Google Blogger Is Stupid!

I have been trying for a while now to upload some pictures so I can start my blog post...which hasn't been done in forever due to the fact that Google blogger is a piece of crap. In the past I have written my post and then added pictures and have had a horrible time trying to do so. So, I decided to try to do pictures first... no help there. If only there was a better way to blog. Maybe I'll just go back to old fashion diary keeping, at least I don't have to worry with my entries spontaneously deleting themselves! I have had no problem with anything else Google does, infact, I prefer gmail and google search engine to anything else... but they really need to vamp up their blogspots.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

Rachel was gracious enough to take some family pictures of us at the pumpkin patch. AnnaLynn only tolerated all the attention for a little while. More pictures can be found on my facebook page. Thanks, Rachel! It was good seeing you and Tim.

Quick Update

I know I need to post more pictures; she is growing and changing so much. I plan to do that soon. For now, just a quick update from her 2 month check up that she had at 9 weeks old, a week and a half ago... try to figure that one out. :)

At her check up she was 23.5 inches long (grown 3 inches since birth!! crazy!), 11 pounds 10 ounces (just one ounce shy of gaining four pounds since birth!), and her head was 15.5 inches around. Too bad they don't measure her cute little chubby, chunky legs... they are getting rounder and rounder. She is definitely growing and doing well.

She had four vaccinations at her two month visit also, one oral (which she actually liked) and three shots (which she hated!). She started crying and then took a breath and was crying so hard no sound was coming out. It was really sad, but Daddy was able to comfort her pretty quickly. Poor thing.

She has also started sleeping longer at night! For a week now, she has been sleeping any where from 5.5-7 hours in a row before she wakes up to eat! Then she eats until she falls asleep and usually sleeps the rest of the night until around 7-8 in the morning. Night time feedings are MUCH more enjoyable when you aren't doing them every 2-3 hours!

AnnaLynn is so precious and we just love her so much! She is learning all the time, constantly looking around trying to take everything in. She has learned that she can grab different objects and hang on to them. Her favorite things to grab are two little toys (one is a bunny rabbit her YaYa knitted for her) and her car seat blanket which YaYa knitted also. She occasionally will grab a hold of my hair and hang on, but that's only happened a few time so far; usually when I'm changing her and I get really close to her face to talk to her. She likes it and shows her excitement with a little hair tugging.

I'll post pictures as soon as I can them off of Tony's camera.

Growing Up and Moving Out

Up until this week AnnaLynn has been sleeping in a bassinette in our room beside our bed. This made for quick nighttime feedings and easy check-ups, plus it was nice to be able to gaze upon her beauty at any given time. A few nights ago Tony and I decided it was time to allow AnnaLynn to sleep in her own crib. Well, me being the new mother I am didn't want her to be all alone her first few nights in that big ole scary room. So, I blew up the air mattress and some how convinced my loving husband to sleep on it with me in her room even though we have a very comfortable Tempurpedic bed just a few feet away. He graciously obliged for two nights in a row. The morning after the second night, however, he began to disassemble the mattress and that was my clue that we would not need to sleep in her room any more. So, last night was her first night in her crib, in her room all by herself, and she did surprisingly well. She woke up three times, but that seems to be the norm at the present time, and after eating went back to sleep easily. So, she is now resting in her bed, peacefully.

So much has happened in the last month since I have posted. I know there are many things I can't remember. AnnaLynn is smiling often now and it seems she smiles more and more each day . She is small little dimples that make her smile even cuter!! About 3-4 weeks ago she discovered her feet and they have been the most entertaining toys she has (although I'm sure they will be even more so once she learns how to put them in her mouth). She started sucking and chewing on her hands a while back and is getting better and better at that. She doesn't suck her thumb yet, but she chews on it and then tries to stick her entire fist in her mouth, sometimes both at once! Just this past weekend and today I have noticed she is trying to reach out and grab objects. Last night she took a braclet from my hand and today she got a hold of a knitted bunny made by her YaYa. As soon as she grabs things they go to her mouth, though I'm not sure she even knows what she is doing. She is more beautiful everyday, and her hair is already starting to grow back... lots pretty blonde to me, but occasionally brown in some lighting.

Tomorrow is her two month check up (but she will actually be 9 weeks and 1 day). She will have to get some vaccinations which means shots! Hopefully she will do well, but I don't look forward to her being in pain. I am excited to see how much she has grown and what she weighs now. Hard to believe it has been nine weeks since we first met! It doesn't seem that long ago we were in the hospital, yet it feels like I have loved her all my life!

Well, I'm off to bed... but I think I check on the little one just one more time before I hit the sack! :)

Lots of tears, lots of sleep, loss of hair

Last night AnnaLynn had a long episode of crying. I think it was about 3-4 hours or more of on again, off again (mostly on) crying. She had gas, was hungry and exhausted, and was too worked up to eat or sleep. We gave her some gas medicine and tried the tummy rubbing method to pass the gas along. Those efforts seemed to work pretty well, but she was still upset. Finally, we decided to try to bottle feed her a little. I pumped 3 ounces and gave it to Tony. He got to feed his daughter for the first time! She very slowly drank the whole bottle. She was then full and dry with most of the gas passed. It didn't take long after that to get her to sleep. It was 10:30 when she finally went down and she hadn't had a decent nap since around 2 pm!! Well, much to our joy, she slept until 4:30 am! Six hours... it was so nice! Hopefully she doesn't feel so bad tonight, but maybe we can keep the 6 hour stretch? yeah right.

Oh, and a few days ago I noticed her hairline looked to be receeding. Yes, infact, she is loosing her hair. She is mainly loosing the hair above either eye, so she looks like she either has a very dramatic widow's peak or a mohauk. But this can easily be disgised with a bow or cut knitted hat from her YaYa.

Labor, Delivery and everything after

On August 8th at 1:49 am my first contraction started. Twelve hours later, we were off to the hospital. I was 3 cm dialated when we arrived. Ten hours after arriving, AnnaLynn was born. She was 7 pounds, 11 ounces, 20.5 inches long and born at 12:12 am on 8-9-10.

The labor was long and challenging, but with the help of Tony and our midwife and nurse staff at Ochsner, we were able to have a natural child birth. It was the hardest thing we have ever done, but well worth it. Just as AnnaLynn was getting ready to make her debute, the midwife asked Tony if he wanted to help. I was thinking she just meant cutting the cord, but he actually got to deliver her! Once her head was out, the midwife told him what to do, and she was born. I cannot say enough about how wonderful Tony did during the entire labor and delivery process. I know without his help and encouragement there is no way I could have had a natural child birth, which is something I really wanted to do. Praise the Lord!

Right after birth AnnaLynn had a hard time getting rid of all of the amniotic fluid that was in her lungs. This caused her to have rapid shallow breathing. So, they took her to the neonatal ICU so she could be monitored. She was there for 15 hours and had improved enough that she could be moved to our room. The second night after she was born, she slept 5 hours through the night! This has only happened once since, but we are looking forward to when it becomes a regular occurance. Come to find out, the reason she slept so well was because they had done a heel stick for a bilirubin test (which I'm sure the screaming and crying she did wore her out), and when she was returned to us she was swaddled very tightly and had her pacifier in her mouth. She was in her happy place.

She did develop a little jaundice that eventually cleared up on its own, but she was quite yellow for a while. Granny and Mom were here for the delivery. They patiently waited 12 hours in the waiting room. The following day, Ms. Linda came down and spent some time getting to know her newest grandbaby. Then Laura stopped by for the weekend on her way home from Florida. And just this past weekend, my dad came and visited. We have had a great time with all the family.

Today was AnnaLynn's two week doctor's appointment. She weighs 8 pounds 6 ounces (she weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces two weeks ago) and is 21.5 inches long (an inch longer than at birth!). She is doing so well: eating well, napping well, etc. She is beautiful and perfect!! Enjoy the pictures.

AnnaLynn's NICU room

Napping with Daddy

Visiting with Granny

AnnaLynn and Grammy

Four Generations

Angell family

Family picture

Aunt Laura AKA Diaper Changing Pro

Daddy admiring his little girl

Paw Paw loving AnnaLynn

The cute dress she wore to her two week dr apt

Update

Tony and I saw the midwife yesterday morning. She said that the 2 cm dialation estimate that I was given last week was generous. :) But at least I'm still a little dialated. She had us go in for an ultrasound to check up on AnnaLynn. Basically to make sure she was doing well, moving, and that the fluid level was high enough for us to continue to let her stay put while she wanted. The ultrasound tech said everything looked good. The fluid is at 13 and she said anywhere from 5-20 is good. So, as far as I know, we will continue as things are going.

The midwife told us that we could ultimately go as long as we wanted without being induced, but that they recommend doing it before 42 weeks because statistically the babies are healthier than if you wait longer. We spoke with her about this for a while and Tony and I were both comfortable when we decided to schedule a date after this coming weekend. So, if AnnaLynn hasn't come on her own by Monday night (I will be 41 weeks and 5 days then) we will check into the hospital (around 10 pm) and they will start me slowly on Pitocin (the devil) to start contractions. The midwife said once they have the contractions and dialation where they want it they will turn off the Pitocin and let me go on my own from there. This is all in theory since she may decide to come before then, which is what we are praying for. If we do go in Monday night, then she will be born sometime Tuesday. So, that's the latest that we will have to wait for AnnaLynn. I guess if she still wants a say in when her birthday will be, she needs to make that decision between now and then. :)

The midwife helped answer our many questions. She was very reassuring and we both felt comfortable with what we decided on. Let's just see what happens!!