3 Months

Abigail turned 3 months old on Sept. 20th.  My how the time flies.  She is growing up fast.  She is already 23.5 inches long and can no longer fit in 0-3 month sleepers.  We got some cute family and 3 month pictures taken to document another month in her development.

This one was Steve's idea :) 

Look I am sitting up! (Well, mom is helping a little in back)

In addition to being blessed this month and attending the Brigham City Temple open house (see previous blog), Abigail experienced her first BYU-Utah Rivalry game (well sort of).  Steve and I were decked out in our blue and red, and of course our "purple baby" was in purple. (Not the greatest resolution for the pic)

The game started late, but we tried to go to our neighborhood big screen showing.  Abigail lasted about 30 minutes before spitting up everywhere!  I brought her home and got her to bed.  Steve stayed til half time, but then decided to come home so we could all get to bed.

Abigail is becoming much more alert and aware of her surroundings.  She loves going on walks and looking around at the world.  We try to go on a walk every morning with our friends Sara and Chase (Chase is 1 1/2 weeks older than Abigail).  She usually rides forward facing in her stroller now like a big girl.  When she is not, she often tries to sit up in her carrier.

She is still batting at objects and loves to hit the sun on her play gym to make music play.  In addition to batting at objects, she is grasping toys (usually if they are placed right by her hands, but some times she will reach out toward them). She is even trying to help hold the bottle.

She has also discovered her hands!!! She loves sucking on them.  I think she is bound and determined to fit her whole fist in her mouth.

Abigail is tolerating tummy time a little better, though she still doesn't love it.  She is not rolling over yet, but she is sure trying to move.

We love our little girl and love watching her grow and reach new milestones.  We are glad to share some of her progress with you.

Last but not least, here are a few Bloopers:

 Trying to take a pic of her slippers

Crazy hair 

The face she makes when we make funny noises (such as Steve's Chewbacca growl) 

Breakdown at photo shoot

Baby Blessing and Brigham City Temple

Abigail Mae Harris was given a name and a blessing on September 2, 2012.  She surprised us Saturday night by sleeping from 9 PM to 5 AM!  So we were all pretty well rested when we woke up for church.  Abigail cooperated very well during the blessing (something I think every mother and father worries about when their child is the center of attention in church).  Steve gave a wonderful blessing with many special promises including health and strength, the ability to face the challenges in this life, a desire to learn the gospel, a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation in order to keep the commandments and live righteously, choosing a husband with similar desires and entering the temple to be sealed, and being an example to siblings and others.

Abigail looked beautiful in her dress.

We were so happy to celebrated this occasion as our little family. And we even had matching outfits :)

We were grateful for all the family and friends who were able to make it too.

It was such a special day and one that we will always remember and cherish.

On September 10, 2012 Alison and Abigail went to the Brigham City Temple Open House with their friends Valerie, Mike, and Dallin Hatch (Steve had to work late, so he wasn't able to come).  Heavenly Father definitely had a hand in making everything ideal for the best experience possible.  Abigail ate and napped when she needed to in order to be awake, alert, and happy as they walked through the temple.  Though she is too young to remember this experience, we hope she was able to feel the special spirit of the temple and that it reminded her of being in the presence of God not too long ago.

On a side note, Alison broke down and got the new mom hair cut.

Sleepover, sickness, shots, and sewing

Since last time, we had our first family overnighter.  We traveled to Logan to attend a sealing and reception of some great friends--Jen and Mike Teagle.  In route we were able to stop by and introduce Abigail to Great-Grandma and Grandpa  Lord.

We had a few mishaps during the trip: the road to the hotel being closed, not being able to check in right away, rushing to feed Abigail before rushing to the temple, spitting up on the hotel bed skirt, and having 6 hours to try and fill between checkout and the reception (Abigail definitely got tired of being in the car).

But all in all it was a great trip and Abigail did wonderfully well sleeping in an unfamiliar place.  She also was able to have her first official Daddy-Daughter dance.

The cold also hit our household this month.  It started with Steve, then Abigail, then Alison.  We are happy to report that we are all feeling better now.  Unfortunately Abigail's 2 month immunizations fell during the same week we were sick, which made the shots even worse.  The night following her shots she would wake up moaning and whimpering.  I don't know which is worse, the pain cry after the shots or the sick cry that night.  Within a couple days Abigail was back to her old self.

Alison decided to be crafty with some sewing projects.  She saw a pattern for "circle skirts" and decided to make a pink one to go with a hat and booties (from Grandma Harris) for Abigail's 2 month pictures.

 She then made matching skirts for her and Abigail.  Then she got really crazy and added head bands and even a tie for Steve.  They will all be debuted at Abigail's blessing this Sunday.

Look what I can do!

This blog post is going to be dedicated to displaying all of the exciting things that Abigail is doing so far in her 6 weeks of life.  Starting at week 3, we began giving her one bottle of pumped milk each day.  Daddy loves his time feeding Abigail.

She has done so great taking bottles, which has allowed us to go on a couple of dates outside the home.  For Steve's birthday we went to see The Amazing Spiderman while Alison's mom watched Abigail.  Then on July 20th Steve's parents watched her while we went to Wicked.  We were also able to go on a date to the temple to do sealings.

Abigail is developing motor skills as well.  She is starting to bat at things (though at this point her batting is somewhat random and unintentional, but you have to start somewhere, right?)

Abigail can do a few minutes of tummy time, which we try to do each day.  She is able to lift her head for a little bit while on her tummy.

Abigail is also starting to smile intentionally and we are looking forward to seeing many more smiles to come.  Here is her first smile caught on camera.  Don't worry though, her loyalty is not decided yet.

On the sleeping front, Abigail has had nights where she has slept 5, 6, and even one night of 7 hours between feedings.  Of course she still has the nights where she is up every 3 hours to eat too.

We are so grateful for a fun, happy, healthy, growing girl.  We love her and feel so blessed to have her in our family.  Life is definitely different, but we wouldn't change it for the world.

For one month pictures of Abigail, you can follow this link:
http://www.SearsPhotos.com/ViewSharedAlbum.aspx?ShareID=87286e33-8a77-4893-9638-937c5f3cf623

3 Week Update

Today marks Abigail's 3 week sojourn on this earth.  So here is a little update on how mommy, daddy, and baby are doing.
Week one: During this week, Steve was able to take his first week of paid paternity leave, so we were home as a family.  This was a nice time to get used to 2 hour blocks of sleep and snuggling our little girl.  Abigail still spent most of the day sleeping.

On June 27th we went for a one week appointment with our pediatrician, just to make sure everything was going well as new parents.  Abigail already surpassed her birth weight, weighing in at 7 lbs. 10 oz.  The pediatrician was impressed and told us to keep doing what we are doing.

Week Two:  Steve had to go back to work on June 28th.  Alison's mom was able to come by and help out on Thursday and Friday, which was a great blessing.  Alison was very grateful that she could be at home with Abigail, though getting the new mom thing right was a big worry.  She is learning to not expect perfection from herself or from their new little angel.  Steve was off for July 4th (Happy Independence Day!), so we ventured out of the house to get our first family photos.  We managed to get one picture of Abigail with her eyes open, before she nodded off again.

Alison took Abigail for her 2 week check-up on July 5th.  It was the first time just the two of us went out, which was liberating, but a little scary.  Abigail weighed in at 8 lbs., so still gaining great weight.  She was looking healthy in every way.

Week Three:  Some new challenges arose during this week.  Starting on July 4th, Abigail began spitting up her whole meal every so often (5 times over the next week).  Needless to say mom and dad were both very concerned.  The doctors office recommended keeping her upright for 30 minutes after eating, which has helped quite a bit.  At the same time, she stopped having consistently messy diapers.  As first time parents, we were very concerned that something was wrong.  After a weekend of hoping and worrying, Alison went back to the pediatrician with Abigail.  We were reassured that she is still gaining weight and that there is nothing irregular about her spitting up or her lack of messy diapers.  Don't worry though, she surprised us with a near blow out later that night.  She is already losing her new born look and getting bigger each day.

Some exciting things Abigail is doing developmentally: Staying awake a little more often, focusing on faces and pictures briefly, holding her head up when lying on her tummy on mommy or daddy's chest, and wiggling her arms and legs more.

Another favorite thing is watching the many faces of Abigail Mae as she sleeps: half smile, eyes rolling back, pouty face, puckered lips, furrowed brow, sticking out the tongue, and more.  She is adorable and we love her to pieces.

Abigail Mae's Debut

Abigail Mae Harris has finally arrived. So how did it all happen?  At our 40 week doctor appointment with Dr. Stephen Terry, we decided to schedule an induction for Wednesday June 20. So we had a final doctor appointment on the 19th to see where Alison was in her progression toward labor. At the appointment, Dr. Terry said that she was not progressed very far, so instead of coming in the morning, we should come back to the hospital that night to take some pills that would help her progress and make the Pitocin (medicine to induce labor) more effective. To say the least we were a little caught off guard. So we changed plans, went home to eat, and stopped for a snow cone on the way back to the hospital.

When we arrived at the hospital, Alison was given a dose of Cytotec about 8:30 PM. From there, her contractions became progressively more like real labor contractions (some pain in the back, rather than just tightening in the belly). Our parents came by to visit and keep us company for a couple hours. By 11, we sent them on their way and decided to try and get some rest, because we figured it would be a long night. About an hour later, as Alison was lying in bed, she felt a jolt and then a gush of water.  She turned to Steve and said, "I think my water just broke!"  We definitely weren't expecting that.  From that point on, the contractions became much more intense and were very close together (30 sec. to about 2 min.).  As Alison struggled through the contractions, Steve was by her side offering massages and comfort. When the contractions just kept coming so close together, she decided to get the epidural.  The anesthesiologist was amazing. He was quick and the epidural worked perfectly.  The pain of the contractions subsided and labor continued.  After about 20 minutes they came back in because Abigail's heart rate had dropped. The contractions were so close together she was not able to recover in between. So they gave Alison a little shot to slow down labor.  Miraculously, it did not stop labor, but just put Alison into a more regular labor pattern.

Again, we tried to get some rest as we waited for labor to progress. Between 4 and 5 AM, Alison was beginning to feel lots of pressure and some increased pain in her pelvis, but didn't think much of it. At 5 AM, Dr. Terry called and asked them to come check where Alison was.  The nurse came in and said that she was dilated to a 10, fully effaced, and that the head was moving down in the pelvis.  Alison asked what that meant and the nurse replied, "It means you are ready to push and have a baby."  Dr. Terry quickly arrived and gave great instructions for pushing.  The nurse, Steve, and Dr. Terry coached and helped Alison push and within 20-30 minutes Abigail was born at 5:52 AM.

She was healthy and beautiful.  Steve got to cut the umbilical cord, while Alison held Abigail on her tummy.  As soon as she was cleaned up, Alison was able to hold and feed her. All the grandparents (Steve and Alison's parents) were able to come in and meet their newest granddaughter.  We think they were smitten at once, just like the new mommy and daddy.

While at the hospital, we had lots of visitors: grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, other family members, and friends.  We stayed for two days and were able to bring Abigail home on Friday.  Daddy drove nice and slow on the back roads to keep his little girl safe.  We are adjusting to less sleep, but loving every minute with our perfect little girl.  We feel so blessed that everything with her labor and delivery went so well, that she is healthy, and that we are able to start our new life together as a forever family.