A Day in the Life

The other night, my mom asked me on the phone:  What is a day like?  Tell me from beginning to end.

As we are still adjusting to our new life, the thing that's been MOST helpful to me is other moms talking to me honestly about these newborn days.  It has been such a comfort to me to know that the good and the bad and all of the crazy emotions I feel are normal!  I'll share a typical day in the life of an almost four-week-old here so you can see the good and bad and everything in between!  This is a typical day, though every day is different.  These pics weren't all taken on the same day, but you get the idea :-)

Let's begin our day at 12 am, shall we?  Because that's when the day begins (at least on my Baby Connect app where I track all feedings).

12:00 am:  Sleeping.  Everyone.  (Praise God)

2:00 am:  Ava wakes with her "DEFCON 5" cry.  This is the cry that means - "I need food - NOW!"  I stumble out of bed, pick her up, carry her to the nursery, and change her diaper while half asleep.  She's still screaming,  but luckily I've developed nerves of steel.  I take her back to our bed and nurse her for 30-45 minutes.  I nurse sitting up so I don't fall asleep, and I troll Facebook (no new posts at 2 am... come on people!) and Pinterest (I see recent pins from two people who just had babies... imagine seeing y'all here!)  I drink an entire Gatorade during this feeding to quench my undying thirst.

2:40 am:  Put Ava back in the pack-and-play, turn on the sleep sheep, and tiptoe back into bed, holding my breath.  Listen for about 5 minutes to see if she sleeps or screams.  She sleeps.  I'm out.

4:00 am:  Wake up freaking out that I forgot to put Ava back in her pack and play.  I think she's lost in our bed, and I wake Brent up asking, "Where is Ava?!"  Brent says, "She's in her bed, Katie.  Go to sleep."  Yep, fully rational over here.

5:00 am:  DEFCON 5 scream.  Jump out of bed.  Grab baby.  Change diaper.  Feed.  Still no new Facebook posts.  Don't you working people get up early, and can't you please post something for my entertainment?  K thanks.

5:40 am:  Put Ava down, tiptoe to bed, snuggle under covers.  DEFCON cry.  Give her a second.  Give her a minute.  OK, a few minutes.  Still screaming.  Say pitifully, "Honey, can you please help me?"  Brent stumbles out of bed, takes Ava into the living room, and sleeps on the couch with her in the bouncer, which he has to bounce every 10 minutes while I sleep in the bedroom.  Love him.

7:50 am:  Wake up.  I have 10 minutes before little miss has to eat.  Dash around the house to make coffee, open windows, empty dishwasher, put in a load of laundry, make the bed, put in contacts.  Wake up Ava and feed her.  Even though I'm exhausted and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet, I enjoy her a lot in the mornings.  She's usually pretty darn sweet.  I admire her and read all of my devotionals on my iPhone while feeding.

8:30 am:  Ava is awake, full, and happy!  This is her happy awake time, and she loves to explore the world.  Her eyes are wide open and she's not crying!  She's awake for an hour, so we do a little swing time,  lay on the floor and read books, and make faces on the couch.

Sometimes we praise Jesus.

9:30 am:  Ava starts fussing and yawning.  Time to sleep.  We rock, listen to lullabies, and sing.  She resists valiantly and screams loudly and flails around as if we are torturing her.

Then I remember she isn't swaddled, and she won't sleep if she's not swaddled.  So we swaddle.  Then we repeat all of the above for 45 minutes until little miss finally gives in and goes to sleep.  

While Ava naps, I eat breakfast (finally), shower, put on makeup, and "get dressed" in workout clothes or leggings and a sweater, all while watching the monitor.

11:00 am:  Time to eat again!  Ava's still asleep, so I wake her up and change her diaper.   She's not happy - until she figures out she's about to eat.  Feed Ava for about 30 minutes while watching HGTV.

12:00 pm:  Put Ava in the bouncer to keep her happy for 20 minutes or so while I make and eat a sandwich, chips, and apple at record speed.  Oh, and drink a giant glass of water - the thirst!!

12:20 pm:  The clock is ticking before the next feeding, and I REALLY want to go to Target!  Bundle up Ava in mittens and hat and put her in the carseat.  Rush out to the car with diaper bag and Moby wrap already on me.  Drive to Target.  Ava sleeps when we're moving and cries when we stop at every red light.  No lie.  Little girl wants me to be a criminal and run red lights, I tell ya.

12:30 pm:  Arrive at Target and try to slip Ava into the Moby wrap without waking her.  Success!  Spend one blissful hour walking around Target with Ava fast asleep in the Moby.  Everyone thinks she is so cute.  I think to myself that this is a really fun part about being a mom.  This cute baby?  Yeah, she's mine.  Except one lady said, "Oh, isn't it just a miracle!  Even when they are screaming and crying, they are so sweet and cute and precious and a MIRACLE."  I kind of looked at her like 'lady you have lost your mind' and I said, "Yeah, you're free to come over to my house any time!"  

2:00 pm:  It's feeding time, and Ava lets me know.  Throw the Target bags on the counter and take off my shirt as fast as possible to stop the screaming.  Feed Ava.

2:30 pm:  Ava's full and dry, but she's grumpy.  Try rocking.  Try bouncer.  Try swing.  Try music.  Try all the "happiest baby on the block" techniques.  She's not having it.  Try wearing her in the sling.  She loves it, clearly!!

j/k she totally hates it.  Mom of the year!  However, I'm determined for her to like it, so I keep her in there and bounce around the house for 20 minutes or so.  And suddenly... she stops crying.  She catnaps happily in the sling for the next 20 minutes as I tidy up the house.

3:45 pm:  Daddy gets home from class, and we pop Ava into the stroller for a walk around the neighborhood.  She screams the first block or so, but then succumbs to the movement and the vibration and sleeps the rest of the walk.  Brent and I see this as a "date" time when we can just be together and talk.  It feels soooooo good to get out of the house, breathe fresh air, and exercise.

4:45:  Time to eat again!  This time, Ava is very fussy for no apparent reason and screams while I try to feed her.  No matter how many times I try, she resists and stiffens up and pushes away like I am trying to hurt her.  She refuses to eat and continues to scream.  It's the end of the day, and I'm frustrated.  I start crying because I feel like I can't feed my child and she hates me and she will starve and she will not gain enough weight and I am not making good milk and I'm a terrible mother and.......... 

Blazer hates when I cry and hates when Ava cries.  It stresses him out.  He comes over and tries to snuggle on my lap (even though Ava's there) to make me feel better and licks Ava with a big sloppy kiss on the face, and this all makes me laugh even though I'm sobbing.  Finally, I get Ava to eat a tiny bit, but it was not a good feeding.

5:15 pm:  Bath time.  One time, we gave Ava a bath at bedtime because we thought that's what you were supposed to do??  Rookie mistake.  Ava hated the bath with all her might and screamed at DEFCON 5 level until about midnight.  Now, we bathe her at 5 so that if she freaks out, she has many hours to calm down before bed.  Of course, now, she loves baths.  Go figure.

6:00 pm:  Ava's wide awake and decides to cry for one full hour.  The bath happiness only lasted so long.  It's time to fix dinner, so daddy gets bouncer duty.  He bounces her for a full hour to get her to go to sleep.

7:00 pm:  Ava's finally asleep in the bouncer and dinner is ready.  We eat and watch TV and savor the quiet.  And we have a glass of wine.  Definitely a glass of wine.

7:45 pm:  Time for Ava to eat again!  This time she feeds a little better, and she is tired afterwords.  We change her, put on her pjs, and swaddle her.  After the evening chores are done, we all pile into bed for some family cuddle time and watch TV together.  How sweet is Blazer in this pic?  He loves little Ava - it's really sweet.

10:30 pm:  Wake Ava to feed her one last time before we go to sleep.  Hopefully, she ends up in a milk coma, or, as Brent likes to say, "Drunk as a skunk".  This is the face you want to see at bedtime.  What we don't want to see is eyes so wide open they look as if they are held up by toothpicks!

11:00 pm:  Go to sleep until the next day begins.....

Nursery Reveal

I planned to post pictures of Ava's nursery before she was born, but the time got away from me!  Now the nursery is complete, and we are enjoying Ava in it.  It is the nursery of my dreams!  Here is the space that little miss Ava can call her own!

Glider :: Rockabye from Target

Plush Owl :: Pier 1 Imports

Yellow Chevron Pillow :: Handmade by my mom

Ottoman :: Custom from Zeldabelle on Etsy

Rug ::  Moroccan Trellis in bubblegum from RugStudio

Book Ledges :: Amazon.com

Side Table :: HomeGoods

Lamp :: HomeGoods  (with DIY felt flowers)

Owl Figurine :: HomeGoods

Books :: Saved from my childhood

Dresser :: Ava collection from Basset Baby at Buy Buy Baby (not lying... that's the name of the furniture!!  It was a sign.)

Chevron Changing Pad Cover :: Carousel Designs

Lamp :: Target

Cross :: Repurposed from our kitchen

Art :: Handpainted by me

Crib :: Ava collection from Bassett Baby at Buy Buy Baby

Yellow & Gray Chevron Bedding :: Carousel Designs

Monogram :: Custom from A Southern Nest on Etsy

Chevron Fabric Banner :: Handmade by my mom

Paris Canvas Baskets :: HomeGoods

Pink & Gray Hamper :: HomeGoods

Hanging Organizer :: Target

Ava's First Two Weeks

Today our little Ava is two weeks old!  We are falling more in love with our little girl every day!  She is just as precious and sweet as can be.

After Ava's birth (read about it here), we were transferred to our hospital room where we would stay for the next 2 days.  In an effort to keep it real, I'll tell you the truth about our first two weeks with Ava.  This is a long post, but I wanted to record it for my memory, and there are lots of pics throughout!

Days 1 & 2:  Hospital

After the joy of Ava's birth, I have to say that the next two days spent in the hospital were probably some of the worst days of my life.  (Don't worry... it got better... keep reading!)  The hospital was just not a place where Brent, Ava, or I could thrive.  Without going into all the details, I'll just say that it was an unbelievably stressful situation.  Because of my long labor, I was in a lot of pain, and neither of us had slept in over 24 hours.  Now, we had a newborn in our room and pretty much no clue what to do with her!  The hospital keeps babies in the room with mom 24/7, which I think is a VERY good policy, but I don't think they supported us quite enough in caring for her those first days.

We thought we would get to sleep once we were in our own room, but no - that was not in the cards.  I am not lying that hospital staff came in our room every ten minutes, around the clock.  This is not an exaggeration.  Ava & I got our vital signs every 2 hours around the clock.  People came to do blood tests on Ava at 3am (for real).  They brought us our birth certificate information at 1am (I am not lying).  Food service came in 7+ times a day.  At one point, we had the following people in the room all at once:  the nurse, my OBGYN, the obgyn nurse, the housekeeper, and the lactation consultant.  They were all trying to tell me things and ask me questions at the same time.  I broke down in tears in front of all of them.  Lovely.  Also, did I mention our room was like a closet?  You couldn't even walk without tripping over something.  Needless to say, we didn't sleep in that room.  By night 2, I had not slept for 72 hours.

Unfortunately for us, night 2 was no better.  Ava was inconsolable all night and would not eat or sleep.  We called the nurse twice in desperation to help us - we just couldn't figure out what was wrong.  The nurse would eventually get her to sleep and leave the room, and then Ava would wake up and scream again five minutes later.  The next morning, haggard and desperate, we asked to see the lactation consultant.  God bless lactation consultants.  This one was FANTASTIC.  When she arrived, she witnessed one of Ava's meltdowns and realized what we had been dealing with.  She spent most of the day with us trying to figure out what was the matter.  Long story short, Ava basically wasn't getting any nourishment.  She was hungry and overtired and frantic as a result.  We tried a few things, and finally settled on a system that allowed Ava to breastfeed but also be supplemented with formula for a week or so until we could get breastfeeding more established.  For the first time in days, Ava ate and was full and slept.  God bless America.

I had visions of going home from the hospital in a cute outfit with my hair all done and my makeup on. Ava would be cute too.  We'd smile and take pictures.  Um,  not so much.  I hadn't showered or slept, and neither had Brent.  We just left Ava in what she had on and packed up.  We were a sight for sore eyes leaving that hospital!  Thankfully my wonderful mom was there to collect us and help us function for the next week.

Days 3 - 7:  Home with Mom 

Getting home from the hospital was when things finally started to look up.  My blessed mother had dinner ready for us.  We took a shower and were finally clean.  The familiarity of home was awesome. We had tools that we could use to calm Ava that we didn't have in the hospital (swing, bouncy seat, Moby wrap, etc).  Still, we were functioning on no sleep, and all of us were still in major recovery mode from delivery.  We headed to bed and put Ava down in her pack and play in our room.  Long story short, we did not sleep from 9 pm - 4 am.  Between eating and crying, Ava was a handful.  She did not want to sleep flat in her pack and play.  At 4 am, we were at our wits end.  I had a major crying breakdown.  I went down the hall and knocked on my mom's door, screaming Ava in hand.  She jumped out of bed and took her and watched her until 7 so I could get at least a few hours of sleep.  This routine went on for 2-3 days, and my mom took her each night around 4 am.  Then, my mom finally discovered that she loved sleeping in the bouncy seat.  Success!  That night, we put her to bed in the bouncy seat, and she slept for three hours straight.  I fed her, and she slept for three more hours straight.  I fed her again, and she slept for three more hours straight.  OMG!!!!  I could have danced.  I know the bouncy seat is NOT a long term solution, but at the moment, I don't care!!!

That first week is kind of a blur, but every day got better than the last.  My mom made sure we ate and picked up the mess that we created daily.  I got more sleep each night, and I started feeling like a new person.  When my mom left on day 7, I had a meltdown.  But I knew we were on track to good things and that we could do it on our own.

Days 8 - 14:  Home Alone and More Visitors

After my mom left, we began to figure out how to be a family of 3 on our own.  Even though Ava doesn't have a routine yet, we usually have some happy play time in the morning, somewhat regular feedings, and we try to have an outing a day - a walk, trip to the doctor, etc.  It felt good to be home with just the three of us (and Blazer).  I've tried to use feeding time to pray and do my Bible study.  One prayer that has really gotten me through these two weeks is "help me get through this hour/day".  I pray that one a lot!  We know that with each passing day, things will get better, and we will find more and more of our "new normal".  On Saturday, Brent's parents arrived, and they are staying with us until Wednesday.  They are spoiling us with plenty of meals and love - such a blessing!  They are always willing to quiet a crying Ava, and they have watched her while Brent and I took a walk yesterday and today.  So awesome!!

Here are some other things I want to remember about Ava's first weeks:

Mama Highs:

• Mornings:  The old saying that "everything looks better in the morning" is SO, SO true.  On some of the hard nights, I just can't wait for morning.  I know my spirits will be lifted and nothing will be quite as bad as it seems.  Even if we've had little sleep, there is something refreshing about turing on all the lights, opening the blinds wide to let in the sun, and having a BIG cup of hot coffee.  Brent has also been really good about letting me shower and get ready each morning, which makes a big difference in my general outlook on life!
• My mom helping us:  My mother is a saint.  Part of me thought that we wouldn't need any help when we got home with Ava, but I could not have been more wrong.  We truly would not have survived (and I mean that literally) without my mom.  My mom got here while we were still in the hospital.  Before we even got home, she had gotten everything ready for us, cooked meals, bought flowers, gone to the store, put balloons on the front porch, and set the table with placemats and silverware for dinner.  She functioned as our brain when our brains were not working (which was most of the week).  She was SUCH a blessing!
• Family Time:  Every night around 8 pm, we snuggle in bed to feed Ava, cuddle, and watch TV until her last feeding around 10 when we go to bed.  These hours are so sweet and precious.  Even Blazer joins us, and we get to just spend time together as a family.  I know we've been a family all this time, but now it's like, wow, we have a FAMILY.
• Ava's Nighttime Sleep:  While the first three nights home were chaos, by about the 4th night, I think Ava was starting to get the difference between night and day.  She is usually pretty good about sleeping at night.  We have to wake her up for the nighttime feedings, and she usually goes back to sleep after feeding with minimal soothing.  I'm still tired because I'm waking every 3 hours to feed her, and each feeing takes about 45 minutes. However, I'm so grateful that she lets me sleep a hour or two between feedings.  If I was up the whole night, every night, I don't know how I'd make it.  Some nights are better than others, but overall, she's making mama happy at night.  She doesn't sleep hardly at all during the day, but I'll take it if she sleeps at night!!

Mama Lows:

• Late Afternoons:  At the end of a long day, things can begin to look a little bleak.  My least favorite part of the day is from about 4:00 - 6:00.  It's getting dark, I'm exhausted from the day, I'm kind of dreading the night, and Ava is usually screaming at the top of her lungs.  Just keepin' it real.  These are the times when the tears usually flow.  God bless my sweet friend, Mary Elizabeth, who has been known to call me at 5:00 just because it's getting dark and she knows I'm probably sad!
• Newborn Photos:  We took Ava for her newborn photo shoot where they take all those adorable pictures of your sleeping baby.  The only thing is, the baby needs to be SLEEPING.  This is not an issue with most newborns, but Ava was not having it.  She cried and refused to sleep for 3.5 hours while the sweet photographer (bless her heart) tried valiantly to calm and soothe her, to no avail.  I was so stressed the whole time - I REALLY wanted those pictures!  We decided it was just not going to work that day, but the photographer was so kind to let us come back later in the week and try again.  This time, we tried the afternoon, and I tried to keep her up in the morning so she would be tired. I also prayed all the way over there that she would sleep.  What a blessing that God cares about the little details of life, too!  She slept like a CHAMP.  Whew.  We will have cute pictures after all.

Ava Likes:

• Swaddling:  She loves swaddling, especially with the Summer "swaddle me" blankets - we found they work the best and are most snug on a tiny newborn.
• Bouncy seat:  We absolutely can not live without the Fisher Price "little snugabunny" bouncer seat.  She loves it.  It's pretty much the only place she will sleep.  This is where she naps and sleeps at night by our bed.  We know we'll have to break her of it eventually, but for now... survival.  And if chica likes to sleep in the bouncy seat, bouncy seat it is.
• Morning play time:  Little girl is VERY alert for a newborn.  In fact, our photographer said she has never, ever in her career seen a newborn stay awake for as long as Ava stayed awake.  Awesome.  However, this makes for some fun daytime play time.  She is most alert and happy in the morning from about 9 - 12.  She loves to lay on a blanket on the floor and move her arms and legs like crazy, looking all around.
• Car rides: She screams like crazy when we put her in the car seat, but as soon as the car starts moving, she is out like a light and sleeps until we get where ever we are going.

Ava Dislikes:

• Pacifiers:  I've tried to get her to take one, but she's not having it yet.  Maybe later.
• Swing:  She's not a huge fan.  She will go in it if she's asleep, but it doesn't really calm her very much.
• Laying flat on her back:  We might be in for trouble since she eventually needs to lay on her back in the crib to sleep.  She hates being flat though.  She prefers to sleep inclined in the infant seat for now.

We love you so much, sweet little girl!  We can't wait for all that's to come!

Ava's Birth Story

Ava Grace Norwood is here!  Ava was born at 7:11 pm on Sunday, January 20, 2013.  She weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces and was 21 inches long.  She is now one week old and as precious as can be.  She takes up approximately 100% of our time, but I did want to find some time to record her birth story here on the blog!

My due date of Wednesday, January 16 came and went.  On Friday, January 18, I had a few signs that labor was imminent.  I was excited and totally freaked out at the same time.  We knew it wouldn't be immediate, but Brent and I went into nesting overdrive.  When I got out of the shower, I found Brent cleaning the floors and packing his bag.  I did a few last minute things and tidied up the house.  Friday night we stayed at home and had homemade pizza for dinner.  I didn't feel any contractions Friday overnight, but I was expecting them at any time!  I woke up on Saturday and immediately felt something had changed.  I felt some definite contractions and pain way down low in my belly.  I had read that "real" labor would be up high and in my back, so I thought that that maybe this was not the real thing.  Still... it was hurting, and it was pretty regular - about every 10-15 minutes.  I had a haircut appointment at 11:15, and I was determined to keep it.  I made Brent come with me since I didn't want to drive with contractions.  Bless my stylist's heart.  She looked a little worried when I told her I was having contractions.  I was pretty excited that I was probably going to the hospital with a fresh haircut and style!

On the way home from the salon, we stopped and got one of my favorite lunches from Saladelia Cafe.  We also called the doctor on call at the hospital (since it was the weekend).  She agreed that I was in early labor and told us to come to the hospital when contractions were five minutes apart lasting one minute each for the span of an hour.  At this point, we also called our parents.  We tracked contractions for the whole afternoon with my iPhone app and watched HGTV.  Things did seem to be progressing, and by around 4 pm, I was in definite pain.  Brent took Blazer to stay with some friends, and for some reason, that made me so sad!  I cried because I felt like it was the end of our old life as a married couple with just a puppy.  I had a "last supper" of plain pasta before we packed up and headed out to the hospital!  Thankfully, I wasn't overly emotional about leaving home - I just was ready to get this thing going!

Once at the hospital, we had to wait in the emergency room with a ton of sick people (super annoying!)  Brent wouldn't let me sit down for fear of germs, so we stood to the side until the L&D nurse came down to get us.  We filled out paperwork and I got my gown on.  We arrived right at a shift change, so we had a bunch of different nurses and attendants for the first 15 minutes.  Here's my last pregnant pic.  Notice the hair, please.  Thank you.

We finally got settled in around 7:30 pm, and the doctor came to check me.  She said, "You're going to be disappointed."  I was only 1 cm dilated.  Boo.  She then stripped my membranes to speed it along, which was, um, less than pleasant.   She asked me to walk around for an hour or so to see if we could get things going.  Brent and I walked laps around the L&D wing, stopping every time I had a contraction.  Two hours later, she checked me again - 1.5 cm.  Lovely.  At this point I knew:  we were going to be here a long, long while.  Thankfully, I fully expected Ava to come late.  I also fully expected to have a long labor.  I also didn't really have any strict "birth plan" or preconceived notion of what my birth 'had' to be like. I just decided to be patient and go with the flow, which I think served us well.  I found it easiest to trust the expertise and advice of the doctors and nurses.  Although I ended up doing things and getting meds I didn't think I would, it was definitely for the best.  At this point, they officially "admitted" me and did all of my lab and blood work.  I labored in the room for several hours.  The contractions were pretty intense for just being 1.5 cm dilated.   The only thing that made them better for me was standing up and leaning over the bed with my head down.  

At 12:30 am, I was given IV pain medication and something to relax me.  I didn't think either worked very well. At 2:30 am, they suggested I get in the jetted tub to relax. I stayed in there about an hour, and it did seem to help a bit.  After I got out, they gave me more pain & relaxation meds plus an Ambien.  I tried to sleep, but I woke up with every contraction, so it was a very fitful and disoriented sleep.  At 9 am on Sunday, the doctor checked me again, and I was at 2 cm.  2 cm after all of that???  I tried hard not to be frustrated.  I had a GREAT doctor who was very sweet and understanding.  She really wanted to move things along while keeping me comfortable.  Even though I was not yet at 4 cm, she suggested I get the epidural since I was in a lot of pain and I was exhausted from laboring for almost 24 hours with no progress. I got the epidural at 10:30 am, and it wasn't too bad except that they had to do it twice because the first time they hit a nerve that sent bursts of pain down my legs.  After the epidural, things were great.  I felt awesome and was able to sleep on and off all day.  I think it worked to relax me and speed things along because they checked me an hour later, and I was at 4 cm.  At this point, the doctor broke my water, which was painless since I had the epidural.  She discovered that Ava had passed some meconium in the womb, which meant that she would need some special care once delivered.

For the rest of the day, I lay in bed waiting for my body to do its job.  In the afternoon, they began giving me pitocin to speed things up.  The nurse helped me switch sides every 30 minutes.  {Side note:  Brent was so awesome this whole time.  He barely slept either, and he was always ready to give me juice, water, and encouragement.   I also had the BEST nurses. The one who was with me most was so kind and sweet.  She really helped me get through it!}  Fast forward to 6 pm on Sunday.  I was FINALLY 8 cm!  They predicted she would arrive within 2 hours.  At this point, I started to get a little freaked out.  Also around this time, my mom arrived from Texas and was brought to the hospital by a friend.  My heart rate was setting off all kinds of alarms in the room because it was so high.  We had my mom leave the room so I could breathe and calm down.  At 6:00, my sweet doctor had to go home (she had been on for 36 hours, so I don't blame her!)  I had a new doctor from another practice I had never met before, but it was OK.  He was just there for the delivery.  At around 6:30, I was finally at 10 cm, so they had me start to push.  They expected me to push for hours, but by 35 minutes, the doctor was called in and the neonatal specialists were poised in the adjoining room to tend to Ava once she was born.  Here I am in the last stages - ready for a baby!

Although the pushing wasn't painful, I could definitely feel the contractions and the pressure.  Ava made her entrance into the world at 7:11 pm, and it was wonderful, but also a bit stressful!  As he delivered her, the doctor saw that the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck TWICE and completely knotted in another location.  I did not know what was going on, but Brent saw the whole thing, and although the doctor was very calm, he definitely had a sense of worried urgency.  Before she was completely out, he had to cut the cord while it was still around her neck.  The Lord was truly merciful to us to give us this safe delivery.  It was actually a pretty scary situation that no one could have predicted.  The doctor was so skilled and calm, and we are grateful for that.  

Once she was born, she was whisked off to the specialists.  She was not breathing (because of the meconium), but this was expected.  They worked on her for a few tense minutes, and I finally heard her cry for the first time.  The whole thing was a very surreal experience.  Because of the issues with Ava, she could not be brought to me right away, but the doctor worked on me and Brent got to go see her and take pictures.  Look at all those hands of wonderful people there ready to help her!

About 20 minutes later, they let her lie with me for about 3 minutes.  I got to see her and hug her and kiss her.  

Then they took her to the nursery for some monitoring for about 30 minutes.  Brent went with her, so it was kind of lonely for a while!  Finally, she came back, and we got some family alone time for around an hour.  I got to nurse her for the first time, and we could admire her tiny little features.

After a dinner of pizza brought by my mom (I hadn't eaten in about 30 hours), we were taken to what would be our room for the next two days.  More to come later on Ava's first days!  Here she is with my mom (her Winnie) that first night.  These were days I will never forget, and I thank the Lord that my labor and delivery, though long, were smooth and safe.  The Lord is good!

40 Weeks

Well hello 40 weeks!  Today we are at 40 weeks and 3 days, and still no baby!  Ava seems nice and cozy in there, and at the moment, I don't feel like birth is imminent, though maybe she will surprise me.  I have thought from the very beginning that she was going to be late.  I just have not heard many stories at ALL of first babies being early or on time.  My mindset has been that she would be born after her due date.  This has been good, probably, because I really don't feel that impatient at all!  Here are my thoughts at 40 weeks:

Blessings:

I feel very blessed to be feeling as good as I do.  For the most part, I have plenty of energy to keep working as usual, keep up with household tasks, and attend the few events we have going on in the evenings.  We also walk about an hour a day.... that's Brent's attempt at getting her to come out and meet us.  Our life has definitely slowed as we wait for Ava.  There are not many things on the to-do list each day, and that is pretty nice!

I am definitely enjoying some sweet time with my husband.  Between Christmas and his five week break from school, we've had many, many chill days at home, which we both love!!  We walk every day, go out to dinner a few times a week, and one day this week we took an impromptu trip out to try a new donut place for breakfast and walk the mall.  I know... gettin' crazy!  Brent has been amazingly sweet and helpful.  The other night he went to the grocery at 7 pm to get ingredients for dinner even though I had all day to do it and just didn't.  He also ties my shoes every day when we walk because I can't anymore!  If we go out and it's really cold, he warms up the car for me and parks right next to the walkway so I won't slip on ice or leaves!

The Lord has really protected my mind and heart in these last few weeks.  I am not great at change, although I am getting better.  This is kind of a BIG change.  If I dwell on it too much or think about too many unknowns, I cry and become very anxious.  For the most part, I've been able to focus on the present and not think too much about the unknowns of labor and delivery and having a newborn.  I know God will give me the grace and strength to deal with whatever comes.  He has blessed me with patience and peace for now.  I'm still reading and learning what I can, but I am never going to be fully mentally prepared, so Brent and I are ready to just do this thing and jump in.  No more thinking!

Small Annoyances:

I think God is preparing me for sleepless nights, because I dread going to bed.  I have always been one to look forward to going to sleep, and I usually sleep very well.  Not anymore!  I wake 5-6 times to go to the bathroom, and I usually have about 2 hours of insomnia each night... sometimes at the beginning, sometimes right in the middle.  My carpal tunnel hands are horrible.  I've been pretty patient and have done well controlling my mind with the pain, but last night I just lost it.  I truly wanted to cut my hands off.  I may or may not have hit the bed and the wall with my useless hands out of frustration.  {Low point.}  Finally, it's just impossible to get comfortable.  My legs are restless and my belly is huge.  I know - sleep won't be good for a long time.  I will deal.

Although I know people mean well, it stresses me out when people say things like, "Enjoy it now", "Get out while you can", "Sleep while you can", "Your life is about to change forever", "Hope you're having fun hanging out with Brent now", etc.  Isn't having a baby supposed to be a good thing?   I mean, people do it multiple times so there must be something awesome about it!  I know people are just trying to prepare me for the reality of a newborn, but I feel like there is intense pressure to "enjoy it now" before she comes.  Hopefully I will enjoy it now AND later.  :-)  Brent is so sweet... every day he says how excited he is for Ava and how he can't wait to meet her and just have her here.  He gives me confidence!  

Daily Life at 40 Weeks:

I'm not very hungry at all.  Usually I'm starving in the morning, but after I eat a bowl of cereal with fruit, I'm typically so full that I can't even think about eating lunch until about 2 pm.  Even then, nothing sounds good, so I've been eating peanut butter and apples or small reheated leftovers.

Everyone asks me if I am nesting.  Yes, I think I am... but that's kind of what I do ALL the time!  I've always been OCD about my house, randomly organizing cabinets and closets, decorating, and cooking.  So, I can't really tell if my nesting is just what I usually do or is a result of pregnancy.  Last week I did scrub the sink, wipe all cabinets, clean out the pantry, dust, clean the microwave, buy flowers for vases, and make sure every last baby thing was put together.  Today I'm going to clean the bathrooms, I think.

My next post may be with pictures of a real baby.... or maybe not!  You'll have to check back to see!

Nursery Art Projects

I had four art projects I wanted to complete for Ava's nursery.  They have all been fun ways to be creative and keep myself busy and distracted in the evenings.  It's been quite frustrating to work with my numb and painful carpal tunnel hands, but I was able to do the projects a little at a time, and I'm so glad they are done!  I absolutely love how they all turned out, and it was fun to add personal, one-of-a-kind touches to the nursery.  For project 1, I made some felt flowers for a lamp which I showed you here.

Project 2:  Animal Canvases

Next, I painted some canvases for above the changing table.  Ever since I painted these canvases for Maggie and Campbell last year, I knew I wanted to make some for my own child.  I am SO happy with how they turned out!  I decided to paint an owl since she has a few owls throughout the nursery and a dog since Blazer is going to be her best friend (fingers crossed) and she's going to grow up to be a dog lover, obviously.

Here they are hanging over the changing table!

Project 3:  Hospital Door Wreath

For my next project, I was coveting several ribbon wreaths I saw online like this one.  However, priced at $40 to $60, I knew I could make one myself for way less.  I purchased about 10 spools of fun ribbon 75% off at Michael's.  The only other materials I needed were a styrofoam wreath form, pinking shears, a wooden plaque, and paint.  With the pinking shears, I cut equal lengths of ribbon from all of the spools.  Then, I randomly tied them on the wreath making sure they were right next to each other.  There wasn't really a pattern.  When all the ribbon was tied on, I trimmed up the ends and arranged them how I wanted.  About half of the ribbon was wired and half was not, which I think gave it a good look.  Finally, I painted the wooden plaque with her name and attached it with ribbon and pins.  I intend to hang this on our hospital room door after she is born.  Then, it can hang on the door to her room and be used for parties, etc. for years to come.  I love it!!  You could do this for any occasion with any color scheme.  It took me forever with my freaking carpal tunnel, but for those of you with hands that actually function, it should be a cinch.

Project 4:  Framed Painted Verse

Lastly, I found this adorable wooden frame at Michael's for only $7.  I knew I had to have it.  It was unfinished, so I spray painted it a glossy white.  Then I bought a thin canvas and painted the gray stripes and pink cross.  Finally, I bought sparkly white stickers (from the scrapbook section) to spell out the verse.  Put the frame & canvas together, and you've got cute wall art!  This is hanging in one corner of the room, and I just love how it turned out.

...Full nursery tour coming soon!  We're at week 39 as of today and totally ready for Ava to get here!!