SNOW DAY!!

I had every intention of composing this blog last Friday but never found the time to sit down and write it. I got the photos uploaded but no text. So I have 20 minutes until it is time to feed Abbie and put her to bed. Do you think I can get this posted by then? Oh and I also have Abbie sitting on my lap alert and content. Can she remain happy for the next 20 minutes? We shall see!! FAILURE!! Here I am on day 3 of this post and I think I may succeed in posting it considering that Abbie is passed out in my arms. I don't know how you other moms have time to blog. With working 40 hrs a week, doing household duties at night and on the weekends and taking care of an 11 week old, I'm spent!!

So last Friday we had our 1st snow storm for the year. Our last storm was over Christmas and the snow had finally melted and I was seeing spring around the corner. (Despite Phil seeing his shadow on Tuesday). It started raining and sleeting Thursday night and I was afraid my morning commute would be quite the adventure. You see I'm deathly afraid of driving on ice. Last January, I wrecked my car of 12 years while driving on the ice. Here is a picture of the damage.

I loved that car b/c a) it hardly gave me any mechanical issues and b) it was paid off!! But the time had come for me to say goodbye and upgrade to something a little newer and safer (my AWD Honda Element). So Friday I decided it would probably be best if I just stay home instead of risking it on the ice. Charlie said the roads weren't bad on his way into work but as the day progressed, the snow began to fall and we had quite the mess on our hands. I don't know the actual snow fall but I believe it was around 5-6 inches.

So how did I spend my day off, you ask? In between snuggling with Abbie, I straightened up the house a bit, made a crock pot of chili and a batch of cookies. I have yet to find a good oatmeal cookie recipe. They always come out flat. Although Charlie said they still tasted good.

Well it's bath night. I dread these nights so much. Abbie HATES getting baths. I try to get them done as fast as possible. Then it's off to watch American Idol, feed my girl and head to bed. Gees, it just seems like I just got off work.

Abigail Paige Vogt - 6 weeks old

These pictures were taken on Wednesday, December 30th by a wonderful photographer, Stephanie Phillips. http://www.stephaniephillips.com/ The announcement was created by my artistic niece, Morgan Walter. Both of them did a wonderful job.

Adjusting to Life with Abbie

Hello all!! It's been weeks since my last blog. You see I am an anal person (organized, not sexual). I have to have things in order so I haven't written any blogs because I wanted everything to go in order. Well it's going to take me forever and a day to get the blog of Abbie's birth written so I figured I would continue updating you on our life and one day you may come to my page and find the story of Abbie's birth on here, months after it happened. I just figured that there are milestones happening that I'm not noting on here so I just need to put my need for order and move on.

Anyway, here is an update on our family since my last blog. My maternity leave came to an end on January 3rd and I started back at work on January 4th. It was really hard parting with my baby girl. We had bonded so much over those 7 weeks and now just to hand her off to a stranger was tough. I cried the whole weekend prior and more on that Monday. But as the week progressed, it got easier. And as much as I love my daughter, I enjoy coming into work and socializing with other adults. I am now finishing out my 3rd week at work and Abbie's 3rd week at daycare. I believe she likes it there. She is usually sleeping when I drop her off so I just leave her in the car seat and give her a kiss on the cheek. Cynthia (the lady watching her) gives her tummy time throughout the day and she is really doing a lot better at holding her head up. She also has a 3 y/o son that plays with Abbie so my daughter is constantly getting attention throughout the day. I have continued to breastfeed and pump three times a day. It can get discouraging when I don't pump enough for a feeding but I have accepted that there are going to be times when my daughter will have to drink formula. So usually she has 2 bottles of breast milk and a bottle of formula while at daycare. Breastfeeding has been tough on me (I could dedicated an entire blog to it) and I have contemplated quitting numerous times but I know it's best for my baby and I will continue to do it for as long as my body & Abbie will let me.

1st day back to work and Abbie's first day of daycare

Abbie has grown so much in the last month. She turned 2 months old on the 16th and goes in for her 2 month check up on the 27th. They start her immunizations and I'm not looking forward to my daughter screaming like a banchee. I need to go out and buy some Baby Tylenol or Motrin this weekend. She is a very happy baby and gives me a smile whenever I ask for it. Last night I got out a mirror so she could see her reflection. It was so cute to watch her look & smile at herself. She loves to shop and usually sleeps the entire hour we are in Walmart every week.

Holding her head up.

Charlie has been adjusting well to fatherhood. He picks her up from daycare everyday around 4 and she is under his care until I get home around 5:15. Our daycare is only 2 houses down and since he doesn't have a car seat base in his car, he just walks down to get her and walks back. Well Abbie is wide awake when they leave Cynthia's house but by the time they get home (probably a 2 min walk) she is sound asleep. There has been numerous times that I have come home to find Abbie still sleeping in her car seat. I was upset at first but Charlie told me that sleeping in her car seat for an hour isn't going to hurt her. Although here lately, she has been awake and ready for her feeding when I get home.

Frank really enjoys his little sister. He gets up with us in the middle of the night for her feedings. He is usually right by her side protecting her. And here we were worried about what he would think of her. Dogs are smart and they sense things when you are pregnant. Frank fell in love with Abbie the day we brought her home and we haven't had to worry at all when he is around her. Odie has always been the loner dog. He spends most of his day & nights laying on the bed or in his kennel. So he could care less that there is another being in the house.

Frank & Abbie snoozing away.

I'm still adjusting to motherhood. It really is a 24/7 job!! I felt like a dairy cow during my maternity leave. It was like I had my boob out for most of the day and didn't do anything else. That is another reason while I like coming to work. I can concentrate on other things besides thinking about when the last time I fed her was. I am still trying to remember back to my life before Abbie came along and jolted my world. I had time to myself where I could sleep all day and night if I wanted and was able to keep my house in order. Now I've learned how to manage my time. I clean my house monthly instead of weekly and do it a little bit at a time while she's napping instead of all at once like I used to. Although the dishes have to be done and kitchen clean before I go to bed every night and laundry has to be done and folded before I go to bed on Sunday. The other stuff will be there when I get to it. Right now Abbie is my 1st responsibility. Sleep comes in a close 2nd.

Well I guess I should bring this blog to an end. I PROMISE to sit down & post a blog on a weekly basis. Time is going way too fast and I really need to keep record of everything as it happens.

The last few weeks of pregnancy

Well I put Abbie on the floor for "tummy time" and she passed out so I guess it's a good time to update the old blog. I'm dedicating this post to the last few weeks of pregnancy. Last we left off, they had tried to externally turn Abbie out of the breech position but no such luck. So I decided a vaginal birth just wasn't meant to be. So on November 4th, we were given the date. Our stubborn little girl would enter the world on Monday, November 16th. Once I had that date, it seemed like those last 12 days took eternity. Each day I would count down, almost like the 12 days of Christmas but they were my 12 days of pregnancy...

12 more days until C Section

11 more days of swollen feet (well they were still swollen for a week post partum)

10 more days of a pinched sciatic nerve (little did I know it continued for 3 weeks post partum)

9 more days until I can see my toes again (boy, do I need a pedicure!!)

8 more days of waddling like a duck (a large duck at that)

7 more days of heartburn (at times I couldn't even drink water without the burn!!)

6 more days of feeling like my stomach can't expand anymore (have a few stretch marks now so I don't forget)

5 more days of frequent potty breaks (those have been replaced with diaper changes)

4 more days of feeling like this baby is going to fall out between my legs (oh, the pressure!!)

3 more days of window shade underwear (an inside joke between Meredith & I)

2 more days of ?? (I didn't have anything for this day b/c I about killed myself cleaning the house)

1 more day...this last one is a killer

How I spent what I called my last weekend of freedom. :)

Friday, November 13th: Last day at work before I go on 7 weeks of maternity leave. It seemed weird knowing that the next time I would enter that building, it would be with a baby in tow. I though going up the stairs pregnant was tough...carrying a car seat was just as hard. That night, Charlie & I casted my belly. Since I wasn't sure if I was ever going to go through another pregnancy, I wanted a souvenir of the last 9 months. Looking at it now, I'm in amazement that I was that big and appreciate almost having my pre pregnancy figure back.

Saturday, November 14th: I spent that day deep cleaning my house for my Mom's arrival. I now know why they created the mop. It's to be used by women in their last days of pregnancy. I realized this as I was on my hands and knees cleaning the floors. Remember above where I said that Abbie was going to fall out between my legs??

My mom arrived Saturday evening. We went to dinner at my favorite Mexican place and chilled at home for the evening. My mother would be staying for our for the next 2 weeks. I thought maybe it would be too long but it wasn't long enough. I wish she could have stayed longer. During the day, she washed my sheets and hung them on the line and did some other house cleaning that I missed. And at night she would stay at the hospital with me and wake up at night to help me out with the baby. I really don't know how I would have managed without her here. Thanks Mom!!


Sunday, November 15th: We hit Walmart to get some groceries for my Mom & Charlie while I was in the hospital. That evening, my neighbors threw a shower for me. We have lived in this house for 2 1/2 years and I really only talked to one of my neighbors. So it was nice to know the rest of the neighborhood. I also met the lady that would become Abbie's daycare provider. She had just moved here from Wichita and was obtaining her daycare license. Well her lease states that she could not run a business out of her home so she didn't get her license. But she was going to still watch a couple of kids. Which works well for me b/c there will be less kids which means less germs and Abbie will get more one on one time.


Going to bed that evening was tough. You know when you were a kid and you couldn't go to sleep b/c you had the first day of school the next morning. Well it felt like that. I laid in the chair (it had become my new resting place the last couple of weeks of pregnancy) and thought about come morning, how much my life was going to change forever.


Monday, November 16th...D DAY!! Mom, Charlie & I woke up at 4 am and were on the way to the hospital at 5 am for the scheduled C Section at 7 am. I was finally going to meet my baby girl!!

38 weeks

39 Weeks (night before C Section)

So it's been 9 weeks since my last blog...

I know, I know...bad blogger!! I created this blog to keep my family & friends updated on mommyhood and look at me, 9 weeks since my last post!! What can I say, motherhood is a 24/7 job!! Even as I type this blog, my daughter is getting cranky. She just loaded her pants minutes ago so I really should go tend to that before she falls asleep. I promise to find an hour each day to sit down and update you on my life in the past 9 weeks. But for now, here is a cute picture of our little angel taken on Christmas. She truly is the love of my life next to Charlie and the dogs.

Uh oh...gotta go. She's fading fast and really stinks!!

36 weeks and still stubborn as hell

36 weeks, can you believe it!?! My baby is almost 6 lbs and still packing on the pounds at a rate of about an ounce a day. Her length is more than 18 1/2 inches, head to heel. But I have a feeling she is going to be a whole lot longer than that considering Charlie is 6'1" and I'm 5'11" and we both have height in our families.

Today was the big day. Too see if my baby girl listened to her mama and would cooperate with the doctor at getting her head down. I went into the hospital around 8:15 to have an external cephalic version performed. It's a fancy way of saying that my doctor will try to coax my baby into the head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of my belly. I was warned that it was going to hurt but HOLY COW...it was painful!! The doctor would get a hold of her head and a hold of her butt and dig into my skin and attempt to turn her. I laid there, gripping onto the bed hoping that it was successful. After about 20-30 minutes the doctor told me that she just couldn't get her butt out of my pelvis. So does that mean that my daughter has some junk in her trunk or is she just stubborn and refuses to move? After talking to my mother-in-law, I was told that little Abigail is stubborn like her Grandpa!! So since the turn was unsuccessful, my hope is that she turns on her own in the next 3 weeks or I will be scheduled for a C Section at 39 weeks. As much as I would like to have my baby's birthday planned so I can have my momma here to see the birth of her granddaughter, I'm not too fond of someone cutting me open to remove my unborn fetus. But if she continues to remain stubborn, I guess that is what will happen. I go in next Monday for my weekly OB appointment and should find out more. But until then I'm going to be in the upside down position as much as I can so Abigail unlodges her butt from my pelvis. Is it possible to ground your daughter before she's even born? I've already told my family to hold off all presents until she is born b/c spoiling the child is not going to make her turn.

Other than my painful experience yesterday, I've been feeling pretty good. My belly is getting bigger and making it harder for me to get up out of bed or off the couch. Charlie & I have narrowed our daycare providers down to two ladies. They both have openings and we just need to meet them and view their houses (happening today & tomorrow) before making our final decision. I have also packed the hospital bag for Abigail and I. The car seat has been installed in the car. Now we just have to find someone to take care of our four legged kids while I'm in the hospital. I told Charlie last night that he could sneak Frank into the hospital in his coat to visit his little sister. Odie may be a little more difficult.

My family is deciding on who is coming down when to help me out with Abigail. Right now my mom has the entire week of Thanksgiving off and she said if she should arrive early via C Section that she will just extend her vacation an extra week. Meredith and her family plan on visiting Wed-Sun over Thanksgiving and Michelle told me yesterday to let her know when the C Section is scheduled and she will see when she can get off work. I think I'm going to have so much help that I won't have to lift a finger. Although eventually they will all have to go back to Nebraska and then it's just Charlie & I to take on this baby. AHHHHHH!!

35 weeks...my baby is now a Honeydew

Another week gone...another week closer to D-Day. According to Babycenter.com, "Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 lbs (pick up a honeydew melon). Most of her basic physical development is now complete - she'll send the next few weeks putting on weight." Great, so that means my stomach is going to grow even more and the chance of getting stretch is in my near future. Wonderful!!

I have a busy girl this week. Went to my appointment and ultrasound on Monday. Baby is growing just fine so nothing to worry about there. But they did tell me that she is breech. So my choices were to schedule a C-Section or to see if they could turn her manually. I'm not one that would like to be cut open to have a baby. First off, I am one that wants to experience what child birth is like. All the "hee hee hee's", bearing down and pushing. And second, I'm not too fond of the big scar across my belly that comes with a C-Section. So they scheduled me with my regular OB (I had been rotating amongst the OB's in the office, meeting them in case they were going to be the doctor on call when I go into labor) on Monday to see what to do next. So this week I have been trying every natural way to get this baby to turn. First I hooked up some headphones to my iPod and put it on the lower part of my pelvis. They say that the baby will move downward to the music. Next I put a cold compress on the upper part of my stomach where the baby's head is. They say that the baby will not like it being cold and will turn downward where it's warm. Then I tried some positions to discourage the baby from settling in my pelvis.

Knee-Chest Position

I tried this on the floor of the living room while watching my soap opera. One would think it would be comfortable. Well when you have this belly protruding out, it's pretty painful at times. I was able to hold it for 10 minutes.

Next was this position...

I tried this position while laying on the bed watching Friends. It was more comfortable and I could hold it longer (20 minutes). I can't believe this baby hasn't even been born yet and I'm bending over backwards for her. I'm not sure if any of these positions have helped. I guess we will find out tomorrow at my doctor's appointment.

Another highlight of this week was my work baby shower on Tuesday. We had snacks, cake and punch and I was showered with some wonderful gifts. I work with such a great group of people. I can't wait to introduce Abbie to them all. I'm sure she will know Anthony (our CFO) once she hears his voice. He brings the entertainment to our office. On Friday he was telling me of when his son was breech and how his wife would do these same positions. But he made sure to demonstrate them for me in the hallway of our office. There is never a dull moment at LinkAmerica.

My mission this upcoming week is to find a daycare provider. I know, I should have had someone lined up weeks ago. But you see, I'm a procrastinator and I always wait until the last minute to do things. I guess it's been hard for me because I have only lived in Oklahoma for 6 years and I'm not too familiar with who runs at home daycares. I have a couple of friends who have told me they could do it but they don't live in Sand Springs or Tulsa. So I had a couple of friends from work who are from Sand Springs give me some names. I have their names and numbers, I just need to sit down and start calling. I also found a list of questions online to ask them. Charlie & I are also going to go visit them in person so we can check out their house and also hopefully be there during the day to see them interact with their kids. I just pray that someone has an opening for the beginning of the year.

Well I have rambled on long enough. Time to go fold some baby blankets, call some daycare providers and write some shower thank yous.