For Daddy

Ava and I are in AZ for a couple weeks before we meet up with Daddy in Seattle. We are sure missing him!!!!! These are for you Daddy!

6 weeks!

Ava has been smiling now for a few days, but I finally caught it on tape!

We did a footprint with water-based ink that turned out to be not so washable. Oops! Sorry baby girl!


She is getting so strong! We are so proud... :)


This one is just cute...


Daddy/daughter time! (don't worry, no one is truly indecent in this picture :))


We sure love her! Both sets of grandparents, 3 aunts and 2 uncles are all coming into town for her baby blessing this weekend. We are so blessed that everyone is so supportive and willing to fly out! Should make for a fun weekend. Tuesday I am flying out to AZ for 2 weeks so if you are around, let me know and we can play!

Sweet Ava Mae

Ava is such a joy to have in our home. She is generally a very happy baby and is content to sit and look around much of the time. She has been very aware and alert since she was born and is just starting to focus on things. I swear I got a smile out of her today as well! She also gives me a little break and will sleep 4-5 hours once during the night. She loves black and white pictures and being outside. We sure love her!

Mom and dad have made the transition to parenthood relatively well. We are generally sleep deprived but love having her in our home! Ava and I are still working on the breastfeeding thing which has been a challenge, but we are determined to get it working. Anyone else have breastfeeding issues? I'm surprised how NOT instinctive it is and how much it can hurt...wow. We are working with a lactation consultant so hopefully mommy will be more comfortable soon.

Erik has been such a fantastic support. I have no idea how I would do this without him and I feel like he often takes more than his fair share of work around the house. I am a very lucky girl, and so is Ava!

We also have been blessed to have such great friends and ward members who have brought us dinner, sent emails, and inquired about our well-being. We feel very blessed! Thanks also to fabulous friends and family who have been so supportive. We really appreciate it!

Here is a video for the grandparents...and to show off how dang cute our little girl is...

And a few pictures to prove it further:

after the first bath that she enjoyed :)

this is one strong girl....look at that leg extension! bum in the air!!

what a sweetheart

My birth story

I am finally getting around to writing our first post about Ava. Sorry to be so late in coming - everyone has been asking for pictures. But it's amazing how little you can accomplish in a day when you only have 1-2 hour blocks of time. Lucky for me my mom is here and has been such an amazing support and fabulous picture taker :)

Ava Mae's journey into this world:

On the morning of the 22nd I awoke with bad cramps in my back, kind of like menstral pain. I knew this was a sign of labor and was excited! I had two bouts of false labor the day before, so I was ready! (not to mention the fact that I was already 4 days overdue). Erik had to go into a meeting for a bit in the morning so I sat in the tub. After 7 hours I still hadn't felt any real "contractions" and I was getting a little annoyed. I was in pain from the back labor as I later realized it was but didn't seem to be progressing. I talked to one of my friends on the phone who asked if my water had broke and I confidently replied, "No, not yet!" Well, little did I know that my water HAD broken (it was a trickle, apparently that counts) and only after I called the midwife to confirm that my back pain was early labor did she advise me to come into the hospital. Erik and I looked at each other like, "Okay, here is the first false trip." When we got there however, I was informed that yes, my water had broken and no, that I would not be going home. Holy cow, this was real.

My midwife said I needed to go into good labor within the next 2-3 hours otherwise they would need to start Pitocin because I tested positive for GroupB Strep. I was not very happy about that as I was aiming for a natural, non medicated birth and I knew Pitocin would make that harder. Well, good for Ava, within 30 minutes I was in good labor! Surprise! Within an hour my contractions were strong and only about 2-3 minutes apart. The hard part was the back labor - it was seriously intense! Has anyone else experienced it? I can't believe how strong it was. I felt hardly anything in my belly and mostly ALL in my back. After trying different positions, getting in the tub and dialating past a 5 (this was an hour after they checked me last), I decided to get a epidural. The back labor was more than I could handle. I had to practically grit my teeth for the next 40 minutes until I actually got the epidural. And then it only worked on one side. Finally it worked on both sides of my back but then the baby had decended enough that I could feel it down low. My mom just happened to be coming in town that night and weaseled onto an early connection so she arrived an hour and a half before we expected her. Good thng too because I was then 9.5cm! The midwife wanted me to wait a bit before I pushed, but Ava had a plan of her own. Soon I was able to feel her head! After 50 minutes of pushing, Ava was born!

Her stats:
Date - July 23rd
Time - 12:22am
Weight - 9 lbs 9 oz
Length - 21.5 inches

My mom and Erik were both surprised at how big she was, especially after the admitting midwife guessed she'd be a little over 8 lbs!! Here are some pictures of the cutie:

Right after she was born

Wow what a chunker! (I still can't believe I birthed that thing!)

With Grandpa Walker in the hospital

My favorite position with Daddy

Superwoman!

Very content with Grammie

We ended up having to stay at the hospital an extra two days because she gave us a little scare at her discharge/ final check up. While the nurse was holding her, her oxygen saturation levels dropped and she turned blue. For the next two days the kept her in a level 2 nursery hooked up to monitors and anIV. That was not fun to watch. The doctors cycled between thinking it was an infection to thinking that she was just so big and could make the newborn "transition" as well or as fast. Luckily everything looked good and we were able to leave after two days. She still has a heart murmur (which may be completely normal and benign or could be more serious) so we have to go get an echocardiogram in a week and a half.

Other than that, Ava is such a sweet baby and a joy to have at home. She doesn't fuss much and spends a decent amount of time awake, alert and content. And the best part is, I think she might actually have blue eyes! Her eyes are very blue right now, not the typical blue/grey that most babies have. Here's to hoping!

Happy Due Date!!

Notice I didn't say BIRTHday...no sign of the little one yet! I wish she would just come already, but we're both trying to enjoy the last little bit of freedom we have. Overall I've been remarkably blessed and have been feeling pretty good these last few weeks. Occasional swelling and I don't feel particularly gigantic. It is definitely harder to move around, but not as bad as I expected.

I have been on maternity leave this week and it has been really nice! Doing a lot around the house (cleaning grout, you know, the usual...) and trying to relax without feeling guilty! That has been really hard for me. Since I feel pretty good I'm having a hard time justifying relaxing. But I'm working on it :)

So here is the most recent picture...39 weeks and 3 days I think. I've made some progress so far, but the doctor was pretty convinced I'd see her next week :( We'll keep you posted!


p.s. one thing I have NOT enjoyed...watching my belly button disappear! It was a pretty deep "inny" as they say, so I was convinced that it would stay that way. Well in the last couple of weeks folks....let's just say it has migrated outward. Definitely poking out...and it freaks me out.

Predictions

So friends, we are getting down to the wire here and we would like to start a friendly competition. Who would like to place a friendly bet on when the baby will come and how big she will be? Here are the facts to help your predictions:

"Official" due date: July 18th
Dad's stats: 10lbs 6oz, ?? inches
Mom's stats: 7lbs 14oz, 20 3/4 inches

SOOO, guess the following:
1. birth DAY
2. birth TIME
3. weight
4. length

and whoever gets the closest wins a special, special prize :)

Aren't Sunday's Great?