Introducing Madeline Elizabeth!

Madeline Elizabeth made her debut on November 10 at 10:25am! I had to have a scheduled c-section since was breech and refused to turn when the doctors tried. The c-section was textbook perfect and although she was a little stubborn about coming out once she did she made her presence known. We stayed in the hospital for two days before coming home on the 12th. Our midwives and nurses were amazing and although none of them will ever read this I just want to say how grateful I am for the excellent care both Madeline and I received.

Chris is completely in love with his little girl and is a natural when it comes to caring for her. My mom is staying with us for 3 weeks (yeah!!) to help since Chris is still in the middle of his MA and has a lot going on right now. I will post pictures of Maddie's first few days in the next post.

24 weeks and counting...

24 weeks! It is so hard to believe that we only have 16 weeks to go. Sometimes it feels like this pregnancy is taking forever and other times I can't believe how quickly it is flying by. A lot has happened since I last wrote on here.

First, Chris completed his programme at the end of June and had an amazing graduation ceremony at the Cathedral here in Durham. We had 6 of his family members visit us (spread out over a few weeks!) and we had an amzing time visiting different parts of England with them. Second, we found out that the baby is a GIRL! We were very shocked as we really thought the baby was a boy so when the nurse said girl we both gasped. We didn't have a preference at all but for some reason were convinced it was a boy. Now we are looking at all things pretty and pink and having a great time. Chris has gone a little overboard buying things for "his little girl" and I am thinking this is not a good sign of things to come! Third, I am flying home to Altanta for a few weeks courtesy of my fabulous dad (dads and daughters?!) and am so excited to be home in the sun and see everyone. Chris will be staying in England and this is the first time I have flown internationally by myself so hopefully everything will go smoothly. When I get back to Durham I will only have 2 1/2 months before my maternity leave starts!!

At our last midwife appointment we took a digital recorder and recorded the baby's heartbeat. Towards the end you can hear a couple of louder thumps and that is her kicking (you can also hear the midwife talking in the background). Enjoy!

Baby's Heartbeat

Yesterday was such an amazing day! At our midwife appointment we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat loud and strong - it was completely unbelievable! While the midwife was listening we kept hearing a loud thump that was obviously not the heartbeat and the midwife said the thump was the baby kicking. S/He was being so active!

Everything else checked out great and everyone is looking perfectly healthy for which we are extremely grateful. Next step is another ultrasound on the 26th!

Love to you all!
A

Pregnancy Update & Picture

Hi! I thought it was about time to give everyone an update on Baby Ferebee. Although we don't have any new pictures (next ultrasound on June 26!) we definitely think s/he is growing as I am certainly growing! Here is a picture from about 10 days ago (16 weeks) - this was taken at night so I am a little bigger here then I am normally during the day:

I am feeling really great overall and am very very glad to have my appetite back finally. The only problem is now I desperately want Taco Bell, LaBotona and Chick-fil-A. We were watching Friends the other night and Joey was eating a sub sandwich with turkey and roast beef and all that night I dreamt about a Publix sub!

We just had Paul and Katy (Cahill) visiting with us for about 4 days and had an absolutely awesome time. We spent an afternoon and evening in Newcastle with Jonathan and Sissy (Massie) and another day in York which was fantastic. Cheryl (Chris's mom) and Memaw, (Chris's grandmother) fly in on the 19th and among other things they are taking us to London for a few days before Chris's graduation on the 27th. Jim (Chris's dad), Debbie (Jim's wife), Brandon (Chris's brother) and Lindsey (Brandon's girlfriend) are also flying for Chris's graduation so we are going to have an awesome time with everyone in Durham!

That is all the big news from the bright lights of Durham. Hope everyone is enjoying the 90 degree weather!! :)

Love to you all,
Amber

Baby's First Picture

Well, here it is - the first official picture of the baby! We had an ultrasound on Wednesday and the baby is growing and very active. We got to see him/her moving around a lot and the nurse said the heartbeat was strong. Our next appointment is with the midwife on June 5 and then it looks like we will have another ultrasound sometime the last week of June when we should be able to find out the gender as long as the baby cooperates.

Please keep us in your prayers that all remain healthy and growing. More updates to come soon. :)

Love from Chris, Amber and the lime!

BIG NEWS!!!

Well, I get the feeling that this news might actually be a little late and that everyone who actually reads the blog probably already knows but just in case - we're going to have a baby! We are extremely excited and a bit overwhelmed! We are currently at 9 weeks and the due date is set for November 12 - just in time for us to make our annual trip home for Christmas with a new little person. So far outside of having the normal sickness and such everything is fine. Although it is still early the midwife seems to think everything is progressing well. We have another appointment this Friday to check on things and then the big ultrasound on April 30th when we can finally have a picture.

We just ask that everyone continue to keep us (all 3!) in your prayers as this is obviously still a very sensitive time in the pregnancy.

We love you and can't wait to have pictures to post here!

C, A and someone who is currently the size of a green olive. :)