We don't need no stinkin' bilirubin!

HORRAY! We finally got a 14 on our bili count and don't have to go back to the lab! They were beginning to know us by name at the hospital. We go next week to check our weight and make sure we are doing good!

Abby's Hospital Picture

I can't write too much right now, but I wanted to let everyone know about Abby's hospital picture. Just copy and paste the link below, and it will hopefully take you there. Or you can go to UT Medical Center's webite and click on the UT Babies link. She will be under April 22nd. Special thank yous to Rachel for the blanket and Nana Kathy and Lora for the outfit!

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=7593109128

Thanks, Desiree, for this fabulous picture!

Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. . . oh my

Over the past few days, Abby has been introduced to her loving family and friends. Besides grandparents, she has a couple of uncles who already thinks she is great, an Aunt Debbie who has forgiven her for being born after such a long night, and friends who are as close as aunts and uncles. Here are some pictures of the meet and greets. We unfortunately did not get a picture of everyone who has come to see us. We will do better the next time you visit. If you visited on Sunday afternoon, we might have forgotten we had cameras. We were a little tired. We promise to do better!

Aunt Debbie was upset when I didn't come by midnight.
However, from the smile on her face, all is forgiven.
You've met your match, Aunt Debbie.

Uncle Tim and Cousin T.J. couldn't be more proud.
Abby was very comfy in "Uncle Poppy's" arms!
She can't wait until she is old enough to play Spiderman
and Transformers with T. J.

It was love at first sight for Uncle Tom. Abby can't wait
to hear all the stories Uncle Tom has on Mommy.

Abby and Talmadge's first picture. Sorry it is so blurry.
We will have to add this to the many more to come
and post it at thier wedding.

Aunt Aimee and Abby made fast friends. Abby is
excited to get to know her
and find out even more stories about mommy.

All the South-Doyle gang is jealous. Nana Kathy was the first
from school to meet Abby. Abby knew her voice already.
She is already planning on many lunches with Kathy!

At least I'm cute in yellow

Abby continues to do great. She has semi-high bilirubin levels, which means that she is a bit jaundiced. We have to watch her appetite, and she gets to lay out in the sun twice a day to help. Grandpa Larry comes over after work to hold her in the window for the afternoon sun. Our high mark was 17, but we have fallen to 16. Everyday, we have to go to the lab and have blood drawn. We're afraid that she thinks this is what life is going to be like. Other than that, she is wonderful. The pediatrician says she is healthy and in the 50 percentile. This sounds like a good thing, but we are not really sure what it means yet. He was pleased, though. At her last doctor's appointment, she was at 7 lbs and 12 oz. We are sure she will be back to birth weight soon!
We will keep you posted on the jaundice.

Abby already loves to lay in the sun.

Welcome to Abigail Louise

This the blog everyone has been waiting for. We welcomed Abigail Louise on Sunday, April 22nd at 7:41 am. It was a huge surprise that she came when she did. We went out to eat with Steve's parents for lunch on Saturday and came home to finish our afternoon projects. (Steve was staining the deck with his dad, and I was napping.) I did not feel right when I woke, so I called the doctor as every paranoid pregnant woman would. She said to just, "Come on in and get checked." We quietly slipped off to the hospital fully expecting to be back home that evening. We were checked in to triage at five with no excitement. They were going to "check me" with the monitors. Turns out, I was going into labor. I was sent for a walk to see what progress I could make on my own without having to be admitted offically.... "just to see." I started contracting pretty hard while on the walk and by the time we returned, we were declared offically in true labor and the fun began. We still had not told anyone that what was going on. (Something we may never live down.) There was a "quick" admissions thing to do. I thought I was going to have the baby before the computer info was entered. Within two hours, we were far enough along to consider an epidural. When my water broke, it was more than a consideration. We started calling people. By one in the morning, we were told "baby anytime now." These were the famous last words. I spent the next six hours waiting on one centimeter. I am sure there is a good joke/antecdote/metaphor here, but I'm really tired. We then got the go ahead to push. After one hour and ten minutes of pushing, Abby made her entrance. She was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 21 inches long with blonde hair and blue eyes. We were thrilled!!! She is perfect (just see for yourself in the pictures below.) We were sent home from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. Abby continues to do great! She has a little jaundice that the doctor is monitoring.

Thank you for all your prayers and love. We can't tell you how much it means to us. Come by and meet her soon.

Abby loves to stick out her tongue.
We'll deal with this later. It's just too cute now.

Daddy and Abby share plans to nap later.

Mommy and Abby share plans to eat later.

No, Emperor Palpatene (sp?) did not come to visit us.
This is Daddy trying to catch some zzz's before Abby made her enterance.

Abby meets Mamaw.


Grandma kinda likes Abby.

Grandpa Larry was wrapped around that finger from the get-go.

We will post more pictures soon. It is feeding time right now and someone is demanding attention. Hmmmm... wonder who?!?

And the Winner is. . .

Thank you for all of your suggestions for the middle name of our sweet Abigail. We considered Abigail B.A. and Abigail Daytona, but alas we decided on another. Approximately two hours after Abby's arrival into this world, her daddy walked through the room, looked at me, and said, "How about Louise?" To which I said, sounds great to me. The birth certificate people called soon afterward, and it became offical. So, we now have an Abigail Louise. Thank you to Granny and Uncie Mike for the fun nickname of Abby Lou. We use it often.

Daddy and Abigail. . . B.F.F.

Help wanted.

As you probably know already, we have yet to give Abigail a middle name. Since she will be here any day now, I feel this is something we should consider thinking about. If you have any suggestions, let us know. We just need ideas.

Almost Here.

Well, we are here at 39 weeks and still counting. The doctors say anytime, but Abby is real laid back about the whole thing. (This is a trait that she gets from Daddy.) On Wednesday the 18th, we had a false alarm. We almost were admitted to the hospital, but it was decided that it would be better to go back home to see if it were true labor. Obviously, it was not. Tuesday the 24th is our due date.

I will try to post when there is news or fun information to share. When she is born, we will post pictures, information, etc. as soon as we can.

This was taken just a couple of days ago.
Everything is ready for Abby.... at least I hope.

The big night. Post epidural hense smile!