Sleep Deprivation

The upside of having Adelyne in the hospital for a week was that we were able to learn how to care for her through the helpful nurses and doctors and by the time we got home, she was on a great schedule. It was almost like we brought home a very reliable alarm clock that goes off every 3 hours... even at night.

2 O'clock in the morning isn't so bad with this cutie pie 

Feeding every three hours, changing diapers and consoling a fussy baby all hours of the night has left us a little sleep deprived. When we do manage to get a couple hours of shut eye in between feedings, we sleep hard. We've been sleeping so hard that we have both been a little delirious.

 This was after her 8 O'clock feeding. I think she is going to be a morning person

Just the other morning Matt got up carrying the pillow he sleeps with under his arm. Thinking it was Addy, he walked into the nursery and almost tucked the pillow into the crib. Thankfully the light was on and he came to his senses.

 So cute!

I woke up one night, walked over to Matt's side of the bed and told him I would take her. He kindly let me know that she was in her crib. Almost every time I get out of bed to go feed Addy, I feel like I am turning her over in the covers. The worst was probably when I heard her crying and thought I was holding her, but when I got up, I couldn't find her anywhere in the covers. I was frantically searching for her in between the sheets when I woke Matt up. Once again, he told me she was in her crib, which I didn't believe at first but wouldn't you know it, I walked into her room and there she was! Then I wondered how she got there.

 Little stinker

We're going to throw a small party when she drops her first feeding, after we make sure she is still breathing. Until then, I'm going to take a nap.

Addy's First Week Home

Adelyne had her very first check up this morning and besides a few "stork bites" on her face that will eventually fade, the doctor said she looked great! Praise God!

 Addy isn't a huge fan of bath time yet but she loves those adorable hooded towels

Since coming home from the hospital, Addy has been a busy little lady entertaining several visitors. She is quite the hostess, all she has to do is open her eyes, put a cute expression on her face and her guests leave satisfied.

 Addy's sweet Grandma? Mimi? Babuscha? (She doesn't know what she wants to be called yet) 

My Grandma cried when she held her

Aunt Nicole

Aunt Nicole and Uncle Perry

 Aunt Morgan, Uncle Quinn and her little cousin Baby Wingerd. We can't wait to meet him!

 Sweet tummy time with Daddy

 Out cold!

 Addy's first outing in her stroller... she loved it

 Addy's little buddy Julien came to visit. It might not look like it but he is only 6 months older than her.

 This is where she spends most of the day... what a life!

Adelyne Grace

Adelyne Grace was born March 9th, 2011 at 6:39 in the evening. She weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and measured 20 3/4 inches long.

After 16 hours of pretty intense back labor, I opted for the epideral. So they moved me from the natural water birthing center up to the 3rd floor where I could get the good stuff. Getting the epideral was a bit scary since I had to remain completely still even during contractions but once I got it, I was a happy camper!

My water had broken on it's own and when I was 10 cm dilated around 5 o'clock, they decided it was time to start pushing. I had another "forebag" that the midwife had to break and when she did they discovered merconium in the sack. Since there was a chance this could get into the baby's lungs upon delivery, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was called into the room.

I had to push for about an hour. The stubborn little thing just wanted to hang out in the same spot. So, the nurse, the midwife, Matt and I would make small talk as we waited for each contraction so I could push. The 3 people from the NICU set by quietly and waited. Every once in awhile, one would peek over and tell me I was doing great.

Matt was a tremendous support through out the whole thing and when our little one finally made her debut, it was his job to announce the sex. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck so it was hard to tell what was what. When it was finally determined that we had a girl, I cried. It had been a sweet baby girl all along!!!!

The NICU ladies took her to the warmer right away. Matt was able to cut the cord and they discovered that she had fluid on her lungs and would have to hang out in the NICU for a couple hours. They let me hold her for what seemed like a second and I got a good look at our sweet baby girl.

Only a couple minutes old

That night Matt and I were transferred to a postpartum room where we had to spend the night away from our Baby Girl. The next morning we received a phone call from the NICU letting us know that the fluid in her lungs was gone but she had an infection and would need to stay another two days. Bummer!

First night in the NICU and the only time she needed the breathing tube

They removed the breathing tube the next day but she had to keep the other monitors for the remainder of her stay.

The next day, after we finally decided on a name (we only had a boy name chosen), I went up to visit Adelyne, but since it wasn't "hands on time" I could only stare at her and stroke her head full of hair. During our next visit, they informed us that after looking at the blood work, she needed a week of antibiotics and monitoring to fight her infection. And so, our 7 day stint in the NICU began.

 She looks so small next to Daddy's hand

Poor little thing had to get an IV in her head

 They kept trying to put these ugly hats on her

 "Daddy, I want to go home"

 One of the nurses made this sweet sign for her

Last day to be in the NICU 

All of the excitement about going home knocked her out, either that or the sun was too bright.  

Finally home in her own crib 

Welcome home Baby Girl!

Spending Adelyne's first 7 days in the NICU was not what we wanted or had expected but we made it through thanks to loving friends and family who cleaned our house, kept us fed, sent encouraging words, lifted us up in prayer and just hung out at the hospital. We have been overwhelmed by everyone's love and support during this challenging time and were thankful that the infection was caught when it was and we were able to bring home a healthy baby girl.

37 Weeks: Full Term!

On Tuesday we reached that magic number, 37 weeks! I am now considered full term and if I were to deliver today, the baby would be developed enough to live and breath on its own.

37 Weeks!

We visited the baby doctor this morning and found out that Baby D has dropped! He or she is in position and ready to go. Even though it could still be another two weeks or so, Matt and I were both a little giddy to find out we were one step closer to meeting our little one.

The midwife was impressed with my progress and said to keep doing whatever we were doing because it's working. I see many more evening strolls in our future!