Seven Months

Abigail desperately wants to go somewhere, but just hasn't figured it out yet.  She can lift up all the way on her toes, but is still working on getting up onto her knees.  She scoots around in a circle on her tummy very quickly.  I predict she will crawl before Hannah did (who was 9 months).  Abigail is doing really well on her sitting though.  She can sit for at least 20 minutes before she topples over.

It's really interesting to watch the differences in the girls' personalities.  Hannah LOVES food now, but when she was little, she wasn't excited even though she did eat.  Abigail on the other hand has ALWAYS loved her food.  She makes "mmm" "umm" "num" and other enjoyment noises while nursing and eating solid food.  =)  She is still enjoying cereal, but really likes her veggies.  We've tried sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and peas.  In case you were wondering I have decided to make my own baby food again like I did with Hannah.  Most foods are not that hard and it saves SO much money.  There are a few things like pears that are more difficult to make really smooth, so I will probably buy those.



Now that she is eating more solid food we adjusted her schedule slightly.  She is now awake for 2 hours and then naps for 2 hours.  That means nursing every 4 hours instead of every 3 and two long naps.  She will also go down for a shot nap during the dinner hour as long as we are home.  And she still sleeps about 10 hours at night.  =)  No teeth yet, but she's had a slight runny nose and her bottom gums seem swollen.  We still get lots of smiles and giggles from Abigail.  And here's one of her new favorite faces.



Abigail may also be more active than Hannah.  When playing on her tummy she kicks her legs when she gets excited and if she's sitting up she flaps her arms.  Hannah loves to jump and run now but she was very laid back when she was younger.  Abigail's newest trick is growling.  She puts a toy in her mouth, chews on it, and makes growling noises.  Not sure why she's making that noise, but it's funny to watch.  She still "talks" all the time too.  Her favorite happy playing sound is "da da da" and then when she gets frustrated she starts saying "ma ma ma."  Wonder if it's her way of trying to get my attention.

Last but not least...a monkey photo!  =)

Three Months

Has it really been three months since my sweet girl was born? Oh how time flies!


Abigail is sleeping much much better than she was a month ago. We still have occasional not so great naps, but a HUGE improvement. She is also doing great at night. Once I stopped setting an alarm, it took about 2 weeks for her to stop waking up at night. She will now sleep for about 10 hours. That makes a happy and well rested mommy! =) She is still sleeping swaddled in blankets, but we hope to gradually transition out of them in the next month or so. Of course Hannah slept fully swaddled until 6 months and then from the waist down for another 2 months. =-) We'll see.

Abigail has always been a better and more efficient eater than Hannah was. She had no problem alternating between nursing and bottles when we were supplementing. Once her jaundice was gone we stopped using a bottle except on Sunday morning at church. Each week it became harder and harder to get her to drink her bottle. I think we've bought four different kinds and have thrown away lots of pumped milk. =( I think we found a bottle she seems to like (Playtex Nurser) and we are doing lots of practice to get her to drink it. Most of the time she doesn't cry, but isn't really interested in eating either. She seems content to chew on the nipple. Silly girl! She will eventually drink some, but it takes FOREVER. Thankfully the ladies in the nursery at church are patient with her. Practice makes perfect right?

We are still doing "tummy time" even though Abigail doesn't really seem to enjoy it. She CAN lift her head up, but only when she wants to. Check out the pictures my mom took and put together. These shots were taken seconds apart.

Abigail is continuing to engage with us more and more. Lots of smiles, especially to mommy. =) Grammy did make her laugh for the first time last week. Nathan and I think that Abigail "talks" more than Hannah did at this age. Hmm...maybe she's trying to compete with big sister who never stops talking! =)

One Week

This last week has flown by! Sweet Abigail is still jaundiced, but her bilirubin number is moving in the right direction. We are now only doing formula at every other feeding. We saw our pediatrician this morning too. Abigail weighs 8 pound 2 oz, 6 oz more than when we left the hospital on Sunday. She has already grown 1/2 inch (21 1/2 inches long). We are very pleased with her progress.

She is such a sweetheart! If we snuggle and rock for 15 minutes all swaddled up then she is off to dreamland. Sleep training will come eventually, but for now we are enjoying loving and snuggling with her. No new pictures to post today, but more to come. We are heading to my mom's tomorrow to try and take cute newborn photos with little hats and bows. FUN! Hopefully we can get her sleepy enough to let us pester and play with her. =)

Twelve Months

We went to the doctor this morning so I'll start with the latest stats.

Weight - 15 lb 9 oz
Height - 28 1/4 inches

If you look back at the nine month blog post you'll notice Hannah has actually lost 2 oz. The doctors weren't overly concerned. Once babies start crawling they burn more calories. So they said to try and get Hannah to eat more at each meal, introduce whole milk, and we go back for a weight check in January. Hannah does enjoy eating so hopefully we can quickly and easily gain what she needs to. The doctor was pleased to see that Hannah is hitting all her developmental milestones (crawling and babbling).

We put up our Christmas tree after Thanksgiving and I was a little worried Hannah would try to pull up on it or yank ornaments off. So I only put soft nonbreakable things within her reach. I am happy to say that she's been a very good girl. She just sat and looked at the tree for almost a week before she did anything. Now she will very gently touch the branches or the ornaments. We have a dancing musical Santa and Rudolph that we put out every year. Hannah absolutely LOVES them. She dances and waves her arms. She knows they play music and will touch and pull on them, but hasn't figured out the on button yet.

Here's the 12 month monkey photo. Monkey is going into retirement, but will return every year for a birthday photo. We are stopping just in time...this month was quite an adventure. Hannah was NOT interesting in sitting next to monkey. As you can see, she clearly had other places to go. =)





This last week was SUPER busy so we haven't actually celebrated Hannah's birthday yet. Grammy, G-Pa, and Auntie Kara are coming over Saturday for a small party. We'll do cupcakes and presents. A friend of mine made her the cutest outfit to wear. We'll take lots of pictures and I'll do a special birthday post next week.

Eight Weeks

Wow! The last few weeks have been really busy. Hannah had the sonogram done of her hips. Her right hip is normal and the left hip shows mild dysplasia when rotated inward. Our doctor seems to think it will most likely tighten on it's own. However, we would like to see a specialist just to make sure she doesn't need a brace. I called and got that appointment scheduled for Thursday morning.

She had her 8 week check up this morning and got 3 of the 4 shots. There is a shortage of one and so we have to go to the health department to get it. I decided 3 shots were enough for one day and we'd get the other one tomorrow. =(

Hannah is now 9 lbs 13 oz (25th percentile) and 23 1/4 inches long (75th percentile). I think she's going to be tall like her daddy. =) She is starting to sleep longer and will often go 5 or 6 hours between feedings at night. I got the official OK from the doctor today to stop waking her up at night to feed. Yeah! We'll see if she'll sleep longer than 6 hours. She has been tracking objects for a few weeks now and is also cooing. Nathan and I enjoy "talking" with her. I think she's going to smile any day now because I've caught many attempts.

A few weeks ago my mom and I had a friend from church come and take some sleepy photos of Hannah before she got too big. Sandra (http://www.sandraedwards.net/) did a great job. Here's some of our favorites:



Hope you enjoyed the photos. I'll post another update in a few days about our appointment with the specialist and more photos.

6 Week Check Up

Hannah went back to the doctor today and got a great report. She now weighs 9 lbs 1 oz and is 22 3/4 in long. We can finally stop supplementing with formula. YEAH! I think it may take her a few days to get used to not receiving a bottle every feeding. That means she really has to stay awake and eat the whole time. =) I'm sure she'll figure it out though.

Since Hannah was born breech they recommend getting a sonogram of her hips to check for hip dysplasia. Our doctor wrote the order today and I just have to call and schedule the appointment. We go back to the doctor in two weeks for an 8 week check up and 4 shots.

This past weekend Nathan and I enjoyed a visit from his dad. Mike lives in Arkansas and was finally able to come a meet Hannah. It was a short visit, but we enjoyed having him!

Look How I've Grown

Hannah is 4 weeks old today. We thought it was time to take another picture with the stuffed monkey. Look how big she's getting! She is still REALLY hard to keep awake during feeding so if you're looking for something specific to pray for we'd appreciate it.

1 Week
4 Weeks

Finally Gaining Weight

Hannah went back to the doctor today and I am happy to report that she has finally surpassed her birth weight. She is now 7 lb 12 oz. Hannah is such a sleepy thing that she just wasn't eating well. Last week we started supplementing with 1 oz of formula at each feeding. The first few days were really rough and she seemed pretty confused. We are in a good routine now though. Our doctor said to keep doing what we're doing until our 6 week check up. If she's still gaining good then we can stop supplementing and go to 4 hr feedings at night. Also the jaundice is completely gone. Glad to have lots of good news to report. Thanks for the continued prayers.

Thought I'd include a photo too. Enjoy!

Doctor Visits for All (except Nathan)

Hannah and I both got to see the doctor today. Last night I noticed that my incision was kind of red and this morning it was bleeding a little. So I called the office when they opened and they were able to squeeze me in. I had a fluid collection in the middle of my incision. The doctor opened that and drained a LOT of fluid and blood out. She said there is no infection yet, but put me on a preventative antibiotic just in case. Please pray that no infection develops because if it does they have to reopen the entire incision and clean it out. I got back next Tuesday for her to check it again.

We enjoyed showing Hannah off to the doctors and nurses at our family practice office. Nathan and I have been going there for years and it's a small office so they all know us. In fact our doctor and her husband actually attend our church. OK off to the actual update. Today Hannah weighed 6lb 12oz which is what she weighed when we left the hospital. She is also a little jaundiced on her face and chest. Our doctor didn't seem overly concerned about either her weight or the jaundice, but will see Hannah again next week to check her again. In the mean time, we are going to feed every 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours at night. We thought it was hard to wake Hannah to eat every 3 hours...every 2 hours in an even bigger challenge. We're making it work though.

Since it's almost Christmas I've been thinking about all they ways God has blessed us. He gave me an AMAZING husband who is truly my best friend. I am so thankful Nathan's been able to be home with me. He does a great job taking care of me and Hannah. And of course our special blessing of Hannah this year. I am still amazed at how God chose to fulfill our desire to start a family. Hannah is a miracle and we know He has a special plan for her life.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and enjoy spending time with family! Thanks for reading and especially for your prayers!

First Day at Home

Yesterday after lunch we were discharged from the hospital. Hannah did a great job in her car seat. Grammy and Aunt Kara came up for a few hours and took some photos. They also helped me wash and dry my hair (it's really thick and takes 30 mins to do). Hannah seemed to do pretty well being at home versus the hospital. We were glad we had two sizes of blanket to double swaddle her in. She REALLY likes to be wrapped up tight. I call it a "little Hannah burrito!" She slept in her crib and not the pack and play. Our house isn't that big so the nursery shares a wall with the master bedroom and is only a few feet from the room I was sleeping in. Our bed is really high and too hard for me to get in and out of right now.

Feeding seems to be going well too. Every once in a while we'll have one that's not great, but for the most part she knows what she's doing. The hardest part is keeping her awake. We usually have to stop half way through and burp, change diaper, or something to wake her back up. Here's some photos that Nathan took last night. The big monkey was a Christmas present from Aunt Kara last year to Nathan. He LOVES monkeys! The other photo shows how tiny she is compared to her crib and you can see her "burrito" wrap. Enjoy!




Many people have asked how I am recovering. As long as I stay on the pain meds I do pretty good. I did a little too much yesterday afternoon and was REALLY hurting last night. Today I've taken it a much easier. I was encouraged to be able to do night time feeding independently. I still have a hard time getting in and out of chairs especially with Hannah in my arms. The rocker in her nursery works really well though.