12-26-06 Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well, Santa snuck into the house at some point because when I woke up at 5:45am Christmas morning, there were lots of presents under the tree. They weren't there at 12:25am or at 3:00am so I've narrowed down that Santa came to the house sometime between 3:30am and 5:45am. After a few years of this, I'm sure I'll be able to catch him in the act!

I got a bunch of really cool presents including lots of diapers (Thanks Paula, Gloria, and Papa) as well as a couple of really cools bibs! More importantly, everyone loved the gifts that I got for them! I got Daddy a pillow, Mommy a new pocketbook, and Neil a bib that says, "I love my big brother!" I also got Neil a shirt that shows just how well I already know him. (See if you can read the saying on the front of the shirt.)

Here is me in one of my new bibs:

Here is Neil in his new T shirt:

And here is my in the Bib I got for Neil:
Did anyone else notice that the bib is almost as big as me?

Daddy made a really great Christmas dinner but I had to have some formula instead of the ham and all of the fixin's. Oh well, maybe next year. Mommy made a really good looking apple pie, but we haven't had any yet. I doubt I'll be allowed to have any, though.

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Papa and Uncle Les came for Christmas dinner. Each time Papa comes over, I get to hear a whole bunch of new stories! It is really interesting, but something that I have noticed. Even though he tells a few stories each time I see him, he somehow always repeats at least one story he has already told me. I wonder if he knows that he does that?

Papa also got me this really cool hat:I actually started this post on Christmas evening after dinner and after we opened up presents. Then, as I was typing, I got really, really tired and fell asleep. I slept until about 11:00pm and then kept Mommy and Daddy up (in shifts) pretty much all night. Daddy got up with me around 1:00am and then Mommy got up around 5:00am. Obviously, Mommy and Daddy are pretty tired today.

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Well, that's it for now.

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Love y'all,

Melody

P.S. In case you couldn't read Neil's shirt, here is a closeup. Tell me I don't know him!

12-25-06 Happy Christmas!

Hey everyone!

I just snuck out of my bassinet to see if Santa had stopped by the house yet. He hasn't so I figured I would just log on and check the NORAD site. According to them, he should have been here already, but what does a 3+week old know.

Well, I better get back to bed. I'm probably going to be waking Mommy or Daddy in a couple of hours.

Love y'all,
Melody

12-23-06 It's been a few days..

Hi everyone!

Sorry it has been a few days since my last post. Daddy is putting some limits on the amount of time I'm allowed on the internet!

Seriously, I've been kinda busy with Christmas coming. I've been shopping, (I've been to the mall at least three times!) and shopping at Target and Wallyworld, and I even got to go to Starbucks! (FYI - My favorite drink (just like Daddy and Neil) is a triple venti 6 pump extra hot white mocha.)

The best part of the last few days was that I got to meet Santa! Yep, the big fat guy (not Daddy or Papa) actually held me and asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him world peace and the fall of Islamic radicals, but that I would settle for some smaller things like new socks and diapers! He said he would see what he could do.

After I met Santa, I was pretty tired.

Mommy's friend Pam stopped by this morning and I let her hold me and try to feed me. It seems like every time one of Mommy and Daddy's friends are holding me, Daddy takes a picture. 20 Years from now when I'm looking at all of the pictures, I'm gonna have no clue as to who these people are! Well, here is Pam and I standing by the Christmas tree!

Someone sent me an email asking just how big or little I am. Mommy took a picture of me sitting in our Lay-Z-Boy type chair. It is a standard size chair and it puts my size into perspective.

I have my Babushka but where is my camel?!

Well, that is it for today. I have to help Daddy cut down the bushes. Maybe he will let me use the chainsaw this time! Actually, I get to make Christmas cookies with Mommy. Much more fun!

I'll try and get a post in before Christmas, but if I don't Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. (Hey that sounds pretty good!)

Love,
Melody

12-19-06 Update - Opps

Hello everyone,

I made a little mistake. I didn't remember waking up last night, but Mommy got up with me around 2:30-3:00am. So I didn't get the full night sleep that I thought, but at least Daddy did.

Melody

12-19-06 Decent Night Sleep

Hi everyone!

I wanted to let everyone know that I let Mommy and Daddy have an almost full night sleep last night. That's right, I slept through the night from about 11:15pm until 5:00am. I'm not sure that I liked getting that much sleep, so I might go back to waking up around 3:00am, but Daddy sure seemed happy when he got up to feed me this morning.

Other than that, yesterday I became a legitimate baby. Mommy and I drove about 30 minutes north so she could pick up a sheet of paper that said I was born. What is up with that? Did Mommy and Daddy need proof that I am really here? Somethings just don't make sense to me.

Well, time to get a new diaper put on!

Love y'all,
Melody

12-17-06 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hello everyone!

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Yesterday was a pretty cool day. Mommy, Daddy, Neil, and I finally had some time to decorate the Christmas tree. (Papa calls it a Hanukkah Bush!) I don't know why we put off decorating so long - it was pretty quick and easy. Well, easy for me. Neil got frustrated with trying to fix a strand of lights, and Daddy threw away the Star that normally goes on top of the tree, but other than that it was pretty easy. Here is Neil with the lights:

After the tree was done, Mom went to my bedroom to get my jammies, so I thought. After she changed me, her and Neil started laughing like crazy and Daddy just stood there shaking his head in disbelief! Talk about giving a girl a complex! Apparently those of my readers who knew Neil as a baby will get a an extra kick out of the next couple of pictures!

Today has been pretty fun also. Mommy and Neil went to Disney again but Daddy just wanted to pretend he's a carrot (he kept saying he wanted to veg.) Anyway, Daddy and I got to stay together all day! We watched football, slept (well I did), pooped, eat, slept, and watched some more football. Daddy actually did some work around the house while I slept, so he's pretty tired right now. going to try and get some sleep before Mom gets home. I sure did miss her today.She will be home soon.

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Well, I guess I better get a little sleep before Mommy gets home. Keep the comments coming and I'll keep the posts posting.

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Love y'all lots,

Melody Elizabeth

12-16-06 Another First!

Hi everyone!

The Melster here. Just wanted to let everyone know that my bellybutton finally fell off. At least that is what Mommy and Daddy are saying. However, when I look at my bellybutton I can still see it. What's that? Hold on....Ohhhhh, Mommy just explained that the scab over my bellybutton is what fell off. Huh, I didn't feel a thing.

So the fact that my bellybutton fell of means that I was finally allow to take a real bath! No more sponge baths for this girl. I got to sit in the real tub and get a good, clean, relaxing bath. It was GREAT. As you are reading this if you listen real closely, you can probably hear all of the noise I made when Mommy and Daddy gave me the bath. Can you hear me? What, you don't hear anything? Well that is all of the noise that I made. Not a peep, not a cry, not a sound! Daddy was wondering if I was going to freak out and start crying, but I liked the bath. Like I said, it was relaxing. Of course, Daddy had the camera out during bath time, so here ya go:

I also had a doctors appointment yesterday for a weight check. The doctor is happy with my current weight gain and I am almost 9 lbs! After my appointment, Mommy went home and picked up Daddy and then they loaded up the foster dog and puppies and they finally were returned to the rescue group. It sure is nice and quiet in the house now! If only the birds would learn to be a little more quiet, life would be even better.

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Well that is it for now. I'm going to take a nap and let Mommy and Daddy get some rest before I want to eat again..... hmmm......do I need a diaper change?

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Love y'all,

Melody

12-14-06 Quick Pic and Video

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to post a quick picture and to put up a link to a couple of cool "Internet thingies." First here is the picture of me with my first puppy:

(Now before everyone starts sending Mommy and Daddy emails about an infant sleeping with a stuffed animal, they moved the puppy in place for the picture and then moved it away.)

Now the video below I'm not sure what is so funny about it, but Daddy said that you had to have been around in the 80's to understand it.

Finally, Uncle Paul has a "Quote of the Day" email that he sends out to some 500+ people every day or two. The quotes are usually motivational in nature and they are nice addition to your inbox. He never sends ads or junk mail and it is a good, clean list. Here are some examples of the more recent quotes that he has sent out.

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way."- Dr. Seuss

"A goal properly set is halfway reached."- Zig Ziglar

"To be good only to yourself is to be good for nothing." - François Marie Arouet (Voltaire)

"I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning." - J. B. Priestley

and finally,

"Determine never to be idle...It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." - Thomas Jefferson

If you are interested in receiving the QOTD, email me and I will let you know how to get it.

Well that's it for now. See y'all next time!

Love,

MET

12-12-06 Taking Disney by Storm

Hi Everyone,

Before I begin today's post, I realized that I never posted a post that I typed when I first got home from the hospital. Thank you to everyone that sent flowers and came to visit Mommy while we were in the hospital. Also, the biscuits/cookies were a great snack! (Thanks Paula!) It was all very appreciated. Thanks again!

Now on with the awesome news! As most of you know (if you have been reading my blog for any length of time) my brother Neil's high school chorus was selected to sing as part of the Candlelight Processional at Disney's Epcot. This is a nightly show that runs around the Christmas holidays. Neil's chorus has gone a few times already this season and yesterday, Monday, was the day that they spend the entire day (and much of the night) at the park.

Mommy had to chaperon and seeing as they were going to be there the whole day, Daddy and I followed the bus up and spent the day at Epcot! That's right - Only 13 days old and I got to go to Disney! Mommy and Daddy kept asking other parents how old their infants were and they couldn't find anyone even close as young as me! So I'm pretty sure that I was the youngest person in the park!

We got to the park around 10:30. It took a few minutes for Daddy and I to actually find Mommy but we finally did right up front near the ticket area. We had to wait a few minutes for all of the kids that Mommy was chaperoning to get through the line. She told them that they could run the park on their own, but that everyone had to check in at 1:00pm at England in the World Showcase. (This is how Mommy has done this in the past. Her thinking is that if they are in high school, they should be old enough to have enough responsibility to be on their own.) Usually a couple of the kids end up hanging out with Mommy. Yesterday it was Nina (who actually graduated last year). So anyway, everyone was going to meet up at 1:00pm in England.

Ten minutes after all of the kids left (except Nina) Lisa's cell phone rings and it is one of the girls in here group. "Ms. Lisa, there is no England." "What do you mean," asks Lisa." "There is no England on the map and if we are suppose to meet in England how can we do that if it's not on the map?" Lisa looked at her copy of the map and told the girl to meet us at the United Kingdom. I guess that is way Mommy and Daddy don't want me to attend school in Florida.

Daddy took lots of pictures and because Nina was with us, she used Daddy's camera to take some pictures of Mommy, Daddy, and me. One of the coolest ones was the three of us with "Spaceship Earth" in the background.

I was in the park from 10:30am until 8:30pm and I have to say that the 25 minutes I was awake were the most fun 25 minutes of my life! Another highlight was that I got to talk to Mary Poppins! Daddy did embarrass me, though. Ms. Poppins was talking to the little boy who went before me and asked him what he did so far in the park. He told her in a voice loud enough for all to hear that he went on Spaceship Earth, and rode the Nemo ride, and that he went to the bathroom. Now Ms. Poppins found that very funny, as did several of the parents waiting in line. So when Daddy and I get to go sit next to her, the first thing Daddy does is tell her that I went to the bathroom also! Everyone laughed and I think Ms. Poppins actually blushed! I have a feeling that Daddy is going to be doing things like that my entire life, so I best get used to it.

After went met Ms. Poppins, we went over to the Nemo ride in "The Living Seas." It was pretty neat and it was like they made the ride just for me! Mommy, Daddy, and I all sat in a Clam shell and it went nice and slow. There were a lot of different color lights and contracting things that I actually stayed awake for most of the 3 minute ride. Of course, Daddy was holding me in his arms so it was real easy to fall asleep. I did wake up for a few minutes and got scared because Daddy and I were in the mouth of a shark! They Mommy and Daddy took a picture with me with a couple of little fishes...

I'll have to finish telling you about my Disney trip tomorrow, or later tonight. Daddy has to use the computer so I have to go.

Love y'all,

Melody

PS - One last picture of me (because I'm soooooo cute)

12-10-06 Quick Pic

Hello everyone - Just a quick picture of me holding my own bottle!

12-10-06 What a couple of days!

Hello everyone!

I've been busy the last couple of days. Yesterday, Friday, we went to the local city "Tree Lighting Event."

One of Big Bro Neil's chorus members form school last year was invited to sing at the event. He asked Neil to get some of the current chorus members to help him sing a few of the Candlelight songs. They were suppose to start at 8:00pm, so Mommy and Daddy loaded me up and we headed to the park. Now last night was the coldest day of my life. I know people say that but in my case I am being literal. (Being only 10 days old, it's not that hard for that statement to be true!) Normally, it gets down to the 60's at night, but last night was in the 40's with the wind blowing and good golly it was COLD!

Mommy and Daddy bundled me up and while I was toasty warm, I know they were cold. We got to the park and I got to ride in my stroller for the first time! Here is a picture of Darius singing his solo: Here is a picture of the whole group that sang some of the songs from Disney Candlelight. (Neil is wearing the Santa hat.)

Saturday was even better! It started by me waking daddy at about 2:45am and we got to spend some quality time until almost 6:00am! Oh yeah, here is another picture of Daddy and me:

I finally fell asleep around 6:00am and then let everyone sleep in late Saturday morning. Aren't I so thoughtful! Neil had chorus rehearsal around 11:00am and then Mommy and Daddy and I went to Bob Evens for lunch. The restaurant had a really cool thing that they put up to the table for my car seat to sit into (Check it out here). Anyway, after brunch Mommy and Daddy had planned on going to get our Christmas tree, but Daddy forgot to bring the camera, so we had to go back home. By then, it was time to pick up Neil so the whole family got to spend the afternoon together!

One of the stops was at the mall. I don't know why everyone says the mall is so fun. I slept through most of it (imagine that) but something that I did notice: Why don't the stores that sell baby clothes make the isles big enough for a baby stroller? Makes no sense to me. And it wasn't like it was just one store; Macy's, JC Penny, Dillards, Baby Gap, and a couple of other stores we went to all made it very difficult for Daddy to push my stroller through the racks of clothes. It's no wonder that retail stores are losing business to the internet! (Don't you just love my economic perspectives?)

We left the mall and I agree with Daddy. We won't be going back there anytime soon. Way to many people - grumpy people at that!

Finally we went to buy our Christmas tree. Mommy and Daddy have bought it at one of the local churches for the past couple of years so we went back there. One of the guys working was nice enough to offer to take our picture!

Of course the tree we are standing in front of is not the tree that we bought. Daddy and Neil went and picked out the tree while Mommy stayed in the car and nursed me. I was hungry after leaving the mall and I needed to eat! So after Daddy and Neil picked out the tree, paid for it, had it loaded on top of the truck, and I had my diaper changed, all of us went back to the tent and posed for the picture. I guess that is what they mean when they say photo manipulation!

Finally we were headed home. A quick stop at Little Caesars to pick up dinner and then it was a relaxing evening at home. After dinner Daddy made one of his comments that just totally confused me. He said he was going to set up the tree so it could fall. Well duh. Why not set it up properly so it doesn't fall.

The tree looks good and hopefully we will get it decorated later tonight. We looked for my first ornament but couldn't find one that anyone liked. Maybe well find one today.

Well, time to go for now. I appreciate the email that everyone is sending, but also leave me a comment on the blog. I like reading those also!

Love y'all,

Mel

12-07-06 Big Bro's Concert

Hi everyone!

Mommy, Daddy, and I just got home from Big Bro Neil's winter Chorus concert. It was really, really, fun! Everyone was singing and dancing and having a good time. Neil did great and there were a couple of songs where you could hear just how well he sings.

Not much to really tell you about. I have my day down pretty good now. Let's see if I can remember my schedule:

Eat, poop, sleep, poop, eat, poop, sleep, Eat, poop, sleep, poop, eat, poop, sleep, Eat, poop, sleep, poop, eat, poop, sleep, Eat, poop, sleep, poop, eat, poop, sleep, Eat, poop, sleep, poop, eat, poop, sleep

Yep, I think that's right. I might have forgotten a poop somewhere in there.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know I was doing well and really loving my family.

Hope to see y'all soon!

Love,
Melody

12-04-06 Doctor Visit

Hello Everyone!

Just got back from my first doctors appointment! Doc says that everything looks good and I'm doing everything that I should be doing!

Even though I weighed 8 lbs 11 ounces when I was born, today I weighed in at 8 lbs 4 ounces, so the diet is working! Just kidding. Doc said that it is normal for babies to lose up to 10% of their birth weight during their first week, and that I should start putting on between 1/2 and 1 ounce every day!

Just wanted to keep everyone updated.

If you have any specific questions for me, feel free to post a comment and either Mommy, Daddy, or myself will try and answer them for you.

Love y'all,

MET

P.S. Here is a picture of Daddy carrying me out of the hospital room

12-4-06 Home Life

Hello Everyone...

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Just a quick update and some more pictures. I'm trying to do a posting every couple of days at least - more if I can. As you know, I came home Saturday evening. I've got a pretty cool house and a really cool room. I'll try and get some pictures of my room, but I don't know if Daddy will let me use his camera yet.

My first weekend at home has been fun! Saturday after we got home, I got to watch the gators play for the SEC Championship. I know I said it in an earlier post, but I say it again. They won! Even better, on Sunday, the were ranked #2 and will get to play Ohio for the National Championship! Go Gators!

I am soooo happy to be home. Mommy and Daddy have me all set up in my bassinet next to their bed. It seems that Mommy and Daddy take turns feeding and changing me, and I especially like when they are both are awake and talking to me and giving me kisses and they both are soooo happy.

It seems like when it's light out, I like to sleep, and then when it gets dark, I am awake more. I still sleep when it's dark, but it takes me longer to get back to sleep. For example, yesterday I slept through a lot of new things for me (more on my first outing in a moment.) I ate at about 6pm (finished by 6:30), again around 9:00pm (again about 1/2 hour) and then at 12:00am. That one I finished eating and got changed by about 12:20, but instead of falling asleep by 12:30, I was awake until almost 1:00am! Then I woke up around 2:00am and was hungry. Daddy stayed up with me until after 3:00am! After he fed and changed me, he tried to put me back to bed, but as soon as he put me down and pulled his arm away, I let him know that I was still awake. After a few times of this, Daddy was afraid that Mommy would wake up, so he took me out to the living room and watched some TV out there. Around 3:15, I finally fell asleep and slept until 5:30 when I woke Mommy to feed and change me!

Yesterday, I got to go to Neil's school, the library and to Wallyworld! Everyone in Neil's chorus were looking at me and smiling and it seemed like I made them happy. Neil had to sing at Disney yesterday, so we had to drop him off. I even got a real pretty outfit from Terri and Beth! Thank you soooo much!

We left the school and then stopped at the library. Apparently, Mommy and Daddy think that I'm gonna let them read. They will find out soon enough that when I sleep, they are going to want to sleep and when I'm awake, they will be paying attention to me! They got a couple of books each and we were all headed to Wallyworld (Walmart.)

Walmart was fun! You're not going to believe what I did! I slept! That's right, I don't even remember being there! Like I said earlier, I sleep quite abit during the day but put me in a car and I am content. Doesn't matter where I'm going, in a car I can sleep.

My Papa came over to visit me today. He fed and burped me and basically helped Mommy keep me awake. Daddy wasn't here because he had to go to work for a few hours. I guess now that I'm home, it is back to reality for him. Daddy got home just in time to see Papa feeding me and to get a picture. Then Papa had to go back to work as well.

Well, I have to go and get ready for my first Doctors appointment. Just a regular check up and a chance for Mommy and Daddy to interview my new doctor. Hopefully, he has warm hands!

'till next time,

Melody

12-02-06 - Coming Home!

Hi everyone!

I'm still real busy, but I thought, "Melody," (that's what I call myself), "you never really told everyone what's going on and why you can't come home." So I answered, "You know what Melody, your right! I'll do it just as soon as I get a chance to put a new posting."

Here is the deal. When I was born, I had really low blood sugar levels. Within a hour after I was born, they hooked me up to an IV and had me on some fluids with a small percentage of glucose. I stayed on the IV and had my sugar levels checked every 2 hours. At first, the little lance in my heal hurt like crazy, but after getting stuck about 3 times, I learned to ignore it completely.

After a full day on the solutions, my sugar levels were still too low. The neonatologist's nurse, Teresa (who I like to call Terry), decided that the best thing to do would be to put a line in through my belly-button so a stronger solution could be used. They also started me on a steroid treatment. I heard Terry tell Mommy and Daddy that once the steroid treatment is started and is showing results, they would have to wean me off of it and that I would be in the hospital for 2 weeks! Two weeks before I could go home. That stinks!

Because of the line in my belly-button, I wasn't allowed to stay in Mommy's room; I had to stay in the nursery. It wasn't that bad because Mommy and Daddy would come down every two hours to feed me. Some times I would eat a lot, sometimes not too much, but everyone was happy with the amount that I would eat. At first, I couldn't eat when I was being held. When Mommy or Daddy held me, I was just so comfortable I would fall right asleep. They figured this out pretty quick and started feeding me by holding me upright in my bed and I would stay awake long enough to eat! During the entire time I was in the nursery, I was pretty quiet and didn't really cry all that much.

Back to the steroids, which I am calling my Barry Bonds hours - I did really well after the first dose and my sugar went from 20 something to over 110! That doesn't really mean much to me, but Terry said that that was actually too high, so she stopped the steroids completely (I only had the one dose so I didn't have to be weaned). This was potentially good news because if I didn't have to pretend I was Barry Bonds (and take the steroids) then hopefully I wouldn't have to be in the hospital for 2 weeks extra! The line still had to stay in my belly button and they were still taking my blood every three hours, but at least there was a chance of going home sooner rather than later.

I stayed in the nursery Tuesday through Friday and each feeding they slightly lowered the amount of IV fluids, thus lower the amount of sugar, that they needed to give me. Finally on Friday morning, they stopped the glucose fluids and put me on just regular fluids! This was a major milestone! After one more blood test, they took out the line in my bellybutton and then after about an hour I was allowed to go hang out in my Mommy's room.

Now remember, I was on fluids and in the nursery from Tuesday through Friday. Mommy was officially discharged on Thursday morning. However, the great folks at the hospital told her that as long as I was not allowed to go home, she could actually stay in her room as a boarder. The nurse said as long as they had room, she could stay where she was at and that they would even continue to feed her! That was great news because we live about 30 minutes from the hospital and I was still being feed every three hours. Daddy did leave and go home a few times in between feedings and he said that it made for a long trip.

On Wednesday afternoon, the nurses tested my Billy Reuben levels. When Daddy heard this, his first thought had to do with sauerkraut but that's not what I was being tested for. Basically, the nurses we concerned that I was jaundice. I won't try to explain the specifics of jaundice and bilirubin. If you want to know click here. Unfortunately, my bilirubin levels were to high and I was in fact jaundice. They ended up having to keep me under special UV lights 24 hours a day. I had to wear a funky sunglasses held in place by either my hat or a piece of tight gauze. Here are a couple of pictures:

Jaundice in someone my age is pretty common and is treated with the UV lights. Finally on Friday, the nurse said that they would test my blood at 6:00pm and again at 6:00am Saturday morning. If my levels were where they needed to be, I could go home Saturday morning. All I kept thinking was that I got home early enough to watch the Gator game! My levels on Saturday morning were still high, but the doctor came to see me around 8:30am and said that while the numbers were high, they were coming down steadily and that we would test one more time at 6:00pm Saturday evening and if they were at at certain point or lower, we could go home that evening! They other good news was that he said we could turn off the lights! Finally, I could sleep without having the brightness shining down on me!



Mommy and Daddy were so excited about finally being able to take me home. Even though it wasn't 100% for sure we were going to be able to leave, they packed up all of their stuff in the room and got ready to bring it home.



The nurse on duty Saturday was a wonderful woman named Madona. She told Mommy that if Mommy wanted to leave for a couple of hours she would watch me. Mommy and Daddy loaded everything up and went home for a couple of hours. They got back around 3:30 and waited for the test. The leech (the lady from the lab) came in around 5:00 and took some blood and finally around 6:00pm Madona came in and told us we could leave! Finally, we were able to go home!

We got home around 6:30 this evening and I am sooooo happy to finally be out of the hospital. Mommy and Daddy showed me my room and I just love it! Right now, I'm sleeping in a bassinet next to Mommy's side of the bed. She wants to be near me so when I get hungry she can feed me. I'm not complaining at all because after all the time I spent in the nursery at the hospital, I would rather Mommy and Daddy be close by.
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Well this is a really long posting, so I will end it now with plans on putting new posts up every day or two. Mommy and Daddy said that they will put some posting up also. I'm sure we may even see some things from Big Bro Neil. Bro is going to Disney tomorrow to perform with his chorus at the Candlelight Processional. Marie Osmond is going to be the narrator for the performance. I wonder if she is going to narrate is with a little bit of country or a little bit of rock and roll? The things that go through the mind of a 5 day old baby!



Well, I better go. I'm starting to get hungry and I think Mommy is almost asleep. I'll wait another 15 minutes or so and make sure she is asleep before I start "asking" for food!
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Love y'all and will see you soon!
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Melody

P.S. In case you were wondering, the Gators ended up winning! Now hopefully the fools over at the BCS will do the right thing and let them play for the national championship. (Just a little commentary.)

12-01-06 Quick Comment and Pictures

Just a few pictures....More details later. Hopefully, I can come home sometime on Saturday afternoon. I most definitely want to come, but I hope that we get there in time to watch the Gators beat the Razorbacks!

See all y'all soon!
Melody


Grrrrr!!!!!!






I'm ready to hit the beach!





Just chillin under the lights!




Daddy and Me!

11-30-06 Some of the Details about my Birthday!

Ahhh...Things have calmed down a little bit. Sorry that I didn't have a chance to give some more details on my birthday. I'm sure you understand that things were a little hectic. Plus, while the hospital is great, they don't have any public internet access!

Anyway, here's the full story on my birthday: Mommy, Daddy, and Neil all treated Monday as a regular day. Little did they know! Mommy and Daddy went to work and Neil went to school. Around 4:30, Mommy and Daddy went for their usual walk around the block and then came home and Daddy started making dinner. Big Bro Neil had to be picked up from chorus practice around 7:00pm. They got home about 7:15pm and Daddy took dinner out of the oven. Just before they sat down to eat, Mommy said that her water broke. I won't give all of the minor details here, but it wasn't a big mess like those shows on TV. Everyone seemed to be pretty calm about it and Mommy called the doctor and we all waited for him to call back.

Mommy and Daddy started packing the "to-go" bag. Now most Moms and Dads probably pack their bags several months before they even had to consider going to the hospital. Not my Mommy and Daddy! They got everything picked out and packed and were ready to go in about 15 minutes. Mommy made a few phone calls while waiting for the doctor to call back. Daddy was relaxing(that's what he calls it) on the patio. Big Bro Neil was probably the most nervous of everyone! So to calm himself down, Neil did what Neil likes to do. He sat down in front of the TV and watched "Wayne's World!"

The doctor called back and said to, "Come on Down. You're the next contestant on 'Let's have a Baby!" Actually he didn't say that because his sense of humor is pretty dry, but he did say that he was at the hospital already, and to come in and get checked out.

We loaded up the car, and got to the hospital about 8:25pm. Everyone was still pretty calm. Mommy was having some contractions, but nothing real bad. The nurses hooked Mommy up to a monitor and let her listen to my heart beat. The monitor showed that my heartbeat was good and strong, and that Mommy was having contractions, but while they were strong, mildly painful, and frequent, they were still irregularly spaced.

The doctor showed up around 9:00pm and said that we still had a few more hours till I was born and that they would probably end up inducing Mommy's labor around 4:00am and that he thought I would be born around 7:00am. He told Mommy to just hang in there and he would be back later in the morning.

At this point, Big Bro Neil is starting to get a tad touchy because he hasn't eaten anything for several hours and the hospital cafe closed at 6:00pm. He is starting to get bored sitting around waiting, so Daddy takes him to Papa's house which is just down the street. Of course, they have to stop to get Neil some food because, "Papa never has anything good to eat!"

Daddy got back around 11:30pm and the contractions were getting stronger and stronger. Mommy has a pretty high pain tolerance, so if she is complaining about pain, you know that it is hurting. (I tried to give her some baby kissing from the inside, but they didn't help as much as I hoped!) Mommy asked the nurse for some pain medication and that seemed to help for a little bit.

Around 1:00am, I could tell Mommy was hurting real bad. The pain medication wore off, or at least it wasn't helping anything anymore, and the nurses couldn't give Mommy any more until 2:00am. I finally said, "Enough is enough!" If Mommy's gonna hurt, I'm gonna try and help her feel better." I just started heading towards the light (like they taught me in Babyland). At 1:30am, I heard the nurse tell Mommy she was going to call the doctor in. He showed up about 2:10am and worked with Mommy until 2:40am when I was finally born!

Mommy and Daddy were both there, along with the Doctor and two nurses. They quickly wrapped me up in a blankie while Daddy cut my cord! After I was somewhat clean and crying just a little, they placed me on Mommy's chest and I knew that my life had just begun!

I have to go, but I will try and finish this later tonight. Long story short, the sugar in my blood is a little low, so I'm gonna have to stay in the nursery at the hospital for a little while longer. Mommy got discharged from the hospital, but she is actually allowed to stay in her room (at the hospital) so she can still come down to feed me every three hours. Daddy seems to be here for almost every feeding also. I know that he has stayed with Mommy and me at the hospital all along and has taken care of everyone waiting at home for me, too. He's the bestest Daddy in the world!!

Before I go, I just want to say how great the nurses and staff have been to all of us. They have been very helpful, educating, loving and we are all so happy with them. We might go so far as to give them a 5 star! (Guess we'll just have to wait for that survey) For real, we are so glad that we decided to go to Wuesthoff for my birthday.

Anyway, I gotta go. Like I said, I'll finish some more thoughts later tonight.

Love ya all!

Melody Elizabeth

11-28-06 Tuesday Morning, 2:40am - My Birthday Has Arrived!

Hi everyone! I don't have much time to leave a full post. I'm kinda busy right now celebrating my birthday! Yep, I decided that it was time to meet Mommy, Daddy, and Big Bro Neil! I'll leave all the details in a later post but here is the important stuff:

Birthday: November 28, 2006 at 2:40am

Weight: 8 pounds, 11 ounces

Length: 21 inches

Brain size (well, head diameter): 13 inches

10 toes, 10 fingers, 2 eyes, 2 ears, one nose -

All around a healthy looking and acting baby girl!

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I haven't had a chance to look at all of the pictures, but this is just one of them that Daddy took at 3:48am:

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Also, about 12:25pm on Tuesday, we took our newest family portrait!

Well, time to get back to Mommy. She's trying to catch some zzzz's so I'm gonna start crying - just a little to see just how loud I have to be to wake her!

Mommy and I will be staying in the hospital (Wuesthoff Medical Center, 250 N Wickham Rd Melbourne, FL 32935) until most likely Thursday morning, then we get to go home.

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See ya'all later!

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P.S. I know my name and you don't! I know my name and you don't! (That's me getting back at each person who saw my picture and thought or said, "Wow, that's one chubby baby!)

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Then again, I'm not mean so here it is: Melody Elizabeth. All sorts of nick names, and it just sounds good.

11-26-06 What a Day!

Hi everyone - Baby T here again.

It's Sunday night and I thought I would tell everyone what happened today. Don't get all excited. It wasn't my birthday yet, but Mommy and Daddy did spend a couple of hours at the hospital today. Mommy started having some pretty strong contractions Saturday evening, and they continued into Sunday. They were considering going to the hospital Saturday night, but a friend was in town from Atlanta and they wanted to spend some time with him. Plus, the contractions were pretty bearable.

Sunday morning, Mommy was still feeling the contractions and they felt a little stronger than Saturday. Daddy didn't want to come off as the "worry-wart" so he didn't really push the issue. Mommy can be pretty stubborn and he knew that when she wanted to go, she would say something.

Around 1:00pm, they went shopping at Target and Babies-R-Us (to buy me some things! Woo-Hoo!) and Mommy was starting to feel worse and worse. Between my punching and kicking, and the contractions which were still going pretty regularly and pretty strong, Daddy suggested that maybe we should just stop by the hospital. Mommy agreed.

Oh, before I finish the story, I did promise to post a picture of Big Brother Neil. This is his 11th grade chours picture:

He might be good looking, but I'll be cuter! I'll post some of the really good pictures soon. Anyway, back to the story. The three of us got to the hospital and after they hooked me up to the monitor which measures my heart beat and Mommy's contractions, the nurse started asking Mommy all sorts of questions. I wasn't really paying attention because I was just sitting back listening to my heart beat - which was cranking! I did hear the nurse tell my Mommy that the baby is pretty amp'ed and that she probably shouldn't drink Coke Slurpees! They were joking about it, so the speed of my heart beat wasn't really an issue, but I guess I have to wait quite a while before I get more of those Slurpees.

The monitor showed that the contractions were happening, and the nurse did a quick exam of Mommy and told her she was 2-3 cm dilated. She also poked me in the top of my head! Anyway, the nurse told Mommy to walk the halls for about an hour and see what happens.

The hallway in the baby unit isn't that big. It's got two corridors that connect at the nursing station. The one end is about 70 feet long, and the other is about 50 feet long. Not a lot of walking room and I think my folks walked it about 40 times. From one end to the other, turn around, and walk it again....Pretty boring!

After the hour passed (Daddy gave up walking after about 50 minutes and waited for Mommy in the room!) the nurse did another exam and said that nothing had really changed. To sum it all up, Mommy is in what is called early labor. That can last hours, days, or weeks. No way of really knowing. Right now I am at Station Zero. (Sounds like a sci-fi flick, huh?) If you don't know what that means, don't worry - Mommy had to explain it to Daddy. Station is how far the baby is "down" in the pelvis. Minus 3 or minus 4 and I (the baby) is floating. Station Zero means that I am engaged in the pelvis and +3 or +4 means that I am crowning.

Well, we got home, ate some dinner and now Mommy is just chilling out. Don't have anything else to really tell you so I guess I 'll say good night. Chances are I'll see ya'all within a week or so, if not sooner.

Oh yeah, one last thing. At the bottom of each post, there is a link called comments. If you click on that, you can leave me a message. I really like getting stuff sent to me, so this is a good spot to leave me a message. (Keep in mind that any message you leave me will be seen by everyone, so if you would rather send me a message in private, you can email me at WelcomeBabyT@gmail.com) Daddy will be putting together a scrapbook with all my messages so I can read it when I get older. So send me a message now and I'll read it in a few years! Thanks!

See ya'all later!
Baby T

11-25-06 Finally, my own site!

Hi! My name is Baby T and to the left is a picture that was taken on September 15th. I guess I'm pretty shy and don't like my picture taken because I sure don't look happy!

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My daddy was suppose to have created a web site for me back then, but I guess he got too busy fixing up my room and just getting ready for me. I got tired of waiting on him, so I went ahead and created my own site. You're here, but the web address is:
http://WelcomeBabyT.blogspot.com/. Feel free to pass it on.

Anyway, I'll try to keep it updated regularly and I will also make sure that Mommy and Daddy (even big bro Neil) contribute at least every couple of days. So be sure to check back every day, because you never know what they will post, and you certainly don't know what I might post - I have some really good pictures of Neil!

I'm not suppose to be delivered until Christmas Eve, but I don't think I can wait that long. Not only am I ready to see the outside world but think about it - I am going to get jipp'ed when it comes time for Christmas! How unfair would it be for my birthday to be on Christmas Eve? I can hear it already, "This is your birthday slash Christmas present." Nope, not gonna happen. I'm coming out early.

I am so ready to come out, that I've got Mommy convinced that I'm gonna be delivered sometime this weekend. Between the contractions I'm making her body do, and the exhaustion I'm causing, she is 100% sure that I'm coming this weekend. Of course Daddy is concerned because of the Florida/Florida State game is on later today! I told him not to worry though. Every delivery room in the hospital has a TV. He won't miss the game. Go Gators!

Well, that's it for right now. I see a couple of ribs that I think I want to grab hold of. Maybe I'll just kick em! I know Mommy just loves when I do that.

Keep checking my site. I'll make sure that this is gonna be the official spot for all things Baby T!

See ya Soon!
Baby T