16 Days Old!

Well we had our 2 week pediatrician check up today. Avery is great! The little chunky monkey has gained 1 1/2 pounds since her last appt and is up to 8 pounds 7 ounces. So... I guess my fears about whether or not Avery is getting enough to eat have been solved. She's getting PLENTY.

Her 'stats' say that she's in the 54th percentile for weight and 88th percentile for height at 21.5 inches long. She's a tall skinny thing :) and we love her!

We also go the go ahead to let her sleep without having to wake her up every 4 hours at night - that's great! I hope things go well tonight...

Last night we had the worst night of all and it wasn't even Avery's fault...it was mine... I had another gall bladder attack and thought I was going to die. I kept robert up until 3 am dealing w/ it. AWFUL.

My mom left yesterday. Oh it was so so hard. I really wish she lived closer so that we could see each other whenever we wanted... I'm thinking a 2 hour drive would be ideal.

A few pics of Avery...

Her first Alabama Game! Ole Miss vs Alabama - October 21, 2008. Alabama won 24-20

Nice Hair do!!! First bath

11 days old

Avery is sleeping and I have a few minutes to update/reflect before she wakes up. It's been 11 days since this wonderful bundle of joy came into our lives. Life as Robert and I know it will never be the same and that is OK. All my fears of L&D (even though it didn't even happen), having a C-section, recovery, whether or not I'd be a good mom, parenthood, etc have all gone away. I still have some moments of self doubt but if anything, I am learning to trust myself and my instinct and so far, it's working. The "baby blues" that hit after a week have seemed to vanish and I'm doing OK. My recovery with the C-section has been way better than I thought. I had fears about breastfeeding post c-section. I thought with the "unnatural" delivery of my baby that it would take my body extra time to get the message, but Friday, 3 days after delivery, my milk came in and my daughter is thriving. I thought it would be painful to nurse her but as soon as my staples came out, I can hardly tell that I have a 8-10 inch incision in my abdomen. I am meeting my baby's needs by feeding, loving, changing her when needed. She shows me that I am doing well at this because she is a HAPPY and content baby. After she eats she is so active and alert and prefers to be left in her pack & play bassinet next to the window to look at the window blinds and kick her legs. She stares endlessly at her hands and will smile without even knowing that she's doing it. Night time has been a breeze so far. She's a no-nonsense kinda gal. Last night for instance, she woke up around 2:30 after sleeping about 4 hours. I changed her, she ate and then was back asleep by 3:10. We've had 2 -3 nights where her tummy has visibly been bothering her but as soon as we can get her to "blow one out" she is miraculously "fixed" and returns to my happy, content beautiful baby girl. I am so in love with her. I am even more so in love with my husband who tells me I'm doing a good job. Knowing he is supporting me and thinking I'm doing it "right" is such a needed and welcomed calming affect on me. He has been so active in parenting for our little girl and never balks about having to help take care of her, even when she pees on him.

Avery Elizabeth is here!

Avery arrived via c-section at 12:22 pm on Oct. 7, 2008. She was 7 lbs, 7 oz. Not quite the 8+ lb baby Dr. D had projected but... it was VERY good we did the c-section. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and she had already had a bowel movement in the womb. It was VERY VERY likely that even if I had attempted a vaginal birth (assuming my cervix was favorable), we would have ended up in an emergency C-section anyways. She is GORGEOUS. Robert is an amazing daddy as well. As soon as the doctor pulled her out of me, he was with her. The baby team had him be a part of everything. It was funny that when they told him to "come on" to go bathe her... my doctor stopped him and said "Oh Mr. M - just wanted to let you know that Sarah is fine"... I'm so chopped liver these days. it was about 4 hours after my surgery that I was able to see her and when I did, she immediately latched on breast feeding. The next morning I called a lactation consultant to ake sure that we had it right and she got an A+. Now if only my milk would come in because she is a GREEDY little thing! She is the perfect baby (like I said she would have to be!). She only cries when she needs something, is a big cuddle bug with anyone who holds her and is pretty damn cute.

Top Ten reasons why a C Section is "OK"

I hope people who read this find some sarcasm in this post.

I've been thinking of the pros about this C-section. I'm really "OK" with it now but this still makes me feel better.

1. Avery's birthday is the same as my FIL's wedding anniversary...now he's happy and hasn't made a crack at her name today

2. Extra day at the hospital = extra day of help w/ baby

3. 2 extra weeks of STD pay

4. My vagina stays in tact - no drooping lady parts for me

5. no hemorrhoids from pushing

6. drugs... need I say more???

7. Baby won't have a cone head upon arrival

8. Sex can re-commence around 4 weeks instead of 6 (according to some book Robert read today)

9. Scars are sexy, right?

10. Robert gets to wear scrubs.

The day has been set....

Tomorrow, October 7, 2008 at 12:00 pm, I am scheduled for a C-section delivery.

Today's Dr appt was the "same ol" news with elevated BP, protein in my urine. My cervix STILL hadn't progressed any to be favorable towards induction. Avery is fine inside of me - meaning she's thriving.

The Dr hooked me up to a NST monitor for over an hour where they look at baby's heartbeat, any signs of fetal stress, monitor movement and any contractions. In the hour and a half I was hooked up to the monitor, I had 2 contractions - and they weren't even "real" contractions but rather little 'practice' ones. Avery was very active and not under any stress.

Then Dr. D said the inevitable. C SECTION. He's worried that because of her size (8 pounds now) and my cervix being "non-induceable" AND the looming Pre-E/Toxemia, that if he were to wait until Cervix was ready, she would be too big or I would have developed more severe case of this pre-e crap and if he were to induce now, that the cervix isn't ripe enough to open and I would be in a lot of pain for a long time without getting anywhere fast and more than likely (75% likely) to end up w/ a C-section after hours of labor.

Here's the Rock... here's the hard place...

So - I asked to schedule the surgery for Wednesday - to allow my mom to fly in... Apparently late week surgeries are popular because the only opening was for tomorrow at 12:00 pm. And the dr didn't feel comfortable letting me wait until Saturday.

It's done... it's scheduled...

It's not what I wanted but I feel better knowing we have a definitive plan in place now and I won't get toxemia and Avery won't be in any danger.

Please keep me in your prayers tomorrow. I have never gone through any major surgery until now and I'm scared to death about it. I don't like needles, I don't like drugs, I don't like the idea of being awake while I'm being opened up.

However... that being said, I am so so so excited to meet my daughter tomorrow and become a MOTHER. How freaking cool is that????

When will she arrive????

The last few weeks have been a little eventful for our pregnancy. I am on the verge of "going toxic"... let me explain.

There is a condition called pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) that can lead to a worse condition called Pre-Eclampsia or Toxemia. Drs aren't really sure what exactly causes it but the 'cure' for it is usually delivery of the baby. Symptoms include elevated blood pressure, protein in your urine, swelling in feet, hands and face. More severe cases include basically a shutting down of your liver and kidneys.

Up until recently, my blood pressure has been phenomenal and perfect. However about 2 weeks ago - it was 132/88 - not terrible but higher than it HAS BEEN. They did a recheck of my BP while I laid down and it went down to 100/60... no big deal.

Last Tuesday, my blood pressure was again elevated and this time I had protein in my urine. The doctor sent me in for blood work at the lab and had me come back in on Wednesday. My blood work came back "perfect" meaning I didn't have the Pre-E...yet... and on Wednesday, although my BP was elevated, the protein went down to just a trace amount. Dr. D scheduled another appt on Friday. The doctor had mentioned induction so when we came back on Wednesday our bags were packed and we were ready to go...JUST IN CASE. But since everything was "OK" we were just told to come back on Friday.

On Friday I went in and my BP was 148/100 (VERY HIGH!) and I still had trace protein levels. The nurse said "we need to deliver this baby now!"

When they did a recheck of my BP, it was 136/90 - still really high. The doctor ordered an ultrasound and did an exam. Well miss Avery is measuring about 8 pounds, and looks really good. Then he sent me to Labor & Delivery for monitoring and another round of blood work. Robert and I were not really ready to have this baby, and talked about all the things that were still at home and not packed permanently in the car.

I got situated in L&D and my BP stayed in the 130's/80's. Then right before the dr came in, it went down to 124/76. He told me to lay on my left side, and 5 minutes later, my BP was 110/72. At that time my blood work came back and in the ~1 hour the trace protein had gone to nothing and the blood work was normal.

He sent me home.

The other issue that we're facing is that my body has not started to prepare for childbirth yet. Avery is still VERY high and has not dropped. My cervix (yes, we're talking lady parts now) is still very high, not soft and not thinned out/effaced. Forget about dilation... Avery is still locked up tight.

I have spent the last 9 months worried that I'd lose this baby and now I can't get my body to let her out... irony at its best.

And because of my cervix's stubborn state, combined with the size of this baby (who'da thunk that I could grow such a biggun!??) and the fact that my body is TRYING to go toxic, we're now looking at the possibility of having a C-section.

This is NOT what I wanted... I wanted to go through the excitement of being at home, starting to feel contractions, laboring at home, going to the hospital at some strange hour of the night. I wanted to ATTEMPT to go au natural - no epidural, however now that (if ol' steely the cervix cooperates) I am induced, I am not sure I am disciplined/prepared enough to go sans epidural.

I don't feel like I am getting the support I need about the idea of having a c-section. The mere mention of it to my mom and I get the following reaction "OOOOOH!!! no! you don't want a c-section!!!" Well at this point I'm not sure if I have a choice if I keep on swelling, High BP and no ripening going on.

Today is my due date. I have done nothing but "rest" according to the doctor's orders. I'm tired of resting. I haven't had any contractions, a few cramping feelings here and there, but nothing promising. I have started a regimen of Evening Primrose Oil as directed by Lauren.

So... when will she be here??? How big will she be???

I'm guessing I get induced or a scheduled C-section - I'm going to plan on Wednesday 10/8/08. I think she's going to be 7 pounds 12 oz.

Wall letters

Just in time! I just got notice from the seller that Avery's Wall letters are completed... just in time for her arrival, right? I bought these from "The Funky Boutique" off of Ebay. This is a picture of the nursery/crib that these will go over.