Growing up so fast!!!

Our sweet little girl Abby is 2 months old today! Julie and I know we haven't been very good about updating the blog but we have been so busy. But we figured we better make some time to update everyone on the life and times of Abby Paige. Last week Abby started daycare at Vickie's house. I am pretty sure it was harder on Julie and I than her. While it is tough to leave her she is doing really well, Vickie says she is just an terrific baby. The other kids also love Abby, when Julie comes to pick Abby up at the end of the day all the kids have to say bye to baby Abby. Other developments are her ability to hold her head up better and better each day. She has also started sleeping later and later, which is really nice. The last week she hasn't gotten up any earlier than 4:30 in the morning.
Other up coming events in Abby's life would be her first round of vaccinations on Friday, which Julie is pretty nervous about. As many of you know Julie is going to school to be a chiropractor and recently had to write a paper on the pros and cons of vaccinations. And while we decided to vaccinate Abby, Julie was forced to read about the horror stories when vaccinations caused far more harm than good. Abby is also getting baptized this Sunday, which is going to be a big day for her and the whole family. Abby's grandma Janis will be putting on a little party for her afterwards.
The attached pictures just show how Abby has grown so far, you may notice her smiling in a few as she has begun smiling at people and things she likes.

Abby's Updates

Abby continues to be a great baby, more than any parent could ever ask for. She eats well and sleeps even better. On Thursday night she went to bed at about 11:30 p.m. and didn't get up until 5:45 a.m!!! Unfortunately this hasn't been a nightly thing but she has been sleeping more and more every night. Other big changes are that Abby has now started sleeping in her bassinet and not with Mom and Dad. She is doing well but needs a little love before she goes to bed. Abby has also started eating breast milk and formula. Since Julie will be going back to school soon and Abby will be going to daycare we have decided to start the process of feeding her formula. It was a really tough decision to switch to formula but with Julie studying for boards and going back to school it seemed like the best option.

The pictures we have attached today are of my sister and mom both holding Abby. We have also put on some more cute pictures of Abby by herself. And Bealblog first we have also attached of short movie of Abby just hanging out on our bed.

Also for those of you have are frequent viewers you may notice we have added a link to the Mach's Blog. Tim and Bobby are the proud parent's of their second child Tyson who is Abby's 3rd cousin and exactly 1 month younger then she is. You will see lots of great pictures and posts about Tyson and his big sister Emma.

Abby is almost a month old!

Abby has been in our lives for almost one month, and boy has she had an impact on us. While being parents is even more work than we could have ever imagined, we wouldn't trade it for anything. While getting up at 2:30 in the morning is not our favorite thing to do, knowing we are doing it for Abby makes all worthwhile. Everyday that goes by Abby is showing more and more of a personality and everyone thinks she is as cute as button and sweet peaches.

As for the rest of family everyone is doing OK. Duke is back home and doing very well with Abby, he likes to lick her feet and steal her pacifier. While Julie loves being a mom, it hasn't been easy. First she labors for 28 hours and then has a C-section and all the complications mentioned in the previous blog. Then she got a uterine infection which came with 2 prescriptions and a fever of 100.8. Then just last week she got mastitis which had a 101 degree temperature and another prescription. I am doing pretty well, tired and sucking down the iced coffees at work but other than that I doing fine. Well I think that is all for now, we have attached some cute pictures of Abby that we think show how she has grown from the last blog.

Everyone welcome Abby Paige Beal!!!

Well it finally happened, Julie and I are parents! Abby Paige was born July 18th at 9:12 at night weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces and was 21 inches long, and what an ordeal it was for her to come into our lives. As our last blog said the doctor had decided to induce Julie on Tuesday July 17th, so we headed to hospital ready to have our wonderful little girl. After 28 hours of rather painful labor Dr. Block decided that Abby was just too big and Julie would have to have a C-section. Needless to say things didn't go as we had hoped. As if the C-section wasn't enough Julie hemorrhaged pretty bad and lost a lot of blood, but I am happy to report while her hemoglobin is still low she is feeling better and better everyday. Now as for Abby she came out perfect, just as cute as Julie and I could ever imagine. She was very healthy but did get a mild case of Jaundice in the hospital and had to be under billi-lights the last 3 days we were at the hospital. The picture of what looks like a real life glo-worm is Abby catching some rays to help with the jaundice. After 5 days in the hospital we were finally able to go home, which was a big relief for all us as trying to get sleep in a hospital is almost impossible. There seems to be someone popping in to check something every hour.

Now that we are home Julie and I are starting to adjust to having a baby around the house. For the most part Abby is as perfect a baby as a parent could ask for. She rarely cries, eats well, continues to gain weight, and loves to be held. She still likes to keep Mom and Dad up at night but she is so sweet and cute we really don't mind. Julie is continually getting stronger and feel better from her surgery, however she has managed to get a cold in the midst of all of this. But being the trooper she is she never complains about her motherly duties. That is it for now, but we will be sure to keep everyone updated on how Abby, Julie and I are doing. Even if we don't have a lot to write we will be sure to put up pictures as much as we can.

Mark Your Calendars!

As you may have noticed last week we didn't put up a new blog due to no significant changes. But let me tell you things certainly have changed this week. On Wednesday we had another appointment with Dr. Block, and this is when things got interesting. Dr. Block noticed how uncomfortable Julie was and how she hasn't had any contractions yet. And with the baby being the size they believe her to be Dr. Block decided the best course of action would be to schedule Julie to be induced around in the evening of Tuesday July 17th. In order to do this there had to be a stress test done on the baby to make sure she was up for her epic journey into our lives. During this stress test the baby would not sit still and the MA's were having a tough time tracking the babies heart rate. Just as a precaution Dr. Block sent us to the hospital to get things checked out there. Once there Julie was hooked up to a fetal monitor for about 45 minutes to track the babies heart rate. Everything looked great but they still had us do an bio-physical check the babies gross and fine motor movements. She passed that test with flying colors and they the nurses at the hospital sent us home with a clean bill of health and no concerns as to the babies well being.

In the home stretch

Nothing too exciting to report this week. The last doctor's visit went well and everything is looking great. We had another ultrasound just to check the size of the baby and she has continued to grow very rapidly. Currently she is estimated to be 7 pounds 4 ounces, which put her in the 90th percentile. The funny thing is her head is average size but her belly is almost off the charts. One thing is for sure, she is getting enough nutrition. Julie still isn't dialated but again things are looking good. She also thinks she has had a few contractions but still isn't 100% sure they are contractions or just the baby moving around.

While we still are about a month away from the due date we have almost everything in order. We are registered at the hospital and our bags are packed just in case we get a late night wake up. Julie is currently working very hard to get her school stuff organized as her finals are about 2 weeks after the baby is due. She has already worked out early test times with several of her professors. Sorry there aren't any new pictures this week but we didn't have anything new to post.

The count down begins

Well Julie had her 35 week check up today. She measured a perfect 35 cm, which means she is right where she should be. At this point Julie is not dilated at all but the Dr. Block says things are looking right schedule. Although she is right on schedule that gives Julie 5 more weeks to be very pregnant and extremely uncomfortable. Due the size of the baby, Julie will be getting another ultrasound next week which will mean more pictures of our little girl. If the baby continues to grow at the rate she is growing (currently in the 85 percentile) it is looking like tough a labor and possibly a C-section. But Dr. Block is very adamant about avoiding a C-section if at all possible.