Abby's Visit to the Doctor

Today Abby saw Dr. Craig for the first time. I was worried that she was getting thrush and also had several questions to ask the doctor. Being a first time mom I think you just worry a little more and want to make sure that everything is okay. Dr. Craig said she was doing great! He checked her out and she did not have thrush. They also weighed her and she is already up to 8lbs. 3 oz.!! Heth and I were worried that we could be overfeeding her, but Dr. Craig said that she will take what she needs and apparently she takes after her mom and dads love for food and eating. I can't believe that she will be two weeks old tomorrow. Wow has time already flown by. I am sad that Heth is going back to work tomorrow and Abby and I will be on our own. He has been such a huge help for me and I will definitely be adjusting and learning how to multitask and get things done while she is asleep. Luckily I have my mom close by and she is always willing to help out. Her Mimi and Grandpa have been really good to us and kept her several times when Heth and I need to get out and get things done. I can't imagine not having them close by.

A great weekend

Abby and our family had a great weekend visiting with family and friends. Paw Paw and Grammy Kendrick visited from Alabama and gave Cindy and I some much needed rest. They also cooked several meals and helped out around the house. Grandpa and Mimi Fleming stopped in to check on Abby and even took care of her for a few hours while Cindy and I celebrated our five year anniversary. Uncle Michael, Aunt Helen, Mr. Lance and Mrs. Laura visited yesterday for a while and brought some delicious dinner for us. So far we have only had to prepare one meal while we have been home from the hospital and our Sunday School Class from Hickory Grove Baptist has volunteered to help us out over the next several weeks. We greatly appreciate the support we have been given.

Abby is doing wonderful as she approaches week number two of life. Cindy and I weighed her on our scales on Saturday and she was up to 8lbs! That is a weight gain of 1lb 11oz since she left the hospital. Needless to say she is eating very well and "filling out" her newborn clothes much better. We had a difficult time finding clothes to fit her when we first got home since she was a bit smaller than we expected. Cindy and I were both over 8lbs when we were born so we expected her to be closer to our birth weight. She is quickly growing out of her newborn diapers and moving into the Stage 1 diapers. Maybe she will be a starting linebacker or power forward at this rate.

I start back to work on Wednesday this week but i am a bit anxious to leave Cindy and Abby at home. I am excited to get back to work since it is like "serious play" to me, but I know Cindy has appreciated my help these past two weeks. I keep telling Abby about the different projects I am working on and what I do at work. Basically I tell her I color and make pretty pictures all day and that one day she can help me. We have had a few serious conversations already about dating, prom, boyfriends, driving, etc. and she has agreed with every piece of advice I have given her : )

Tonight we are making a run to the store to stock up on formula for this week. Like I said, she likes to eat and breastfeeding is becoming very tiresome for Cindy. She has stuck with it for two weeks now and I am very proud of her for doing so. Abby will benefit greatly for the rest of her life because of Cindy's efforts.

Abby's first Video

Here is our sweet girl waking up from her nap. She is a great baby and has not been very fussy. The only time she gets loud is when it's time to eat, kind of like her mom and dad.

It's a Beautiful Day

It's a great morning today. Abby slept in her crib all last night allowing us to get some much needed rest. She woke up at 10:45pm, 1:30am, 3:30am and 6:00am to eat but she went right back to sleep as soon as she finished eating and had her diaper changed. She is such a good baby and makes our lives a bit easier.

Today Mrs. Fleming, or Grandma Fleming, is helping us out around the house cleaning up a bit. Paw Paw and Grammy Kendrick are visiting on Friday and Abby wants to show off her new house to all the grandparents. We are all thankful to everyone who has helped by preparing meals and bring us extra baby supplies. It sure makes Cindy and I know how much people care for us.

Abby and Her Daddy

Abby loves her daddy! Her favorite place to sleep is laying on his chest in the recliner. He also sings to her and knows exactly what to do when she gets upset. I always knew he was going to make a wonderful father but he has just blown me away with all of his help, support and love for Abby. She will definitely be a daddy's girl! Don't be surprised when she knows the words to a few Hank Williams songs as he sings to her all the time.

Abby decided last night at 3 am she would be wide awake and not want to sleep. She was bright eyed and checking everything out instead of letting me sleep. She would sleep for 20 minutes and then be up again wanting some attention. Finally at 6 am she went back to sleep and i crawled back into bed to catch about 3 hours more of sleep. I will say that even though I am tired, I still look at her and can't believe the little miracle girl that God gave us and it makes it all worth it.

Finally, the breastfeeding thing is so much more demanding than I ever thought it would be but I am sticking with it. I know how good it is for her and also for myself as I had two grandmothers that had breast cancer. This morning the frustration left me a little when I stepped onto the scales and realized that I have already dropped 20 lbs. since Abby was born 6 days ago. I told you this girl was feeding well! When we visited the lactation consultant yesterday she weighed Abby and she was already up to 6lbs 12 oz. She was 6lbs 9oz. when she was born, dropped to 6 lbs. 5oz by the time we left the hospital. In fact the lactation nurse said you rarely see a baby above their birth weight until two weeks after their birth date. She definitely has an appetite!

Sleepy Time for Abby

Things have been going very well for the Kendrick family over the past few days. Cindy is doing great as a new mom and you can tell Abby really loves her momma. Both Cindy and I are sleeping about 4-6 hours each night, but of course these are not consecutive hours of sleep. Abby seems to find the best time to sleep is in the day, when she can sleep for up to 4 hours at a time. On the other hand, she hasn't mastered the concept that night time is for sleeping as a family. So we have resigned ourselves to become vampires. To all of our coworkers we will be working between 8pm and 6am if that is alright with you.

Nipples and Nipples

Ah, the wonders of baby formula. Abby and mom are both doing great and getting stronger each day. So far the biggest revelation to us has been the combination of breastfeeding and using baby formula. Abby is eating like a champion, to the point Cindy was having a hard time keeping up. Some feeding sessions were lasting more than an hour and became very tiresome on both Cindy and Abby. Now she is breastfeeding for about 30 minutes and taking 2 ounces of formula. This change has allowed both Cindy and Abby to rest longer and be more relaxed when awake.

Our family has grown

Abigail Olivia Kendrick was born January 16, 2008 at Presbyterian Hospital in Downtown Charlotte. She was 19 3/4 inches in length and weighed 6lbs 9oz. She is a prefectly beautiful baby girl. Cindy and Abby are both doing great with both snoozing at any opportunity they can get. The doctors and nurses all said Cindy did great in labor and Abby did just as well.