10 Months

9 Months

8 Months...playing Catch-Up

7 Months

Well, it's only fitting that I'm just now sharing Abby's 7 Month picture since she'll be turning 9 MONTHS tomorrow!  Can't believe it...where does time go?

6 Months

I seem to always be about a month behind in posting these since Abby is now actually 7 months, but here you go!

5 Months

I'm a little late on posting...over a month actually, but here's Abby's 5 month photo!

4 Months

3 Months

 

 

My little Valentine

A little late...but, here's the princess being festive for Valentine's Day.

 

2 Months

 

1 Month

 

 

 

 

 

Baby's First Christmas

The little angel made an early arrival which meant an extra special Christmas this year!  Of course she was too little to visit Santa or really participate in many actual Christmas festivities but I wasn't going to let it stop me from getting plenty of cute pictures of her on her very first Christmas!

Our Birth Story

I'll start by saying that nothing went as planned, it was scary, it was emotional and not at all ideal but baby Abby is here and she is our everything!

Let's start where, although we didn't know it, the whole whirlwind of events began.  I woke up in the middle of the night Saturday to what I believed was major heartburn.  After a half dozen Tums and attempting to sleep sitting up there was still no relief.  I made a call to the OB office which pretty much just told me to wait and see.  They believed it was either heartburn or just a muscle pain.  "Take a warm Epsom salt bath, use a heating pad, take anti-gas meds, get rest and hopefully it'll go away."  Well, I seemed to get some relief over the next few days but it was still slightly there and worse when I tried to sleep.  Monday I stayed home from work because I was still uncomfortable and advised to rest.  The pain got better throughout the day and Jon and I were able to do many baby things around the house.  We organized things, started getting together a diaper bag and hospital bag, installed the car seat, mailed in product registrations, and mailed in our pre-registration for the hospital.  We got so many baby things done (good thing).  I started feeling better so I was led to believe that it was indeed heartburn or a muscle ache.  Tuesday I returned to work.  That night while trying to sleep the extreme mid-chest pain returned.  This time I couldn't ignore it and made an appointment online to see my OB the following day.  I thought for sure I'd be given prescription heartburn meds and be sent on my merry way.  Well, I was extremely wrong.  I did the normal office visit thing...peed in a cup, stepped on the scale and had my blood pressure taken.  Well, my blood pressure was a little elevated but not too alarming.  I then explained the pain I'd been having and was pretty quickly told I needed to have blood work done.  The reasoning was to rule out preeclampsia.  The OB was fairly confident that I didn't have it given that the epigastric pain and slightly elevated blood pressure were my only symptoms.  But, they wanted to make sure and wanted me to go to the hospital to have labs done.  So, I headed to the hospital thinking that I'd walk in to a lab-esque place to get pricked a couple times and head on my way to work.  That was not the case.  I was immediately admitted to labor and delivery to have blood work done.  This is where all the fun starts.  My blood pressure was being monitored very closely.  I was told to pee in a container for 24 hours.  I had an IV started, was having blood drawn every few hours for various tests, my belly was hooked up to multiple monitors to make sure Abby was safe, I had an ultrasound of my organs and and ultrasound of baby too.  At one point I was told I'd be on bedrest at home, bedrest in the hospital, be induced at 37 weeks and possibly have my gallbladder removed.   But, over the course of the next 48 hours I would actually be diagnosed with preeclampsia.  On Wednesday the only symptom I had was the "chest" pain and slightly elevated blood pressure and by Friday morning my liver enzymes were high, my red blood cell count was off, there was protein in my urine and my blood pressure had reached something like 190 over 110.  Basically, I was on the verge of having a stroke while simultaneously suffering kidney and liver failure.  The only cure to preeclampsia is delivery so on Friday morning I was visited by the OB who quickly told me that I would be having a baby.  Scary but exciting at the same time.  I was incredibly sick at this point.  I was dehydrated.  I felt weak and was extremely ill.  The only option for birth, given how I felt, was to move forward with a c-section.  They proceeded with an epidural and rolled me into the operating room at 11:30am.  At 11:51am on Friday, December 7th, 2012 baby Abigail Scarlett was born!  She weighed 4 pounds 6.5 ounces (exactly 13 ounces less than they had estimated via ultrasound the day before) and was 18.5 inches long.  She came out crying which was a very sweet sound given that she was only 34 weeks and 6 days.  She was immediately taken to NICU for observation due to her gestational age at birth.  Baby girl started out on oxygen for the first 36 hours but was a strong little one.  By Sunday she was breathing on her own, regulating her own temperature and by all accounts was healthy.  She would spend the next 15 days learning how to eat and remembering to breathe.  As the doctors said, "she was just being a preemie."  As I like to say, "she just had to learn how to be a baby."

 

 

34 Weeks and SURPRISE, Baby Abby's birth too!

 

This was the draft to the questions that I had created before ending up in the hospital on Wednesday for the "heartburn" mentioned below. 

Baby Abigail Scarlett was born on Friday at 34 weeks and 6 days.

 

How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Baby is the Size of A: Cantelope

Best Moment This Week: Going through all your new clothes and things and realizing that your arrival is around the corner!

Gender: Baby Girl

Movement: Lots of kicking and rolling and oftentimes on my bladder.

Food Cravings: Chicken pot pie, alfredo pasta and Thanksgiving food!

What I Miss: Getting up from bed without pushing off with my arm.

Sleep: It seems that I'm sleeping for longer periods of time now, knock on wood.

Belly Button: Still hanging in there...mostly flat though.
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Maternity Clothes: Yup.
Stretch Marks: I think I just need to suck it up...they exist.

Symptoms: Just normal preggo problems...peeing often and heartburn.
What I am Looking Forward to: Our last holiday season without a little one to hold- IRONY AT ITS BEST

33 Weeks

How Far Along: 33 Weeks
Baby is the Size of A: Pineapple
Best Moment This Week: Going on the hospital tour and seeing the little angels in the nursery AND realizing that you'll be here for us to cuddle so soon
Gender: sweet baby girl

Movement: Definitely more jabs and more pressure on the bladder

Food Cravings: Sweet tea is becoming harder to resist so I've started allowing myself splurges here or there

What I Miss: Not much, I have to say that I'm a pretty happy girl

Sleep: Waking up every few hours for a potty break but otherwise, sleeping sound

Belly Button: Pretty much flattened out
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Maternity Clothes: All maternity with the exception of longer shirts and loungewear from pre-pregnancy
Stretch Marks: Yup.

Symptoms: I've felt a little more pressure from her head being down
What I am Looking Forward to: Getting more and more ready for her grand appearance with everything from purchasing car seats to choosing a pediatrician.

32 Weeks

How Far Along: 32 Weeks 
Baby is the Size of A: Honeydew
Best Moment This Week: Going through all your new clothes and things and realizing that your arrival is around the corner!
Gender: Baby Girl

Movement: Lots of kicking and rolling and oftentimes on my bladder. 

Food Cravings: Chicken pot pie, alfredo pasta and Thanksgiving food!

What I Miss: Getting up from bed without pushing off with my arm.

Sleep: It seems that I'm sleeping for longer periods of time now, knock on wood.

Belly Button: Still hanging in there...mostly flat though.
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Maternity Clothes: Yup.
Stretch Marks: I think I just need to suck it up...they exist.

Symptoms: Just normal preggo problems...peeing often and heartburn.
What I am Looking Forward to: Our last holiday season without a little one to hold.

The big nursery reveal!

Here is Abby's nursery!  I'm happy to finally reveal it and think it's absolutely precious...if I do say so myself!  It's been pretty much done for a while now so I decided it was about time to share.  Jon and I love it and I can't believe that in less than 2 months (with any luck) there will be a precious little angel in there!  I hope she'll like her room as much as we do!

31 Weeks

How Far Along: 31 Weeks
Baby is the Size of A: Head of Lettuce again
Best Moment This Week: Having our second baby shower and getting all sorts of handmade things for you from Nini and lots of family and friends!

Gender: Littlest Princess

Movement: I think I spoke too soon, your movements are big and so much stronger than before.  They can be quite startling sometimes. You can definitely tell that you're getting bigger inside there and possibly running out of room without pushing up against the outside from time to time.

Food Cravings: Sweets...as always, but nothing specific.

What I Miss: Being able to put on pants, socks and boots without struggling.

Sleep: I have to make sure that I don't eat anything to cause heartburn too close to bedtime or I have a mid-night attack.  Other than that, great!

Belly Button: Still hanging in there.
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Maternity Clothes: I just organized my closet into things I can truly wear now and most are maternity.
Stretch Marks: I dunno, I think I'm in denial of a few smaller ones that have popped up but they're still all really low on my belly.

Symptoms: Not really...sometimes I feel a lot of pressure down lower but I think it's because of baby being head down now.
What I am Looking Forward to: Organizing your room with all your new things!

Baby shower #2

Last weekend we had our second baby shower for little baby Abby!  We received so many great things...especially handmade items!  Baby girl now has her fair share of crocheted blankets and hats, appliqued burp cloths, handmade booties, bibs and plenty of cute clothes!  We have been so blessed by all the people wanting to shower us and baby with gifts and can't believe that we will be meeting her before we know it!  I didn't manage to take many photos this week but did get a few to share.  We had people drive and fly from states all over to come and shower our little princess and couln't be more appreciative!

 

30 Weeks

How Far Along: 30 Weeks
Baby is the Size of A: Head of Lettuce
Best Moment This Week: Finding a school for you for when I have to go back to work and trust other people with my sweet little angel AND getting surprise baby presents at the door.

Gender: Our little Abby Baby

Movement: You're moving a little less, well I guess I should say that you're not quite rocking and rolling throughout the day now.  It's more startling movements.

Food Cravings: Hmm...milk?  I've been drinking milk with a tablespoon of pumpkin spice creamer in it lately and have stopped a couple of times to pick up a milkshake on the way home so that's probably the closest thing I've had to a craving this week.

What I Miss: Not really much, I'm a pretty happy camper really.

Sleep: Good...I always have been able to sleep.

Belly Button: Still there in a shallow form.
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Maternity Clothes: Got a cute dress for my shower last week.  I'm not able to squeeze my belly into many non-maternity shirts anymore...they seem to be a little too short.
Stretch Marks: No more than before.

Symptoms: A little bit of back aches if I'm standing/walking a lot but not bad...and I'm still wearing heels at work so I can probably blame it on that.
What I am Looking Forward to: Your second baby shower this weekend!!