Annie - 2 weeks and growing....

Post bath bliss

Wow! Almost a week has gone by since our last post! I have to blame Comcast (for an unreliable internet connection the past few days) and my new one-armed lifestyle (if I'm lucky, usually I'm out both arms - although, hard to complain - baby filled arms are quite the blessing!)

So what have we been up to? Plenty! Annie lost her crusty belly button...we're very excited to have a nice clean belly button now :) That also means she can fully enjoy bath time - which she seems to love! She had her first public outing (not counting the countless trips to the hospital!) - we took her to Oswego Dragstrip Days on Saturday in the stroller. She slept through the heat, loud cars and countless baby lovers that had to get a peek. She's also been on quite a few walks with Momma - loving this gorgeous weather we've been having! We also had a nice visit with Aunt Colleen, our good pal, Nate and Grandma & Grandpa Meek this week ... AND...Annabelle had her first baby sitter already! Grandma Fitzpatrick came to stay with her while we went out to dinner for Momma's birthday. All went well, but we were glad to get home - 2 hours is a long time to leave such an adorable baby! ;)

Classic Galactosemia
We also have an update for any of you that have been following our newborn screening test saga. Annabelle originally had some abnormal test results from the routine newborn screening that is done 24 hours after birth. We have been aware since 3 days old that there was a chance Annie could be Galactosemic. After seeing a specialist and further testing, we got the news on Monday that Annie indeed has "Classic Galactosemia". We're still in the process of educating ourselves - a few days ago we couldn't spell Galactosemia, much less know what it was!

So what is it? -- Essentially Annie is missing enzymes that break down galactose. So she will never be able to ingest galactose. No milk, cheese, butter, or dairy of any kind. Galactose is also found in some fruits and vegetables...all sorts of foods really. We'll be getting a diet plan from our dietitian once she starts solid foods. So for now - she's safely on soy formula and should be thriving just fine. Galactosemia is NOT to be confused with "lactose intolerance" or a "food allergy" - this is not something she will "grow out of" - it will be a life time of diet management.

What happens if she has galactose? -- Since she can't break down galactose, from what we understand so far, it is deposited in ways that affect the liver and brain. Essentially, any galactose is "poisonous" to her. So, until we understand this better - please DON'T FEED THE BABY! ;) Mom & Dad will handle that. No, seriously though, a lick of an ice cream cone, or slipping her something else forbidden - well meaning aside, will cause serious complications.

So how does this happen? -- Ha! Someone buy us a lotto ticket! (sorry, trying to maintain my sense of humor about this)... A Galactosemic is found in 1 out of every 65,000 births, and we've seen statistics that there are only 800 people in the US with Galactosemia. It also turns out that Jeremy and I must both be carriers, and obviously never knew it. And by both being carriers, we had a 25% chance of having a Galactosemic child....

So what happens now? -- For now, she's being "treated" the best she can. We have her on soy formula, which is perfectly safe for her to have. Being that the condition was caught so soon, she only had 3 days of "milk" - and hopefully no damage has been done. Until we start introducing solid foods, her diet will be as simple as any other baby diet. Once we do start introducing solids, we will work very closely with her dietitian, and she will likely need supplements to help her get any nutrients and vitamins she is lacking. Long term, there is a chance she will be a bit smaller, and slower developmentally -- however, there is just as likely a chance that she could thrive just fine. The closer we can monitor her diet, the better chances she'll have to live a completely normal life. And so far, we seem to defy all the odds...here's hoping that we start defy them in a positive manner from here on out!

I will be listing some Galactosemia websites on the side bar of this blog for anyone wanted to do more research. We're learning by the day and will share information as we get it. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers - we know all we need is some education and a lotta love and everything will work itself out.

Cuddling with Grandpa Meek

Taking a walk around the hood with Momma

Daddy COMPLETELY staged this picture. The old-man, hiked up pants ARE Annie's, but the pose, ahem, wasn't natural ;)

Napping

40 Week Meek!

We're finally to our due date! But Miss Annabelle is already 10 days old!

We're very excited that Annie is no longer jaundice, we're done with the silly bilirubin blanket and heel pricks/blood tests for a little while! Poor little thing has had more blood tests and trips back to the hospital than she's had days alive! But she seems to be doing fantastic - eating well, poopin' well and very alert! Her color is much improved and we're cherishing the past few quiet days we've finally been able to have :) Daddy is back to work now, but visits us for lunch every day!

Annabelle on her Due Date 07.23.09 - 10 days old
Annabelle on her Due Date 07.23.09 - 10 days old

Annie post sponge bath 07.22.09

3 Days Till Annie's Due Date! ;)

To think we thought we'd still be waiting for Annabelle today, and she's nearly a week old! Momma should be taking this rare moment to nap -- but I just couldn't resist sharing a few more of Annie's pictures. She's getting more lively by the day - we'd like to think we've been getting a lot of smiles and mini-giggles...chance are more likely it's just gas - but parent's can dream right?

Annabelle - 4 days old....

First bath - 7.18.09

Catching some rays on the couch with Daddy 07.18.09

Thank you to everyone who has been calling, texting, emailing, facebooking etc - we appreciate it! Annabelle is keeping us on our toes! In addition to the usual first week fun stuff (feeding, burping, diapering and lack of sleep) we've been fighting jaundice. Annie has already been to see Dr. Kwak and we have been back to the hospital daily for bilirubin testing. Our little trooper handles the heel sticks much better than her over emotional Mommy does! She's also spending much of her time on a lighted blanket to treat the jaundice...just a few days old and already life is complicated! We've also discovered she can only have soy formula, so after fumbling around for a few days with breast milk and regular formula - we're on to soy only. She's happy to suck down whatever we offer though, she has quite the appetite...nothing shocking ;)

It's amazing to watch her little personality start to shine through. During her rare wakeful/alert moments these first few days we've gotten to know the sweetest little person. She's definitely a Daddy's girl - Jeremy & I have been with her non-stop - and loving every minute of it!

More pictures to come soon! <3

It's a Girl!

Mini-Meek arrives 10 days early!

Annabelle June

joined us at 3am on July 14, 2009!

7LBS 1OZ - 19.5 IN

Baby, Dad & Momma are home and getting to know each other :)


Can't get enough pictures? More than enough will be posted here: http://s708.photobucket.com/albums/ww86/MeekFam/

38 Week Meek

...day 266 of fetal captivity.... ;)

We had our 38 week check up with Dr. Alexander today. She estimated Mini-Meek around 20inches and roughly 7lbs (again, "long baby" comment was made). Also, making some laborious progress! We've gone from 1 cm dilated and barely effaced, to 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced - yahoo!

38 weeks...hopefully one of these dreadfully enlarging photos will be my last soon!

37 Week Meek

Holy Cow! (no cow puns please...) It's JULY, it's the 9th month, and we're officially "full term"! Here's what I'm reading for the 37th week:

"Your pregnancy: 37 weeks
Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his/her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away."

"Your Pregnancy: Week 37 Your baby is officially baked this week! That means you could literally give birth at any given moment. A terrifying, exciting and overwhelming concept, all rolled into one. Your partner is undoubtedly having the same emotional roller-coaster ride, so be sure to share your feelings and enjoy these last weeks (days?! hours?!) together."

I have to admit, aside from some achy hips and pelvis (I think I may have "dropped" - but being a first timer, I have no idea...) and some serious exhaustion....things aren't TOO bad. I should be somewhat prepared for the sleepless nights, I've been up a minimum of twice each night for the past nine months anyway! :p

So now we just wait! I keep asking Mini-Meek what the plan is...early, late, right on time...? But no reasonable responses have been given...we're still working on our communication. ;)