Meredith is 1 week old!!!

This has been a very exciting week. Meredith has grown so much already!

Just to let you know what has gone on this first week of her life... Everything went great while in the hospital. Except we had some trouble nursing at first. She seemed to be feeding about every hour. Poor Meredith was so hungry! I just wasn't producing enough for her so we had to supplement with a little bit of formula. That seemed to help. They tested her Jaundice level before the left the hospital and she just had a touch of it. On Wednesday, we were released from the hospital. The first night at home was little stressful for me. I stayed up all night just watching Meredith. I shouldn't have done that to myself, but I just wanted to make sure she was okay. And of course, she made it through the night! The next day and night, I was much better. I tried to get more sleep. Friday morning, we returned to the hospital for Meredith's checkup. She had lost weight and her Jaundice level had gotten worse. She weighed 7.6 lbs when we left the hospital on Wednesday and Friday morning she weighed 7.3 lbs. Her Jaundice level was at 16. They told me that she need to get more volume in to get more volume out and that would clear up the Jaundice. So that meant that I wasn't feeding her enough again. Since I wasn't sure how much she was getting while I was nursing, I had to start pumping and supplementing more formula. We need to get her weight up and needed to start having more dirty diapers. They sent us home and wanted to see us back in two days. In the meantime, we went home and I started pumping and giving her more formula. That is when the fun began! We started getting a dirty diaper after every feeding. Skip and I never thought we would be so excited about that! :) On Friday afternoon, Meredith's aunt Dedda (my sister, Deborah) come to spend the weekend with us. Dedda likes to say that it was Meredith's first spend-the-night party...hahaha! She really helped Skip and me get some rest! Meredith slept in her cradle in Dedda's room so that we could get some sleep. Dedda would wake me up when it was time to feed Meredith. Needless to say, Dedda didn't get much sleep at all. Not that Meredith kept her awake very much, Deborah was just watching her like I did the first night. On Sunday, we went back for Meredith's second checkup. She had gained 5 oz. and her Jaundice level was down to 14. Yea!!!! But then, I let the nurse know that I had check my blood pressure the night before and it was high. She took my blood pressure and it was 148/102, which was not good. She made me lay down for 20 minutes and then she came back to take my blood pressure again. This time it was 138/94. She paged the on-call doctor, which just so happened to be Dr. Gebhart. He had the nurse call in some blood pressure meds for me. He asked that I really take it easy and he wants to see me in his office in a week. He said that this is very common after labor and it may only last a couple of weeks. Thanks to Skip, my sisters, my mother and my niece for helping me take it easy! My sister, Ginger has been cooking and cleaning for us. My niece, Jessica has been coming over to help with diaper changes and just giving her new cousin as much love a possible. Last night, Jessica spent the night to help me with middle of the night feedings so that Skip could sleep and help me during the day. My mother has been running all of our errands. And of course, my sister, Deborah helped me get rest over the weekend. We are so very lucky to have so many wonderful people in our lives. Meredith is going to be spoiled by all of her family!!!! They all love her so much already.

It just doesn't seem like it has been a week since our precious angel was born. She really is wonderful!!! It is just amazing to me that we created this little creature. I just look at her and still can't believe it.

First few minutes of life

Getting love from my daddy

Hanging out with Ginia

Just relaxing

Getting to know my cousin, Jessica

1 week old

My fingers!!!

Meredith Sinclair Holifield was born Monday, December 29th at 3:24pm weighing in at 8 pounds even and 20 1/4 inches long. Mom, Dad, & Baby Meredith are all doing just fine! More pictures to follow.

Deborah, proud aunt

The date has changed...

Yesterday I saw Dr. Gebhart for my weekly checkup. Baby Holifield still isn't ready to come out and meet the world yet. I am still dilated 1 cm and the baby hasn't dropped yet. He did change the induction date to December 29th. They weren't able to get me in on the 30th. I have to be at the hospital on Sunday the 28th at 6:00 pm for the nurses to prep me for induction. Then Dr. Gebhart will come in on Monday morning to break my water. Our little one will be here before we know it!!!

Pictures...

These are two pictures from last week's sonogram. I thought she was blowing bubbles, but the tech said that she was sucking on the cord. I still say it is bubbles. ;) I think she kind of looks like Skip already.

A date has been scheduled...

It looks like we might get to meet our sweet angel on December 3oth, unless she decides to come early. Dr. Gebhart has put me on the books to be induced on the 30th. He doesn't want to schedule a c-section at this point. I am dilated 1 cm so far. He did say if I am dilated 3 or 4 cm at next week's check up (Dec. 18th) then we will go ahead and have her. But I could stay at 1 cm until the 30th. Everything else was fine. They check my glucose and iron levels and they were fine. We were able to see our baby girl on the sonogram yesterday. She stuck her tongue out a couple of times. At one point, she was sucking on her cord. It looked like bubbles to me, but the tech said it was the cord. It just amazes me every time I get to see her. I can't wait to hold her in my arms!

Just a little update....

The baby and I are doing just fine. She is growing more and more everyday and her kicks are getting stronger and stronger. Everyone keeps asking me if I am ready and the only response that I can give is, "I am as ready as I am going to get". The nursery is pretty much finished. I just need to hang some stuff on the walls. I will post pictures of the nursery once everything is done. Hopefully, that will happen this weekend.

I had a doctor's appointment Wednesday. Everything is still going good. He did tell me that I might have to have a c-section. It all depends on the size of the baby. He said that I have a really small pelvis. So if she is a big baby, she probably won't come out on her own. He is going to do a sonogram next week to see how big she really is. If she is a big baby, then he will go ahead and schedule a c-section closer to my due date. I was a little disappointed at first, but I would rather know ahead of time than labor for hours and then have a c-section. Hopefully I will know more next week.

It's been a long time....

I apologize for not updating the blog. I guess I have just been busy or lazy. :-)

I have had a few uneventful doctor visits since my last post. My blood pressure has been good and my belly is measuring perfectly for 32 weeks. Right after Thanksgiving he will start checking to see if I have dilated at all. It is getting so close now!!!

As for me and the baby: I have been feeling pretty good. I get tired a lot now and it is getting a little harder to get around. She is moving so much now. It is the weirdest feeling, but I love it. She was very active for two days and then she just stopped. I started to worry, but eventually I was able to make her move. I told the doctor about it and he said that she probably danced around for two days and then had exhausted herself so much that she wanted to be lazy the next day. I asked how often should I feel her move. He said at least twice a day. If not, drink a coke and she should start moving around.

Skip and I took a labor and delivery class this past Monday. It was the first of four classes. We learned a lot about the early stages of labor, when to call the doctor and some breathing techniques. It was a neat class. There was a lot that we already knew, but there was also a lot that we didn't know.

We still haven't decided on a name yet. I know that everyone wishes we would hurry up. It is just a hard decision. Hopefully we will come up with something soon and we can share it with everyone.

Last Sunday some very good friends and my sisters hosted a baby shower in our honor. It was so much fun and the food was fantastic! We got some wonderful gifts for our baby girl. We are truly fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives. I have posted some pics. I hope you enjoy.

The wonderful food...

The cutest cake. It was wonderful!
The hosts....

Some of the great gifts...

The sweets clothes...