Madison: 1 Week Old

Happy Birthday, Madison Ambler Chipley!!

It brings us tremendous joy to announce the birth of our daughter

Madison Ambler Chipley
Born June 20, 2007 at 2:53 pm

5 lb 4.5 oz and 18" long

Madison's birth was the most wonderful day in our lives!!!! She is so beautiful and she brings us immense joy. We never knew this kind of happiness until she came into our lives.

Since Madison's birth, she has been in the NICU. The first few days were more frightening than we could have ever imagined. Madison had a lung disease that required her to be on full ventilation, oxygen and IV's. The Lord has answered our prayers and we are thrilled to say that Madison has made fantastic progress each day and has improved dramatically. She is 100% healed (will have no long term effects, either) and after 11 days in the NICU, she may be coming home tomorrow!!!

We would like to thank all of our friends and family for your constant prayer and support during our pregnancy and since Madison's birth. We could not have gotten through this time without your encouragement and your prayers.

35 weeks...A big surprise!

Surprise! Tomorrow's the big day (6/20) - We are going in for a scheduled induction to have the baby.

This afternoon, our doctor discovered a placental problem that is restricting blood flow to the baby. So, this requires her to be born a little early! We'll be induced for delivery tomorrow morning... We'll keep you posted as soon as we can.

Thank you, in advance, for your prayers!

Happy 1st Birthday, Hayden!

We celebrated Hayden's first birthday this weekend! (She is the daughter of Mark/Tana -some of our best friends here in Houston...and we remember when she was less than an hour old!)

Poor Tyson

Tyson likes to try out the baby's things...

Regarding the dress...he was a good sport...poor thing.

(Don't worry, we washed the dress and he was on the activity mat for only 10 seconds then got bored.)

34 weeks

Our appointment went well today - baby is doing fine, amniotic fluid level is fine and so is everything else. They went ahead and took measurements of the baby during our ultrasound. She weighs approximately 4 1/2 lbs, give or take. They told us her body parts are growing symmetrically, except for a slightly smaller abdomen...but nothing to worry about now, just to be on top of and continue to check. Right now they just think she's long and lean.

After seeing how low the baby is and that her head is actually resting on the cerclage, our doctor laughed and said, "It's gonna be a fun day on the day we remove the stitch". (Meaning, she thinks the baby will come quite soon after.) Huh. Fun is not the word that comes to my mind...but that's just me...

Although we appreciate that we are even pregnant, Mark and I can't wait to take a vacation when all this is over!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Grandma who turned 90 yrs old yesterday! We love you!

June Shower

Our neighbors gave me a "scrapbooking shower" on Saturday afternoon! We all had a great time. The decorations were so cute, there was so much yummy food, and we received such wonderful gifts. During the shower, everyone kindly decorated two scrapbook pages, each themed for a "Baby's First..." to insert inside a beautiful memory album. After the baby is born, all I'll need to do is paste in pictures - and it's done! After the shower, the husbands/kids joined us as the party continued that night. Thank you to all our neighbors for everything you did for us this weekend! (See more pictures in "Chipley Photos")

33 weeks 3 days

Our doctor's appointment on Friday went well and we got a good report. The ultrasound checked out just fine, so we'll proceed as normal. Measurements of baby will actually be taken on Friday 6/15 (not 6/8 as I thought) - taking them every two weeks provides an ideal basis of comparison to make sure she's still growing. Our next appointments are on Tuesday 6/12 and Friday 6/15.

33 Weeks

Our doctor's appointment today went well. The doctor concurred with the specialist's results from Friday. All looks fine including baby, amniotic fluid level, and myself, but they want to proceed with caution and monitor closely. They'll be able to take an accurate measurement of the baby again at our next appointment on Friday (6/8) to compare it with measurements taken on 6/1 and make sure she's continuing to grow.

We spent our whole weekend in class (doctor approved I could go)...child birth and child care + CPR/SIDS/choking. What a way to spend a weekend. It was informative, though, and we learned a lot. I got a big fat F on the "breathing through pain" test...we were given 2 handfuls of ice, told to squeeze it for 1 1/2 minutes and breathe slowly through the pain...I let go after 15 seconds. Oh well, it was only practice... :)

32 weeks 3 days

Thank you all for your prayers! Our appointment with the Maternal Fetal Specialist today went very well. The baby is FINE. We spent a long time meeting with two specialists as they examined everything in great detail. Although a little bit small at 4 lbs exactly, they can tell she is growing steadily. The amniotic fluid level is normal as well. All of her body parts measured on target, except for a slightly smaller abdomen. We were told there is no reason to be worried. She just won't be a large baby, that's all!

The only thing that they could not confirm is that the baby is a girl. HA! Well...we're sure she is...we've had so many ultrasounds in the past, right? Also, evidently, I had a contraction (Braxton Hicks) during the exam...OH, so that's what they are? Ok, I've been having those since March and just didn't know what they were...huh.

Our regular OB will review the results and we'll discuss with her on Monday or Tuesday.