Labor Day weekend

It has been like Grand Central Station in our house this past weekend, but it was a good thing. Casey's mom and sister got here on Wednesday night to see Abby for the first time, and they stayed until Sunday morning. Abby got in some good snuggle time with her Grandma Rhonda:

Then on Friday night, two of my Harding friends came to visit for the weekend and see Abby. Lindsey brought her daughter, Hallie, who is 3 1/2 months old. So cute! Sara spent most of her time loving on the babies, which gave me and Lindsey a little bit of a break. Thanks, Sara! :) Here are our sweet girls/future Harding roommates:

Sunday was also Abby's first time to go to church. I got her all dressed up in her pretty purple dress, and she was so good all morning! She stayed awake through the whole worship service and then fell asleep halfway through class. Of course, we had to get a picture to document her first Sunday:

After church, we decided to be brave and go eat at Chili's. Lindsey and I are still getting used to carting these babies around everywhere we go... car seats, diaper bags, making time for feeding and changing diapers... it's crazy! We survived (thanks again, Sara!), and here's a picture of the girls:

Now everyone has gone home. We are completely exhausted, but we had a good time. I hope it's not too long before we can all get together again! Rhonda will be back to see Abby in October, and this time Grandpa Terry gets to come, too. It's amazing how popular we've become since this baby arrived... :)

New swing!

We were originally given a swing by some friends, but Abby didn't seem to like it as well as we hoped. Then there was a woman at Harding who happened to be selling the swing we originally registered for, and she was asking much less than the store so we got it. Abby LOVES it! We are so grateful because it seems to soothe her when nothing else will. Yay, swings! Here's a picture of our sweet 3 week old baby in her new swing:

3 week reflection

There have just been a few thoughts/observations about Abby over the last day or two that I don't want to forget, so I'm going to jot them down here. Hope it's not too boring. :)

• She is getting so long! I was just putting her in her bed (in our room), and it hit me how long her legs are. I have a feeling we're going to have a tall girl when she gets older.
• I heard my baby laugh for the first time today. She was half asleep, and it wasn't in response to anything. She just smiled and laughed for a couple of seconds. It was the cutest/funniest/most beautiful sound I've heard. I can't wait to hear it again--especially when she can do it in response to something.
  
• Her hair is getting quite a bit lighter. It was really dark when she was first born, but it's looking more like mine everyday. Well, the color is. It's so curly when it's wet, but it straightens out when it's dry. So weird! I think the hidden curl is what makes it stand out so far and makes her look like a rock star. :)
  
• I hate when she hurts and I can't do anything about it. She has had so many tummy problems already in the 3 short weeks she has been alive, and it breaks my heart to hear her scream and cry. We have medicine to help with the reflux and colic/abdominal pain, but it just isn't enough. Yes, it totally stresses me out to hear that constant screaming (the girl has some lungs!), but more than anything it makes me so sad. I just want to fix it!
• Sitting in a quiet room when it's dark, rocking my baby to sleep, singing to her is one of the most wonderful things in the world. So special, so peaceful... I am so blessed. Holding my precious baby girl when it's just us--that is true joy.
  

Sleep is good

I don't know how it happened, but Abby only got up once last night! I managed to get 3 straight hours of sleep--twice! To most people that doesn't sound great, but let me tell you... it was amazing. :) I don't know that it will happen again any time soon, but I'm going to enjoy it while I've got it.

Things are going pretty well here. Casey started a new full-time job at Harding last week, and he really enjoys it. He's the new secretary for the PA program, and it's a brand new position so he gets to kind of make it his own. The pay isn't what we were hoping for, but he really likes the people he works with, it's a great environment (of course), and he gets benefits. We'll take it. :) I'm going in to my office on Monday with Abby to show her off and talk with my boss. Unless they have something part-time I can do, I'll be turning in my letter of resignation. I hate to leave, but I really need to stay home with Abby. I don't think there will be a part-time position for me at the co-op, but hopefully I can find something else to help pay the bills. God has provided for us so far, and I believe he will continue to see us through!

You know I have to leave you with an Abby picture, so here you go. She found her thumb! :)

Like father, like daughter??

Apparently, Casey has decided you're never too young to learn how to work the electronic gadgets in the house...

Big girl bath time

The umbilical cord fell off--yay! That means.... big girl bath time! We got out the tub (thanks to Aunt Helen and Uncle Wayne), the rubber ducky, and the camera (of course). Here are a few of my favorite shots:



Can you believe she will be 2 weeks old tomorrow? It's blowing my mind. Uh oh, apparently it's time to eat again--gotta go fix a bottle!

Might not be a girly girl...

While Mom was still here, we found some bows that are meant for much older children and decided to see what Abby would look like with one in her hair. This is what Abby thought about that:
You can almost hear her saying, "You've got to be kidding me..." Is this a sign of things to come? :)

Things seem to be leveling out as far as feeding/eating schedules. She has started eating almost every 3 hours and sleeps in between most of the time. She did really well last night--only woke up 2 times to eat! Casey and I seem to be handling the late night feedings much better now, and we're actually getting a few hours of sleep--consecutively! :) I guess that's a perk of bottle feeding I should be grateful for. Now if I could just find time to eat and bathe...

I did manage to get another good picture of Abby with the bow and dress, so I'll leave you with this incredible cuteness:

One week old!

It's amazing to think that in one week we've gone from this:

to this!

It has been a hard week, but I think things are finally leveling out. We took Abby back to the pediatrician today, and she is back up to 7 lbs 3 oz! The doctor was very pleased with how much weight she had gained since Thursday, and said she isn't worried about her at all. As long as we keep up with what we're doing, Abby should be fine. It looks like we are going to have to stick with formula from here on out, and I am going to slowly wean off the pump because I'm just not making enough milk to sustain her. It's not what I had hoped for, but I know she will be fine. We just want a happy, healthy baby!

I am constantly torn between the options of eating, sleeping, or blogging/facebooking when Abby is asleep, but I will try to keep posting with new pictures and information. I would like it on the record that I am absolutely in love with this little girl, and I can't believe she is already a week old! I hope it doesn't all go by too fast!!

Trying to get settled

It has been an absolutely hectic/wonderful/crazy/intense/indescribable week! I guess there might be some who disagree, but I have to tell you that our little Abigail is the most beautiful little girl on the planet. I have finally been able to get some pictures put on this computer so I can prove this to the rest of the world. :)

She's here! (ignore me--focus on the baby) :)

Going home from the hospital--2 days old!

Sleepy Daddy and Abby after a long day with doctors--4 days old

Enjoying the bouncer for the first time--4 days old

Hanging out with Grandpa Curtis--5 days old!

We have had a lot of visits to the pediatrician and lactation consultant this week because we've been struggling with feeding issues. Abby lost over a pound in 4 days, and we've been working to get her weight back up to where it's supposed to be. Apparently, there is an issue with the way she tries to suck, and I have some issues producing enough milk. The combination kept her fed for the first couple of days, but now we're having to supplement with formula (which I hate, but am coming to terms with), and I'm trying to pump when I can. I have a feeling that we will end up having to go to all formula when it is all said and done, but we're still working on it with the lactation specialist. That woman is amazing--she even let me call her at home when I was freaking out about everything. She has been a saint. I also love our pediatrician--she is very on top of things and has been so involved with Abby already.

That has been the bulk of our week so far--it's all I've been able to think about! Other than that, we're just getting used to loving all over this sweet baby, getting up for night time feedings, changing some really funky diapers (Casey's favorite part), and being a family of three. Mom has been an amazing help since I'm still trying to recover from the c-section, but we'll have to let her go home on Wednesday so she can get back to her life. Sorry this update has taken so long, but I hope the content made up for the lack of blogging. Stay tuned for more! :)

"Since Rachel is in the hospital with no internet and I am the master of media, you can find baby pictures on MY BLAG!  Mwahaha!"

~Casey