Wednesday, December 29, 2010

First Thanksgiving


Uncle Ryan and mommy's Uncle Dale came to meet Audrey for the first time at Thanksgiving.


Mommy's friend Jen made her this cute Turkey outfit!
She was mesmorized helping Daddy straighten out the tree.


We got to see all of Grandma Vicki's side of the family by having dinner at Crappy's. It was also Betty's birthday!

One Month


Audrey likes her food!

At one month old she weighed 9 pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long!

The doctor thought Audrey was having some reflux by the symptoms I described and watching her. She said we could try the medicine prevacid or add rice cereal to her bottles. I decided to try the cereal first.

Audrey was still in newborn size diapers at one month.

She was wearing some 0-3 size clothes, but alot of newborn sized as well.

I was feeding her strictly breastmilk from a bottle and she was feeding every two-three hours.

I have to admit, Audrey, you were a pretty fussy baby at this point!

First Halloween

Miss Audrey slept through her first Halloween.

She went trick or treating to three houses.
Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Pat gave her a Halloween board book and some bibs.


Then we were off to see Grandma Deb and our last stop was at Betty's house.
Hard to think that she'll probably be walking next Halloween!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!


I really wanted to be caught up on documenting Audrey's first two months of life by now...heck, the girl will be three months next week! However, she wishes you a very Merry Christmas!


Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Jaundice...ugh!


We left the hospital thinking that our perfect daughter was just that...perfect! However, when we went to the doctor on Monday, she said that word...jaundice.

We were sent next door to the hospital for a blood draw.
I.HATE.HOW.THEY.DRAW.BLOOD.FROM.BABIES!
I'm very thankful that hubby was with me that first day (I had already had my first emotional breakdown on Saturday) because he held Audrey while they drew blood from her heel. She screamed!!! In fact, the receptionist made a comment that she heard her by the front door! We then headed home to wait for the results. Her levels had doubled since we left the hospital on Friday. Doctor said to feed her every two ounces every two hours, put her in the sunlight, keep track of all diapers, and return to the hospital for a blood draw the next day. I have to admit I was a mess that night! Worried that something was going to be seriously wrong and that I didn't do enough that first weekend to protect her.

The next day, the nurse who drew Audrey's blood was awesome. In fact, after the initial poke, Audrey went back to sleep. Her levels were slightly lower, so we were instructed to continue the sun, feedings, and diaper details.

One week later, we returned to the doctor. Hubby was at work, so my mom went with me. Doctor thought Audrey was still jaundice so we headed next door. I was praying this was the last time for that dreaded blood draw. My prayers were answered! Her levels were much lower and we didn't have to return to the doctor for three weeks.

Here is our little sunbather!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Lots of visitors...

The doctors actually released both Audrey and myself a day early. I wanted to come home because the boys were going to their mom's and it would give us a chance to settle in before the boys came back home on Sunday night. My wonderful mother-in-law stayed with us Friday night. However, she was so busy cleaning and doing my laundry that I didn't get to visit with her much.

I'm as horrible at taking pictures as I am of printing them, but we did have lots of visitors in the hospital. All the grandparents were there to meet Audrey as soon as they were allowed in. Tim, Chelsea, & Cooper stopped by early in the day. Betty and Mary came by later.

Since we left early, we had a houseful that night. My Dad and Stepmom were there. Todd & Jill came by, along with Kristie Spencer. It was nice to see so many people.
Cousin Makailee is surrounded by babies as her little brother Cooper is two months older and she will be getting a little sister in March.
Great Grandma Trant was there bright and early Saturday.
My Godparents, Joe & Sue, made a special trip to Galesburg to meet Audrey.
Audrey's other visitors included all the Spencers, Sandi, Tanya & Samuel, and Mary & Reese. She is loved so much already as so many other people sent or dropped off gifts.


Sunday, December 12, 2010

Labor...or what I remember of it...

Audrey entered this world pretty quickly. Of course, I was uncomfortable and ready for her to come long before she did. I had some weird symptoms on Sunday, but felt better towards the end of the day. However, I started spotting and decided to call the hospital. They said to come in to get checked out. I knew I wasn't staying, but it was a trial run for us. We got home from the hospital around midnight that night. Poor hubby had to work all the next day while I got to start my half days. I came home and took a long nap!

I had my weekly appointment on Wednesday. When I had finally sat down around noon, I noticed that my contractions seemed to be pretty regular. They were coming every 7 minutes. However, at my appointment at 2:45, I was only a two. She said to go to the hospital when my contractions were every three.


My evening went pretty normal, except for the contractions which started going irregular. I picked up Gman and helped the boys with homework. Hubby made dinner while I walked the dog, did the dishes, and vaccummed. After the boys went to bed, I decided to take a bath because some people said it would help ease the discomfort of the contractions. Nope! They lied! I was in extreme pain by the time I got out. My contractions were regular again and this time they were every three minutes! I laid on the couch for awhile longer, but then told the hubby to call my mom to stay with the boys because we were going to the hospital!


After getting all set in the hospital, the nurse came in and said I had two options. I was still only a 2. I could go home or take a sleeping pill. She said if I was truly in labor, the sleeping pill would do nothing, but if I wasn't in labor then everything would stop. I just wanted the pain to go away (EXTREME back labor) and thus took the sleeping pill. Forty-five minutes later, I was a 4 and was admitted. I opted for an IV med first, and shortly after that my water broke. At this point, the IV med was doing nothing for my back labor. I decided to have an epideral and all my pain was instantly gone. My midwife appeared early and told me to get some rest, that she thought it would be awhile. My family filtered in and then disappeared. I started pushing after ten. They called the midwife three times and told me I had to stop pushing until she arrived. I remember being in a good mood and joking with my hubby at this point. Finally, the midwife appeared and Audrey was born. We hadn't even been in the hospital for twelve hours yet! It all happened rather quickly and painlessly (once I got my epideral)!


Her big brothers came to the hospital after school and were very excited to see their new sister!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

She's here!!!



Actually, she's been here for 9 weeks....


......hey, I've been a little busy being a mommy to 3!


AUDREY JANE STURGIS




arrived 10/7/10

weighing 7lbs. 8oz.


19 inches long

at 10:55am.