A Letter to My Daughter

Dear Avery,

Someone once told me that God gives you a reserve of love that only your child can tap into.  I don’t know that I fully understood the weight of this until the day I met you.  I am in awe – you are perfect.  I have never known a love like this, and I fall more and more in love each day.  When you cry, my heart literally breaks.  When you smile (even though you have no idea what a smile even means), my heart fills with an unimaginable amount of love and happiness.  I just smile like crazy back at you and pray you don’t think I’m a lunatic.  I love watching you and your Daddy together – he is the proudest father.  When you frown, cry or even hint that you might not be perfectly content, he tries everything in his power to console you.  The day you were born was the most incredible day for your father and me.  Avery, I am writing you this letter to tell you about the day you changed our lives forever.

On Thursday, April 19th at 8:30 am we went to our weekly OB appointment.  After the usual weight, blood pressure, and measurement check, I was still at 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced  -  same as the week before.  Without going into too much detail, our physician asked if I wanted to have a “sweep” procedure done.  This procedure does not make you go into labor, but produces a hormone that can speed labor along.  Of course I was willing to try anything.  After the appointment, I went to work and completed an entire day.  I didn’t feel any different – just minor cramping, but knew it could take 24-48 hours to work, if it was going to work at all.  When I got home, your Daddy thought it would be a good idea to go for a walk to see if that would help.  We walked for about a mile around the neighborhood.  After our walk, our friend Jamie came over for dinner, and by 8:30 pm I had determined you had decided not to come that night.  I was wrong.  Around 9:30 pm I started having contractions about 10-12 minutes apart.  I wasn’t certain if this was the real thing or just more Braxton-Hicks contractions, which I’d been having frequently.  I told Daddy that we should go to bed because if I was in labor, the contractions would only increase in frequency and intensity.  The doctor had also told us not to call unless my water broke or the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart.  We had plenty of time to wait.  I woke up at 11:30 pm with very painful contractions and all labor pains were in my lower back.  At that time, I realized I wouldn’t be going back to sleep, but told your father to get as much rest as he could.  I moved myself out to the living room and propped up in front of the TV as I continued to time the contractions for the next 3 hours.  By 2:30 am, they were 4-6 minutes apart and very, very painful.  I tried everything in my power to take my mind off of the pain.  I took a shower, played on the internet, but nothing was working.   With your father’s persistence, I finally called the on-call physician (Dr. Gaines) and she said it was go time.  We grabbed our bags and headed to the hospital.  

After the first round of pain meds, but before the epidural

Upon arriving at Carilion Clinic around 3:15 am, the nurse said I would need to be checked to make sure we would be staying.  I was in so much pain that I was staying regardless, but I didn’t tell the nurse that!  Lucky for us, I was 5 cm dilated and the nurse gave us the green light to contact family members – we were having a baby!  I was given some pain medication, and an epidural, and by 7:00 am I was 7 cm and 100% effaced.  Apparently, you were just as eager to meet us as we were to meet you.  At this point it was just a waiting game.  The physician (Dr. Martin – they had a shift change) decided it was time to break my water.  Finally, by 9:30 am I was 10 cm dilated and I thought ready to push, but much to my own dismay, the physician said she wanted to let me “labor down” for a little while.  I learned very quickly that this was code for letting you drop as low as possible before I started pushing.  Luckily, your Mimi and Noni arrived around this time, which proved to be a nice little distraction as we awaited your arrival.  Around 11:40 am, Dr. Martin asked Noni and Mimi to step out as she wanted to check my progress.  Apparently, you were exactly where you needed to be, because I was asked to start pushing and you were born 14 minutes later at 11:54 am.  As soon as you were born, they placed you on my chest.  At that moment, your father and I fell in love.  We were overwhelmed with so much joy, we both just cried.  And don’t worry, because you cried too.  A lot.  In fact, you cried for the next 3 hours straight.  In your defense, you were extremely hungry, but we weren’t able to give you a bottle until we were moved to our postpartum room downstairs and you were given a bath.  But, you were upset, nonetheless.  You’re like your Mommy in that regard, don’t mess with our food.  

First family pic

The next few days in the hospital felt like a whirlwind.  You had so many friends and family members come to visit you and even your cousins, Trey and Karoline, came to say hello.  There was one night that your father and I chose to send you back to the nursery to allow us to get a few hours of sleep.  Around 5:00 am the next morning our nurse, Mary Ann, brought you back to us as you’d been crying for three hours straight and they couldn’t get you to calm down.  As soon as she put you in my arms, you calmed, fell asleep and slept for the next 3 hours straight.  You just wanted your Mommy and I was happy they brought you to me.  It’s unbelievable how much I missed you in that short four hour span of time.  It made my heart hurt to know you’d been crying for that long and I had no idea.  

The next day we were discharged from the hospital and were so excited to take you home.  Exactly one week later, I am watching you as you sleep in your favorite lamb seat wondering how it’s possible that you were born a week ago.  Time is already flying and it’s unbelievable how much you’ve changed over the last seven days.  You are already more alert, you have your likes and dislikes, you’ve developed your own little personality, and your Daddy and I are just learning as we go.  

And that, my little pea in the pod, is your birth story.  I am so excited to embark on the journey we call parenthood.  I’m nervous, anxious, scared and every other emotion imaginable, but I can promise you this – I am more excited about this journey than I’ve ever been in my entire life.  I love you.  

Love always,

Mommy and Daddy

We're so close!

At 38.5 weeks pregnant, and due any day now, I deemed it appropriate to compare my first photo (8 weeks) and hopefully, last photo side-by-side.  Everyone says Avery will arrive right on time, or fashionably late.  I'm optimistic that she'll arrive a little early, but that's just because I'm really uncomfortable (ok...I'm miserable.) and can't fathom the idea of being pregnant for another week and a half.  Much less longer.  People should be required to follow pregnancy etiquette, which would mean you're not allowed to tell a woman nearing the end of her pregnancy that there is a strong likelihood she is going to be pregnant even longer than she expected.  She knows...trust me.

Almost there!

We had our appointment last Wednesday and things are progressing quite nicely.  I'm 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced.  Our physician asked if I had a pain management plan for labor, and I was probably a little over eager to inform her that I definitely planned on having an epidural.  She just laughed and said she was happy to hear this decision, and told me that there was no need to try to be a hero. 

We had an ultrasound prior to the OB appointment.  It was incredible to see our baby girl for the first time in almost 20 weeks.  It was a little harder to decipher certain things than I expected, but she's a little squished in there.  No worries about having a small baby - they've estimated her weight at almost 7 lbs and she's in the 63rd percentile for height/length.  Bobby's convinced we have an athlete, haha, but I'm not sure who she is getting those genes from.  I'm far from athletic.

One of my close friends provided pregnancy facts in her blog towards the end of her pregnancy.  I thought it was such a great idea - something to look back on years from now to help remember exactly how I felt one and half weeks before my due date.  So, here goes:

Baby's weight:  ~7lbs
Baby's height/length:  63rd percentile (I really don't know exact length)
Mom's total weight gain:  21.5lbs (hoping this doesn't go up much more!)
Mom's progress:  3 cm dilated, 80% effaced
Pain and/or contractions:  Braxton-Hicks contractions frequently throughout the day.  These have grown more intense over the last several weeks, but nothing overly painful.
Baby movement:  Lots of movement, and very uncomfortable at times.
Sleep:  Not getting very good sleep.  I'm exhausted, but find it difficult to fall asleep and once I do, I wake up every hour or so to either pee or rollover (which is very tough these days).
Heartburn:  Still terrible.  And I'm not very hungry these days.
Feelings:  EXCITED!  Nervous, anxious...

Our next appointment is Thursday, April 19th.  Praying the progress continues :)

Nesting

What they say about pregnant women nesting is very true.  I've always been tidy, organized, and come hell or high water, the house is getting a good scrubbing every Sunday.  But pregnancy does onset a little OCD (ie "Oh my gosh, the coffee table book is turned at a 70 degree angle, NOT 45.")  It's moments like that that make my husband extremely excited I won't be pregnant for much longer.  My nesting phase was strongest right after our baby shower.  We had so many wonderful presents for our baby girl, a half finished nursery, and extremely limited storage space.  There were weekends in a row that I woke up at 5:30 or 6:00 am to finish the nursery, clean out closets to create extra storage space, and organize all of Avery's new gifts.  I have washed and ironed (yes, ironed!) at least 7 or 8 loads of her laundry.  And as an aside, I absolutely love the way her clothes smell after they've been washed in Dreft :).  It's the sweetest smell in the world.  We recently completely finished the nursery and are now just patiently awaiting her arrival.  But she seems pretty cozy in there - we might have a few more weeks.  I guess we'll know more tomorrow after our ultrasound and OB appointment.  For now, enjoy the pictures of Avery's nursery.

Close up of letters above Avery's crib :)

As you can tell, we're a little anxious for our little peanut to make her grand debut.  Our bags and her going home outfit are packed and ready to go!

Limited space, but I love how cute her clothes look in the closet!

And now, we just play the waiting game...

The Final Countdown

Remember when I was 12 weeks pregnant and thought I had a baby bump?  Ha.  That was silly.  I am officially huge and and couldn't be more ready to meet our baby girl.  Whenever you're ready, Avery, whenever you're ready.  But I'd really like for that to be sooner rather than later.

The final countdown has begun!  We had our 36 week appointment on Monday, and we'll have an appointment once a week from here on out to monitor my progress.  It was a very exciting, yet nerve-racking, appointment.  It started out as normal - weight, blood pressure, baby's heart rate, etc.  I could tell by the way my doctor left the doppler on my stomach for an extended period of time that something wasn't quite right.  I was lying flat on my back (which isn't very comfortable these days) and wanted desperately to see Bobby's face to see if he was as worried as I was.  But no such luck, I couldn't see his face over my belly.  When the doctor finally removed the doppler, she said Avery's heart rate had peaked, but did go back down.  She thought she had caught her mid-movement, but wanted to have a Non-Stress Test done to be completely safe.  She proceeded to measure my belly with the tape measure, and for the first time during my entire pregnancy, I am measuring small.  I know, can you believe it?  More cause for concern.  The doctor has scheduled an ultrasound before my appointment next Wednesday.  She seems to believe everything is perfectly fine, but it's always better to err on the side of caution.  On a much more exciting note, I am already 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced.  Now, I am fully aware that I can walk around like this for another 6 weeks, but a girl can dream.  Praying the progression continues and I'm not still at 2 cm come mid-May.  After my doctor finished our appointment, I was hooked up to the monitors to measure Avery's heart rate.  Everything was perfectly normal; she was just super active - must've been the chocolate milk I had with breakfast :)

We have also finished the nursery!  I will be posting pictures of that very soon.

Showering Baby Avery

Eek!  I'm 3 weeks behind in my blog updates.  Time slips away so quickly, yet not quite fast enough.  Only six weeks left until we meet our sweet baby girl (still seems like an eternity...)!

The wonderful hosts :)

On March 3rd, my wonderful sisters threw us the most incredible baby shower.  From the decorations, to the games, to the food and cake, it was absolutely perfect!  Even my nieces, Caiden, Nora and Karoline joined in on the festivities.  Friends and family showered us with tons and tons of presents for Avery Jillayne.  We are truly blessed to have such amazing people in our lives - our baby girl is sure to be spoiled rotten :)

One of the many adorable outfits we received for Miss Avery

Cheyenne and Cannady planned several fun games for the guests, the most popular of which was entitled "Who's Your Daddy...or Mama?"  This was a game where we had to match celebrity baby to celebrity parent.  Very entertaining and boy, did I learn a lot!  Haha - I should've studied an US Weekly or People magazine before this game.  I think Caiden actually did better.  And she's seven years old.  As one can tell from the picture, Cheyenne takes her shower games very seriously...

And it wouldn't be a shower without some sort of delectable treat.  The cake they had made for the shower was absolutely adorable and stuck with the Baby Peas in the Pod theme.  Apparently, Karoline found the cake to be irresistible as well - please note the small finger print, haha!

Top layer was chocolate and bottom was red velvet (my personal fav!)

The Sunday after our baby shower, at exactly 32 weeks pregnant, Sara Ernst shot our maternity photo session.  Sara is incredibly talented and we're so fortunate to have had her capture my pregnancy in photographs.  Instead of my usual belly picture update, I'm going to share one of the few photographs she took that day.  (As an aside, I'm about 34 1/2 weeks pregnant now, but my husband is out town.  Therefore, I don't have anyone to assist me with the picture taking.  But I do promise to update asap.)

32 weeks

"Pack yo bags!"

Let the countdown begin - only 9 weeks to go!

31 weeks

For the past couple of months, Bobby and I had discussed taking a mini vacation to spend some time together before Avery arrives.  We both understand (to some degree) the physical and mental exhaustion that lies ahead of us, that's just inevitable.  Bobby and I enjoy spontaneity and have heard from many that it will be thing of the past once our little one arrives in April.  This will probably be one of our toughest adjustments.  We love picking up and going on a whim, and have taken this luxury for granted over the past few years. When we're ready to get away, we make travel arrangements for just us to places that are of interest to...just us - not a small child.  We've even been known to stay at adult-only hotels to get away from the excess noise.  Please don't misunderstand, we love children and being around them; however, when we go on vacation, we enjoy peace and quiet.  Ah, I know...and this is where we are realizing how quickly things are about to change for us.  We were tossing around several ideas for our last (for a while, anyway) baby-free vacation.  At 31 weeks pregnant, I didn't want a super long flight and we also thought it would be nice to go somewhere warm.  We hadn't settled on a vacay spot when I received an email from Bobby that was entitled, "Pack yo bags!"  I opened the email to find a flight itinerary to Tampa/St.Petersburg.  We left last Thursday and came back on Sunday - it was the perfect, long weekend.  It was wonderful to get away from the stress of work, and our daily grind.  We were able to focus on each other and spend quality time together - it was exactly what we needed.  Now, any suggestions for kid-friendly vacations? :)

Bobby golfing :)

The Captain

Aw Sugar (da-na-na-na-na-na)

My apologies to those of you that now have the song Sugar, Sugar by the Archies playing over and over in your head.  I was just trying to figure out a clever way to lead into my post about the infamous Glucose Test that pregnant women take around their 28-week mark.  I actually had the glucose test a little over a week ago, but we got the results back this week.  I was preparing for the worst with the test, as most of my friends and both of my sisters warned me the glucose drink is awful and you're very limited on what you can have to eat prior to the test.  Thankfully, my appointment was scheduled for 8:00 am; therefore, I just had eggs for breakfast.  When we arrived the individual working in the lab asked for my choice in flavor - orange or fruit punch.  I went with fruit punch.  And she proceeded to set a timer for 5 minutes and asked me to finish the drink within that time frame.  The drink really wasn't bad at all, in fact, the first few sips were pretty tasty.  The worst part is that it's just a super, sugary drink and you have to drink it quickly.  Then you wait.  For a full hour.  Bobby has been a trooper and has been to all of my appointments thus far.  He kept me fully entertained for the sixty minute wait, until it was time to report back to the lab for my blood draw.  This was an ordeal because the phlebotomist couldn't find a vein and had to stick me several times, then proceeded to switch arms.  Luckily, she got it on the first try on that arm - I was starting to feel a little like a pin cushion.  As we were leaving, they informed me that they would contact me with my results on Monday or Tuesday of the following week.  By Thursday, I still hadn't heard from my doctor's office, and decided to call them myself.  Turns out, no news is good news in the glucose test world.  The test results were great...and I immediately treated myself to some Cadbury Mini Eggs.  I love the candy selection this time of year :)

Only 11 weeks left...we hope.

I received my first "you have such a glow about you" comment yesterday, with only 11 weeks left in my pregnancy.  And it came from my husband...so, not 100% sure it counts.  And if I'm being completely honest, I was using a new foundation that has some shimmer, suggested by one of my best friends in her blog MK in Wonderland.  (side note:  If you're not already following her blog, do so immediately.  She's an insanely talented writer and blogs about subjects that are completely relatable.  Her sarcasm and wit are sure to keep you laughing.)  Had I known back in October when I initially blogged about the pregnancy glow that I was totally jinxing myself, I would've kept my mouth shut!  One small downfall to being pregnant during the winter months is that there is no chance for getting any sun on your face.  Other than that one small hiccup, I couldn't have chosen a better time to accidentally get pregnant.  I'm extremely fortunate that I won't be 40 weeks pregnant in August.  Hopefully, our little peanut will arrive on time...in April...in 60-70 degree weather.

We celebrated my parents' birthdays yesterday evening at Coach and Four.  It was really nice to have the whole family together - even Cheyenne, Daniel and their four girls came down for the celebration.  Dinner was delicious and I know my Mom and Dad enjoyed themselves.