Silly Ole Bears

Abigail will be turning 8 weeks old this Friday.  Wow!  That's so hard to believe!  The last couple of weeks have been especially fun.  Everyday, Abigail is learning about the world around her, and she's having such a great time doing so.  In particular, she has created a game that her father and I really love playing with her.  She is at the stage in her development where she can mimic certain movements and has been exploring her hands, feet and facial features with her mommy and daddy.  Frank and I found out about a week ago that when Abigail would stick out her tongue at us, she would coo and smile when we would do the same back at her.  This quickly became a game that we all like to play.  Now Abigail will initiate the game by sticking out her tongue, and will continue doing so until you do the same back at her.  Then her whole face will light up with a big, huge smile.  

This morning, I awoke out of bed to hear coos and oohs coming from Abigail's bassinet.  Daddy had turned on her teddy bear mobile, and Abigail was smiling and talking to her bears.  The sweet baby tried playing "the tongue game" with her bears and I noticed her sticking out her tongue at them and smiling.  After a few minutes, she gave her teddy bears a very sad and pouty face because they were not participating in her game.  Mommy had to tell her that her teddy bears loved her very much, and that if they had tongues, then they would love to play her game!  Silly ole bears!

I am constantly amazed at the things that Abigail is learning.  Everyday she is changing so much.  As a mother, watching and experiencing this all over again for the third time, I am humbled and feel extremely blessed to be a part of a neverending cycle of mother's love.  All three of our little girls are very bright, sweet, beautiful and precious.  Thank you God for our amazing family, and for little moments such as these!

I love to see you smile!

Trip to MS

This past weekend, we made a trip to MS to visit family and friends.  This would be our first trip with Abigail to show her off to everyone.  I wondered how a 5 week old would fair riding in a car seat for such an extended amount of time, and thinking this would be a great challenge for a six hour road trip and a newborn.  However, I must say that Abigail did very well.  We allotted for plenty of pit stops for feedings and changing dirty diapers. (Frank's job?) 

  I must say, Avery and Mallory are very helpful with their new little sister.  The biggest issue seems to be having too much help at times!  Avery adores her baby sister, as does Mallory, but with Mallory being the baby for so long- it has taken her some time to get adjusted to her new role as the big sister, but she is happy now with her new role. 

We all had a wonderful time visiting Pawpaw and Mamaw and especially getting to have fun in Pawpaw's garden.  Avery and Mallory, along with Frank, enjoyed picking out there own watermelon and eating it outside in the garden.  Abigail was very interested in everything that was taken place and has already voiced her opinion about having one of her own next summer. 

All of us then made a trip to visit my grandmother.  This would be Abigail's first time to meet her great-grandmother.  We had four generations present there that day!  My grandmother, my father, me and our girls.  When asking my Granny what kind of advice she could give me concerning raising three children, she then said, "You must have a lot of patience and give them a lot of love.  Mostly, give them a lot of love. "  What wonderful advice.  It's a moment that I will carry in my heart forever.  

As we were making our way back to Houston, I smiled thinking about the great time that we had, and on the memories that we created.  

Abigail Elizabeth 2 weeks old

Welcome Abigail Elizabeth Ledwell

As we made our way to St. Luke's early Friday morning on June 5th, Frank and I both had a combination of emotions ranging from excitement to anxiety.  We couldn't believe that the time had actually arrived to welcome our precious little one into the world.  All of the waiting, preparations, and counting down, and now the time was finally here. 

It was 5:30 when we checked in to Labor and Delivery, and as the preparations were being made, we were all placing bets on how much our little package would weigh.  The winner would be the first person to hold Abigail after Mommy and Daddy. :)

Once I made it into the operating room, I began to feel very nervous.  I had been through this before, but given my history and background with c-sections, I couldn't help but be a little scared.  Once everything was ready to go, Frank made his way in, and the look on his face said it all.  He was beyond excited.  As the doctor made final incision, Frank and I couldn't believe we would soon hear our precious little one cry.  Then, we did!  As soon as the doctor held her up above the curtain, I was in awe and saw Frank tear up as we got our first look at Abigail.  The first thing I remember seeing with her was her chubby little cheeks.  They were too cute!  Abigail was here!

Abigail Elizabeth Ledwell

Born: June 5th, 2009 7:59 a.m.

8 pounds 8 ounces

19.5 inches long

After finishing up with me, I was then taken to recovery for a couple of hours while Abigail received treatment for having low blood sugar.  We were overwhelmed by the amount of love that surrounded us with our family and couldn't have asked for more. 

When we made it out of recovery, and had our own room, things started to get interesting.  The first day was great.  I had no problems and we were enjoying our little Abigail.  The next couple of days proved to be a different story.  I began to get very sick and spent that time being ill and was challenged with some setbacks.  However, I soon felt better, little by little, thanks to all of Frank's support and encouragement, and looked forward to going home.  

Although I was ready to be discharged, Abigail developed a mild case of jaundice and had to be treated by phototherapy which caused us to stay an extra day in the hospital.  

Now that we are home, everyone is doing great!  We are so thankful that God has blessed us with this precious new addition to our family, and couldn't be happier.  She is truly a gift from God and her Mommy and Daddy both, can't get enough kisses from those beautiful dimpled cheeks!  We are truly blessed!!!!  WELCOME ABIGAIL!!!

Anxiously Awaiting Abigail's Arrival

Ten days and counting......  We couldn't be more excited!  Each day seems to endless as we count down the days until June 5th.  We have had fun the past couple of weeks getting ready for the big day.  (Well, except for cleaning the house!) We are especially grateful to all our wonderful family and friends who hosted and attended our baby shower this past Sunday.  We played games, laughed, shared stories and advice and had a great time!  I think we are just about set with having everything that we need now. 

Avery and Mallory couldn't be happier about the arrival of their baby sister.  Avery is trying to take on the almost-impossible task of teaching Mallory the correct way to hold a baby by using one of her babydolls.  When talking to Mallory about how to do this, she thought I said "barbie doll" and went to get one of her sister's to use.  Avery wasn't too happy about this and demanded to have her doll back.  Mallory then insisted, "no, I have to give this to Abigail."  Avery then got one of Mallory's baby dolls to show her the proper way to hold a baby and Mallory got very upset saying, "Hey, that's my baby doll!  You can't give that to Abigail!"  Needless to say, it was almost compatible to watching Abbott and Costello's Who's On First skit.  Very funny!

Our latest undertaking in preparation came in the form of assembling the stroller and car seat.  Anyone who knows Frank knows that he just LOVES putting things together!  As I sat and read the instructions, he assembled, and little by little, we ended up with a final product.  We didn't finish without a few verbal blessings first however!

All in all, we can't wait for our little blessing and bundle of joy to get here!

33 Weeks and Counting....

Frank and I found out around 28 weeks that we would be having a precious little girl, and decided upon the name Abigail Elizabeth. We have had a few bumps in the road with the pregnancy, but are very blessed that Abigail and I are both healthy and are doing well.  Tomorrow I will be 33 weeks and things are starting to become increasingly difficult.  Sleeping is the hardest.  I find myself surrounded by mounds of pillows, stratigically stuffed under my belly, knees and everywhere else, and nothing seems to help. I have also recently developed "pregnancy grace" which includes dropping items numerous times, and bumping everything including my little kids in my class with my ever expanding belly.  I even found myself picking up items off my desk unbenownced to me with my belly, like post-it notes; only to have my students to lovingly point them out to me.  Ahhh, the joys of being in the third trimester!

Avery and Mallory are very excited about the arrival of their baby sister.  Avery asks me on a daily basis why her sister can't get her today! We have had plenty of discussions on how she can help show Mallory how to be a good big sister and tips that she can give her on helping out with the baby.  Avery is very insightful and says that we are going to have to take up lots of time with Mallory also because she is used to being the baby.  Mallory's approach and thoughts on her upcoming baby sister are somewhat different.  Our conversations include topics such as, "poopie diapers.....ewwww!" and, "Mommy, I want to call my baby sister Cinderella, not Abigail." All of these conversations are accompanied by a sigh from Avery followed by the statement, "Mom, what are we going to do with her?" 

We are all impatiently awaiting the safe arrival of our sweet little Abigail!