Rainbow Baby

3/23

Since I am new to the blog world, I did not understand that separate pages could not have individual posts. So.. I decided to start a new blog altogether with mostly pictures of our family. This way the grandparents and other relatives can keep updated. So from now on, check here to see updates of Abigail. I plan to mostly keep this blog as a grief resource. Enjoy!

3/17

Happy due date Abigail Therese!! Hard to believe she was due today and she's already been with us for 3 weeks! She continues to be a happy, laid back baby. I do love having a girl and dressing her up! Here is her St. Patrick's Day outfit! St. Patrick- pray for us!

3/1 

We are all home now and trying to get settled in. Here is a picture of us leaving the hospital. I got pretty emotional on the way out. I kept remembering being wheeled out with only Caleb's blanket clutched in my hands. This time I had Abigail. It's still very surreal and it seems the hardest part has been dealing with this puppy of ours! Abigail is easy compared to the trouble our Siena has been causing. Here is a link to the website with her hospital pictures on it. ABIGAIL. Thank you everyone for your prayers, gifts, meals! I think by next week we will be ready for visitors. 

 Miss Abigail

 Sherry our midwife who delivered Caleb and Abigail. I think she might have been more excited than us when Abigail arrived!

 Leaving the hospital!

Abigail screaming in her car seat

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Look at that hair!

Abigail Therese Carr

6.3 oz 19 inches

2/26
Abigail Therese born alive and well this morning at 2:46 am weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz! Praise be God! Pictures to come! Mom and baby are both doing well!

2/25
Update- Spent last night on cervadil. Dilated a little this morning and getting ready to start pitocin at 9:30 a.m. Keep up the prayers! We didn't really sleep last night, so strength is much needed!

4:15 pm Labor is progressing with steady contractions. Abigail is doing great! We are looking at a late night or early morning delivery.

2/23

Today we had our last appointment! Yeah! I am still barely dilated and so the plan is to check in to the hospital tomorrow night at 6pm. Then I will get started on a  12 hour round of cervadil to soften my cervix.  I had my last round of steroids today which should help Abigail's lungs.

Prayer requests- for my anxiety. I am struggling a lot tonight with post traumatic stress and keep reliving when I delivered Caleb and then had to give him back 3 hours later. I don't want to give Abigail back, thus I don't want to go to the hospital and deliver her. Strange world of grief, but those are my emotions tonight. Less than 24 hours though!!

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2/20/12
The Plan-revised

So here is the official "plan" just four days out. We have decided not to do an amnio test. Our doctors are confident with us inducing as long as we get the steroid shots to help Abigail's lungs 48 hours before induction starts. So that means, Non-stress test today (she passed!) another one Wednesday and the first round of steroid injections. Then a meeting with our midwife on Thursday to see how far I am dilated and give me another round of steroid injections. Then Friday at 6 PM we will check into the hospital. By 8 PM they will have me started on a medicine to soften my cervix and then after that start pitocin.  I just need to make it to Friday at this point. Need to stay busy busy busy!  Keep up the prayers!

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2/15/12
The Plan

Thought I might share our "plan" for Abigail for others out there who are in my shoes and trying to decide what to do. So far the "plan" with Abigail is to induce early. Doctors originally said 38 weeks but we had done research and talked with others who had similar experiences and asked to be induced at 37 weeks. We will go into the hospital to do an amnio at 36 weeks and 5 days (this is just because its the day they do amnios). If her lungs are ready, we will start induction right away. If her lungs are not ready, we will get the steroid shots to help lung maturity and then start induction. It seems our doctors are now all on board with the 37 weeks and do not want us to go to 38, hence inducing either way-lungs ready or not.  If the lungs are extremely not ready, then we will wait I suppose, but right now that isn't on the board at all.

Lots of decisions to make, but we feel like the risks of inducing are lower than the risks of another stillbirth so we are going with it. Feb. 24th can't get here fast enough! One perk of being induced is getting to have the midwife you want on call to deliver the baby. We have also been able to meet with labor and delivery to talk with them about having a different room than last time and a few other accommodations we wanted. This has helped ease our anxiety a lot. Until then I am having Non Stress Test twice a week and a sono once a week. They want me to be in to see a doctor every other day at this point. So lots of appointments, but hopefully they will all be worth it in the end.

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My favorite- the heart! Strong and beating and good blood flow

   Chewing on her arm

         Snuggled up

Nathan and I - it stormed so much the day of our wedding, but later that night we got a beautiful rainbow. God is good, He is faithful.