Growing Like a Weed

Addy had a doctor's visit a week ago, which she handled better than Alex did (Alex cannot stand waiting, and we had to wait a long time!). She now weighs 10lbs 5oz (76th percentile), measures 22 1/2 inches long (97th percentile) and has a head that is 15 3/4 inches around (94th percentile!). She had to get a shot, which is why she is sporting such a cool bandaid in the above picture. It was terribly sad watching her get a shot, because she turned redder and screamed louder than ever before. She recovered quickly, though! It is so neat to watch her grow.

More to Love

Here are some more pictures of Addy for your viewing pleasure!

Addy's first bath in the bathtub:

Daddy and Addy:

Modeling her new hat:














Addy and Grandma Wilson:













Addy and Daddy's favorite pillow:

Four Weeks

Addy is four weeks old today! Here she is with her giraffe friend with whom we will be documenting her growth each month.

What Addy likes right now: baths, being rocked to sleep, playing with Daddy, Mommy's boobs, the pacifier when she is tired.

What Addy dislikes right now: the car seat, when Daddy wakes her up using his whiskers, being put down to fall asleep on her own, sleeping for longer than 3 hours at a time.














Special thanks to Aunt Kenna for the idea of documenting monthly growth with a cute stuffed friend; to Cousins Cora, Christian and Maddog for the cute dress; to friends Liz, Heather, Stephanie, and America for the special giraffe friend. Also, if you like her cute hat, you can get one here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/homemadebynicole

Addy's First Days

I would have typed more in the previous post, but Addy wanted to eat (which is pretty much what our days our filled with).

I was scheduled to have a C-Section on Monday morning, so my mom flew in from Ohio on Saturday night around 7pm. She, Alex and I went to dinner, got groceries, and came home where we chatted until we went to bed at 11pm. Around 12:45am, I was awakened by a strange feeling, which I quickly realized was my water breaking. We called the hospital and the doctor to find out if we should come in and were told that we should. After finishing packing my bag and figuring out how to get out of the house after my water had broken, we arrived at the hospital around 2am. I thought that since my water had broken, perhaps the doctors would let me labor rather than immediately just going in for C-Section, but my hopes were quickly dashed by news that I was still only 1cm dilated. After discussing the options with the doctor and after saying a quick prayer after discussion with Alex, we decided to go ahead with the C-Section. Here we are prepped for surgery:



















By 4am, we had been prepped for surgery and were being led back to the operating room. I was given a spinal block, and having no feeling below my chest was a really strange sensation! After I was prepped, they led Alex into the room. We had asked the doctor if Alex could watch the surgery and if he could take pictures, and the doctor said of course. Unfortunately, Alex forgot the camera! He was able to watch though, and thought it was pretty interesting. As soon as they pulled Addy out, they dropped the drape and let me see her. She was crying, and I immediately started to as well. They brought Alex over and let him be with the baby while the doctor cleaned me up. After she was cleaned up, they brought her over and laid her on my chest where we chatted and the doctors sewed me up. When we got back to the recovery room, they let my mom come up. Here are some of Addy's first pictures:













































The next few days we spent in the hospital. Addy and I were visited by many doctors and nurses, at all hours of the day, but taken very good care of. Alex's Mom, Dad, sisters Rebekah and Rachel, Aunt Shannon and Uncle Gene, and several nieces and nephews came to visit Addy in the hospital. She is definitely very loved already. Here are some shots from those first days in the hospital:

She's here!

Addison Jane Berger was born on January 17, 2010 at 4:28 AM. She weighed 8lbs 9oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. She is absolutely precious.

The Full Effect

Over Christmas weekend, various members of Alex's family would just look at me and start laughing because of how big I look. Alex took this picture to show me why they find my shape/size so funny.




This shot shows you the point at which I can see my toes.

Look at those chubby cheeks!

I had an ultrasound this week, because last week I was measuring 1 1/2-2 weeks ahead, so the OB wanted to see if the baby was too big for me to go 40 weeks. The guestimation from the ultrasound is that Baby Berger is about 8 lbs. 10 oz. already. Now, I realize that this measurement is not 100% accurate, and that Baby Berger could weigh more or less at this point.

The concern when babies are bigger is shoulder distortia (shoulders getting stuck or just not fitting through the pelvis), which Alex and I are pretty sure happened to him when he was born, and which we also are pretty sure attributed to his shoulder and back problems. Given what we know about Alex, there is an obvious concern about Baby Berger coming out the way God intended, but we'll take it one day at a time and see what happens.

While doing the ultrasound, the tech turned on the 3d/4d camera, and gave me a view of Baby Berger's cute face. From the picture, I sort of think she looks more like me, and I am pretty sure she did not get Alex's cro-magnon man browline. She has big chubby cheeks and lots of hair. I have to say I'm pretty excited to see her in person, no matter how she has to come out!