HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Today is a good day to remind us of all we have. Matt are very thankful for our perfect, healthy, beautiful little girl and our very supportive families that love her dearly.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Beauty sleep

Please don't disturb me during my beauty sleep.

Milk Coma...

Mmmmm - the milk coma. I love the milk.

Champion Eater or Overachiever?

Abby had her 2nd Pediatrician's visit this week. And she weighed in at 8lbs 7oz! The doctor told us that she hopes babies gain back their birth weight by the time they are 2 weeks old. Abby was only 10 days and is 7oz OVER. I think she's my little champion eater. Matt thinks she's a little overachiever. :)

Abby's photo session

Abby had professional photos taken while we were still at the hospital. It's a great service since they capture the brand new baby photos without ever leaving the room. So no need to expose her to all sorts of germs at photo shoot somewhere else! Here are a few of them....!

Abigail’s Birth Story

We knew we were going to be induced on November 13 at 7:00am – Friday the 13^th! We arrived at the hospital a little after 6:30am to register and complete our paperwork. The process at the hospital was quick, easy and efficient.

We were then taken to our Labor and Deliver room – which was lucky #7. I was asked a million questions then immediately hooked up to an IV machine and the induction drug, Pitocin, was started. It was at this point we realized this was really happening. Matt and I were going to be parents today!

Matt and I could see the contractions on the monitor, but I couldn’t feel anything until around 1:00pm. That’s when things started getting a little harder to handle. By this point I was at 7cm and really starting to re-think my decision to go without pain medicine or an epidural. I had Matt call in the nurse, then changed my mind and sent her away, only to call her in again and we had a long talk about what to do. In the end I opted for an epidural. I just couldn’t take it anymore. The pain was nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced. So the epidural was put in and relief was almost immediate. We also realized I had jumped from 7cm to 9cm in a matter of minutes. My biggest fear with the epidural was being numb from the waist down. However, it affects everyone differently, and somehow I could still move and feel my feet and legs for the most part, but my entire stomach was numb. It was a perfect epidural if there is such a thing.

The nurse checked me again a few minutes later and we were told it was time to start pushing. Both Matt and I were thrown off guard…we weren’t expecting it so quickly!! So we began pushing and did so from 5:30pm until around 7:00pm. The doctor came in and checked the baby’s position and that was when we got the bad news. Abby was turned “transverse” which is off to the side and her little head was swollen from trying to get down through the pelvis. She just wasn’t lined up right. She also felt the baby was a bit to big for my body. It was at this point that the doctor told us we need to do a c-section. She said we could try to do a few tricks to get her to turn – but that in her honest opinion, it wasn’t going to work. So, c-section it was.

It’s amazing how with that one little decision all the sudden my hospital room became a crazy ER like show. I had more nurses and doctors in the room then I’d seen the entire day. Everyone had their job to do and within 30 minutes I had been numbed from the waist down, given multiple types of meds in my IV, given a drink of some sort of “shot” for my stomach acids…and then wheeled to the Operating Room. It was a scary and surreal experience.

15 minutes later Matt got to come in the room, and about 10 minutes after that Abby was born. Just like that.

Turns out having the c-section was the best decision we could have made. Once the doctors got to Abby, they realized she was crammed so hard into one side of my pelvis that a nurse actually had to go in and manually push her out to dislodge her head. She also had her cord wrapped around her neck. But she was a little trooper and let out the most perfect scream.

Matt went with Abby to the nursery and I was in the OR for another 45 or so minutes as the doctors sewed me back up. Then I was taken to Recovery for a couple hours before being moved over into the Postpartum room.

And then it was all over. I’ve never been so excited, nervous and completely scared all at the same time.

1st Pediatrician Appointment

Today was Abby's first big outing since coming home. She got to go to her 1st Pediatrician visit! She weighed in at 7lbs 14oz which means she's eating like a champ and putting back on the weight she initially lost right after she was born.

Matt was also able to get the H1N1 vaccine while there to. We laughed because he ends up somehow becoming a patient today, even though it's the Pediatrician! For anyone out there that watched the TV show Friends, do you remember the episode where Ross continues to go to his Pediatrician as his Primary Care Doctor. That is what we felt like. :)

A new day in the life of the Guggenheims...

Shelby is still trying to figure out this whole baby thing. She's not quite sure why she's still here, why she gets really loud sometimes, and why there is so much "stuff" around the house (swings, bassinet, blankets, etc.).

It's funny to watch her "stalk" around the bassinet or swing when Abby starts to make little noises. Shelby just isn't so sure of what she is!

Nap time for everyone!

That Moment...

Pictures speak 1,000 words.

This one was taken minutes after she was born.

Squeaky Clean

Abby got her first bath today! We had a little talk with her and she knew we were all a little nervous and unsure of how to really do it. And she couldn't have been more perfect the whole time. In fact, I think she really liked it. She was alert and content with Matt holding her, and she was "smiling" when we were washing/rinsing her hair. So I'm hoping this is a sign of good things to come...that just like her Mommy, she loves bath time!

My Daddy is so strong, so I'm not scared.

Mmmm, this is nice. I smell good too.

All done.