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.

Progress

The funny thing about progress is it's really all around us.  It's in the wonderful animals at the Living Planet Aquarium...

First example: how did humans progress to be the dominant species on the planet?  Alison believes that humans once were jellyfish.... This is her Great Great Great Great... well you get the idea

Second example: how will human continue to progress?  Steve believes that one day he'll be the one carrying Abigail's brother or sister in his belly, just like the seahorse.

Third example: For progress on penguins please see Happy Feet & Happy Feet 2 (actually we can't in good conscience recommend either of these movies)

Final example:  Otters are cute.  Anyone who says that isn't progress is crazy!

For real progress around the Harris home take a look at photos from Abigail's room.  Alison and her mom put up vinyl lettering while Steve hung the pictures.

Purchases have been made to keep her things neat and organized.

Then there is light... thank you Thomas Edison

Since Last Time

You may have noticed that we have been MIA on the blog front.  We kept meaning to post, but time got away from us and we couldn't find our camera cord to download photos.  And what is a blog without photos. But miracle of miracles, we found our camera cord... but after several attempts, we have been unable to upload all our photos.  So we will just give an abbreviated update...

In February we went to Zions where we went on some fun hikes and spent time with friends (pictures may be forthcoming).  It was Abigail's first official hike.

In March we went to Beauty and the Beast on Broadway at the Capitol theater and loved it.  Afterwards we went to Gateway and dropped into the Apple Store. We casually asked if they had any new iPads in stock and ended up walking away with one (we had actually been planning and saving for it, so only a slight impulse buy). We are excited to be able to take photos and videos of Abigail with it.  We have a few photos to share thanks to our new iPad:

Our 2nd Easter as a married couple, we filled Easter baskets and searched for them on Saturday.  Then on Sunday, we were able to spend time with family and focus on the love of our Savior.

We are making more and more progress with our nursery.  We were able to assemble the furniture together: crib, changing table, dresser, rocker and ottoman.

Then on April 21, we had "sewing day" where Alison, Alison's mom Kathy, and Steve's mom Shirley cut out material and began working on drapes, window cushions, pillows, bumpers, bed skirt, and valence.  While the women were busy sewing, Steve was doing the home improvement work.  We are excited to be able to post pictures of the final results.

Lastly, we wanted to give a view of the growing baby bump, week by week.

Baby's First Photos

We have fallen a little behind in our posts (this probably won't be the last time that happens), but wanted to share some of Abigail's first pictures.  We had our 19 1/2 week ultrasound on January 24.  Here is a sampling  of photos from the ultrasound.

This is her heartbeat. At this time her fetal heart rate was 151 beats per minute.

Here is her beautiful profile. The head is on the right, then her belly, and her legs sticking up in the air.

And lastly, a picture of her with her hand in her mouth.

It was such a special experience for us to see such details of her growth and development, and especially to see her move her little arms and legs.  We were very relieved to hear that everything looked well.   Modern technology and the people who run it are truly miraculous.  We are grateful to have a healthy, growing baby.

Purple is kinda a girly color.

Hello wonderful world wide web, in our second post on this very new blog we'll discuss in what sort of environment our children will be raised.  First we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or LDS, we go to church and our faith is very important to us.  Second we don't have cable/satellite and we are totally fine with that.  Third, Steve is a BYU fan and Alison is a UTAH fan so our house is a:

We've also received some very exciting news since our last post.  We found out that our baby has two arms, two legs, and a head.  Plus no visible tail, yay!  Oh and one last thing, we found out we're having a...

GIRL!

We've already chosen a name.  We're naming her Abigail... awesome right!?!  The middle name is still pending --we like Mae but we also like Ann/Anne.  Let us know your thoughts :)

The Announcement. 2012 edition.

When we got married May 22, 2010 we thought, "Oh no, do we have to start a blog now?"  Well, as you can see we decided to answer that question: NO. We told ourselves, "We are too busy. We'll start a blog when we start a family."  Well, the time has come for an announcement and the beginning of the Harris blog... That's right folks, we are going to be having a baby. Due date is June 15, 2012.  

So far things have been moving right along. The baby is just past 16 weeks and we are doing our best to get ready for the arrival. We have been cleaning out a room to make a space for the nursery and parting with odds and ends. We are stocking up on diapers and wipes. And of course exploring the possibilities of baby names.

We feel so blessed to be adding to our family. Thank you all for your love and support. And stay tuned to find out if we are having a boy or a girl...