3 weeks in and loving it...(Part 1)

Here's the post you probably have all been waiting for. The details about Avery's birth and her first 3 weeks of life.

Let me preface this that I may break up this post if it becomes way too long. Don't want to bore you!

So most of you saw my last post that I posted while in the hospital in labor. I didn't have a lot of time or focus, so I didn't elaborate on the details of what landed us in the hospital on Tuesday, May 4th. We woke up that morning not knowing that it would be THE day. I had actually just finished packing my bags the night before. The car seat wasn't in the car, we really thought we had another week at least. I had a doctor's appointment at 8:30. We got to the doctor's on time, but my doctor was stuck in traffic. So we waited. He ended up getting there around 9 and started checking everything out. I had thought I might have been having contractions for a day or so before but since it was my first, I really didn't know for sure. My blood pressure was really elevated when they checked it and it wasn't going down. After the doctor saw that and heard about me having contractions, he decided to send us to the hospital for monitoring. He wanted me to be monitored for an hour for my blood pressure and contractions. After the hour, they would make a decision about whether to keep us or send us home. I think we all thought we would get sent home, because my blood pressure does go down after I leave the doctor's office.

Well remember us not being ready? We actually came home, finished packing our bags, installed the car seat (just in case), and headed back up to the hospital. We got there about 11 and they hooked me up to the blood pressure and fetal monitors. I was supposed to lay still on my right side for an hour. Lots of fun! To me I couldn't tell if my contractions had any sort of consistency to them. Some were stronger than others, but my blood pressure was back down to normal so I thought we would probably get sent home. At the end of the hour, the nurse came in to check me before she could release me. I was at a 4. Did I forget to mention that at the doctor's I was at a 3?! So in the hour I had dilated another centimeter. Needless to say we didn't get to go home. They admitted me at 12 and we got settled into our room.

Once I got settled in and hooked up to all the monitors and iv's, we decided Randy should go get him some lunch since we didn't eat before we came to the hospital. We all thought that would be the best time, since labor probably would take a while and at that point I was probably the most comfortable that I would be throughout labor. So he left to get lunch and to run home for a shower (since we thought we might be up all night). They came in to check me a little after he left and I was at a 5. The doctor decided it was time to break my water to get things moving. I called Randy and let him know (he was surprised it was progressing that fast). The contractions immediately started to get stronger. Before breaking my water they hurt, but weren't long and more uncomfortable than anything. Randy got back to the hospital and by then (about 2:30 or so) the contractions were strong. The nurse offered me some IV drugs. I wasn't ready to get an epidural and honestly was trying to do without it if I could handle it. They gave me Staydoland wow! Talk about feeling loopy! The meds didn't make the pain of the contractions go away or any lesser, but I really didn't care. Randy says it was the closest thing to me being drunk. My parents arrived during this time and I remember thinking I really didn't care what was going on around me. Randy says he asked me if I was comfortable (because he said I looked uncomfortable) and I replied, "I don't know. Just sit down." So he did!

I don't really remember how fast things progressed after that point. I was pretty out of it for about an hour or so. Sometime around 3:30 the nurse came in to check me and I was at a 8/9. She said she would be back soon and would let the doctor know. Almost as soon as she left, I suddenly felt the urge to push. You know, everyone tells you that your body knows exactly what to do during labor and I can attest - it does! Kind of amazing to think God designed our bodies down to the minute details for everything to work just the way it is supposed to during labor. Randy sent my mom to get the nurse and she checked me again and I was ready! It was time to start pushing.

This is where I have to give props to Randy. He was great throughout this whole event. He stayed by my side the whole time (except when he went for lunch and I told him to sit down!) and helped me breathe through the contractions. He was great at helping me stay focused on breathing while pushing. A little after 4, the contractions were much stronger and it was time to call the doctor in. She arrived and started getting her scrubs on. The nurse kept telling me to not push until the doctor was ready. I told her, "I can't help it!" Randy laughed at that one. Apparently the doctor looked over at me, saw that Avery was ready to be born and finally kicked it in high gear. A few more pushes later and she was born! Our little blessing - Avery Marie - was here! All 6 lbs 5 oz and 19.5 inches of her. She had a head-full of black hair which we were all surprised at.

Stay tuned for part 2!

38 weeks

So I had great intentions on posting about our 38th week - pictures and all. Well, that won't happen. We went to our appointment this morning and my blood pressure was high. This isn't a shocker as it normally is high at the doctor's office. Add to that I'd been having contractions off and on since late Sunday night and the doctor sent us to triage at the hospital to be monitored for an hour. I was 3 cm dialated at the office so he just wanted to make sure I wasn't in labor before we went home.

Good thing I packed my bag last night! Nothing like waiting until the last minute. So as I'm typing this I am sitting in our room, waiting on our little blessing's arrival.

36 weeks - 4 or less to go!

Typing this post kind of makes me sad. We only have 4 weeks (or less) left and while I can't wait to meet Avery face to face, I have enjoyed this pregnancy - every part of it. Every little movement, kick, wiggle, stretch I feel inside me.  All the times she is kicking up a storm, then Randy lays his hand on my belly and she stops. I have a feeling we have a stubborn one on our hands! Wonder where she gets that from?! :)

So what has been going on in the last 4 weeks? Let's see, the better question might be what hasn't happened.  The weekend before Easter, I had my baby shower in Marietta.  My wonderful friends put together an amazing shower.  I felt so loved and blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who care about me, Randy, and Avery. 


Me with my hostesses (missing Annette, Tara, Jan & Amy)


Me & Mom


The amazing cake


Me, Mom, and my aunts and cousins from my Dad's side


April, Me & Amy @ church

Then the weekend of Easter, I helped host April's bachelorette/girl's night out and personal shower.  Since I don't want Daniel to see any of the pics we'll settle on just saying we all had a great time. :) Easter we  went to church with Mom and Dad. 


Our annual family picture - can hardly believe in 2 months we'll have 2 more people in this pic!

Then on April 5th, we finally got to close on our house! We are now officially homeowners. Wow! Kind of feels a little weird, like we are finally grown up or something. :) Here is a pic of the outside of it:


We haven't taken our picture in the front of it yet, since we need our lawn mowed badly and it has been raining so much lately. Hopefully we'll get to that soon.

We've been working on painting and getting the house ready to move in. Mom and Dad came down and spent a few days helping us pack and move the stuff we weren't using. Then we celebrated my 27th birthday by picking up our new refrigerator and stove from Sears. Add in a painting party with people from church and a weekend of painting and getting Avery's room ready and its been a busy few weeks!

So how is the pregnancy going? Really well, actually. I'm still on light duty, working from home 2-3 days a week and in the office for the others.  I had my 36 week appointment on Monday and everything was right on track. I'm starting to dialate a little and my doctor said her head is starting to drop.  That probably means we'll see our little girl sometime in the next 3 and a half weeks - hopefully. :) We have a sonogram scheduled for Tuesday to see how big Avery is and then the doctor said we would make a decision from there. 

I've felt really well lately - minus just being tired at odd times in the day.  My feet and ankles are swelling some, but it goes down when I stay off my feet and keep them up. My belly feels tight most days and I think Avery is getting a little cramped in there.  Its like she tries to stretch out sometimes and just can't find room.  :) Just a few more weeks, baby girl!

Here are pics from 34 and 36 weeks:


And just for fun - my belly from 30, 32, 34 & 36 weeks:


We are finishing up moving into our new house this weekend then Randy finishes up school next week and graduates on Thursday night, the 29th. A busy week ahead. Prayers would be appreciated. We'll post pictures of the final product - house, soon. Its almost done!

32 weeks

So what have we been up to the past few weeks? A lot actually. As I mentioned in my last blog, our offer was accepted on our house the last week in February. I've been on "light duty" after a few higher blood pressure readings at my doctor's appointments. That means I work from home 2 days a week and in the office 3 days. It surprisingly has been a good arrangement so far. I'm so thankful I have an understanding boss and a flexible company that I work for. God is good!

Randy went home to Odessa a few weekends ago for Vito and Monique's wedding. I didn't make the trip. Didn't think I needed the extra stress of a 5-6 hour drive both ways at 31 weeks. :) But Tiffany came down and we packed up all (well almost all, I found more this weekend) of our books and pictures from our apartment. We also did a little bargain shopping for Avery's room. It's going to be cute!

Last week was spring break for Randy, so he was at home all week. I think he enjoyed the break, though by the time I got home each day he usually was stir-crazy and wanted to get out of the house. Thankfully, he had a few projects to work on and got to help some friends of ours move - so that released some of all the extra energy. Oh and on Thursday Daniel and April came down to visit us - which was so much fun and good for us to catch up. Saturday we went to Christine and Michael's wedding in Frisco. Who would have thought that we would have frigid temps in Texas on a March 20th wedding day?! Brr! It was cold, but the wedding was beautiful.



I don't know if this photo is as funny to anyone else, but Daniel never ever has his eyes open in 2 back to back photos. Somehow he managed in these! Guess he is practicing for the wedding.

I had my 32 week appointment on Monday and they did a sonogram to see how big Avery is and if my fluid levels were ok. Everything was good! Avery is measuring at about 4 lbs, and 16.75 inches long. The doctor estimated 7 lbs by the time she is born, but we'll see about that. I have heard those estimates can be way off. Mom came down and went to the appointment with me, so she got to see the sonogram too. My bp was still high at the appt but has been low at home, so the doctor said we would keep doing what we are doing, and take things a week at a time. I'm getting way too familiar with the doctor's office, but I'm not on bedrest so that is a blessing. I can handle light duty since it means a healthy Avery.



Mom and I this morning before she left.

Mom stayed through today and helped me around the apartment - packing and cleaning. We also did a little shopping and found Avery a dress for her Uncle Daniel and Aunt April's wedding. Isn't this adorable?



And here are the ones you all wanted to see (maybe, anyways!) My 30 and 32 weeks pics. Somehow I think I looked bigger in the 30 week one, but I really think it is the angle of the camera. Avery is definitely growing and my belly is showing it. If you look closely you can see my belly button sticking out at times. Randy gets the biggest kick out of it. Apparently when I laugh it pokes out more so he is constantly trying to make me laugh just so he can see it.

30 weeks down and only 70 days left!

We are 30 weeks today. 30 weeks down and only 10 to go. I am a little sad when I look at that last sentence. I am ready to meet Avery, but time has gone by so fast. I am really trying to savor every moment I have left of being pregnant with her. It has helped this week that I've been on light duty. At my monthly appointment last week, my blood pressure was high for me. My doctor wanted to run some more tests and such to make sure nothing else was going on. So I did the tests and went back on Friday to check my blood pressure again. Well, it was the same on Friday. Everything else in this pregnancy so far has been pretty normal, so the doctor said as long as I could work from home he wouldn't put me on bedrest. I just had to go back in one week and monitor my bp from home for a week.

Then on my way home from the doctor and headed to buy a bp monitor, Randy calls. He says, "You'll never guess what happened this morning?" I said, "Please tell me we got the house." All the while, having a very emotional moment. :) "Rachel, I'm at school, how would I know if we got the house?" "Well, I really need some good news right about now." At that point Randy realized something wasn't right. After I told him about my bp results, he apologized for leading me on and told me our offer had been accepted! He had taken a "bathroom break" to answer his phone during class and had found out our offer had been accepted. We were so excited! That evening we met with our realtor and signed our part of the contract. Ahhhh!!!

And this is where I'm a little more real in this post. The last 6 months have been quite a journey in looking for the right house for us. When we started looking in August, we never imagined it would take this long. We've looked at so many houses, we can now drive by a house and almost tell you what it will look like inside. After finding several houses we liked, placing offers on them, having the offers rejected or coming in 2nd, we were really at the point where we didn't know what our next step was supposed to be. We knew God had something in store for us, it just didn't seem like we were moving anywhere in that direction. Our lease was up in January, so we knew we would have to go month-to-month or find another place to stay. We have room for a baby here in our current apartment, we would just need to seriously downsize our stuff. We took a break from house hunting around Thanksgiving and Christmas just to breathe for a while. House hunting is tiring! Then after the first of the year, we found a new realtor (thanks Brad!) and started the search again. There was a little more urgency this time as baby girl only had 4.5 months until her arrival and our lease was up at the end of January. We put in an offer on one house we thought would be perfect, but it wasn't accepted. Then we found another one and the day we went to put in an offer, they accepted another one. I'll be honest, at that point I didn't know what God was up to. I was frustrated and tired. But God was working! He always is. :) I just had to let go and trust him. Then the house that God had for us came along. We saw it and loved it. It is a foreclosure, but extremely clean. Like so clean it only needs carpet cleaning and a few paint touchups. Trust me - foreclosures like this one are RARE! No closing date yet, but hopefully soon! God is good - and always has the best for us if we just wait.

Ok, back to the baby info. I went back to the doctor today and my bp was still a little high, but lower than last week. The doctor wants me to keep monitoring my bp and to continue taking it easy. Baby Avery is doing great and growing on track. My 30 week email said she weighs about 3 lbs and will gain 0.5 lbs a week from here until week 37. No new symptoms. I still have my appettite! I did finish my pillow so sleeping is hopefully getting better. Stay tuned for pictures later. Haven't had time to take them yet today. :)

28 weeks

So as of last Friday I am 28 weeks and officially in my third trimester. Wow! It has gone by so fast. I am so ready to meet our baby Avery, but at the same time, I want to just freeze this point in time so I can remember it forever. She has been moving so much lately and I love feeling every kick and punch. If my pictures are any evidence, I think she's been growing this month. :) My appetite has picked up a little and sleeping at night is still so so. I am working on making a pillow though that I hope will help the sleeping issue.





My doctor's appointment was this Tuesday, and everything was almost ok. I'm measuring where I am supposed to be, but my blood pressure was higher than normal. I was seeing one of the other doctor's in the practice that I hadn't seen before and he was just a tad concerned since it seems like it is slowly creeping up at each visit. I had to do a few more tests and have to go back on Friday to have it rechecked. I think part of it had to do with our whirlwind of a weekend. Randy's grandmother passed away on Saturday morning so we headed to Odessa Saturday night for the funeral on Monday. The last minute trip, combined with not eating right and not sleeping well probably had a lot to do with my blood pressure being elevated. I'd appreciate your prayers that it was a one time thing and it will be back to normal on Friday.

On a more upbeat note, we put an offer in on a house this week. We are really praying that if it is God's will they will accept our offer. If not, we know there is something else out there for us. It is exciting to think about being in our own house soon though!

Here are some pictures from this month:

LoveStrong Event at church with Tiffany & Brent




This weekend in Odessa

And her name is......

AVERY
Gender: Girl
Origin: French
Meaning: Wise

After much deliberation, discussion, and a whole lot of patience, our baby girl has a name! Yay! I can't tell you how happy I am to call her Avery. "Baby girl" is sweet and cute, but there is something about feeling her move inside me that makes her so much more "real" than just calling her "baby girl." A little background on her name - before we knew we were having a girl Randy and I discussed names. We both agreed on a boy's name, but couldn't agree on a girl's name. The boy's name does have the same initials as Randy so we thought we would try to find an R name so we all would be R's, but do you know how hard it is to find a girl's R name we both like? Almost impossible. :) So we threw that idea out and just started looking at all girl names. Randy liked traditional, common names. Me, I like more unique names. Not crazy ones, just not as common. He had like 4 names he liked (and I had vetoed all of them) and I had a list of 10 or so. He didn't like any of mine, so I kept looking for others that he might like. Let's just say there are a ton of cute girl names out there. I found one I really loved and loved the way it sounded with Marie. Of course, he didn't like it. So finally after much frustration, Randy said he would pick a name that I liked if I would just not mention it for a while. As hard as it was, I said ok and waited. And waited. And waited. In the mean time he slipped a few times and called baby girl by the name I liked. I was hopeful, but knew he probably would choose one of the other ones. Well, Friday night he was walking out the door to go help a friend and told me bye, gave me a kiss, and patted my stomach and said, "Bye, Avery!" As soon as he said it, he realized what he had done and I was shocked. Turns out he had decided a month ago that Avery was ok, he just didn't tell me. Made me wait it out. Stinker! I was so excited. I did wait until now to tell anyone just to make sure he really was ok with it. He said it had grown on him. We told our families this past weekend.

I can't wait to see you face to face Avery Marie! Your daddy and I love you so much already. We pray that you will seek God as your only source of wisdom. Can't wait to meet you baby girl!