It's been a heck of a week...

I know Evan and I haven't put any posts up in well over a week, and I apologize for that, as we have some great holiday pictures of Natalie! However, we had a bit of a snag this week, starting with my not feeling well Christmas night. I had really bad back pain, and difficulty breathing, followed by another attack of back pain and stomach pain Thursday night (Dec 27). We went to the doctor and ER on friday, where after many hours in the ER it was diagnosed that I had gall stones, and an inflamed gall bladder. So, I was admitted to the hospital Friday, and on Sat Dec 29 I had my first surgery ever: gall bladder removal (or lap-coly for those in the know). My surgeon was a little worried about a gall stone having moved out of the bladder, so we had to wait around until today (monday, Dec 31) to have an MRI to make sure that hadn't happened. Of course they wouldn't do the MRI on the weekend, which gave me yesterday in the hospital to rest up, and thoroughly miss my family, particularly little Natalie, although Evan did his best to get her in to see me (although in a semi-private room that was a bit difficult at times). Luckily, the MRI was clear, and this afternoon around 5pm I was able to come home!

I'm now resting up at home with my family, recovering still from the birth, and now from the surgery. But it's really nice to know I won't have any more attacks, and there's no further risk of infection. Now I can just heal up, and get back into a routine with Natalie and Evan. My mom came back to help out, as did Evan's parents over the weekend, and my sister is helping out later this week. Plus, friends (Amy, Beth, Beta, Jess, Beaker & little Zabby!) stopped by to visit me in the hospital,which was really great of everyone. Perked me up a lot, as did every time Natalie came to visit.

I am doing ok now - just some pain at the incision sites, which is bound to happen. But the surgery went well, and I should be feeling much better in a week or so. I just wanted to let everyone know what had been going on, and that I hope to put more pictures and videos up later this week!

A visit from Aunt Carrie

My sister Carrie was finally able to visit and meet her niece for the first time on December 18-19. We had a great visit, not only allowing Carrie to enjoy Natalie, but to give me time to hang out with my sister! Even better, Natalie was thoroughly cooperative for a while in the afternoon, and stayed awake to play and get some great pictures. Enjoy!

Natalie playing

One last post today, and I'm done, I promise. I took this video today of Natalie playing in her entertainment gym on the floor, and I think it's really cute. She seems to really like all of the colors, the mirror, the textures, and the stuff hanging for her to pull on. I can't wait until she can really reach out and grab at stuff, but for now we can bring it to her. Enjoy!

Pictures: 12/14 thru 12/18

Of course, in addition to taking pictures of Natalie with family, we took a whole bunch over the past few days of Natalie being adorable all on her own. I've pulled out my favorites, and put them up here for all to enjoy.

Natalie is over a week old now, and she's been really great. She lets me sleep for about 3-4 hours at a stretch at night, needing to get up to feed only twice on average, with almost no crying at all at night. We couldn't possibly ask for better! And we're getting to the point where she can start to grasp things more strongly, focus on things close to her face, and even smile at times (yes, I know they say it's gas, but I say it's smiling!). So, here are some pictures of Natalie doing these things.

Lots of visitors this week

Sorry for the lack of new pictures since we brought Natalie home last week. We've had lots of visitors, obviously - everyone wants to enjoy the amazingness (is that a word?) that is Natalie, but it's kept us pretty busy. Grandma Sandy left last Friday, as there was supposed to be a big storm coming through and she didn't want to get caught. Then Uncle Scott, Grandma Lynn & Grandpa Doug came through Saturday and Sunday. It was wonderful to see everyone, and it gave us some pictures to put up.

Other Natalie Videos

I have been playing around with the video camera, taking shots of Natalie, but not all of the videos are really blog-worthy. If you want to see all the Natalie videos and play around with them, they can be found here:

Natalie Videos

Rest assured that the best of the videos will be posted here, so you won't be missing anything by keeping track of the blog. The link is just for those with a craving for more Natalie.

Natalie's first video

Ok, one more quick post about Natalie. Evan took a quick video of her today, being active in her Pack N Play. You can see her pretty eyes at the end, and how much she loves just moving around!

Pictures of Natalie!

Hi everyone! We brought Natalie home from the hospital today (12/12/07) at about 1:30pm. We're all doing really well, if a bit (ok, a lot) tired. Without going into too many details, the labor and delivery went better than I ever could have expected, taking about 7.5 hours total, with only about 45 minutes of pushing. Natalie came out fairly easily, and although I am obviously sore, I am healing nicely, and I think Natalie is taking to being out in the world pretty well!

Natalie has been a wonderful baby so far - she sleeps, as all newborns do, and is taking to breastfeeding really well. Tomorrow will be her first full day at home, and we're really looking forward to it. The biggest thing today was introducing her to Calla, which went pretty well. Calla is a bit anxious and excited, and barks a bit when Natalie makes noise, but I think she'll get used to the newest member of our family.

I've included a slideshow of pictures from the first two days in the hospital, and by the end of the week I will put up some more of her from the first few days home. Thanks to you all for your concern and love, and I hope you find her as beautiful as we do! Also, if anyone wants any of these pictures, or would like to see others, simply send me or Evan an email and we can email the photos to you, but remember that it may take us a couple of days!

Natalie Adele Macbeth

Abbe and I welcome our daughter into the world!

Natalie Adele Macbeth

December 10, 2007 - 2:29pm

20 inches long

7 pounds, 9 ounces.

Mom and baby are both doing great. We'll be home tomorrow and pictures and more will be posted!

Thanks for all the calls and texts. Our daughter is truly lucky to have such a great group of friends and family to welcome her into the world.

It's baby time...almost!

Apparently, little Conquestina has decided to be very stubborn upon entering the world. Last week, we scheduled me to be induced tomorrow (Monday, Dec 10), and it looks like we're going to need it, as things are not really progressing on their own. So, we check into the hospital by 7pm tonight, and tomorrow morning they'll start administering the pitocin (oxytocin) to start the labor process. Therefore, look tomorrow night (or Tuesday morning at the latest!) for pictures and info about the baby...and wish us luck!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow

We woke up this morning to snow, and it really hasn't let up all day. Leesburg has about 2 inches so far - not bad! It's really quite pretty, and it's been nice sitting inside watching the snow. Luckily, my mom got here today before the snow got too heavy, so we've all been able to enjoy the day together.

We've been trying to convince the little one that she wants to be born on the same day as the first snowfall of the season, but so far my efforts have been for nothing. Walking around outside is difficult due to the bad weather, but I've been bouncing around on my exercise ball, walking around the house, playing with the dog - trying to keep moving to get things going!

So, instead of celebrating the snow by giving birth, we took Calla out in the snow this morning, as she loves it. Enjoy this video of her running up and down our sidewalk in the snow - we think she looks pretty cute.

Happy Due Date....or Not

Well, it's December 3...so the due date has come and (almost) passed. Unfortunately, "baby girl" Macbeth has not chosen to come on out and meet us yet, so we're still playing the waiting game. However, I did have an appointment with my OB today, and both the doctor and I feel that by Wednesday or Thursday of this week we may have a new addition to the family. I've been having contractions on and off since Friday night, but yesterday and today they've gotten a bit more constant, although still at least 30 minutes between each.

So, nothing yet, but we're hopeful that she will be here soon. Evan and I (and our family and friends) can't wait to meet her, and I am definitely done with being pregnant, as smooth as this pregnancy was. Check back in a day or two, and maybe there will be good news!