hi-tech abbey watching

In case you are a touch slow on the draw, we have been maximizing on technology when it comes to keeping our loved ones informed about Abbey’s birth and first days of life.

You know about the blog, you know about the photos, you know about the videos, but you may not know about the Skype.

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Skype has probably been the biggest blessing that technology has brought to our family.

Because of Skype, we have been able to stay in touch with Beth’s mom while she is taking care of Papa K at St. Luke’s Hospital in Houston:

We are thankful that something like Skype allows Mama K to see her sweet grandbaby from so far away – to provide her with a look at her Abbey’s face and a break from the intensity of the hospital.

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Skpye is also amazing because it allows Abbey’s great grandparents to see their great granddaughter:

All teasing aside – how amazing is it for great grandparents to be hip to the Skype?

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Thanks, Skype, for bringing my far away family right into the middle of my new little daughter’s life – it’s a blessing indeed.

That’s redemptive technology, if you ask me.

video update: abbey’s thyroid problem

I failed to mention this in yesterday’s post, but part of the trauma of this whole thyroid ordeal was the nearly two hours it took to find a vein and draw blood from Abbey’s sweet little arms.

It took 4 nurses, 5 needle poke & prods, and Angela, the miracle working phlebotomist, to find one of Abbey’s tiny veins to get 2 cc’s of blood for a blood test.

The blood tests are back in and here is a video to update you on what the results were:

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If you think about it, please pray for Abbey’s blood tests (more poking & proding) on Monday and her consultation & scan with the pediatric endocrinologist on Tuesday.

doctor: problem with abbey’s thyroid

Before you panic, like we did when the nurse told me something was “abnormal” with Abbey’s newborn blood test, Abbey is okay and she will be okay.

Her mom and dad are a little frazzled and flustered – but Abbey is doing fine.

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We had to go into the doctor’s office unexpectedly this afternoon.

The doctors informed us that when Abbey’s blood was screened at the hospital, the test showed an abnormally large amount of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH).

According to the doctor, TSH is a hormone released by the brain that tells the thyroid gland to produce hormones.  When these hormones are produced they play a vital role in human development – physically and mentally.

Because Abbey’s blood test indicated high level of TSH, that tells us that her brain is trying to get her thyroid to work properly, but doing so unsuccessfully.

High TSH = Low Thyroid hormone = Potentially Serious Danger, if left untreated.

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Abbey is being treated.  Abbey will be okay.

Abbey will have all of the thyroid hormone she needs to develop properly – we are currently giving her medicine that ensures this to be the case.

Left untreated (which is decidedly not the case with Abbey), a thyroid problem like this would result in developmental delays, small stature, learning disabilities, even mental retardation.

None of these will apply to Abbey, because she was diagnosed very early and is getting the medicine she needs.

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In order to reassure us, the doctor is sending us to Memphis on Monday or Tuesday to meet with a pediatric endocrinologist.

When our doctor spoke to the endocrinologist, she asked the specialist to confirm that Abbey’s prognosis (fancy word for ‘medical future’) is good.

The endocrinologist reassured us that Abbey’s prognosis is excellent and that one of his patients, who was diagnosed at the same age as Abbey, was the valedictorian of her class and is currently enrolled at M.I.T.

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Summary: Abbey is fine, there will be no long term consequences from her thyroid hormone deficiency.

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It feels right to end this post with a couple of photos from our day at the doctor:

Ever think you would see a 7 day old eating synthetic-hormone-laced applesauce off of a spoon?

around the house with abbey

Here is the latest round of pictures.

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The next post will contain a doctor’s update on Abbey.

day of great news!

Two serious pieces of great news:

• Ben and Julie Dockery’s very own Abby
• Beth’s dad’s heart.

Two fun bits of Abbey news.

• Milk drunk hiccups
• Abbey snoring

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Huge congratulations to Ben and Julie Dockery, who welcomed their own beautiful little Abigail (Abigail Katherine Dockery) into the world today.

The stats: 7 pounds, 8 ounces. 19 inches. Healthy mama.

Abbey has a brand new Abbie to hang out with when we visit Louisville.

Show some love by leaving a comment on their blog: What Is Up Doc

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Beth’s mom called this afternoon and gave us some great news about Papa K’s heart.

This morning they sent a camera into his heart and discovered that, though his heart is not in perfect condition, it looks to be in pretty good shape.

With this key piece of information, here is what the doctors think happened:

Papa K developed some kind of infection – they don’t know what it is exactly.  This infection caused the heart attack and lingered for a week, causing a high fever.

Now that the fever is breaking, the infection is improving and, with his heart in pretty good condition, they will start to gradually transition Papa K off of sedatives and assisted breathing.

Here is the bottom line – the doctors think that Papa K will be awake and healthy enough to go home this next Monday (which is amazing).

It looks like he will be facing heart bypass surgery in a month or so, which he won’t be happy about, but it is much better than the alternative.

There were times when we were anxious, very anxious (and we are not promised to be out of the woods yet), but this news was really thrilling.

We are so happy that Papa K is doing well.

We don’t know when we will get to go see him – but we know that it will be as soon as we possibly can!

Please, keep praying for Papa K as he is transitioned off of the medication, breathing assistance, and out of the hospital and into his home.  Pray that Papa K would recover and grow strong for his heart bypass surgery.

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Babies, aside from doctor visits and major life milestones, don’t really have any big news – unless you are parents.

Here are a couple of ‘newsclips’ from the Wilson household documenting late breaking ‘news’ from the life of Abbey Wilson.

viewer warning: the following videos contain a cute baby doing cute things.

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Abbey gets ‘milk drunk’ and a little bit silly.

Abbey takes a nap and makes us laugh hard.

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Stay tuned for more late breaking news!

pee on me. pee on lee.

When you’re baby is jaundiced, you live for a wet, dirty diaper.

You love changing a diaper. It makes you really happy.

And not that ‘short burst of glee’ type of happiness, but a deep down abiding joy – “my baby’s pipes are working! Abbey’s healthy!”

When you go without changing a diaper for a little longer than seems healthy, a deep unsettling anxiety lodges down somewhere behind your sternum.

Such is the life of new parents with a jaundiced baby (now a post-jaundiced baby)

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All that is background to why I was – no joke – thrilled when Abbey peed all over my chest.

Abbey has a serious bladder – and a serious ability to urinate whenever her diaper comes off to be changed.

We discovered this talent after Beth took off Abbey’s diaper and I made the mistake of sitting her on my chest for 30 seconds.

The fountain began to flow, Daddy began to laugh, Mama turned around, Mama began to laugh, and it was awesome.

Keep up the good work Abbey!

from home: abbey wakes up

This afternoon our doctor gave us a great report – the jaundice is getting better and neon baby is no more.

Granted, neon baby may be ‘cool’, but Beth and I are eager to get back to ‘cuddly’.

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Abbey is eating more and eating better and her personality is starting to show up more and more.

Every day bring something new and it has been amazing to be home with her and soak it up.

Anyways, I feel a wandering ‘dad gush’ coming on, so let’s get to the new photos!

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An extra special thanks to Angie, known in some circles as ‘Dr. Quinn, Lactation Consultant’, for all of her help in improving Abbey’s feedings.

Beth loves this next photo – there is nothing like the experience of looking into your baby daughter’s eyes as she looks back at you.

Abbey, at the doctor, before having her little foot poked (you can see the mini warming bag that preps the vein) to give blood so the doctors can check her levels for jaundice.

A mama-daughter moment

A daddy-daughter moment.  Abbey has taken to raising her hands above her head when she sleeps – maybe it is a celebration of being outside the constrain of the womb?

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Coming up tomorrow: photographic evidence proving that, sometimes, being a parent means getting urine all over your chest.

thankfully, a husband and father

no text on this video to give it context.

the context is the video.

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I thank God for his varying graces and mercies.

from home: the neon baby

[First things first, I took down the video we made for Mama K because, evidently, the microphone on my little Nikon s202 does not work – awesome.]

Jaundice – sounds awful doesn’t it?

It sounded aweful when the doctor told us yesterday (February 22) that Abbey had jaundice.

It sounded worse when the doctor described it as follows:

Jaundice is caused by immature kidneys and liver in infants, especially newborns whose mothers are breastfeeding them.  Essentially, there is a yellowing of the skin because the waste that normally causes urine to be yellow is deposited in the brain.

All I heard was “pee skin” – gross.

Fortunately, the doctor continued to explain that jaundice is a fairly normal condition for newborns who are being breastfed – a condition that usually goes away on its own as the mother continues to feed the baby, the kidney & liver function improves, and the waste passes through the baby’s urine and excrement.

In other words, the parents of babies with jaundice love poop.

I love poop. Beth loves poop. We celebrate the production and deposit of poop.

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So, Abbey has jaundice – now what?

It’s a two part plan:

Part one: keep her fed and hydrated so she is passing a lot of waste.

Part two: the neon baby . . .

And, because the neon baby is so cool – here is another fun video where part one and part two of the jaundice recovery plan are combined.

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I won’t leave you hanging – we went back to the doctor today and Abbey is improving.

Her bilirubin (“waste” above) level has decreased, her weight has gone up, and her coloring has improved noticeably.

Her mom and dad are very happy – very releaved.

Keep that poop coming sweet Abbey!

from home: sweet morning with abbey

Let’s be honest, nights with a newborn are rough and exhausting.

It is a trying thing to put a sweetly sleeping little baby to rest in the bassinet, walk around to your side of the bed, lay down, close your eyes, experience that moment when your body just shudders with joy to release and get rest . . . only to hear the little voice of a crying Abigail Ruth inform you that, “no, its not bedtime Mama and Daddy”.

I think parents have short memories when it comes to things like that, because the moments I remember are the moments just hanging out with my two little girls and enjoying the morning.

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There is more to be said about the day – but it is late and almost time for me to feed little Abbey a bottle of mom milk.

(note: any of the photos below will enlarge by clicking on them)

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To the photos!

This next photos is an absolute miracle. While pregnant, Beth was always burning hot, therefore we kept the house at a nippy 58 degrees.  Thank God for babies being born, thermostats being raised, and my wife’s internal thermostat returning to normal.

For this next one, can you say ‘milk drunk’?

Does anybody believe this woman just birthed a child? She is ridiculous!

From that last photo, you can see that Abbey has lost a little weight since we brought her home (which is normal for newborns who are being breastfed).

She is also a bit yellow which, as we learned at the doctor today, means that Abbey is jaundiced (also not abnormal for a breastfed newborn).

While normal, that doesn’t mean it is good.  Nor is it necessarily bad.  It just needs to get better.

The doctor gave us some interesting homework – which I will post about tomorrow in the A.M.

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Until then, please pray for Abbey to eat a lot, pee a lot, poop a lot, and for her skin tone to even out.

Also, pray for Beth’s dad – he is still sedated and has a long and difficult way to go in attempting to recover from his heart attack and accompanying complications.