Scarrow Family Visit

We had a great time with Aunt Jen, Uncle Allen, and Cousin Kylie this weekend.

They were a huge help to us. In addition to bringing a huge bag of cute hand-me-downs for Audrey, they gave us some much appreciated pointers for bathing Audrey and some great meals while they were here. Jen made enchiladas and cinnamon rolls and Allen made spaghetti.

Kylie looks so different every time we see her—it’s hard to believe she’s only four months older than Audrey. This time she was smiling and giggling. Kylie tried out the exersaucer, jumper, and walker. She liked the exersaucer, but wasn’t too sure about the bouncer. She was able to go in reverse on the walker for a few steps already.

Grandpa & Grandma Wood Come to Visit

This past weekend, Grandpa and Grandma Wood (and Harlee) came to visit. They stayed with us for three days and we really had a good time with them.

Audrey got some really nice gifts including flowers, some pretty clothes, a Halloween hat and booties, and her very first birthday cake.



Mom also made us some meals this weekend—some pasta and a breakfast casserole. Mom helped us out by doing a few chores while she was here (e.g. our bushes got a long overdue haircut), while Dad serenaded Audrey with his immortal “doobie-doo” song.

Mommy’s Old Rocking Chair

Amber has a rocking char from when she was a child. We took some pictures of Audrey in the chair this morning. The rocking chair was a present from Amber’s Grandma and Grandpa Brase when Amber was a year old. Grandma Brase made the seat cushion.

2-Week Pediatrician Check-up

Audrey is doing well. She weighed 7 pounds 8.5 ounces, which puts her in the 25th percentile. By this time she should have regained her birth weight, which was 7 pounds 2 ounces. Since she exceeded that, we know she’s growing well and getting plenty to eat. Her length is still 20 inches; 40 percentile. Head circumference is 36 cm.; 50 percentile. The pediatrician picked off the last little bit of her cord, so she has a cute little belly button now. She looks just a tiny bit yellow, but not enough to cause concern for jaundice. Her eating, sleeping, etc habits are all normal. They drew blood for a repeat of the newborn metabolic screen, which they also did at the hospital, and for the optional supplemental screen, called the Baylor screen. The Baylor screen isn’t covered by insurance, but only costs $45 and tests for a bunch things that the other one doesn’t cover. The nurse pricks her heel and squeezes it to get drops of blood to fill in 9 little half inch diameter circles drawn on a paper which are used for the tests. Usually, they only have to prick the heel once, but Audrey just wasn’t giving any blood. The nurse pricked each heel two times. At first Audrey handled it ok, but after what must have been 30 minutes of this, she just about lost her mind. It was heartbreaking to see her cry so much. Her next visit will be a 2 month check up on December 9th. She’ll get some immunizations then and that should allow us to be a little less paranoid about her getting sick.

Fairy Princess

Amber sent me to HEB the other day for some necessities and I couldn’t resist buying a few things for Audrey. I picked her up a trick-or-treat basket, and wand and a set of fairy wings. Previously I had picked up some ballet shoes for her at Target, which we tried on for the first time with the rest of the costume.

Bath Pictures

Here's some pictures from bathtime.

Miscellaneous Pictures of Audrey

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of Audrey.



Here's her in different outfits, including her first dress that daddy bought her.





Here's the 'milk coma' caught on film.

So Much More Than I Expected

This has been so much better than I ever could have imagined. Although I didn't always feel so well, I loved being pregnant. I giggled every time I felt her move, couldn't stop rubbing my belly (and still can't even though she isn't there!), enjoyed the selfish feeling of having her all to myself, felt proud of my stretch marks and my growing belly, and fell in more in love with my husband as he cared for me when I needed it.

Even the labor and the stay at the hospital was a beautiful experience. Yes, we had our scare during the delivery, but it was quickly forgotten when Audrey was finally safe and sound. I loved my doctor and the nurses. They were all very supportive and caring, both during and after the labor. The contractions were excruciatingly painful, but once I got the epidural I didn't feel a thing. Without that epidural I am certain that it would have been a completely different experience for me, especially after the two hours of pushing and use of forceps. Once Audrey was born, Chris and I were left to care for her ourselves for the next two and a half days in the hospital. She stayed in our room the whole time. Nurses were constantly in and out to give me medicine, take vitals, etc. and there were a barrage of other hospital people coming in as well. However, Chris and I really enjoyed our time together as a new family. We finally got to know our daughter that we had been expecting for so long and quickly learned how to care for her. She refused to sleep or stay in the bassinet for more than a few minutes at a time, but that forced us to set aside our needs and focus on her. I thought I would be scared to go home with a new baby, but when the time came we were ready and felt confident.

Since we've been home, we've only grown to love Audrey and each other more and more. Chris is taking a whole month of paternity leave and that has been wonderful for us. He wants to be a hands-on father and that would be tough to do if he were already back at work. Instead, we're learning how to take care of her together as equals. We spend our days ooh-ing and aw-ing over how precious she is and laughing at her little quirks. I knew Chris really wanted a child and that it was important for him to be a good dad, but I never would have expected anyone to be so wonderful. It's not just that he takes care of her, but it's the way he is with her. He says the sweetest things when he talks to her and misses her if he goes too long without having her in his arms. I think he'll always have stars in his eyes when he looks at her. He's even proud of her when she poops.

I am happier than I have ever been. Things just feel right and complete. I love everything about my daughter. All along things felt too perfect and I half expected something to go wrong, but now I feel like I have a charmed life. Audrey is just adorable. She's such a cute baby, even with a gigantic hematoma. All her little parts are adorable. She makes the sweetest sounds. I used to feel her hiccup in the womb (oddly the sensation was in my bottom) and now I find her hiccups to be precious. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to mind them, but they do confuse her when they get in the way of nursing. She hasn't figured out how to hiccup and eat at the same time, but she does give me a baffled look that just cracks me up whenever this happens. She also has the cutest sigh when she passes out in a drunken milk coma after eating. Then I leave her on my chest while she sleeps and just gaze at her. She looks so peaceful when we cuddle together. She has big beautiful eyes and I love it when she stares at me. I could never get a baby to stop crying before, but it seems like a child knows who mom is and finds comfort in her. It hurts when she cries, but I can usually soothe her quickly and that makes me proud of the connection I have with her already. I look forward to and hope to have a closeness with her throughout our lives. Just yesterday I was crying at the thought of her leaving home someday. I really want her to feel happy, secure, and loved. I know that Chris and I will always have her best interest at heart.

Audrey Had Better Never Break Curfew

Chris has become quite the paranoid father and it is never more evident than when he sleeps. Audrey sleeps in a bassinet on my side of the bed, however, multiple times every night Chris wakes up looking for her in a semi-conscious state. He digs through the blankets that he is covered up with and he asks me questions about where she is. I'm usually already awake, but sometimes he wakes me up to ask. Now I don't even wait for him to say anything, I just tell him "She's in the bassinet, go to sleep". Unfortunately, it still takes a while for the words to sink in. I keep expecting him to get pissed at me because I laugh hysterically every time this happens, but he is dead serious. I need to keep some paper by the bed because I can't remember everything. These are just the questions from tonight and it's only 2:27am.

-"Where is she?"
-"How do you have her in here? I can't see where her head is."
-"I'm just trying to fix her blankets."
-"I'm going to go to bed now. Will you take her?" (He had already been asleep for hours)
-"Wait, so there's a baby in here? She must be really swaddled up. I need to dig out her little head" (Audrey was in the bassinett next to me, but Chris was digging through his blankets looking for her.)

Maternity Photos

Two weeks before my due date, Chris and I had professional maternity pictures taken. Our photographer, Naomi Worley, was absolutely amazing. She specializes in maternity, babies and children. Her rates are more than fair, she takes hundreds of pictures and she gives you the rights to the photos so you can print them yourself, which saves you a ton of money. Her website is http://pitterpatterphotos.com/.

My Hump, My Hump; My Lovely Little Lumps

I spent a bit of time this morning looking up cephalhematoma, which is the technical term for Audrey’s head lumps. There’s a surprising lack of information on this condition online. This may be party due to the fact that there appear to be at least three accepted spellings of the term—cephalhematoma, cephalohematoma, and cephalhaematoma.

We have our 2-week pediatrician visit on Thursday, where I plan to get the doctor’s opinion on this. But for now, here’s a summary of what I found:

• It’s rare—a 0.2 to 2.5% of live births
  
• It’s caused by prolonged labor or instrumented delivery (e.g. forceps)
  
• It’s a rupture of blood vessels between skull and periosteum
  
• Usually resolves itself over a time period of 2 weeks to 3 months
  
• Residual calcification may occur in 1% of cases

I’m curious to find out the treatment options if calcification were to occur. From looking online, it looks like surgical removal is your only option then.

There are a number of “newborn scalp hematomata”, of which cephalhematoma is only one. Here’s a picture I swiped from wikipedia that compares them.



Basically, Audrey’s is believed to be cephalhematoma instead of one of the others because

• It showed up immediately
  
• It doesn’t hurt
  
• It isn’t changing much
  
• There is no skin discoloration
  
• The lump doesn’t cross suture lines

Here are the two most useful references I found online if anyone is interested in further reading. We’ll let you know what the pediatrician says.

Wikipedia: Cephalhematoma
Family Practice Notebook: Cephalhematoma


“She’s got me spending…”
-- Chris