1st doctors appt.

Annalise went to the doctor on friday for the first time and everything was great. She was measured wrong at the hospital apparently and she is only 18 1/2 inches long versus 20 inches. She weighed 6 lbs 8 oz which was great because that is an ounce more than her birth weight. The doctor was very pleased. We are trying to begin putting her on her schedule and she is doing well. Today she has been fussy but hey what baby isnt. Mandy's mom and dad are here and my mom comes tomorrow. I have to go back to work tomorrow and we are a little apprehensive about that. It will all be ok though. Gotta go so we can feed here yet again.

The Trip Home

FInally we got to go home!!! We werent able to leave the hospital til 4 pm on Wednesday but we got home and she slept the whole way home. She loves her new house and has actually been sleeping for most of the night (to the gratefulness of Mandy and I). Lucy has been real good with her and is almost mothering her. That is a huge relief. We finally got her to begin breastfeeding after a consultation with the Lactation consultant at the hospital. Annalise is the cutest thing there ever was. Here are some new pics for you guys to check out.

Annalise Day 2

Things are going real well today. We were abler to sleep for about 5 hours last night while they did some testing on Annie and while she was sleeping. Lots of visitors but last night was great as the visitors really slowed down and papaw (bryan's dad) got here from Dallas and got to meet her for the first time. It was way cool. Family is here now and just hanging out and holding her. We are still having a hard time getting the breast feeding started so we finger fed her some formula twice this morning. She is way happy now. WAY HAPPY!!. The doc's told us this morning that we are going home tomorrow so we can't wait. Everyone is doing fine, and we can't wait to see her grow everyday. Thank you all for the prayers and support we have had. Stay tuned for more pics. We love all of you.


Bryan and Mandy

papaw meets annalise

the big pink bow!!!!

The longest night of our lives.

Ok so last night was officially the longest night of our lives. Saturday night Mandy started having contractions and by 4:30 in the morning they were only 9 minutes apart. Being the good pastor I am, I went to church on sunday and Mandy's family stayed with her. She had one request on sunday afternoon. Chicken fried steak from Furrs. By the time we got home from Furrs, around 3:45, we were at 5 minutes apart for an hour so we called the doc and he said come on to the hospital. We got there and she was only dilated to a 3 so they talked about sending us home. However the babies heartbeat was fluctuating so they decided to admit us. They moved us up to labor and delivery and around 6:30 the babies heartbeat dropped from 145 to 50. It was so freaking scary. They threw Mandy on her side and gave her oxygen but wouldnt tell us what was going on. After a lil while the doctor came in and told us that there was no amniotic fluid in the sac but her water never broke. This ticked us off because last week our doc was out of town so we went to another doc and Mandy asked about it because she was noticing fluid leaking out and the doc was like "don't worry you will be fine" and then we get to the hospital and our doctor was like "why havnt you already been here to the hospital" It scared us bad. He told us that there was a significant chance we were going to have to do a c section but he wanted to let nature take its course. Mandy got her epidural (an experience that she wont soon forget and she will have to tell you all about later). Then it was waiting time. Around 11 pm we were all sitting in the room and the nurses come racing in telling everyone to get out because the heartbeat had dropped. Doc came in and said we are going to do a c-section right then. So after all the prep that goes into a c section and getting Mandy prepared, at 11:53 pm on Sunday Night I got to hold my daughter for the first time. It was so awesome. Her name is Annalise Caroline Cawley and she was 6 lbs 7 ounces of nothing but pure cuteness. I already love her so much. Mandy is doing fine but didnt get to hold her for the first time til almost 3 this morning and then we got about 3 hours sleep. Today has been resting and relaxing and loving the baby and trying to get this whole breastfeeding thing down. (i never knew that would be hard to do) We are expected to go home Wednesday to begin our life as 3 not 2. WOW!!

One of the great things about all this is how evident God was throughout the whole process. Our doc is a real strong believer and he was out of town all week and only got in Sat night. Sunday when we got there, they couldnt fine our prenatal records so the doctor went to the office and personally handdelivered them (tell me another doctor that would do that on a sunday afternoon). The crazy thing is was he got here literally 5 minutes before the first heart rate scare. Talk about God's timing. He was here to check on her immediately. Then all the nurses were comforting us and give us support all night. When the last heart rate drop happened, the doc was on his way back in and was only a 1/4 of a mile away so he was here in less than 5 minutes to make the call of the night. And then before he started the c section on Mandy he stopped and prayed over the baby and Mandy. It brings tears to my eyes just talking about it. God is so good. This morning he came by and said everything was good. The pediatrician we have picked doesn't have rights at this hospital so they assigned us one. So he comes by this morning and the first thing he starts talking about is going on a mission trip to Ethiopa w/o even knowing where we stand spiritually. It was so cool.

Its always said that the Holy Spirit will lead us into contact with the right people and this is definitely the case. God really showed and this is such a testament to his love and devotion to us. To hold this little ball of God's creation and know that he made her inside Mandy is just amazing. Simply amazing. Its wicked awesome yo.

Baby Watch, Day 6

Well, this is Mandy. We still have no little girl! Never thought that we would have to wait this long. Especailly, since I was so paranoid about her coming early and not having everything ready for the long term sub at school. If nothing has happened by Monday we see the Dr. at 9.30. And the good news is that our Dr., who has been out of town all week long, comes home today!!!
Even though we are almost a week late it seems that there is always something we need to do for her in preperation. Bryan just got done putting the baby glider and swing together. It is funny how our living room is turing out to look like the nursey at church instead of the well decorated, posh, adult living area that we once thought it was. We have an empty formal dinning room still since the move. It was the one thing that I had to have in this house, since we didn't have one in Texas and I always regretted it. But now I am wondering if we should not buy the formal dinning room table and turn it into an extra lving room/playroom for little girl. My how my thinking has changed!!!! And will probably change a lot more over the next few months.
Well, I am gonna run. My mom and dad are on their way to Tulsa as I type. I think her and Bryan are the ones handling the anxiety the worst. Mom was tired of waiting at home so they are on their way, which will be a good thing I think, Now we will have two exrtra faces to stare at as we sit around waiting!!!!!

Keep checking in with us...we can't wait to announce her name to you all!
Mandy

baby watch day 4

well we went to the doctor today. nothing new. still waiting. our doctor gets back in town on saturday so if we can make it til then we are good. life is good other than the waitng. we have tried everything that they say starts labor but i dont think it works. oh well. life is going to change for us real soon. we will post pics as soon as we have them. keep watch.

m and b

baby watch day 3

well we are now 3 days late with no end in sight. Baby Cawly needs to get here NOW!! Mandy is doing well. She is handling this better than I am. At least the kids are on spring break here so I can stay busy going and doing things with them to pass the time. Stay Tuned!!!