3 weeks

The pacifier

We have tried to resist using the pacifier, but Aubrey has definitely become a fan of it as you can see by her reaction when it fell out!

Aubrey at 2 weeks!

Aubrey was 2 weeks old on Wednesday, and we had a great Dr's appointment on Thursday. She is back to her birth weight, and the jaundice has now resolved. We couldn't be happier!

Before she arrived

The week before Aubrey arrived, my parents and brother came to Naperville to celebrate Christmas. It was great to have my mom here to cook some wonderful meals. We also enjoyed having Matt home from Phoenix. Little did we know that Aubrey would be coming so soon. Thankfully, I ripped down the Christmas tree the day after they all left! Check out the picture of Bud, the dog whisperer!

A happy Sunday for Aubrey

The gloworm - Aubrey in her bili blanket

One week pic

Aubrey at home

Aubrey is 11 days old now, I can't even believe it! We have had a crazy week, but are more in love with her every day. Aubrey developed some pretty high levels of bilirubin earlier in the week and has been hooked up to a bili blanket at home to try to decrease her levels. She started out orange on Monday, but I am glad to say the jaundice seems to be fading now. It was a stressful week for her parents though!

Our little bundle of joy has arrived!

Since I am not on "the facebook", I decided to create a blog to share stories/pictures of our little girl. Aubrey Anne Hotchkiss was born December 31, 2008. Yes, she is a New Year's Eve baby! Ryan & I went for our 37 week OB visit on the 30th, and it was discovered that I had oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid) and that it was too risky to keep the baby inside any longer. We were shocked, but Dr. Kagen handled everything really well and set us up to be induced that evening. After a night with something called cervadil to soften the cervix, they started pitocin in the morning and got me into full labor pretty quickly. I have to admit that I was begging for the epidural pretty early, but after I had it I spent the rest of the labor very comfortable and thanking God for the invention of epidurals! Aubrey came out after only a few pushes at 3:24 PM, and surprised us weighing in at 6lbs, 11 oz and measuring 20 in long. I was so relieved that her apgar scores were great and she was not 5 1/2 pounds like the doctor had estimated. Nothing can prepare you for that moment when your own child arrives into the world. I have never been happier in my whole life! Ryan was so fun to watch through the whole process as well. He is so attached to his little girl already! He couldn't even stand to be away from her to go sleep in our bed at home, so the three of us rang in the new year together in my hospital room that night. Such a great memory!