Two weeks old

Abigail had her two week well baby visit today, and she is doing well! She weighed in at 7lb 12 oz, a half pound more than her birth weight. The pediatrician was pleased, since they are only supposed to be up to birth weight by this time. She is eating well (an answer to prayer!).

Grandma Hekel is now here (much to my great joy and comfort). It is fun having Grandma here and I will post more about Grandmas visit later (with pictures...).

I am feeling the best that I have felt and we even were able to make our first trip out to the grocery store and pharmacy on the way home from our appointment.

Below are a few pictures Megan took a week ago when she was here. Enjoy!

First Week Home

Sunday - We were zombies on Sunday, after a long first night home. Abigail fussed most of the night, probably because of new surroundings. Mommy and Daddy learned several quick lessons on soothing, quick diaper changes and patience!

Monday - Rodney spent his last day home before going back to work. She slept MUCH better on Sunday night, for which we were very thankful. Abigail enjoys her swing and is everyday spends more time awake (which is still only for moments at a time). Megan arrived very late on Monday night from Dallas!

Tuesday - It was a HUGE blessing to have Megan here on Tuesday. It was good to have such a dear friend here to keep me company and help with little things around the house. She drove me to Abigail's first doctor's appointment (since I'm not allowed to drive for three weeks), which also happened to be her first outing. It was a beautiful day, and good for me to get out of the house too. The best news of all -- Abigail got a great report from the doctor. She lost 10 oz. after birth, and because I'm breastfeeding, the neonatologist wanted to make sure she is thriving. She is! She regained 6 oz in only 3 days and was back up to 7 pounds. Grandma Hekel will be here for her 2 week well baby visit, and she's on track to be back up to her birth weight.

Wednesday - Baby Blues are real -- but God is good (and my husband is wonderful). We'll leave it at that. It was my first day alone, and all of Abigail's noises, gurgles and grunts keep my worrying mind active. Having a baby is yet another opportunity for me to learn to trust the Lord in all things. Praise God for his faithfulness, and praise God that his mercies are new every morning.

Thursday - A lady from my church spent most of the day with me. Again, it was great to have company, especially an experienced mom. Our church here in Houston has been a huge source of encouragement. They have brought us meals every day this week and have poured on us blessing upon blessing.

Friday - Today, Rodney is off from work, and Abigail helped him do his Bible study this morning! Every day I have more energy, and I can tell that my body is healing. My pain is decreasing, and I'm able to take better care of Abigail and myself (though it is still hard to roll out of bed without using my abdominal muscles!).

Back home

We made it home today. We got back to our apartment about 4PM today after a full day of hearing the hospital discharge speeches. I now am aware that I shouldn't smoke or use drugs. Man this parenting thing is tough. 

Well, I am already missing Katie's cooking. Today we got home and per the doctors orders, I am making sure Katie doesn't over exert herself. As a result I dusted off the old cooking skills. Simple grilled ham and cheese sandwich, no problem....well so I thought. I think I got it off right before the smoke alarms went off. I managed to eat the sandwich but it did taste a bit like burning. 

Enough cheap laughs from a guy who doesn't know how to cook. Abigail is adjusting to the apartment and continues to sleep a lot. She has been feeding some here at the apartment but please continue to pray that she eats well. I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow.

And then there was three: Day 3

Praise the Lord for a great day. Little Abigail is doing great and learning to eat better each time she eats, a real answer to prayer. Katie was also able to take a couple naps which is good to her recovery. Tomorrow we should be heading home so if you remember, you can pray for a good transition.

Tonight we had some visitors which is a nice end to the day. It is wild to compare the size of a 7 month old to a 3 day old. I used to thing Alexia was so small but now that we have Abigail she looks so big.

We are blessed to have some great friends here in Texas. They remembered my birthday and brought a cake so that we could celebrate together. That's right daddy Harms is now 30 years old but by my math, I'm still in my mid 20's (Boys mature alot slower).

And again what everyong wants to see, more pictures........

And then there was three: Day 2.5

Day two was a good day. Baby Abigail was sleepy most of the morning but in the afternoon was more alert. Right now this is very exciting but in a week we might be praying for the sleepy state more. She is learning the eating thing as she is not the most aggressive eater but mommy and Abigail keep working at it and she is getting better each day. You can keep praying that she becomes a better eater.

We also had some wonderful visitors yesterday that stopped by and said hi and held Abigail. We also had others that just stopped by shortly because mommy needed to sleep. Today is going to be another day of rest for us. We decided to stay here in the hospital until tomorrow (c-section is a 4 day hospital recovery) and take advantage of all the wonderful helpers here.

And of course what would a post be without some more pictures of our beautiful little girl.

And then there was three: Day 1

More pictures of our beautiful baby girl. Today was a good day. Katie is up and walking around slowly and moving toward more solids. Abigail slept most of the day and is now eating dinner. She didn't eat most of the day but her blood sugar was very good. As soon as she returned from the blood sugar test she latched right on and had a good dinner. She also is starting to soil the diapers. Rodney is amazing at changing diapers already. But Katie said from this point on she will do all the diaper duty. (Can you tell who is writing this post?)

We should be here at the hospital until Friday so that Katie can fully recover from surgery. Today has been low key so we hope to talk a bit more tomorrow to everyone. We love you all.

Abigail has arrived

Praise the Lord!!! We are the proud parents of Abigail Sue. She arrived at 9:21 PM and weighed in at 7lb 4 oz with a length of 21 in. The C-section went well and Katie is in the process of recovering. The Lord was very good to us and we are really excited and tired. Abigail is currently feeding with mommy and after that we are going to try and get some sleep. Enjoy the pictures of baby Harms.