Another 2 Ounces and 2 hours Sleep

We headed back to the doctor today for another weight check and received great news. Since Lauren is progressing nicely (check out that belly), we get to go a week before our appointment. She is moving up the charts and is now in the 50th percentile for height (20.25 inches) and 10th percentile for weight and head circumfrance. The best news is now we can stretch the 2 1/2 hour feedings to 4 hours at night meaning we only have to wake up once. It doesn't seem like much but by the time you wake her and she finishes eating, you only have an hour and a half of sleep when going every 2.5 to 3 hours.
Even better, once she returns to her birth weight, we'll get to forgo the alarm and allow Lauren to tell us when it is time to feed. I can't wait!

No Longer Tongue Tied

I guess you have to be careful what you ask for. I prayed we would have a good sleeper and I got exactly what I requested. Little did I realize she would be too good of a sleeper and would sleep so soundly that she wouldn't eat enough and her weight would continue to drop. It is normal for a baby's weight to drop after birth but they don't want babies to lose more than 10% and expect them to be at least back to their birth weight in 10 to 14 days. The new pediatrician was much more concerned about Lauren's weight lose than the previous doctor and we were given very strict orders to pack on the pounds.

So, between appointments, we have been feeding and feeding our little girl and she has done great! We also saw an ENT today to address Lauren's tongue tied issue (her fraenulum, the part that attaches the bottom of the tongue to the floor of the mouth) is too short which can cause problems with latching and eventually with speech. He clipped her tongue, an easy procedure where the doctor clamps the tissue for a couple seconds and then cuts it (no anesthesia or pain killers required). The worst part was when they brought out a board and strapped our 10 day old baby girl down to it with something equivalent to a velcrow swaddle. She barely woke up, fussed and went back to sleep. I think I was more freaked out because they tell you to nurse her afterwards to comfort them and stop the bleeding but she just fell asleep even though she continued to bleed a little. I made Mike get the doctor who checked her, saw the bleeding had stopped and just said she wanted to sleep. This should allow our precious girl to eat better and speak clearly. Hopefully she doesn't end up with a Gene Simmons tongue but at least it is no longer forked.

We know we won't make the 2 week deadline to be back at 7lbs 3oz but we continue to visit the doctor every couple days for weight checks and hope the scales continue to increase.

First Outings

We have been trying to get out of the house every day since we brought Lauren home from the hospital. She is pretty laid back and very portable so we've tried to maintain our original routine as much as possible no matter how tired we get. Most of our outings have been to various doctor appointments but we've been to able to go on some more exciting outings as well.

Friday, we met up with her cousins and ended up having our first picnic. We picked up lunch from Potbelly, grabbed the blanket, and headed to the fountains. B, R, and S had a great time running through the water as Aunt Lorie, Mike, Lauren and I relaxed and watched.

One Week Old!

What a full week!!! Lauren is one week old tomorrow and things are going pretty well. I am a little biased, but after only one week I can say with confidence Lauren Anna is the best baby ever!
Monday we were discharged from the friendly and familiar confines of Fairfax Hospital and had to load Lauren up for her trip home. The staff there was great and we were just getting use to the routines...we even had a morning ritual where Lauren would relax on my chest as we read the morning paper and had a coffee.




Poppy and Jo-Jo, Laurens paternal grandparents, with the help of Aunt Maggie picked out a wonderful going home outfit, and Jo-Jo even personalized it a bit with some pink flower embroidery. Lauren was the hit of the hospital as we got stopped several times to be told how cute Lauren was in the outfit. Cousin Saylor and Aunt KK were there to meet us at home with some nice decorations.








Tuesday we had our first foray out into public as we all went for a shop at Wegmans. We went right after feeding Lauren and she was great. Looked around a lot then fell asleep after about a half hour and slept until we got home.

Wednesday Lauren had her first pediatrician's visit in the morning...so far so good...we'll keep our fingers crossed! Then in the afternoon we all went down for Susan's follow up doctor's appt...also good news as she is healing well! Feeling good the three of us made a small detour on the way back home and we stopped by Tyson's to get the new iPhone for iBaby (and her Dad). The good news was Lauren was terrific again...just looking around with wonder...the bad news is even after 2 weeks there was still a 5-6 hour wait at the Apple store for the new iPhone! Looks like she will have to wait another couple weeks for that gadget! (The pictures are mostly from Monday after coming home...except the one of me with us going in for Lauren's first doctors appt)

Hello World!!!

The first picture is the first view I got of our baby (she was breech after all!)...Dr Allen pointed the two legs toward me and told me to let Susan know what we were having and I was able to announce "It's a girl!". The waiting game finally ended at 5:10 on Thursday July 17th when we welcomed Lauren Anna Ivey into the world. She weighed in a healthy 7lbs 3oz and 19.5" in length. (I am writing this on Saturday and she is down to 6lbs 10oz which is pretty normal). We should becoming home from the hospital tomorrow or Monday and we'll post all the pictures and video but here is a little preview.

Less Than 24 Hours

By this time tomorrow, Mike and I will be in the hospital holding our little bundle of joy. The question of whether iBaby is a boy or girl will finally be solved and we'll be calling the baby by his/her official name. It is hard to believe the past 9 months have gone by so quickly.

Much to my surprise, Mike proved me wrong and I was able to fit into the same outfit the entire pregnancy. Here is a photo of me at 12 weeks and another at 39 weeks. We'll try to post new pictures as soon as we can.

Movin' on Up

Well, after a full weekend of discomfort, we have decided to go with the 17th after all. Although the discomfort did play a small role in the decision, it is more an issue of not wanting to go into labor (and requiring an emergency c-section)....so we are all set for 4:30PM on the 17th. We'll post pictures as soon as we have them.

Funny side note: As a sign that both of us really don't know yet what we're in for...Susan was tossing and turning early Sunday morning trying to get comfortable when she rolled over and said to me "I can't wait to have this baby so I can get some sleep!". I started laughing.

Final Prep

We went to the doctor again Thursday. I am 1cm dialated and the baby remains head up but we got another little peek. The doctor checked the hospital schedule and offered us the 17th but we declined and requested to keep the original date of the 22nd. We go back this Wednesday and the doctor gets to decide the final date.

On Friday, we took the hospital tour. Good thing we waited because the c-section process is much different and we wouldn't have paid attention to that portion or asked questions regarding the surgery areas a couple weeks ago. We left thinking maybe the whole section process wasn't so bad after all although our opinion may change a couple days after the surgery.

So, with the date so close, we got the remaining items we needed and continued to do laundry this weekend. iBaby's cousins (B&R) came over on Saturday to drop off a few items and ended up decorating the nursery. They were so cute to watch and did the majority of the work all on their own (with a little bit of help from Aunt Lorie). Now I just need to pack a hospital bag and we should be ready to go.

July 4th

We went back to the doctor this week and not a lot has changed. iBaby is still being a bit uncooperative and sitting head up...a couple weeks left to realize that it needs to put its head down!
So, on July4th we headed to the shore to celebrate the holiday weekend out on the boat. iBaby's Uncle Chris, Aunt Maggie, and cousin Sydney as well as Cat and Erik all joined us. It never really rained or stormed but it seemed to threaten all day forcing us to stay near home. In between the kids naps, we were able to enjoy a little boating, tubing, and swimming.











Even without the full sun the water is right at 79 degrees. On the left you can see Chris dive off the front of the boat as Maggie and Sydney watched.



After getting used to the confining lifejacket, I think Sydney was hooked on boating as well. Back on dry land, she took right to Saylor's rocking boat as you can see from the photo. It won't be long before she starts asking uncle Moose to take the helm of Hokie Daze. I think we have one more weekend out on the boat before we take a little break for iBaby.

Wilbering on the Eastern Shore

Early Saturday morning we loaded up the truck along with iBaby's cousins Ryan and Brooke and iBaby's Aunt Lorie and we all headed out to Kent Island for the weekend. Foreshadowing things to come Ryan got a little car sick on the way out to the boat making the trip a little longer than normal. By the time we got out there the entire Wilber clan was relaxing at Aunt KK's and Uncle Pete's place.

We had a little lunch then packed up Hokie Daze with the tube and some noodles and went for a trip out to the beach. Ryan captained the boat on the way out and did a great job. The kids had only been on the boat once before and it wasn't moving at the time so noone was sure how they would react...sure enough the highlight of both of their weekends was driving the boat.

We took a couple tubing rides then anchored up for a little swimming. Water was right at 80 degrees so it was a nice break from the afternoon heat. Both Ryan and Brooke were ho-hum about the swimming though as it didn't require any driving. Finally we got to pull up the anchor and head back in. Brooke did a great job getting us back into the marina just in time for the BBQ.

Early Sunday morning iBaby's Uncle Kevin came out and so we all took out "For Pete's Sake" for a little more fun in the sun. Ryan wasn't feeling great, and Susan needed a break so they stayed behind. We headed up the Chester river a bit and found a nice little beach where we could all swim. Brooke was more than happy to not have to compete with Ryan for driving time and took the helm whenever possible. Only a couple more weekends left to enjoy the boat and water before iBaby gives us a little break...