Loving Life

I love my life, I have a beautiful loving wife that is the mother of my child, a beautiful baby girl and a great dog; if you look real close you can see Sam sleeping amongst the pillows on the right side of the picture. These pictures sum up what I love about my life, my girls.

Adjusting

We've had the joy of living with our precious little Bella for almost 4 weeks, it's been crazy but it's been amazing. Everyday is a new challenge and a new experience. She is just so wonderful, it's hard to realize just how much Stacy and I love her. She's such a cuddly baby it's hard not to love her, she doesn't like to be put down she loves it when you hold her tight and close to you. She makes you feel like you're really special, like you're the only person in the world that matters to her. I start my new job on Monday and I know that's going to be the toughest day I've had in three months, but I also know it'll be great to come home to her and Stacy that night. I love to hold her and just watch her sleep, she seems like she's in such a peaceful place. It's hard not to just stare at her every moment I'm awake. She is our precious Bella.

My Precious

It's amazing how your life can go from being busy every moment of every day, planning weekly meals, work, family, parties, planning the next get together with friends, doing housework and trying to squeeze some relaxation time, to sitting around waiting for the next feeding to change diapers, swaddle her and then watch her sleep for the next three hours. I know Stacy and I could sit here and have sat here all day and just watch her. It's extraordinary when you really think about how this precious miracle came to be. I know I'm just gloating about our little girl but the miracle of life is a true wonder of the world to behold.

NO MORE BILLIBABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We finally received a call from the doctor and Bella's count is under 15, so no more BilliBed!!!!!! I can't explain how excited we are, I'm just happy we don't have to deal with that bed anymore!!! Thank you everyone for all your thoughts and prayers, they paid off, our beautiful Bella is strong and healthy.

BilliBaby

It's amazing the emotional roller coaster we've been on for a week. 16 minutes from now Bella will be a week old and we were on such an emotional high during that entire time. People came by to see our beautiful little girl and to see how we were doing, and Bella did great. She was swaddled and passed around like green beans at Thanksgiving dinner. When we went to the Pediatrician on Monday she told us to go to the hospital to get her Jaundice level checked again. We thought, no problem she's been eating great, pooping regularly and just being a happy healthy baby. But when we got the results her level had risen from a 12.5 when we left the hospital to an 18.6! I can't describe the feeling I felt when I heard the news, we haven't had this angel in our lives for a week and already I'm worrying about her health. I know Jaundice is common and it's not something that's a huge concern, but that doesn't matter, when it's your child it's an entirely different situation. So we tried getting more sunlight on her and feed her every 2 to 2 1/2 hours to get her system working even faster. We did that the rest of the day and into Tuesday, then Tuesday morning she had to be tested again. She increased again, now to a 19.1. So as a precautionary measure the doctor prescribed a BilliBed, which looks like an infant tanning bed. I know this BilliBed is for her own good and she has to be in it to get better, but it's the hardest thing to try and continually soothe your child when she's screaming cause she just wants you to hold her. Stacy and I camped out on the living room floor last night with Bella. We put her bed in between us and just tried to make her as comfortable as possible, but there were times we just had to take her out and comfort her. She gets tested again today, hopefully she's doing much better, otherwise we have do this for another 24 hours. If both of those sessions don't work then she has to go back to the hospital. Stacy and I have the highest hopes and are saying our prayers that she will be fine after today and won't need any further treatment or hospital admission. I just want my daughter to be healthy and not have to worry about anything other than changing her diaper for a little while.