Abby's blessing

Aaaahhh! I did it again, Iforgot to rotate the picture before posting it. Well in this picture, you can see the detail from the back of her dress.

Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Chuck (after the needed wardrobe change)

She wasn't totally loving picture time (it probably had something to do with the dirty diaper we soon found out about)

Thank you once again to everybody who came and to those who couldn't, you were missed. We love you all!

Abby's first big tub bath!!

I was scared forever to give Abby a bath in the bath tub. I gave her sponge baths long after her umbilical cord fell off. The first time, she wasn't a huge fan but she has gotten much better. I did it for the first time when we had family here. It seemed alot easier to do it for the first time when there would be other people in the house so if anything happened I would have help. Also, it was nice to have someone to take pictures!!

This was towards the end of the bath, i'm happy, Abby still isn't.

This look just says "Mom, what are you doing to me!"

And this is the friendly Pooh bear that is also a handy thermometer!

Okay, okay, I am still trying to get the pictures of Abby's blessing gown up but I am having some technical difficulties. Hopefully one of these days I will be successful. Easter was okay. We had a great dinner as far as Hams go. I am honestly not a huge ham fan, I always think they taste a little salty but Jason made a tasty one yesterday. Now that we have Abby it hits home alot harder that we don't live closer to any family. We did have Ryan and Camille over which is the next best thing. Jason and I have been talking alot lately how if it weren't for the economy, we would probably move closer to Chico. However, the job market out there wouldn't be looking to good for him and there is no way we would be able to sell our house right now. Maybe some day. Well I wanted to point everyone in the direction of the MCAD support website. I have noticed that I have got a little complacent lately about Abby's condition. She has been doing so well I start to get to the point where I start thinking she will be this healthy everyday and because of that, I start to let my guard down a little. I am thankful everyday that she is as healthy as she is. Overall, children with MCAD look and act like "normal" children until they have a metabolic crisis from either not eating, illness or a combination of the two. Besides her stay in the NICU, Abby has been doing great. She has even stayed healthy while Jason has had a cold and a sinus infection. Last week there was an incident (not with Abby) which made me re realize that yes, this is a serious condition which DOES require constant vigilance. For anyone who is interested, you can visit www.fodsuppport.org to learn more about MCAD. There are two very informative videos created by the founder Deb Gould. I don't want to tell anybody what to do but I would really like family members to check it out because you may be the most likely to have contact with her when she may be close to a crisis state. The best part of the website for me is a link where you can see pictures of people (mostly children) who have MCAD or other fatty oxidation disorders. To see that they are growing and are healthy and happy are very hope inspiring for me. Okay, i'll get off of my soap box now. Other good news, I took Abby in to be weighed on thursday and she is now 10 pounds, 10 ounces. I told my dad and he commented that now she is ALMOST as big as he was when he was born. Grandma, you are a trooper, I look at her now and think there is no way I could have given birth to a child that large. Love you all!!

Catch Up!

So I know I haven't written on here in awhile. I have tried several times but I wanted to add pictures from Abby's baby blessing but for some reason, the laptop won't read the pictures from my memory card anymore. I need to go to the computer downstairs but with a small baby, it feels more like journey than a quick trip to get down there. I will have to do it one night while Jason is here which unfortunately hasn't been any day this week. He has been working up at a place called Soldier Summitt and hasn't been getting home until quite late. On March 29th, we had Abby's baby blessing. It was great. We had alot of family in town and it was good to see everyone. I wish my mother-in-law Kathy were still here. She is a life saver!! You are welcome back anytime you want to come!! She does lots of cooking and when she has been here have been the few times when I was able to take a long shower without worrying about Abby. I WILL try to get the blessing pictures up soon. In the meantime, I do have some pictures that my sister-in-law Allison took of Abby while she was here. They came out much better than ones I have taken. Photography is not my talent. I'm just lucky when you don't see my thumb in the screen. Allison was able to catch some of Abby's cute faces that I usually miss. Jason is getting over a cold. I started to get it but I mega dosed on vitamin c and zinc and amazingly I got over it fast. Now I am just battling allergies which unfortunately I can't take anything for since I am breastfeeding. Luckily Abby didn't get sick. We feel lucky for that. I take her in to get weighed tomorrow then she has an appointment next tuesday where she will get her immunizations. I know some people don't think immunizations are good but I am a believer. She should also have them because of the MCAD. I just worry because there is the risk of fever. She does need to be premedicated with tylenol because of the MCAD but if she does get a fever and it gets too high, we will have to take her to the hospital. We will just have to keep a close eye on her and hope for the best. Well, I will write more when I add the other pictures. Love you all!

Week 6

Abby went for her first walk around the neighborhood this week! The weather was finally warm enough and I was very grateful because I really needed the exercise. This is also one of the only times she took a pacifier. I'm not really a big fan of pacifiers but once in awhile they are really helpful. Unfortunately this next week is supposed to be cold again. Utah weather can be so fickle in March and April. Other than that, this week was pretty uneventful. Abby has been smiling alot more lately. My favorite time of day is after she eats in the morning, she will lay in my arms and smile at me!! There is nothing quite as beautiful as seeing your own child smile. I'm sure all parents will agree with me. We are excited to have family coming out this week for Abby's blessing next weekend. We will post more pictures then!!

Week 5

This week has been such a busy week. The Welcome Baby nurse came on monday and it was wonderful!! Abby weighed in at 8 pounds 7 ounces! I feel like she taught me alot of helpful information. I learned that the dandruff I thought Abby had on her scalp was actually cradle cap. EEK! but she told me how to treat it and it is pretty much gone now. She also showed me how to use the Boppy pillow during tummy time. As you can see above, Abby is doing a great job and has been able to lift her head alot! The Welcome Baby program is great! The nurse is going to keep coming back over the next few months and will keep checking her progress. It is very helpful to a first time mom who has no clue what she is doing!

Here is Abby in her first ride in the bouncy chair! She seemed to like it.

Unfortunately, I caught her too late but here is a picture of Abby lifting and turning her head. From this view you can see her hair. She has almost no hair on top of her head but the hair on the back of her head is thicker and pretty long.

Here she is looking at me with those eyes that say "Mom, why do you make me do this tummy time thing!"

Tuesday was Jason's birthday. Unlike Abby's weekly birthdays, I will not update you on his weight or his development. On tuesday, we just had dinner and cake at our house with a couple of friends. Today we had a barbecue at our house to celebrate and were able to see some friends we haven't seen in awhile. It was definately a good time.

On friday, I took Abby into the doctors office. She had what looked like baby acne but then it just kept spreading all over. It is on her eyelids, ears, neck, shoulders and chest. I, being the paranoid mom that I am, took her in. I was just worried it was some type of really bad rash. They said it is called Sebborhea and it is related to the cradle cap. Poor girl. When they weighed her yesterday, she weighed in at 8 pounds, 13 and 1/2 ounces but this time they didn't have me undress her or change her diaper first so I'm not sure how accurate that is. I am just glad she seems to be growing at a good rate. Well, I will try to keep updating everyone each week. Until then, Love you all!

P.S. Happy late birthday to my brother in law Kevin and his wife Susan!!

Abby is growing so BIG!!

Ok, she is still smaller at 4 weeks old than some of her cousins were at birth but she is gaining weight at a good pace!! I took her to the doctor to be weighed last tuesday (her 4 week birthday) and she is now 8 pounds! That means she has gained on average 8 ounces a week! This is very reassuring to me. I am sure every breastfeeding mom at some time has had the same worries as I have about whether or not she is eating enough. Now for the updates of what she can do. As you can see from the picture above, she can roll to one side but i'm not sure if that is of her own doing or gravity. She is starting to make sounds other that crying. She makes these little sighing noises that are adorable!! She is definately a mover and shaker. She is always moving her legs around. When I am holding her on my shoulder and she moves her legs around, I can put one hand below her feet and she will sort of stand up, albeit I am supporting most of her body. Most exciting of all, today she looked at me and smiled. This smile looked a little different from her "gas smiles" she has been having. Maybe it was still one of those but it is nice to imagine she was smiling at me.

She isn't as big on the swaddling as other babies are. If we try to put her hands in the blanket burrito, she wrestles them away so I gave up even trying to wrap them up. Many times when she is sleeping, she looks like this or she'll have her hands up under her chin. Jason usually sleeps with his hands behind his head too. She is developing to be more like him every day! (at least I think so). I'll have her weighed again on monday, there is a program the county does where they send nurses to the homes of newborns if the parents want so the nurse is coming here monday to weigh her and check to see how she is doing. I will try to update everyone then. P.S. It is Jason's birthday next tuesday so wish him a happy birthday!