A Wonderful Christmas!

We are so thankful and happy to have our sweet, little bundle of joy, and we couldn't have asked for a better Christmas! I know our families have thoroughly enjoyed spending quality time with our little girl, and Miss Abby has had a wonderful 1st Christmas with them! On Christmas Eve, we visited Marshall's family at Abby's grandparents' house. Abby had fun meeting her dad's cousins and enjoyed seeing her aunts and uncles even though she slept the whole time!!! Christmas morning, Abby decided to see what Santa brought her at 6:00am so we woke Dad up to open presents. Lucy was anxious to see what Santa had brought her as well and snuck into her present while we were taking pictures!! After breakfast and presents, we all took a nap (Lucy included) and then headed to my parents for Christmas lunch. Uncle Paul had a blast taking pictures of Abby with his new camera which explains why he isn't in any of our pictures!! Later that afternoon, we ventured over to Marshall's parents for dinner. Abby had lots of fun sleeping most of the day so naturally once we finally made it home, she was ready to party and we were ready to hit the sack! Our Christmas continued into the weekend by getting together with Pop's family at Abby's grandparents house. Abby was a little angel but unfortunatley she slept through their visit too! I promise she does know how to cry! Here are some pics of our fun 1st Christmas:

Christmas Eve at May May's...the girls!

Abby's ready to see what Santa left at 6am!!

Santa didn't forget Abby!

The kids having fun on Christmas morning!

Thanks Santa!

Abby & her grandmom

Abby & her great grandmother!

The Girls!

Abby & Dad

Abby & Mom

Getting ready for Christmas!

Abby has really enjoyed getting ready for Christmas! With the help of her grandmom, she was a little angel and slept while I finished decorating our Christmas tree. Abby loves to gaze at the Christmas tree and has done a little shopping with me. We also took on the challenge to get have her first portrait made! It was a busy day at Portrait Innovations, but we were able to get a few good shots! See what you think!


Our weekly visit to the doctor was a success - Abby has reached 8 pounds 14 ounces! Yaye! Our doc is pleased and said we don't have to go back to visit him until January for our 2 month visit! Hurray!! -C

Abby's Growing!

Abby has grown lots this week! AND she's learning to make funny faces! Our doctor's visit on Monday was a success. She's passed her birth weight and is now weighing in at 8 lbs 5 ounces! She's almost outgrown her newborn clothes too! Good Girl, Abby! Here are some fun Abby expresions we've captured over the past two weeks.

Follow Up Doc Visit

Today, Abby and I went to the doctor by ourselves for the first time since Dad started back to work. We made it successfully on time to our visit!! The doctor checked Abby's weight and found she had gained 2 ounces over the weekend! She now weighs 7 lb 14 oz and has almost reached her birth weight of 8 lb. We'll go back next week to weigh in again! Hopefully we'll pass the 8 lb mark then!!

Tiny Hand, Big Hand

Abby's 2 Week Checkup

We went to the pediatrician for Abby's 2 week checkup today. Her doctor said he could visually tell her jaundice was clearing up, so he did not check her bilirubin level. Yaye!!! She gained 4 ounces weighing in at 7lbs 12oz and has grown a wee bit in length from 21 1/2 inches to 21 3/4 inches. He suggested we give her supplements after each feeding to let her gain more weight and increase the stinky diapers. We'll go back to the doctor on Monday to check her weight. Hopefully we'll meet her birth weight on Monday (8lbs)!

Abby loves to look at you with her big blue/gray eyes and has been trying to hold up her little head since day one! Now she's getting into the head butting stage! She's oh so sweet and we just can't help but say she's the cutest thing ever especially when she cracks a little smile! :)

:-(

Daddy is dissapointed in his little girl. We're going to have to have a long talk about football.

My 1st Football Game

I watched my first USC vs Clemson football game today with my Mommy, Daddy, my friend Lily, and her mom, Michelle. I cheered for both teams in my sleep. My favorite player was Smelley, because that's what my dad calls me! Unfortunatley Daddy wasn't too happy with the outcome especially since I had to help to celebrate the TIGERS victory with my new Clemson Pacifier! Course I did have a USC Passie on standby if they had won. Thanks Papa and Mammie for giving me the USC and Clemson pacifiers to help me have some team spirit! GO TIGERS!!! :)Maybe next year USC!!!

The Pediatrician

On Wednesday, we had our first checkup at the pediatrician's office. Abby had lost a little weight, weighing in at 7lb 7oz and the doctor said she had a touch of jaundice. They measure jaundice by the bilirubin level which was at 11.9 which warranted a follow up visit on Friday, the day after Turkey Day, to ensure the level didn't get higher. She did well traveling back and forth both days and her Friday's visit showed some improvements. She gained an ounce (7lb 8oz) and her bilirubin level had dropped to 11.5. The doctor said that was definitely a good sign! Usually, he said, jaundice peaks and then starts dropping, so hopefully we're on the mend. We're due back next Friday for another followup visit.

Our First Thanksgiving

We are very thankful for a beautiful, little girl and all of our family and friends. We wish you all safe travels and a very Happy Thanksgiving.

HUGS!! The Browns

Daddy get's to hold the baby, too

Home

Mom and baby (and daddy) are safe at home. Everyone is glad to be able to (finally) relax 100%.

Well... except for Lucy. She's so excited she's can't stop barking. Fortunately, Abby heard enough of that in the womb that it doesn't seem to bother her. Further proof we have an incredible baby. :)

Pictures

Proud Parents!

Such a cute outfit!


Mommy and baby


Abby's blue/gray eyes

"Holy cow! Can you believe this was inside me 4 hours ago!!!"

Precious

Napping

Abby

Abigail Elizabeth Brown

Was welcomed into the world at 6:04pm, weighing 8.00lbs, 21 1/2 inches long. Mom and baby are doing fine. Pics to follow.

Push

We're going to start pushing soon!

Progress

Just a quick update... C is dilated to 9 cm. Things are still moving steady.

Update

It's official, we're staying. They're going to work on the epidural now... relief is in sight!

Apologies

I'm sorry if any of the posts are formatted funny. I'm sending these from my iPod touch as e-mails. I'll have to clean them up later.

Hospital

Well, we're at the hospital, and MAN are they asking a bunch of questions! Poor C!

The contractions are still coming steady. Still, no official "you're staying" prognosis.

Labor?

C is having contractions! She woke me up at 4am and they were coming 10 minutes apart. Now, they're down to a little over 6 minutes. She's in the shower, and I'm brewing coffee. When it breaks the 5 minute mark, I guess we're going to be on our way.

Is this it........?

The Countdown Continues

We have 5 days until our appointment to induce labor on Monday! I think we have a little procrastinator on our hands!! Thanks for all of your notes and prayers! Hopefully my next post will have some exciting news!

Our Doctor's Visit

Well, we made it through the weekend without a baby and went to our doctor's appointment this morning. My blood pressure and weight were fine BUT I still have not dilated any. Since we're past due, they did a Bio Physical Profile Test to insure everything was ok with the baby. This is basically a non-stress test which consisted of an ultrasound that measures four categories: the baby's breathing, her movement, her muscle tone, and the amniotic fluid level. Our results were fine with a perfect score of 8/8. What a relief to actually get to see her in there moving. And yes, we did get to confirm she's a girl. We saw her face and could even see her little lips moving !!! She's still head down and the doctor would like to give her a week more to come naturally. But if she doesn't, he scheduled an appointment at 6 am on Monday, November 24, to induce labor. Hopefully she'll be here this weekend or sooner! We're super excited and can't wait to meet her!

Another Day Passes....

....and still no BABY! Thanks to everyone who has been checking on us. I know everytime we call any of you, the first thought is "They're in labor!" Perhaps we'll be soon!

The Due Date is Here!

And still no baby girl.....

We have an appointment at the doc’s on Monday morning. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we get to cancel that appointment.

-M

Welcome to everyone who is here to see the baby!

But! She is not here yet.

Keep your eyes posted, though, because this will be the first place that will be updated as things are happening.

So, for everyone wondering who's going to be the FIRST one called.......

It's the blog!

If you want to be in the know, then you need to keep your eyes posted here!

Or, you know, wait a couple more minutes and I'll call you. Whichever. I'm easy.
-M

P.S. RSS feed is available, if you are so inclined.

The Nursery

The nursery is ready for BABY! Just a few minor touches will be needed. Bedrest has slowed me down with getting her pictures framed but that can be completed later and we'll get her name hung once she's born. We'd like to meet our little girl first to help us decide on her name!

The Big Day for Our Ultrasound

Looks like we're having a girl!!!