Sleep? Who needs it?

Roselyn is now three weeks old. It is hard to believe that time has gone by, but at the same time, I could not imagine not having her here. She is much more alert now- particularly in the evening when she also likes to get fussy. Luckily, she does sleep well at night. However, since I am feeding every three hours I never get more than a couple of hours of sleep at a time. She is easy to travel with, but with constant feedings I have to set my schedule around her. That is strange for a person used to be very independent. It seems to take twice or three times as long to get things done. However, it is so worth it. She is such a wonderful baby! At our last doctor's appointment she was back at her birth weight and her tyroid level was at 135, down from 376. It still needs to be closer to 5, but we are on our way. Her next appointments are on the 8th (with her doctor) and the 14th (with her endrocrinologist). We should have good news then!

God is amazing!!!

I know you might be surprised at the title. How can I title this blog that considering the last week with our beautiful rose? God moved through so many. Here is how:

1. Our doctor: Dr. Cheeks took swift action when she noticed jaundice. She did not tell us to return Monday and see what happens. We immediately got blood work done and then, without hesitation, Dr. Cheeks had us go to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital. We thought going there was a bit extreme, but once again, God's hand was on the situation...
2. State of Georgia testing: I am not sure which states require newborn's to be tested for multiple diseases, but for the state of Georgia the PKU blood test is actually testing for 36 different diseases. One is hypothyroidism. When it is not discovered early, hypothyroidism can cause mental retardation and stunted growth. It was caught earlier enough so these will not be an issue with us.
3. Scottish Rite: When we receive a phone call from the pediatrician from Piedmont Fayette about Roselyn's test results it was scary. We were asked to immediately go to a hospital to have her retested. Luckily, we were already at Scottish Rite. We passed our cell phone to the doctor at Scottish Rite and let the two doctor's work out what to do. We were able to get the bloodwork done quickly and get the the results back in a couple of hours. It was devastating getting the results (who wants to hear that their child has a congential diease?). But because we were at Scottish Rite we started meds THAT NIGHT and were able to get all our questions answered by professionals.
4. Yancey: The night we discovered the hypothyroidism the doctors kept assuring us that on meds, Roselyn would be a perfectly normal child. Still, I prayed all night that I would find a story on the internet or meet someone who has a child with hypothyroidism that is perfectly normal. Monday morning our nurse came into our room stating there was a reason she was our nurse that day. Her daughter has hypothyriodism and is a perfectly beautiful, normal 20 month old. This is amazing since hypothyroidism only affects 1 out of 4,000 children. She assured us that things will ge fine and that this is just a minor situation- just a pill is taken once a day. She gave us bunches of tips and left us with her phone number.

It is amazing to me how a difficult situation God can show his grace and love. We could have not had the test done, we could have gotten the phone call about the results outside a hospital, we could have not met Yancey and received the reassurance we needed. But we got all of that. Our beautiful rose is truly a miracle and a gift from God. Rob and I feel so lucky and blessed that God chose us to be her parents. We look forward to seeing all God has in store for her. We can't wait for all to meet her and see how wonderful she is. She certainly is a testimony of how amazing God is!!!

Roselyn Ann Prout is here!!

The moment we have anticipated for nine months has finally arrived- Baby Prout is here! All day Saturday (Sept. 6th) I was feeling tired and yucky. Rob swore the baby was coming Sunday, but I was of the impression I would have the baby inside of me forever:) Sunday morning I woke up at 4:30am cramping and then- I felt something in my underwear. Yup, my water had broke and we were off to the hospital. At the hospital contractions began and I sat back waiting for the moment to arrive. The parents came to wait and watch the action unfold. After 5 hours of not that bad labor, I decided might as well get an epidural. It definitely made things easier, but labor progressed slowly so the next step was pitocin. Suddenly it was 5:20pm and the doctor asked if I was ready to have a baby. Pushing was probably the hardest thing I did that day- it lasted an hour and a half. Tiring it was, but when the doctor threatened forceps or a vacuum I pushed as hard as I could. Roselyn Ann popped out crying at 6:52pm. Rob and I were beside ourselved when we heard it was a girl- that was what we hoped for. What I didn't expect was her size- 8lb 2oz was bigger than I thought, but perfect for her. Actually, everything is perfect about Roselyn- even the bruise on her head for coming out a little crooked :) The entire family was waiting in the recovery room after the delivery for the big introduction. Overall, the entire experience was amazing. I have a decent tear I am healing from, but that is minor compared to the experience of having my little angel. I am sure you will agree she is a beautiful, precious little girl!

Will Scalini's Help?

So now I am down to four days before my due date. I really hoped the baby would be here in August, but now it is September 3rd and no baby. So what am I to do? Go to Scalini's of course! The legend of Scalini's is that if a pregnant woman eats their eggplant parmigiana you will go into labor within 48 hours. In their restaurant are bunches of baby photos proving it works. Their website also has many stories of the hopeful mothers-to-be and their success with the eggplant parmigiana. Rob and I figured- hey, it couldn't hurt (minus possible labor pains). So Rob and I drove to Smyrna and I ordered the eggplant parmigiana and Rob ordered the lasagna. Both were delicious. The restaurant was actually a really good place for dinner. I would recommend it for a nice evening out- the decor was nice and the service was good. Watch out for the garlic rolls- they are garlicy!:) Let's hope this works- there is a $25 gift certificate and Scalini's baby onesie on the line. Oh, and a baby we are ready to see! :)