Falling Asleep!

Abigail was playing with her activity gym this morning and I noticed she got really quiet.
So I looked over and this is what I found.

Rolling Over!

3 Months Old Today!

Abigail is 3 months old today, above are some more pictures of our chunky monkey!

Trip to Knoxville

Last week Abigail and I visited my friend Amanda and her daughter Isabel in Knoxville. We had such a nice visit! Isabel is 1 week older than Abigail but you can't tell because Isabel is so petite and weighs about 4lbs less! See the link for pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/rocmemphis/KnoxvilleTrip

Trying to lift her head

Pics

Abby is 2 1/2 Months

Ok, so it has taken me awhile to adjust to motherhood, therefore I have had a hard time finding time to do anything....like post on my blog. Abby(chunky monkey) is growing like a weed and gaining weight every day. Since she turned 2 weeks old we have been dealing with acid reflux issues; although I think we finally have this under control with her current meds. However, the past 4 days she has started having other issues; such as, drooling, chewing on her hand, and not wanting to take the bottle. Although it is early I believe she is teething. She screamed for 45 minutes Thursday night and would not take her 10pm bottle, Chris had to run to the store to purchase orajel and she fell asleep.

We are still working to improve her sleep schedule, on a good night she will sleep for one 4 hour period, then awake to eat and sleep another 3 hours. I tried keeping her up longer during the day but that did not work, she was just cranky and had a harder time going to sleep at night. I am hoping this improves other the next month before I return to work. I go back to work on August 1(Yuck!). Abby will be at the Lambs and Ivy daycare, its the only daycare I visited and I didn't cry, so hopefully she will like it too.

Abby now weights almost 13lbs and around 23 inches long. She is getting so big, she has doubled her birth weight already and the dr says she could weigh 20lbs by 6 months. Apparently breastfeed babies tend to put on more weight in the beginning. Her eyes are still blue and the Dr says she thinks they will probably stay blue although we won't know for sure until the 4 month. This month she has started to "talk". Her favorite words are "Hummmmm" and "Oooooo" and she loves when her daddy repeats these words to her. Her head control has improved significantly and she loves to lay on her diaper changing table without her diaper and kick her legs. She is so funny she will talk to you and kick her legs at the same time.

A big thank you to Momma Jo/Pop(aka my parents) and Bubie(aka Chris mom). They have been keeping Abby on the weekends so Chris and I can get some sleep, this has allowed me to keep my sanity! I didn't realize how good I feel mentally and physically once I have sleep.

This Sunday Abby and I leave on a week long trip to Knoxville to visit Amanda and her baby (1 week older than Abby), Isabel. We are very excited, and Abby loves to have a playmate, although neither baby does much, we like to lay them on the bed next to each other and they talk and kick their legs. Isabel and Abby both like the stroller so I imagine we will be going on lots of walks. Chris says he will really miss Abby but will enjoy a quiet house and lots of sleep.

Thanks to Billy and Erin for having us over last night to their new house for dinner. They have a beautiful home in Collierville (where Chris and I grew up) and 2 beautiful children. We spent most the night talking about our kids and I made mental notes of things they did to improve their kids sleeping habits. Abby was really good last night, she hardly cried at all and slept most of the time. I am thinking she is having a growth spurt because she slept a lot yesterday.

Well I better do laundry and clean the house before the monkey gets home. I will try my very best to update my blog once a week.

She is Here!

Horray!!! Abigail Christine Childers was born 12:49pm on April 8, 2008. She weighed 6 lbs and 10 ounces, 20 inches long. We checking in the hospital at 6am that morning for a scheduled induction and around 9am my water was broke and I was about 4.5 cm dilated. I was having moderate contractions so I opted for stadol in my IV before getting the epidural....big mistake! All the stadol did was make me extremely tired, then the major contractions hit, one after another, so I told them I need the epidural now, however I was so tense that epidural was not taking completely, then I was dilating so fast so they call the anesthesiologist back for a top off of the epidural, that finally worked and then it was time to push, but I couldn't feel anything. In between pushing I closed my eyes b/c I was still so tired from the stadol. I made a lot of progress in the beginning but then it stopped and little Abigail's heartrate was not tolerating the contractions as well as we would have liked so we took a break and waited for the Dr. to come over. When she arrived she said she would use the vacuum for 10 minutes, however if that did not work it was time for a C section. However, the vacuum worked and little Abigail finally made her appearance. She is just perfect, I think she looks like me but has big feet like her daddy and she has tons of hair!

Ever since I arrived at the hospital my blood pressure was high, and they thought it would go down after delivery, however it did not so after the delivery I had to stay in Labor and Delivery another 12 hours for a Magnesium Wash to try to get my blood pressure to drop. This medicine made me feel horrible and out of it for the next 24 hours, but my blood pressure did drop some. I have to go back to the dr. this Thursday to have my blood pressure checked again. Other than being extremely tired the Childers family is doing well and very excited about the new addition to our family.

Last Appt

This past Thursday was my last Dr. Appt, hooray! I am 4cm dilated, 90% effaced, -2 station and absolutely NO contractions. So our induction is still scheduled for this Tuesday April 8, and it looks like Abigail isn't coming out on her own.

38 Weeks

Well we have reached 38 weeks and still no baby, and we were so worried we wouldn't reach 34 weeks. I think little Abigail enjoys being in my belly and doesn't want to come out. I went to the dr. on Thursday and I'm 3.5 cm dilated with a paperthin cervix and her head has moved even lower. We went ahead and scheduled an induction for 4/8 so we will definitely have a little baby by then. My feet are still swelling, the right foot more than the left, it looks like an elephant foot and I can only fit into 1 pair of shoes.

A big thank you to Momma Jo and Pop for taking me to lunch today and helping me organize Abigail's room, I think everything is ready, if she would just get here.

Another Week

I had a Dr. appt yesterday and she is surprised little Abigail is still hanging on since my cervix is paper thin, I'm still 3cm dilated, so she stripped my membranes. See below information about the membranes:

As you probably know, the bag of waters is inside the uterus, and the bag is composed of membranes. The membranes tend to cling to the wall of the uterus until after the baby is born and the placenta is expelled. As the cervix begins to soften and open (dilate) at the end of pregnancy, the part of the membranes that was over the cervical opening can be felt through the opening when a vaginal exam is done. "Stripping the membranes" is done by inserting a finger between the membranes and the wall of the uterus to loosen the membranes from the wall. Sometimes, this stimulation of the uterine wall can help to start labor. Sometimes, the loosening of the membranes allows more water to collect in front of the baby which puts more pressure on the cervix and perhaps labor is stimulated that way. The procedure can be a little uncomfortable for some women. If the woman is truly near delivery, she often gets a contraction as a result of the procedure.

She said if Abigail hasn't come by next Thursday we will schedule an induction date just in case for April 8th. At this point I feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever!

Almost 36 Weeks

I went to a weekly Dr. Appt yesterday and I am still 90% effaced and now I am 3 cm dilated. Dr. Riseling also felt my belly to try to estimate little Abigail's weight and she said she is a good size baby and estimates 6-6.5lbs right now! I told her it must have been all the oreos I ate on bedrest. I also showed her my legs/feet that have started to swell, but she said its only mild/moderate and since my blood pressure is fine its perfectly normal. Dr. Riseling would like me to make it another week and since my contractions have been very mild this is possible, however she said she would be surprised if I lasted another 2 weeks (although it's possible, but unlikely).

BACK TO WORK!

I had a FABULOUS Dr. Appt today. Dr. Riseling said that things look good and since my contractions are infrequent with minor discomfort I can go back to work this Monday 3/10!!!!!! I'm so excited.
Since nothing has really changed from last Thursday she decided to wait to check my cervix until next Thursday. I will also be checked for Group B Strep Infection at the next appt. This is a common infection in pregnant women so they check for this at week 36 and if it's a positive result they give me antibiotics during delivery so its not passed to the baby. At this point we just wait for REAL contractions to start then we go to the hospital to have a baby. Hooray!

Another Week Behind Us

I saw my regular Dr today and she did another fFN test today (should get results tomorrow) and if this is negative she will consider removing me from bedrest the week of March 10th, I will be 35 weeks that week and she feels more comfortable. However, she manually checked my cervix and I am 90% effaced and 1cm dilated. So she definitely wants me to remain on bedrest at least 1 week, 2 at the most. She said at 36 weeks (week of March 17) she has no problem with me resuming regular activity (including working), but she thinks once I'm 36 weeks labor will not be far behind, more than likely I will not make it to the original April 13th due date. Everything else looks good, I'm measuring on target and Abigail's heartrate was good.


FYI: Just found out the fFN test was Negative, woohoo!

Released from High Risk Dr.!

I had a good report on Friday at the high risk doctor, I have been released from their office and only have to see my regular doctor going forward. They didn't measure my cervix or do the fFN test, because they no longer do this once your 33 weeks. The dr still wants me to remain on bedrest....yuck, and I am still being monitored (at home) twice a day for contractions. The contractions aren't bad yet, most of time I don't even notice them, the doctor has assured me I will definitely feel them once labor truly begins....joy, joy. So we have another week behind us, hooray! Our next major milestone is next Sat when I am 34 weeks. Little Abigail's lungs should be more mature by then so if she comes early she will have minimal time in the NICU.

A big thank you to mom, Julie, and Aunt Carolyn for coming over this weekend to clean and wash Abigail's clothes. She has tons of clothes and mostly pink, so hopefully she likes this color, ha ha. Yesterday Chris put together her swing and we put a baby doll in it to test it out; I didn't realize the swing would move that fast on the high setting, little Abigail will probably enjoy the slower settings.

Furbaby Annabelle had to go to the vet this weekend, she had an upset stomach (vomiting and diarrhea), however she has been on meds for 2 days now and feels much better. A big thank you to cousin Jen for taking care of her at the vet even though it's obvious Annabelle did not appreciate her.

Our next Dr. Appt is this Thursday, hopefully Dr. Riseling has an easy time finding her hearbeat, little Abigail has been such a wiggle worm lately and is all over the place.

Friday - High Risk Dr.

I went to the high risk dr this morning (Dr. BK) and the ultrasound went well, they decided not to check the length of my cervix since they did that last Friday and I also had a negative fFN test last Friday. Little Abigail is head down (her head is way down, which causes my bladder to spasm, yuck), and the tech said she has lots of hair! She weighs approx. 3lbs 14oz, which is average and all her other organs look good. She didn't want to move that much during the ultrasound so they also hooked me up to the contraction/heartrate monitor, so they could monitor her activity over a 30 minute period. She decided to wake up and was moving around like crazy while the monitor was on my belly, she tried to move the monitor several times and Chris said it looked like I have a alien moving in my belly! I was also having contractions, which I didn't realize without looking at the monitor, it only feels like slight cramping and very manageable. Matria (the company that gives me a contraction machine to monitor the contractions at home) is coming out this afternoon to hook up the machine and show me how to use it, this way we can see how many contractions I have and the strength of them. The nurse said if my contractions continue on this path they will probably increase the procardia (meds that help relax my uterus) and the contractions will probably decrease. I go back next Friday for another checkup.

Bedrest

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I went to the specialist last Friday 2/1 and my cervix had not changed, however I went back to the specialist today and my cervix changed to 1.5 before pressure and 1.2 after pressure. The ultrasound tech applies pressure to my belly which is suppose to simulate what happens to my cervix during a contraction. The good news is I'm still not funneling/dialating and my fFN test today was also negative. The bad news is Dr. BK said no more work total bedrest. So I asked him to explain exactly what I can do, basically I don't have to lay in the bed, I can sit on the couch, just limt my standing to only going to the restroom and taking a shower. This is very disappointing news since I was working on a very important implemenation project at work and now someone else has to pick up where I left off. I am 31 weeks tomorrow and our next major goal is 34 weeks, Dr. BK explained they become less worried after the 34th week.

Little Abigail is still doing fabulous the ultrasound tech said she has a small waist but long legs and fingers (this comes from Christopher's side, everyone knows how short my family is). Her estimated weight is 3lbs 8ounces and she is expected to gain 4-6 ounces each week going forward. Christopher and my dad are going to the babystore tomorrow to pick up the baby furniture and we can begin putting her room together. I go back to my regular dr on Thursday and the specialist on Friday, so i will check in after those appts.

Negative

The fFN test results are in and it's negative, hooray! This means a 99% chance I will NOT deliver in the next 2 weeks.

Ultrasound Pics

Attached are the latest ultrasound pics, including a 4D pic.

Cervix

New developments since the last post. I had a regular dr appt on Thursday and they performed another ultrasound to see if my cervix has shortened anymore. Well unfortunately it had, I went from 2.4 to 2.0 length, so my regular dr wanted me to visit the high risk dr which is more specialized in measuring the cervix and dealing with this type of issue. I also asked her for her thoughts for me making it to 40 weeks, she said that was probably unrealistic for me and her goal is 36 weeks and we will do everything possible to meet this goal.

The next day we met with the high risk dr and since I had never been to see him he wanted a complete ultrasound to get a detailed look at Abigail and how she is developing. Everything looks good with her and she is developing completely normal, she always has one hand over her eyes and this time she was holding a foot too! I don't know how she kicks the one leg up by her head, but she apparently likes it and the ultrasound tech said its very common for babies to do this. We were able to get a 4D ultrasound pic (will post later) and little Abigail has my nose, not sure whose lips she has they looked very plump and Chris and I have thin lips. She weighs approx. 2lbs and 6 ounces. At the very end the ultrasound tech measured my cervix and it was 1.9, yuck. The doctor came in and said he wants me to take a fFN test on Monday and if the results are positive I have around a 40% chance of delivering in the next 2 weeks, however if it is negative I have around 99% chance of NOT delivering in the next 2 weeks. He has also put me on modified activity which means go to/from work and come home and sit on the couch for the rest of the evening. No cooking, cleaning, laundry, or grocery shopping. If the test is negative he has scheduled another ultrasound on 2/1 and if the cervix has shortened to 1.5 or less then we discuss bedrest, double yuck! Thats all the news I have now and will post when I get the results from the test, probably Tuesday or Wednesday.

Jan 3 Dr Appt

Today is Momma Jo's b-day, she is 60, so happy birthday to her!

We had another ultrasound today to check the cervix and the cervix had barely changed from 6 weeks ago which is good news. I will have appts every 2 weeks now and have an ultrasound each appt to monitor the cervix. Apparently Abigail's head is right next to the cervix and that is why I feel like she hangs out in my crotch because she does, ha ha. She must have had a growth spurt because she was measuring at 27 weeks and I'm only 25 1/2 weeks along. She weighs 2lbs and 2 ounces and I think she has big feet. I'm finally off the anti-nausea medicine and feeling pretty good. Chris and I begin our childbirth classes Jan 14, its a 2 hour class every Monday for 7 weeks, we will discuss labor/delivery, touring the hospital, taking care of a newborn, and infant CPR.