Happy Birth Day Abigail Grace

Abigail Grace made her big appearance via emergency c-section at 12:44 am on Tax Day, Tuesday April 15. I had started having contractions Sunday morning around 9 am and went to the hospital Sunday night around 6:30 pm. Even though Abby was only 8 pounds (even) she wasn't going to make it out the old fashion way, so after over 30 hours of labor we were the cause of the midnight calls to all of the surgical staff at the hospital. They were all good sports about it and all seemed to be wide awake.

Abby clocked in at 8 lbs. 0 oz. and is 22 inches long (no wonder they thought she would be big - the girl is all legs). She has tons of almost black hair and has been a very content baby so far. We are all doing well and adjusting to our new schedules. Enjoy the photos. (and yes... for the observant, this post is back-dated. It is currently 5 pm on April 16th and Steve and Abby are rocking so I can check my email and update Abby's fans).

The BIG News

Just when we thought we had things figured out and under control, Sparky threw us for another loop. While a normal infant at week 34 would be 4.9 pounds or so, Ms. Sparky is well over 7 pounds. The ultrasound technician said the doctor would be able to give us the official weight, but she only knew how to get within the range. When I came home and tried to calculate the weight based on metric conversion I came up with 8 pounds, 1 ounce. Either way, Sparky is at least 2 pounds heavier than the average baby and will likely be here sooner rather than later. Based on her size, she is equivalent to a 36 week old baby, which would put a revised due date around April 7th. We are hoping to get some better information on the new plan of attack next Wednesday at our weekly visit.

So... other than that, week 34 is off to an uneventful start. My knee is bruised from the fall on Sunday, but not hurting. We now know why I feel like I have the world's largest baby in my belly. We have most of the essentials ready to bring Sparky home and now we just play the waiting game.

Congratulations to Becky Rasey for being the first to figure out that Sparky's name is Abigail Grace. Steve and I originally were debating between Elizabeth and Kathryn, but neither really ever really just seemed to fit Sparky. So after much debating and consideration we decided that Abigail was going to be the best name for our little gal. So, Abby will be joining our family shortly and you can all pray for a safe delivery and for a healthy little girl.

Also... on the above ultrasound photo Steve and I are trying to decide whether Abby's arm bones look more like a pirate skull or the ginger bread cookie from Shrek. Feel free to add your interpretation of her interesting photo to the mix.