all posted!