Christmas 2007

Baby's first Christmas... Abby was truly blessed for her first Christmas. We made the rounds on Christmas day, beginning with breakfast at Aunt Nadia and Super Uncle's house where we opened gifts with the Monroe clan - Daddy and Cousin Jon may have had more fun playing with her new toys, but Abby LOVED the tissue paper.



We continued our Christmas visits with a trip to see Abby's boyfriends, Evan and Luke.



And finished the day with the Monroes at Christmas dinner. What a wonderful day!



After a few delays and being re-routed through Salt Lake City, Nana and Grampa arrived at Dulles in the middle of the night to visit for a few days. We opened more gifts and played a lot, even talking to Uncle Paul, Aunt Sarahlynn, Cousins Ellie & Ada when they returned from Christmas with their other Grampa and Gramma!



Christmas cards have been ordered although they probably won't reach anyone until the end of January since Mama has never gotten them sent out before Christmas and this year has been even more busy. We pray that your holidays were peaceful and happy!

Abby's Six Month Checkup

We took our still-slightly-sick baby in for her previously scheduled Six Month doctor visit on Tuesday.

All good news! Her weight and height are in the same percentiles (75%) for the first time since she was born. She has always technically been on the heavy side, based on the official scales.

Details:
Height: 26.5 inches
Weight: 17 pounds

She got four more vaccines, one syrup and three shots. She did much better with the shots this time and had simmered down before we left the office. The last couple of times she would wimper all the way home.

Thursday we have Abby's school Christmas party! They have been working on gifts for their parents for a couple of days. I will post a picture of whatever she comes up with!

There are a lot of new pictures up at the Picasa Album, go check it out!

Abby's Half Birthday

A visual trip through the last six months.....


Abby's First Six Months from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.

So much has changed. She's gotten bigger! She's gotten stronger! She's gotten smarter!

We have a visit with her doctor next week, so we will have technical specs to share then.

We're looking forward to whatever comes next!

(After two full-night-sleeping nights, Abby is up at 1:30. She's gotten stuffy again.....)

She Slept Through the Night!

Okay, so Abby sleeping through the night is not a feat by itself. Recently, though, with her tooth coming in and a slight head cold, she has been waking herself up once or twice a night.

When Anny got up this morning I asked if she had gotten up with Abby. She said that not only had she not gotten up for Abby, she didn't wake up at all. I knew that I didn't either, and I typically get up during the night for the call of nature.

So, doing that math.... (pause for calculator function of my computer).....

We ALL slept through the night!!

First.
Time.
Ever.

First Snowfall Follow Up

Thanks for the "captions" on the picture from Abby's first snow. Fun!

As a follow-up to that post, here is another School Story:

Since the snow was still on the ground, one of the teachers went out and brought some inside in buckets for the babies to play with! Abby liked it so much, frozen hands and all, that she actually cried when they took the snow bucket away! Of course, she was completely contented when they brought it back to her.

Another reason we really like our daycare is the diversity that they teach. We acknowledge that she is getting a broader sense of things there than we could teach her. As Hanukkah began this week, they read books and learned stories about that part of the Jewish faith tradition. Since they will not be in school the week after Christmas, they will learn about Kwanzaa next week.

Yes, I also acknowledge that Abby is not yet a six month old (but soon, wait for Abby's "film" debut"), so they're doing more teaching than she is learning. That is not the point. She is being exposed to more at her young age than I was for a good chunk of my life. Our hope is that when we move her from here to another place later on there will be as much emphasis on diverse learning. I also hope that we can be better about it than generations in the past too.

Back to snow...
There is another snow picture that I want to take, but I don't think that the snow will last into tomorrow. Supposed to be warm enough today to melt a lot of the rest. I'm working on school to send us some of the pictures they have taken.....

Happy Weekend!

First Snowfall of the Year

From December 2007

Also first snow EVER for Abby!

They both have funny looks on their faces. I would love to hear what caption you would use....

Thanksgiving Weekend - Abby Style

Umm.... Wow. What a whirlwind weekend. Previous post spoke of our turkey farm visit and first hockey game, but that was just the beginning of the weekend! Here's how everything else went down, with some pictures of course!

Thanksgiving dinner was fun and festive. Friends and family gathered for an early-ish dinner for us, 5 pm. We ate early so that everyone could head out to the beach for either midnight shopping (Jae and Nadia) or early morning shopping (Our household).

Turkey day for the adults meant Abby's first solid food! NO, we did not give her turkey, gravy or pie. She got her rice cereal mixed with formula. She started out a bit slow, but got the hang of it by the end. Here is one picture, there are others on the Picasa site:



A video will be coming soon, but Anny and I are at odds as to where to host it. She' afraid of YouTube.

After dinner we loaded up the car and drove to the beach. Abby slept for the entire drive, through a diaper change, and through the night! We were to the house first, which means that we got her settled before the onslaught of family and dogs. It helped a lot.

In the morning we got Abby fed and ready to go and we were off to shopping at the Outlet Stores. She was a good sport - awake for an hour then slept for a while, all in the Bjorn.

For a couple of weeks Abby has been reaching her finger into her mouth to the point of gagging, but we have not seen any other signs of teeth. Aunt Pam suggested that maybe we should be looking somplace other than the standard two front teeth, and we laughed it off. Until Saturday morning. Abby was cranky and fussy, only happy while eating. We opened up her mouth and sure enough, there is a toothbud on the left side of her mouth.



I have tried but cannot get a picture of it because of the placement. The above is of her getting SOME relief from the annoyance. She's become a pro at this already. On THIS chart, it would be about tooth number 21 or 22.

Hopefully it will come through completely very soon and we can move to the traditional front teeth.

Overall it was a busy and fun filled weekend. :o)

Our First Hockey Game!

Okay, it's Thanksgiving and I should be telling you that we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (we did) and put up Christmas lights (we did not) but I'm going to tell you about Wednesday instead!

I will start with the afternoon: we went and toured the turkey farm before we picked up our Thanksgiving dinner! We saw little cows, big cows and even cows being milked! We spent a half hour walking and looking and having a good time.

Aunt Pam got four tickets to the Washington Caps game and invited us to go! We picked her up and hopped on the Metro to meet Linda, who had to work a full day and had the parking pass. We had Abby in her car seat on the metro. She was sound asleep through the turn style, the platform, the train arriving, getting on and finding seats and all-but-two stops! This is how she woke up:



We strapped her into the Baby Bjorn, her favorite mode of transportation and ours:



While we ate we tried to feed her. There was WAY too much going on at Fudruckers (blinking Christmas lights were all the rage!) for her to eat her whole bottle. That would be the case at the arena, too.

Anny changed her diaper, so she missed the opening faceoff, but when she got back she was REALLY into it! She would not take her eyes off the ice! It's so white that the red of the jerseys must have been brilliant for her. We rooted for our team from the get-go:



She was awake and payed attention for the first period and a half, then Anny walked her to sleep:



She woke up with a couple of minutes left, right after we bought her a new Caps outfit that she can wear to her next game in a month or two, or around the house every time I catch the urge! There is no picture of the outfit, but here she is as the game ended:



Though our team lost, they played hard and Abby seemed to enjoy herself.

In about half an hour we're headed over to Family Dinner for Thanksgiving! Tonight will be Abby's first rice cereal, so you know there will be pictures tomorrow, or Saturday if I get too caught up in shopping on Black Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Tales of a Schoolgirl

School Stories from this week, in pictures:



Another baby accidently scratched Abby on her head yesterday. We are guessing that it actually bled, but by the time we saw her she was fine. Because of regulations, though, we did also receive an Incident Report! (The picture is focused on the report-worthy scratch. Can you see it? I can't!)



Last Friday was picture day at school! We will see how their pictures come out.

In an effort to remind us to dress her nicely on Thursday of last week they stuck a sticker on her butt so that we could not miss it! Just says "The next school day is picture day!" Cuteness.

I have not scanned in the certificate she received for sitting up at school. Probably won't at this point.

We love our daycare folks. They are good to Abby and good to us. Thankful we are.

Umm. Five Months and Three Days Old!

She's no longer "working" on sitting up. She's a sitter now. Plays with toys and the dog, all while sitting up.

She even got an award certificate from school for her accomplishment! (A picture of that will be coming, but she was miserably tired last night)

Here she is, sitting up!

From November 2007

This means that she can sit at the table at Thanksgiving next week! Mommy has even agreed that she can have some of her rice cereal a few days early so that she can eat at the family table with everyone else!

Five Months Old!

Our little girl is now five months old!!

She has mastered:
Being cute
Rolling over
Responding in kind to smiles and sticking her tongue out
Recognizing faces and voices

She is working on:
Sitting up - she's steady for a VERY short time, but is getting stronger
Sitting herself up - it looks like she's doing crunches. Adorable.

Our doctor has given the go ahead to start her on cereal in two weeks. (for those non-parents, we're not talking about Boo Berry, just rice cereal.) (Sheesh, now I really want some Boo Berry!) I am all for starting her on it a week early, but Anny has it in writing that we should wait until 5 1/2 months.

Anny and I are currently debating about our Annual Christmas Letter. We're still not even talking about the letter itself, just the picture that will accompany the letter. I say that people would rather see a picture of Abby alone, but Anny thinks that the picture should be of all three of us. Since our opportunity for said picture will most likely occur next week at Thanksgiving Dinner, I would love for you to let me know two things:

What are you doing picture-wise?
What do you think we should do?
Are Christmas Letters out of date?

(A moment of maintenance, if you've not received our letter in the past but would like to this year, drop me an email with your address. Be warned, I will expect one in return!)

A Bedtime Routine

We were talking with a friend on Saturday about establishing an evening/bed time routine with our babies. (Their son is 2 1/2 months old now)

We do terribly with a nightly routine, and are not afraid to admit it! We read to Abby when we want to read, but rarely if ever when we're trying to get her to bed. She usually falls asleep in one of our arms and when we're ready for bed, we put her down.

I know that a lot of readers on this blog are parents of young children, and we would love to hear if you have a bedtime routine. I would also love to hear from those that don't as to any method or madness behind that.

Discuss!

(Next post will be about our morning routine!)

Happy Halloween

Her daycare is attached to a middle school, so the babies parade around part of the school and through the office gathering smiles and ooh's and aah's as they go.

When we put her in her costume last night she was getting tired and grumpy, so our pictures are not great. Once she fell asleep we all walked down to a neighbors house and she was immediately awake. Oh well. She got a full night sleep after all of that!

So – here is a front view and a back view, because the tail makes the outfit!

From October 2007

I wish she had been more cooperative, but that's okay. She's adorable anyway!

From October 2007

We grew both of these this year. And both weigh about 15 pounds right now!

Yes, the pumpkins that I thought I killed over the summer produced two big ones after all. This is one of the two, the other is on the porch. I can't bring myself to carve them.....

Abby will Trick-Or-Treat at a couple of houses tonight, but I am reserving the right to sample the candy on her behalf.

Picture of her in costume will come tomorrow!

Roll On Over to Me!

So, I mentioned that she had inadvertently rolled from her back to her front two weeks ago and was told that it was probably not a fluke, but rather a development.

Now we know very clearly that she's a roller. She can spot something she wants, and will spin or roll to get it! At school she rolled completely off the blue mat. (Like the ones you had in gym class in school)

We've already begun to baby proof, but it might be time to latch the toilets and cabinets closed! Crawling is not too far off, I fear.

As this is our 101st post, I thought we should celebrate in a couple of ways.

One: An Adorable Picture:

From October 2007

Two: A New Feature:
I think it would be great to have a weekly caption contest! Please use the above photo as your first inspiration. Leave your caption in the comments below.

Three: A Hidden Post
We worked in spurts and I think we're okay with the Birth Story, finally. Since it's long and not everyone wants such details. If you're interested in reading about the actual day that Abigail was born, click HERE and read on.

Gator Pride!

For those that don't know, Anny's school mascot is the Gator. When I was dragged we went to Homecoming earlier this month, I was disapointed that they did not have Baby Gator stuff. When we got home I ordered a couple of shirts from the University of Florida Gators website and was very pleased. (They use the same logo, so that makes it easier!)

We love this shirt, and since today looks like the last warm day for the forseeable future it is our last chance for the short sleeves! Enjoy:

From October 2007

(If it's too small to read, it says "I've been a Gator all my life.")

Fall is Here....

It's finally been cool enough for enough days that I would say fall is here. (Okay, today is supposed to reach 80, but it's downhill on the predictions from there)

Bottom line, we buy very few outfits. We are blessed with so many people that love us and our wonderful baby that Abby's dresser and closet are full up. If we buy something it's because of one of two reasons:

1 - it's incredibly necessary - she needed pants to wear to school and we had like two pairs. We bought pants.

2 - it's even more incredibly cute - in our book anyway.

So with that, I bring you today's outfit:

Four Month Check-Up

All good news!

Length - 24.5 inches
Weight - 15 pounds

She's happy. She's healthy.

She go four shots and a follow up drinkable vaccine that was begun last time. She freaked out when the shots were in her legs, but a quick thinking daddy plugged the cry hole with a bottle, which she wanted desperately anyway.

We don't have to go back until six months, which will be the week before Christmas. By that time we are supposed to move her to rice cereal in conjunction with formula. We got the general schedule of foodness from 0 to 12 months. Once we start rice cereal, things happen pretty quickly from that point on. Lots of different things, and a few to avoid.

She's growing so quickly right as we watch. It's pretty awesome to be a dad! (Anny, for the record, says the same about being a mom!)

Abby's Baptism

This post has been posted on both blogs, you're not losing your mind! From here I will call your attention to some new pictures online at the same time!

Everything went swimmingly! Anny and I snipped at each other twice, but aside from that the weekend could not have gone better, and for that we are thankful.

I picked up Anny's brother and family mid-morning from the airport and headed directly to destination number one: Wendy's! There are none left around their house, so whenever they go places that have Wendy's, a stop must be made. (I learned of this in July on our drive to Iowa as well.)

The Parent-In-Laws started their trip on a sour note, but made the most of a couple of days off of school. When they got to the airport they found out that their flight to Denver had been canceled completely. The next flight had only 3 available seats, so there was little to no chance they would fly out Friday. Their logical next step? Get gas and drive to Denver! It's only a four-and-a-half hour drive. They got in a bit later, but would not have missed this weekend for anything.

On Saturday we had a pre-baptism party to celebrate because a lot of folks were heading home pretty quickly either by car or airplane. We had a ton of family and friends over, and Abby was awake for part of it. She slept hard this weekend, so we think we might be growth-spurting again. We received some very thoughtful gifts and are once again finding ourselves overwhelmed by the generosity of others.

Note: the next paragraph exists only on Abby's blog:
While I was busily being busy I noticed an eerie quiet came over the entire house, or at least to me. Using my best judgement I went to the nursery to check things out. Sure enough, there stood Anny with her Aunt and Uncle putting the finishing touches on the nursery that I have neglected for five months now. Pictures of that will follow later this week.

The baptism on Sunday was very nice. Abby was a little fussy as our pastor set things up (prayer, congregational questions) but once we handed her over, she was very calm and content. We had practiced putting water on Abby's head so that she was not caught completely off guard and freaked out. It would have been okay if she did, but it was better that she didn't.

When we were not with large groups of people, we spent a lot of quality time with Anny's family with a very relaxed theme. We intentionally did not schedule anything for our time since we had a four year old and two infants to work with. We tried a new restaurant on Sunday since our go-to restaurant closed in June. High marks from all of us!

Monday morning I took the Parent-In-Laws to the airport for their flight/drive home. Just us "kids" hung out until lunch time and we made a quick trip to Ikea! They don't have one in their city and had never been. I know they are looking at remodeling at least a bathroom and there are a ton of deals to be had.

It was a wonderful weekend and we both realize how blessed we are to have that many people that care about us.

She Rolled Over!!

I'm confident it was a pure accident, but Abby rolled over last night while Anny was playing with her on the floor! We've been working on rolling from her belly to her back for a few weeks now. She's almost got it, I think.

But last night while I was typing notes from a meeting on Sunday I heard Anny exclaim "SHE ROLLED OVER!!" She went on to explain that not only had she rolled over, but she rolled from her back to her front!

Such excitement!

I spoke too soon

Not even 24 hours after this post, I was following Abby and Rob's lead with my own stomach issues. Luckily, it didn't last long because we have had far too much to do.

Abby got to see her first high school homecoming football game. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring her a hat and her cheeks got a little pink from being outside so much. Oh, and we lost...

Abby, Rob and I have also had the requisite head cold for the beginning of the school year. So we have learned how much Abby hates the bulb to remove snot. I have explained that I will stop using it as soon as she learns to blow her nose... she and I are still trying to figure out how soon she can learn to do this.

Now we are preparing for Abby's baptism. So many people love her: Nana and Grampa are coming from Wyoming, uncle, aunt and two cousins are coming from St. Louis, Rob's dad is coming from Florida, Gramma and her husband are coming from North Carolina, Great Gramps and great aunt are coming from Delaware, great aunt and great uncle from Virgina, aunt from Virginia and of course, all the local friends and relatives. We will pack our house for a reception and pack the church Sunday morning.

Abby is going to wear her great grampa's baptismal gown. Since he died this summer soon after she was born, I am very excited that it fits her and thankful that so many people will be here to share this occasion.

Feeling better

Everyone is on the mend. Abby has been taking formula since Saturday afternoon shortly before Rob started being sick, but took a while to get her appetite back (you eat toast for a couple days after having the stomach flu before eating regularly sized meals so it makes sense).

Rob has also taken a couple days to get back to regular eating patterns. Meanwhile, I'm relieved to not be worrying whether Rob needed to go to the hospital or if Abby was getting enough fluids.

Now I just need to catch up on my sleep.

Sick Baby Update 3

Abby is through with her virus, but her eating is still off. Two ounces here and there, but rarely keeping to her normal schedule.

The update, though, is that she gave it to me. That's one of the big problems with taking immunosuppresants - I can get sick pretty easily.

No more sickness updates - I am going to grab another nap. Ugh.

Sick Baby Update 2

She looked and felt really good all night last night. Then we woke up this morning...

After her first solid poo (see previous post), she has definitely made up for it since 5 this morning. She has not slept a wink since then, a very long stretch for her. She's had ten ounces of the pedialyte and it seems that her body has regulated itself to push is straight through.

I long for the smell of baby poo again. This is our first diarrhea bout, and it's disgusting. Not hard to clean up. Actually, easier to clean up. But the smell....

Since a lot of you are non-parents I will not try to compare it to anything, and I'll leave it right where it is.

We have bravely given her some more regular formula about 20 minutes ago. We'll take her to the farmers market and hope that it stays down.

Sick Baby Update 1

Okay - I'm home with Abby today. She kept down the pedialyte that we gave her through the night. This morning we thought we should give formula a try, and after four ounce of that it came back at us. She's now just doing the fun drink for the next day and a half, no formula for our little one.

You're right, by the way, to think that baby puke on your feet is not the way to start the day. Anny is a trooper, for she was the one holding Abby.

I changed a stinky diaper only to find a robins egg of poop. Yup, first solid poop. (for those of you without kids, first solid poop typically happens after you start feeding them solid foods.) Perfect little egg of poop, but still kind of freaky when I'm used to true baby poo.

Anny headed off to school and Abby and I have been spending time together. Mostly it's been getting her to eat, then encouraging her to sleep. When a baby does not want to sleep, they won't sleep! That meant that we played on the playmat, sat in the bumbo and really just hoped that she would not throw up on me again.

We did have to make a run to Target as I realized that we were running out of the fun drink. She fell asleep in the sling pretty quickly, so a trip for Pedialyte cost me $50 because I made four trips around the store. She was happy and I could walk for a while. Win win.

The only pedialyte that Target had is the "artificially fruit flavored" orange flavor. The only flavors she has ever had are breast milk and formula. She was taken aback by the sweet flavor. She got the hang of it, and is now napping.

She's truly happy through all of this. She smiles and chats while she's awake. We are slated to go out tonight to a viewing (like funeral viewing). If she's still happy when it's time to go, we'll go. If not, we will put in a call to send our condolences this time.

I hear crying. Update later.

Sick Baby

Anny has back to school night tonight and I get Abby all to myself.

Of course this is the first time that I get a call saying that she's sick. Threw up all over the day care teacher. One other child was sick earlier this week, but we thought we had skipped it. That appears to not be the case.

I immediately left work, leaving behind a consultant that needed a ride to the train station, to get to school. By the time I got there, Anny already had Abby. We walked around the school a little and gave her two ounce of pedialyte, as directed by the doc's office.

She threw that up as we got to the car.

Once we got home Abby took down four more ounces and is now sleeping.

She is still happy, just not well. No fever. Smiley. Abby. Just threw up a few times.

We'll see how she is when she wakes up. Hopefully the pedialyte will stay down. I'll keep you posted.....

Mooving On Up!

Abby slept in her own bed the last two nights. We have company coming in October for her baptism and are dutifully getting things in order for that. One necessary thing is to get Abby out of her pack and play, which means moving her into her room.

We were a little nervous - by we I mean Anny - about not hearing her if she screams. We have a monitor by the crib and the receiver is between our pillows while we sleep. It's still very different than when the noise is actually coming from a foot away from the bed!

I think the advantage is that we don't hear each peep, coo or sneeze because she's far enough away from the monitor that they are faint on the receiver. Definately heard her waking up at 5:15 this morning, right on time!

She slept through the night both nights! (Saturday and Sunday nights) Now I'm wondering if I woke her up or if she woke me up at night...

Labor Jokes!

Several people have asked me if I followed through with my plan to tell jokes as Anny labored back in June. I am happy to report that I did indeed tell my jokes, but some had to wait until the next day because I left them at home.

I have posted those jokes, but not here. It's several pages worth, and I didn't want to do all of those here.

Go to this site to see the jokes:
http://www.mdmonroes.com/laborjokes

Let me know what you think. Was I crazy to have read them? Are there others your would add?

I Feel Like I Owe You

I'm sorry, dear friends, that I have neglected the blog for more than a week. That's not like me and I hope that it never happens again. Here is the last ten days of Abigails Adventures:

For starters, we weighed her and she's more than 13 1/2 pounds! She is a little heavy, but it's cute-heavy.

Labor Day weekend we headed out to the family house in Lewes, DE. (Just north of Rehoboth, by like 1,500 feet.) The weekend was fun filled and a little chaotic. Just the way to spend a holiday weekend!

This was the first time that my (Rob) dad and his wife got to meet Abby. They live in Florida, so a casual trip this summer was not ever an option. They made the drive up for about a week, split between the beach and our house. With them came my dad's Father-In-Law and Sister-In-Law. That point is important with the next paragraph....

There were 18 people gathered at one point over the weekend! People came and went as their work schedules allowed, but it was still a huge family fun time. We opted to stay in a hotel just into town a little bit for the two nights we were there.

On Saturday night we went down to the sandy part of the beach (long story, but that will come at a later time. short version: we typically go to the beach for shopping, not surf) for professional photographs. There were five generations of Monroe's together for the first time in a VERY long time. (ever?) We did a huge family shot and a bunch of smaller, family group pictures. His shots were great, but expensive. We got a few with our own cameras, and they are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ARMonroe/0907LaborDay

This was obviously Abby's first trip to see the ocean. Our last big trip was over the Mississippi, so it was only fair that she see the other water too! She was really really happy there. It was loud and there were lots of colors swirling around. We got a picture that is good in color, and great in black and white:

We stayed in DE until Monday before coming back to the grind of daily life. For those that have inquired: daycare is going really well. Abby gets lots of attention, and she's really close to Anny's school. Anny is even doing well with it!

On Tuesday one of the daycare teachers noticed that Abby has thrush. We had noticed the white spots, but only after eating, when she displays her tongue for everyone anyway! We immediately called the doctors office and they sent a perscription over to the pharmacy. The funny part is that it is flavored for her pleasure. Cherry/Mint is the flavor. Just the smell is gross to us!

Basically, Abby is a happy baby and we're happy to have her:

She has slept for seven hours each of the last two nights! Hopefully she continues this streak as we move her into her own room next weekend. (I imagine it will be harder on us than it is her. She's pretty adaptable.

With this post you are going to get TWO, yes TWO, links to photos! The previous set is just pictures from the beach trip. The following link is pictures from this month! It gets updated at least four times a week as I submit my outfit choices for approval by a co-worker!
http://picasaweb.google.com/ARMonroe/September2007

Feel free to comment! I like getting comments as much as anybody else.

A Quick Pre-Weekend Update

There has been so much excitement in our house that I realized just now that I haven't posted in over a week!

Firstly - our friends Natalie and Dave welcomed their baby boy into the world last week! He's on the (short) pre-approved list of suitors for Abby in the future. Wish them well HERE.

In other news:
Abby has learned to put her hand to her mouth! She has been doing this mostly when she's hungry, so that's helpful.
She also learned how to put a finger or two in her mouth to pass time!
She is grabbing and grasping some things already too.

All of the above are right on track for developmental goals!! There are plenty of pictures, including examples of all of the above examples, on our Picasa Album. Here's one to wet your appetite.

(I absolutely love this picture! She's sooo happy in her surfer girl outfit. We're planning to get a professional picture with this outfit and a cool skimboard that my aunt found yesterday!)

This weekend we're off to The Beach to spend time with the Monroe side of the family. There will be 18 of us on Saturday on the sand for family pictures. We have five generations all coming together. It should be great fun. Chaotic, but fun!

First University Visit & First Day of School

Yesterday we went over to the University of Maryland for Abby's first visit. She is not yet choosing between schools, don't worry! We have signed her up for the Infant Labs program at the University. They do different studies with babies (and older kids, too) and once you register, they contact you when an age-appropriate study is being done. Totally voluntary to participate in each activity.

Totally cool! Abby is a test subject and participating in the process of furthering research! Mama is so proud. (I am too, don't get me wrong. Anny is the scientist though.)

We got there and parked and filled out all of the necessary paperwork. They took Abby into the video room with Anny. They showed Abby a video and Anny sat behind her. Anny had a visor on so that she could see Abby (down) but not the video (in front of her). Anny could only report that there were bright colors from time to time, and a woman's voice saying "She" or "See" at different times.

This was a good experience and we hope to do it again soon!

On a different note, today is the first day of daycare for Abby. Anny is doing pretty good about it, but it's still hard. Any emails of encouragement would be apreciated! (Or just comments below).

I've updated the Picasa page to include pictures from this morning. Here's one to tempt you:

(more at http://picasaweb.google.com/armonroe/august2007)

2 month shots

I'll get to the trauma of vaccinations in a minute, but yesterday was Abby's two month check up. Although she is actually 9 weeks old? I have been wondering why we begin by counting weeks and then switch to counting months. It is kind of like being pregnant for 9 months, but really it is 40 weeks (which is 10 months)?

So about our visit... Abby has grown a full inch (22.5 inches long) and more than three pounds (12 pounds). This puts her a little on the chubby side, but a little baby fat is always OK especially when her only exercise is kicking the Baby Einstein to make music play.

The shots, on the other hand, were not so easy to live with.

Before giving her the vaccinations, the doctor handed me Infant's Tylenol and explained the dosage. Abby had the standard IPV, DTaP, Hib, Rotavirus, and Pnuemococcal; this equals one dose of oral medicine and FOUR shots (two in each thigh). She screamed for the shots, of course, and after a little fussing went to sleep as Rob and I took the chance to get some supplies at Babies R Us. She slept through dinner until she got hungry and realized she needed a diaper change.

Unfortunately, I did not immediately give her a dose of Tylenol, but thought she would be OK. Not so much. She did not eat very well and began crying. Despite all our usual soothing techniques, Abby cried for nearly half an hour before she fell into an exhausted sleep. I gave her the Tylenol when she began crying, but I will know better next time and give her a dose before she realizes she's still sore.

Despite our feelings, Rob and I both know that Abby doesn't remember who was holding her during the shots. And even though I try, she does not understand our explanation of how vaccinations will keep her healthy in the future. We can only hope that this gets easier as she grows older; at least the vaccinations are less frequent.

Rob Here - I'm piggy backing on Anny's post to as you to take a moment to participate in a poll. It might mean the return of the weekly poll, but not necessarily.

So - the question - do you want us to post the story of Abby's birth day. We will spare the truly gross stuff, never fear me sharing that. It's burned into my head, no need for you to share in that part. We began a post about it over a month ago but have never sat down to finish it. If you're interested, we'll finish it. If you're not, we'll delete it. You all, my friends, are the deciderers.

A Night Out

Woo Hoo and a BIG thanks to my Aunt Pam for watching Abby last night while we went out!


With our night out we hit up DuClaw for dinner and did a little clothes shopping. Not big excitement for most folks, but we sure did enjoy it.

We also enjoyed some Orange Julius. Why are there not more of those around??!

When Anny goes back to school on the 21st Abby will be headed to childcare, so last night was a good very-short trial run. We'll have to get another time away for the sake of sanity between now and then. It's really easy for me to leave Abby since I've been working since shortly after she was born. Anny on the other hand has been near her for almost every waking hour.

Next week is an Open House at the childcare place, so we'll be meeting her "teachers" in advance. They're pro's with parents leaving their kids for the first time, so here's hoping that day goes smoothly...

I realized yesterday that I have been slacking in my taking new pictures of Abby. I apologize. This weekend I'll be sure to get plenty of photos and will post some online.

Spit-up

As we sat feeding Abby this morning, Rob gave her a break and was patting her back to encourage her to burp. When he turned her to face him and she leaned towards his chest, Abby spit-up, not only on the shirt he was planning to wear, but also into Daddy's MOUTH!

Needless to say, Rob was a little grossed out. So, I think he has the Daddy badge of honor: Rob has been peed on, pooped on, and spit-up into his mouth.

My Baby is Brilliant!

At six weeks old (seven now) we took a short video of Abby. I refuse to buy a video camera because I am "not the type to want to preserve that stuff" but had to get this one down!


We have a Baby Einstein Play Gym for Abby. Of course you could assume it's for Abby, but it's been hard to convince RustyDog that it's not his toy. He's learning.

So, one of the best features of the Play Gym is that it have a song and lights feature on the piece that hangs at the very top. Abby loves the lights, and since it's usually directly under the ceiling fan, it's a bonus filled fun time!

We were taken aback last week when we noticed that Abby has figured out already how to make the sensor play the music and lights! You have to move the supports enough for the star to detect movement and the fun abounds. She has already learned how to kick the support pole so that she can enjoy the show!

Don't believe me, check out this video: http://picasaweb.google.com/ARMonroe/July2007/photo#5093693201652715506

We're not yet ready to put our baby on YouTube, but if she keeps being perfect AND adorable, that stance may change soon!!

Travelling with infants: more poo

Babies will poo in the most inconvenient places. The airplane was just the beginning.


After sleeping a few hours in my cousins house in southern Iowa, we drove further north to see my grandmother in the nursing home before attending my grandfather's memorial service. Upon arriving at the nursing home, we realized that my 6 month old niece had not only blown out of her diaper onto her cute dress, but also onto the carseat. Poo Number 1.


We spent some time with gramma and took photos and then headed to the church where the women's group had made our family lunch. Abby also ate and immediately filled her diaper. Poo Number 2.


As she often does, Abby had a second go-around. Thank goodness Rob was holding her and sat near an exit during the memorial service. Poo Number 3.


After the service the women's group had a reception for us during which my niece has a second go-around messing up the second cute outfit and ended up wearing her 3 1/2 year old sister's outfit (much too big of course). Poo Number 4.


On Sunday afternoon, my brother had arranged for our family to have professional photos taken. All dressed up, we took several of the entire family and then decided we should have some of just the three little girls. As Abby "posed" for these photos she filled another diaper (luckily grunting and smiling look about the same for babies). Poo Number 5.


Rob changed all of Abby's poopy diapers this weekend - he is definitely the best daddy a little girl (or her momma) could ask for.

Travelling with infants: mini-vans are amazing

So my brother, my sister-in-law, our two nieces (3 1/2 years and 6 months) and the three of us loaded in a mini-van (until this weekend, I never wanted nor needed a mini-van). When the ads say it seats eight, it does not mean comfortably with three carseats. Unfortunately, Rob was the one stuck between two carseats in the back - thank God for Rob's patience; he watched Finding Nemo countless times, a few without sound with some dialogue spoken by a 3 1/2 year old. Rob also has a sore spot on his leg from where one of the carseats had a knob.

So not only did the mini-van have a DVD player so that our niece could watch Finding Nemo again and again, but the passengers in the front half could simultaneously listen to the sixth Harry Potter book on audio.

And the icing on the cake was the GPS system which directed us all over the midwest and home again while finding places to eat along the way and purchase the latest Harry Potter book. Although I will admit, it often informed us we were on "unverified" roads since we did travel on gravel several times.

... All with room for luggage in the back.

Travelling with an infant, Part 1

Overall, I would say that our first plane ride with Abby was a success; she was awake but not too fussy for most of the flight. However, we did learn a couple of lessons.

I should have known better being a science teacher, but we packed pre-mixed formula in the diaper bag believing it would be easier than trying to pour powder in an airport or on the plane. What I had not accounted for was the fact that we use Playtex drop-ins, not solid bottles and so when the cabin pressure was less than the pressure inside the bottle we ended up with formula all over (luckily I had packed them in ziploc bags and so the diaper bag was not completely soaked, just a few damp spots).

The second lesson we learned was "how to change a poopy diaper on a plane." I had read that you could put a changing pad across the tiny bathroom sink, but as Rob approached the lavatory carrying smelling baby and diaper changing necessities, the flight attendant explained it would be much easier to sit on the floor in front of the main door. So with a small audience, our hero daddy, changed a very poopy diaper on an airplane.

I'm sure we will learn more as the weekend progresses.

Stupid Air Conditioner!

It was fun to have Anny and Abby at the office all day on Monday! It was not fun, though, to return to the heat-box of a house in the afternoon.

On Sunday after a family nap we noticed that all three of us woke up sweaty. Poor Abby had even left a little sweat stain on our bed. When we looked at the thermostat and it said that it was at 86 degrees, we knew we had a problem! An immediate call was placed to the AC repair folks, and they were there first thing on Monday morning.

After assessment they decided we needed two parts that can only come from York, and we had two options: wait 3-5 days for standard delivery or pay $$$$$ for overnight. We paid for overnight.

In the meantime we were searching for ways to keep Anny and Abby cool. I had to be at work anyway, so I was fine! After quick trips to the post office and bank, they had only killed an hour and the house was still insanely hot. We decided that they just needed to come to the office for lunch and hang out for the afternoon.

Abby had not been sleeping well because she was insanely hot. Here at the cool office, though, she went to sleep pretty quickly. We made a makeshift bed from pillows off of the office couch, put together on my office floor:

From July 2007

She slept for hours!

We looked at options of places to stay Monday night, but ended up sleeping in our basement because it was easier than packing up stuff for all three of us for one night out of the house. (This was the night of the previously mentioned La Leche meeting, so we were out during the evening.)

Tuesday the two girls went out to lunch, to doctors offices, to friends houses to keep cool. We got several offers (one almost hostile!) of places to stay if the AC did not get fixed. It did get fixed Tuesday afternoon and it was comfortable by bed time.

When I got home Wedesday, though, I as greeted with "it's out again." We called, they came immediately and fixed it. We're keeping a close eye on it today.....

We're off to Saint Louis and Iowa for the weekend, so you won't see new pictures until we return. You will probably see a dozen or more at that point, though!

La Leche Meeting

Since breastfeeding has not come easily for us, a friend suggested we find a La Leche meeting for support. Initially, I called the group leader to ask when and where the meetings were held and got an earful of advice despite explaining that we were working with a great lactation consultant. So I arrived at the meeting with trepidation that these extremist, breastfeeding moms would condemn me for having a low milk supply and our need to supplement with formula.

In addition, I purposefully chose a meeting that was in the evenings and open to fathers so that Rob could attend with us. So when we arrived for our first meeting, I was more than my usual quiet, introverted self, being fearful of the spoken and unspoken judgements that might be made against me and my insufficient ability to breastfeed. Rob also had his worst fears realized when he was the only adult man in the room (there were, of course, several baby boys and toddlers - but no other dads). It was like having a big spotlight on the three of us and not in the, "ooh, look at the adorable baby" way that we are getting used to.

I love the friend who suggested La Leche, but I'm not sure I have the fortitude to attend another meeting. As a new mom, however, I am finding the courage to speak for my baby's and my needs more often. So, in true Anny fashion, I may just build my own support group instead.

One Month Check-up

Yesterday was Abby's one month check-up! Things are going really well, and the doctor is very happy with her progress.

Stats:
Weight: 8 pounds 15 ounces
Length: 21 1/2 inches

We were given some exercise ideas to make sure that she gains some muscle tone that will be essential when it comes time for crawling. They are fun for us, and seem to be fun for her!

From July 2007

One of the exercises is to put her on her tummy and put her hands under her chest, as shown above. She really likes to push herself up and look around! (I blew the picture up too much from the original, which is why she looks so grainy. There are other pictures in the album.)

We don't like to have our little baby cry, but she had plenty of reason to cry yesterday. Shots! We have seen her cry before. We have seen her scream before. This was unlike any other scream or cry we've had so far. One shot in the leg and one prick in the foot to take a blood sample. Mom and dad even made it through with flying colors.

Unless something pops up, we will not be going back for a month. Then it's more shots, and more sleep! (Our doctor is a fan of four hour feedings at four weeks, and sleeping through the night between six and eight weeks!)

Go ahead, tell me how cute my baby is!

One Month Old!

I will update with specifics from a pediatrician appointment this afternoon later, but wanted to post a fun picture. The arm in the picture is that of Anny's dad.

From July 2007

My mom and sister are coming up this weekend! We're very excited to see them!

More later!

Some Success in the Pink Battle

We have had some success in the battle to have some colors in our life. Colors other than pink, that is.

I will admit publically now, though, that I hesitate to take her out in just a blue onesie. All to often people think she's a boy. We have a blue and white dress/skirt thingy that helped, but I have decided that she can wear pink socks whenever we go out to keep people straight. Even the outfits that we have with other colors (see below) have pink in them, so they match!

From July 2007

We had a few adventures over the weekend, but nothing too wild. Farmers Market and Babies R Us are old hand for her now. We did end up at Franklins last night as our favorite eatery has closed without our knowledge. Very sad. Franklins was nice, though, especially since we had company. It may become our go-to place with visitors now, though it is a really loud on Friday and Saturday nights.

This week we have Anny's Dad with us until Wednesday, than my mom and sister are coming in Friday night for the weekend. Lots of fun times!

New Pictures Today

Unfortunately Anny's mom had to make an early exit from our house to go to Iowa to be with her family. This means that we lose our extra set of hands a week earlier than we had planned on, but her time with us has been so well spent that I think we should be set.

Nana - thanks for all that you did while you were here! We can't thank you enough!

Since I neglected the 4th of July pictures I have uploaded a few taken very early this morning for your viewing pleasure. (And ooooh-ing and ahhhh-ing!)

From July 2007

Here's one to wet your appetite!

Wish us luck and send good thoughts! We will just have to pace ourselves, right?

Update: Anny and I decided to pull the other pictures down from the web. They were not flattering to anyone when we looked at them again!

Bad Dad

So yesterday was the highly acclaimed Fourth of July. We did go over to introduce Abby to Evan and Luke, two boys that will be like cousins to her as she grows up. Evan is 2 1/2 years old and was excited to meet A-Ba. Very cute. Luke is 2 1/2 months old and didn't really notice the strangers in his house! He has grown by leaps and bounds since we saw him a month or so ago! Abby won't get that big, right?

The reason that I'm a bad dad is that we didn't take any pictures! None. Zero zip zilch.

Common excuses:
Left the camera at home. Nope, put it in the diaper bag.
Left the diaper bag in the car. Nope, and thank goodness! Two wet diapers while we were there!
Left the camera in the bag and forgot about it. Nope. The camera (and the cousins camera) was sitting on the kitchen table the whole time!

What it really boiled down to is that when Abby was awake, Evan was running and Luke was asleep. When Luke woke up, with Evan still running, Abby went to sleep. They all ate at the same time, but in very different manors. The stars just did not align.

So, all of that is to say that there are no photo updates, but there should be by the end of the week!

You Ask, You Receive

Many of you have requested new pictures to be shared.

I present: July 2007

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July and we'll be heading over to a friends house for a grilled picnic lunch. Abby will get to meet Evan and Luke for the first time. You may recall that they are two of the three later-in-life suitors!

Updates:
Last Saturday Abby lost her umbilical cord stump! That's a milestone.
She's eating between three and four hours apart - 4 during the night means we get two shifts of good sleep!

Now that she is catching a nap, I should too. Enjoy the pictures and look for more tomorrow night!

A Fun Filled Week!

Abby certainly has had an action-packed third week of life!

• First trip to Church - got to meet her future cronies
• First trip for ice cream - mmmm. Coldstone Creamery
• Lunch at the Presbytery Office
• First dinner out - a nice but quick trip to Noodles & Co with SuperUncle and Nadia.

She is also staying awake a little bit more everyday. We have been blessed that she prefers to be awake during the day, not at night! Blessing for us! She is patient when I make her pose for pictures, too!

We also read two boks to her this week.

One we found while we were away for a wedding: A is for Abigail. It's by Lynne Cheney, but we still bought it. It's a chronicle of important women in the history of the US, grouped by things they have done (i.e. athletes)

The other was found through a blog friend-of-a-friend. It's Z is for Zamboni, and it's an alphabet book about hockey! (am I trying too hard to make sure she's a fan?!) It's a fun but quick read, which is good for me, right?

That's an update for today. We've added pics to the Picasa album, too!

New Location, Same Great(ful) Family!

We've migrated the site over to

http://abby.mdmonroes.com

Please update any links or bookmarks.

(the old address will push you here, don't worry!)

Adventures of a One Week Old

Wow have we had some adventures in the last couple of days! The doctor's appointment was just the beginning....

It was insanely hot on Tuesday, so we kept cool in the house. We took a day or so to completely eliminate bottles from Abby's diet. While we were at the hospital, she was showing signs of being Jaundiced. Because of that, they gave us some Similac in bottles to keep her extra hydrated. It's much easier to eat from a bottle than from a breast. The doctor told us explicitly on Monday - no more bottles! It took some convincing, but we've got Abby on board now.

Wednesday was nice out, so we obviously chose to go to the mall! Just a quick trip into the real world to get a couple of things we need. While Anny was trying on a new shirt, Abby got fussy and began to smell.... Yep. With mommy and Nana tied up, it was time for a poopy diaper change! Having left the diaper bag in the car, I whisked her away to change said daiper. Yum.

I did enjoy walking around the mall with her in our sling. I kept hearing "aw, how cute" from folks old enough to know there was a baby on my belly. Stupid teenagers, though, did not realize what it was, so I had to keep her head protected in the pet store.

Here is a picture from yesterday. I call it Yeah dad, that's my smelly diaper for you!

From Abigail

And that's just some of what we have done this week!

Baby's First Doctors Appointment

Great news!!

After almost a week in the world, Abby has actually gained weight! Typically babies lose 5-7% of their birth weight in the first week. Her gaining weight is a great thing.

Other important things:
Her reflexes are good
She is wetting and pooping enough during the day that her systems are good
That also means that she is getting enough food
Her cord is getting closer to falling off, and does not have any infections

We're super-excited about our little girl! She's definately an Awesome Abby!

My First Father's Day

Oh what a happy day! The last several years I have dreamt of being able to celebrate Father's Day. This year it finally happened!

It's been quite a nice day around here. We went for a nice walk this morning to get out of the house a bit. For dinner we had steak and veggies on the grill. Yum-o!

We have taken many pictures, but are insistent on not flooding the world with our little girl. We have years ahead of us to do that! Here is one of the three of us!

(I am not going to continiue to publish the link to our web album on each post. There is a permanent link in the sidebar)

My cousin noticed the flowers in the background, which was strange. I would like to point out that those are from our backyard! Three different purples, all of which are beautiful!

We appreciate all of the well wishes and want to be sure that you all know that! We are so elated to be parents that we're not doing well at replying to emails. We read each one aloud to each other and are touched by your kind words. You are a great group of friends and we're grateful to have you.

Day Three Pics and Update

Anny and Abby got to come home today! Everything is going really well, though we're all a bit tired.

Here's one picture of the happiest family I know:



More are available at: http://picasaweb.google.com/ARMonroe/Abigail

Might get the birth story tomorrow, but no promises. We're just getting to know routines as we go along....

Day Two Pics

Mama and Baby come home tomorrow!!

Both are doing really really well! If you talk to me on the phone, you would know that I'm just a bit elated that she's finally here!

Details and Photos

It happened! We had our baby today!

This is the picture of the happy family.

The essentials details are these:
Abigail Carolyn Monroe

Born June 12 at 1:25 pm
Weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces
Length is 20 inches

Anny is a trooper, but I will not share more of the actual birth story without her express, written consent for fear of beheading!

More pictures are available HERE.

Go ahead, let me hear your applause and congratulations! I'll pass them all along to Anny and Abby tomorrow.

BTW - they should both be home on Thursday afternoon!!

Abby's BIRTH Day

The following is narrated by both Anny and Rob. Anny is in bold and Rob is in italics. Enjoy...


Collectively we feel like we can piece together the events that led up to Abigail's birth. Gory details will be minimal.

You all know that we had scheduled an induction for Tuesday, June 12th. We wanted to be sure that Anny's mom, Carol, had a chance to arrive from Casper, Wyoming. When we picked her up from the airport, we were all relieved. I have been preparing, but we both knew that having Carol there would make it a little bit easier.

As it seems to go with all scheduled baby-events, Abby did not want to wait it out for medical intervention.

At about 3 in the morning on the 12th, Anny began to have some contractions. Knowing that I needed some more sleep to be productive the rest of the day, Anny didn't wake me up until about 4:30. When Carol came upstairs in the morning, we had some breakfast before heading to the hospital.


Contractions are always depicted as terrible pains that cause a woman to double over and yell. What they don't tell you is that contractions begin as menstrual cramps... uncomfortable and annoying but nothing that requires yelps of pain.


We had pre-registered at the hospital six weeks in advance to avoid any unnecessary delays if we needed to make a quick trip. Since we had planned this one, it just happened to be one less thing that we had to do. We walked in (with a pillow, three bags and enough snacks to last for a long long time!) and were shown pretty quickly to the laboring room.


Once we set up shop - magazines and water for everyone - we played a waiting game. As with most hospital procedures, they asked us to come in at 7:30 with no intention of getting things started until 9 or so. This meant that we had some time to catch up with Carol and go through our last minute mental checklists. Everything being in order, we talked awkwardly for a while until it was time for the drip to begin.

While "waiting" as Rob puts it, I was still experiencing contractions. They were manageable and I was more troubled by the pelvic exams. After one of these exams, I told the nurse that I felt something wet trickling down my leg. She tested it with a little strip of paper (like for a litmus test) and said that my water broke. No gush in an embarrassing place, and come to find out, my water probably broke earlier but was such a slow drip I had no idea.



Because my contractions were still very irregular, they began a drip of pitocin. Now I have friends who have been induced with pitocin and they remain in labor for hours while their cervix slowly dilates. I had a very different experience with pitocin; luckily, I had a wonderful nurse. After beginning the drip, she watched the monitor (and me) as I worked through a SIX MINUTE CONTRACTION. At which point, she said that was enough and turned it off completely.



Yeah, it was a bit weird to be able to see the seismic activity of contractions on the computer monitor next to the bed. I tried not to anticipate too much, but wanted to warn Anny that things were going up or down. Feeling of control or of participation I guess.


Unfortunately, we lost the greatest nurse in WAH to a C-section she had to assist and were stuck with a substitute who did not have the best bedside manner. The greatest nurse in WAH, however, returned in time to help me through transition and the real work of labor, pushing.


I believe one of the explanations for why labor is so difficult (aside from the pain of course), is that there's little way to know how long it is going to last. I was recently talking to a friend who has also recently had her first child and explained it like this: If you are running a marathon, you have a specific distance and approximate time limit; but in labor no one can tell you 30 contractions and five hours. It may speed up and progress quickly only to stall at 7 cm with no progress for several hours. During the delivery, there's visible progress and an estimate for the actual delivery which doctors and nurses are very good at coaching, but labor itself does not progress linearly.


So as the doctor and nurse prepared for Abby's delivery, my world became very small. It was just me and pushing. The doctor gave instructions from "down there" and I know that Rob was holding one foot while my mother had the other one. With each contraction I was to push to the count of ten three times - the first couple pushes, too many people were counting (nurse, Mom, Rob). It was mom's loud voice that finally won and continued counting for the remainder of the pushes, although the nurse took over holding my foot. Throughout all of this, I don't really remember anything else going on around me, just voices and pushing.

The sequence of events are a little fuzzy, but I remember also needing a catheter. I had tried a couple times, unsuccessfully, to use a bed pan during labor, but I don't know how anyone pees in one of those things particularly at 9 months pregnant. So my bladder was still fairly full; the contractions and position of the baby were just preventing an easy release.

I remember the catheter. It was weird because....oh wait. We're keeping the gross stuff to a minimum. Let's just say I could hear her bladder empty. Weird.

I do not understand anyone who wants a home-birth for the simple reason that someone has to clean up that mess. Hospitals have all the right tarps and absorbent materials to make this super easy - Rob can probably describe these better since I really did not see much them.

Again - There are things I will take to the grave with me. If you would like real details in this regard to prepare yourself for your own birth experience, drop me an email.

I'll save the description of the sensations of giving birth for those who REALLY want to know, but there's a reason women don't often share this information.


At some point, the doctor did give me an episiotomy, but I have no idea when. I had signed a waiver when I was checked in explaining that the doctor would do this if she felt it necessary without consulting me. Remember, I had no anesthesia, but it wasn't until the doctor told me that I knew of the episiotomy. I felt nothing - she did, however, give me a local anesthetic to stitch me up.

I swore that I did not want any part of seeing Abby actually come out. I don't have a strong stomach for things like that. At some point, though, I realized that this was MY birth experience too, and I should take some pride in what my wife was doing to bring our precious baby into this world. Bottom line, it's not as gross as some of the previously mentioned sights.

I did stick to my guns about not cutting the umbilical cord. Let someone else do that. The cord on that kid was enormous. I thought it was small and dark, but this was thick and very white. I'm glad that it was there, just not something I feel like I should be doing, cutting away at my wife and daughter at the same time.

The other annoyance that is not often mentioned is that you still have to deliver the placenta after the baby arrives. I was watching the nurse clean up Abby, wanting more than anything to hold her, and my mother commented that Abby's toes were not webbed like mine are, as the doctor massaged my belly to help the final contractions expel the placenta.

No, Abby's toes are not webbed like two pairs of Anny's, but they were curled up really far.

It really was an amazing sight to see Abby getting cleaned up and realizing that I got to hold her first. I didn't cry, but I was certainly moved. (Doesn't mean crying is bad, just couldn't do it.) I made sure to keep reassuring Anny that things went amazingly well and that the worst of it was over. We got to hold Abby almost right away.

She was taken away for her APGAR testing, which she passed with 9's (of 10) both times. They also did hearing tests and warmed her up for a while.

Gramps and Pam drove home from the beach that morning and were holding Abby within an hour of her birth. It was a truly awe inspiring sight.

Truth be told, we're posting this as Abby has just turned four months old and backdated to the date and aproximate time Abby was born. I think this post is long enough. If you have questions or notice that something is missing, please email us offline.

Today's THE Day!

Moderate contractions since 3 am.
Woke me up at about 4 am.
Leaving for the hospital at 7 am.....

Baby by the end of the day....timeless.

I'll let you know how the rest of the day goes later!!

Our Last "Responsiblity Free" Weekend

So the question that we have been getting a lot for the last few days is "how are you spending your last responsiblity free weekend??!"

Honestly, just like we've spent many-a-weekend in the last month or so - at home. We've put the final touches on some cleaning around the house. Worked to get the guest room ready for Anny's mom, who arrives tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.

We did spend Saturday a.m. at a community yard sale in Columbia that my SIL organized. Very hot outside, but a very nice day overall. Good people, and we made some money too.

In the afternoon we caught a movie, which was the point that I actually realized that it was the last movie pre-baby. They we picked up a huge white pizza from Mama Lucias, and again I had the "last" thought! I'm okay with those thoughts, because that means Abby will be here soon.

Today we caught up with folks at church, then headed up to Columbia to see Chase the cute baby. (Pics at her moms site: www.neurosesgalore.com!) At home again we did some vacuuming and are catching up on some cooking shows. All about the new ideas for dinners!

Tomorrow I'll head to work in the morning to catch up with one of my bosses who has been in Italy for the last 14 days. We'll see if he came home, I guess! I'll leave before lunch to spend the rest of the day with my sweetie.

All in all it was a normal weekend for us, with some extra touches thrown in. In less than 48 hours I should be a dad!

Update on the Progress

Went to the doctors office yesterday and found out that things are progressing nicely. So nicely, in fact, that we have assurance that Abby will be born in the next FIVE DAYS!!!

Because everything is in order as far as both Anny and Abby are concerned, if contractions start, we're heading over to the hospital.

If contractions don't start, though, we have scheduled to have an induction on Tuesday morning. Abby is full term, already weighing in at between 7 1/2 and 8 pounds. Anny is ready.

So - one way or another, by next week at this time, I'll be a real father! "Raising a critter on the outside" as Natalie puts it!

Any last-minute advice?

**Updated Baby Pool is available. Click the LARGE Yellow box on the right with the teddy bear on it!**

6 5 07 Belly Pic

Okay, we've stopped with the measuring. Something intimidating about numbers that big!

The baby bump has become a baby ball!

Anny is amazingly beautiful! I'm really going to miss the bump, but I'm really going to have other things to occupy my time!

Don't forget to register your guess for when Abby will be born. There's a link on the right!

When will Abby be Here?

We've put up a Baby Pool!!

No registration is required and the winner takes all. (It's free, so there's nothing to take! Maybe we'll get you a Starbucks giftcard.)

You get to guess at the date, time, gender (duh), weight and height.

Here's how:

1. Click on this link: http://www.expectnet.com/games/Abby-Birth-Pool
2. Click on "Enter A Guess"
3. Follow the directions.
4. WIN?

There is a pop-up on the other site, but that's what makes it free.

In talking to my sister last night she mentioned that she might want to comment specifically on her guess. Please, everyone, feel free to do that on this site in the Comments section.

Good luck to all!

*This will take the place of the weekly poll until Abby has arrived!

Quick Updates

I took pictures of Anny the other day, but have not downloaded them from the camera yet. I'll hopefully get to that today, now that our power is working again. (see here for that story.)

Anny is still feeling good and thinks that she can make it to the 12th. That's our self-imposed target date! Anny's mom will be here on the 11th, and Gramps will be able to be back on this side of the Bay at that point too. Oh yeah, and she's already got a sub lined up from the 12th through the end of the school year.

It's fun to say that we're going to wait until the 12th. It's almost like we truly believe that either of us have any say in how things happen now!

We did set up the Pack N Play last night, which seems like it was the last missing piece before baby comes home!

On a side note - did you know that you should not use baby powder on babies? It can cause chronic breathing problems later on. Maybe they should change the name.....

New Poll: How Much is Too Much?

We've gotten many gifts, and we're thankful for all of them! We are, though, having a debate in our house.

How much pink is too much pink?

As the pictures would show, we have taken an intentional approach to not painting Abby's room pink. We knew she was a girl really early on in the planning stages, and chose to go with the neutral blue and green. Strollers, car seats, pack-n-play and such are not pink on the registry. We want a girl and are more-than-excited to be having a girl join our little slice of the world.

But.

There's always a But, right?

We're both feeling a little like we're drowning in a pink ocean. We have gotten several of everything in pink. We also have made an effort to not buy too many things on our own, knowing that we would receive gifts. (Which I restate, we are apreciative of!) What we have purchased has mostly been white.

So, the new poll is: How much pink is too much pink? Vote on the right side ~~>>

"Maybe I'll see you for your appointment in two weeks"

Anny had an OB appointment today, and here's what was said:


1 cm dilated
50% effaced
"I can feel the baby's head" (said by the doctor)


Odds are that the baby will be here earlier rather than later!

Quick Updates

We got car seat bases installed in both cars this weekend. Even had them checked out by our (best friend) mechanic. Got the okay to put the baby in!

We spent some time with Abby's future husband options. Evan (2 1/2 years old) and Luke (1 month old) will make perfect suitors. Let's hope that the case will be the same in 35 years! Evan is fun to chase around the house. He was hiding behind the sheer curtains an yelling loudly as I was "searching" to find him. CUTE!!

The weekly baby-update from Pregnancy.org reminded us that in one week Abby will be considered full term and ready to spring out of there! Anytime between 37 and 42 weeks is considered full term. I'm not sure what happens after 42 weeks?

If you look at the ticker above, it's amusing. :o) For the record, I do not control what the commentary is.

There are four teachers at Anny's school expecting children this spring. Three of those four have now had theirs. Anny's getting nervous about that statistic, I think. I'll update on that again soon.

That's the update for today.

Baby Class Six: Last One!

Last night we got to learn the "Baby Care" part of the Birth and Baby Care class. It was much more upbeat and everyone was much more talkative. In other words, I got to make jokes for everyone, not just Anny.

Some things I learned last night:
Wipe front to back. Not being a girl myself, this is helpful and new info to know!
No alcohol on the umbilical stump. It will fall off on it's own.
No sunscreen for the first six months. That will make our secret trip tricky this summer.
Babies sleep for 14 hours a day and poop four times. I'm jealous on both accounts.
NO baby powder. I have always thought that baby powder is for babies. Apparently it can be inhaled and cause some sort of respiratory infections.

We did get to practice putting diapers onto the very rigid mannequins. We also practiced swaddling them. (wrapping the baby securely in a blanket)

So, with our certificate in hand we're ready to have this baby. That's all it takes, right?

I think we'll have a lot of learning on the job.......

May 11 Ultrasound Pic!

Here's our little girl! This past Friday the pictures were better, but she was being quite a pain.

At this stage in the pregnancy, when they do an ultrasound they have to see her "practice breathe" for 30 seconds. She's obviously not breathing breathing, since she's lazing around in fluid! It's the way that her body prepares for life on the outside.

Once the technician started to look for her breathing, she went to sleep. The three of us (Anny, the tech and I) were pushing on the belly trying to wake her back up. Nothing. Ten minutes with the probe on Anny's belly. Nothing.

When the doctor came in to take a look, and she immediately woke up and started her practice breathing. Already a smarty pants.

Everything looks really good!

Last night we registered for our hospital stay! We didn't make a reservation or anything, but this way I don't have to deal with paperwork when she is in labor and yelling at me! It's actually a pretty cool thing to be able to do in advance. Whenever I have had surgery I've wasted so much time filling out paperwork or waiting for someone to finish typing stuff as I'm saying it. "NO. 60th PLACE, not ROAD!"

On to another topic: I need something from you all, but you can't post it as a comment here. I want to have a bunch of good, lame, funny, et cetera jokes to have ready to go while Anny is laboring. Don't post them here, because she reads here. Send them along to me at Abby's email address, which Anny does not check! (abigailmonroe@gmail.com) Let's leave the gross ones out.

My plan is to write them down on 3x5 cards and just pull them out from time to time. Steph - you said that Ben had a really good one to share. Please send that one along!

Weekly Poll 3: The Daddle

I stumbled onto one of the more interesting things that we have found so far during this pregnancy.

At work we talk about the things that we will have as parents that the generation before did not have. (We also talk about the things that they had that their elders did not have, like seat belts.) Often it's things that have helped along the way, but others are just silly.

I give you........The Daddle.

Yes, the Daddle. It's a saddle for dad to wear while playing horsey for their small child. Read more about it on their website: www.daddle.com.

So, the poll for this week:
Is the Daddle the weirdest/craziest/most useless parenting product you have heard of?

If you answer no, please let me know what else you've heard about!

"You look like you're about to POP!"

"You look like you're about to POP!" "When are you due?" "You're as big as a house!" "How many more weeks?" "You look tired" and other frank and sometimes rude statements have been made. Everyone from the custodian who cleans my classroom and my students to family members. We have five more weeks and yes, I am pregnant, carrying a five pound baby and all the equipment that she requires. I wish instead, someone would tell me how great I look (other than Rob, he's been very good about appreciating my growing body and although he teases me about my belly button, it's with affection). I do not waddle nor do I complain to everyone who will listen that I am tired of being pregnant. I have enjoyed my pregnancy and knowing there is a beautiful baby girl getting ready to meet us. So please, if you know an expectant mother take a moment and tell her how wonderful she looks - she'll appreciate it.

To my second topic, since I hardly ever blog... my mother, God bless her, offered to give us a "Shower in a Box" - an opportunity for friends and relatives who could not be at one of our many flattering baby showers to send us gifts and well wishes. She and I discussed who should be included, my aunt and cousins in Iowa, a couple friends I still keep in touch with from high school and college, and church members I grew up with. Last week, SIX large boxes of gifts arrived. Many of the people Rob had never met, the principal of the school where my mother works, my mother's PEO sister who was my high school guidance counselor, and members of the church who joined after I left for college. As I tried to explain to Rob who some of these people were, there were also names I did not even recognize as someone my mother had ever mentioned to me, much less met me or Rob. We both felt very awkward as we sat in our house, all alone, opening gifts from strangers. The Thank You notes will be interesting to write.

I'll finish by talking about Mother's Day. It was last year at this time when the grocery store cashier wished me a Happy Mother's Day and I had that terrible sinking feeling. Although I was polite and thanked him, I couldn't let it go. Rob and I had started talking about fertility treatments and had decided to try again. This year I have no fear of Mother's Day greetings (Rob even got me a gift) and Abby may even be here in time to celebrate Father's Day!

Baby Class Five: Push, but DON'T Push

Last night we had our class that included "mock labor." There was an involved story about waking up to contractions (not waking Rob) and doing some breathing. now practice breathing.

Now contractions are a little stronger.... practice breathing with the four count.

Now you've gotten to the hospital because contractions are x minutes apart and last for x seconds.... practice breathing the next count. (I think it's two. Seems like natural progression.)

You get the picture! When we got to the "Now push, but don't push" part, Anny just had to hold her breath for an eight count, then let it go. I asked if the teacher ever had someone actually push during the practice stuff and induce their own labor. I was assured that it had not happened on her watch!

The entire mock labor lasted about 20 minutes. We were told nicely "okay, when it really happens it will be more like 14 hours, but that was easy, right?!"

The other big thing we did was go over all of the immediately-after-birth procedures and such.
Here's the ice pack that we use. Pass it around.
Here's the wonderful mesh panties you always hear about. Pass them around.
Here's what Tucks medicated pads look like. Pass them around.
Here's the massive maxi pad product that you will use. And you will appreciate it. Pass it around.

Sounds like fun.

Doctors appointment earlier this week said that measurements are right on track, so the earlier week-and-a-half-ahead is not the case anymore. Doesn't have to go back for two weeks to that office.

Another ultrasound today. Hopefully we'll get better pictures this time to share!