Six weeks

These pics were taken during tummy time. We listened to classical music and she did great for ten minutes! We also love to dance to Al Green "Here I am baby". It's a favorite around here for busting moves!  She loves it! Oh, and she has started to smile more!

What is better than this?

Sloane and Avery

                     Two cousins, two days apart, two peas in a pod!

Things to remember....

Avery is 5 weeks old today.  I want to be able to remember the following:

Highlights
1.  Her little cooing noises when she is falling asleep and her not so little barn animal noises when asleep.  They are loudest dur the 7-9 am hours for some reason.
2.  Sleep smiles before she is out!
3.  Her being a champ at taking her vitamin D drops, letting me put in her eye ointment awake or asleep and using nasal aspirator without much fuss.
4. Watching her snuggle on Josh.  Josh's permanent smile also is great to see!
5.  Her wakefulness, eyes open, just hangin' out without a fuss....for hours.
6.  Cuddling with her, preferably when I have had cumulative of 7-8 hrs of sleep.
7. Passing her around to multiple family members without her batting an eye, meaning totally passed out!
8. Her pursed lips to let me know she is finished feeding.
9. Her many facial expressions; eyebrows up, cheeks puffed double chin, lips pursed, frowning, smiling.  All happen within seconds of one another in no particular order.
10. Her attraction to the light and anything bright.  I don't think she blinks when she is looking into the light, especially out the window where we sit during nursing.
11. Her hands folded and resting on my shoulder when I am burping her (guaranteed 3 little burps, not much spit up - most of the time).
12.  Bath-time with two helpers and smelling her afterwards.
13.  Singing to her in the car to calm her down.  I need to expand my lyrical capabilities, but she loves to hear Hymns and Christmas songs in alto.
14. Going for walks with her in the stroller without a peep.
15. She is not a fan of the BabyErgo yet, but we are still trying
16. Maybe not a highlight, but the challenges and joys of breastfeeding (when it works).  This is a lot of work!  Between pumping and feeding, I am constantly hungry and eating carbs like they are going out of style!  Not sure why she doesn't take from me about 1-2 times a day, but she will take a bottle down in no time.  She requires my full-attention, two hands and much encouragement at times to get in a full feed.  This has been a source of great stress and contentment at the same time.  Having a baby rely on you solely for nourishment is a BIG responsibility!
17. Hearing from her MD that she is growing 2 oz a day which is the max rate of growth that she has seen in newborns!  Go Sweet Baby Aves!  
18. The smallness of our condo which makes it easy for me to manage, however, these walls can get very very confining.  So glad for decent weather that has allowed for outdoor trips!
19. Having her be described as the following on several occasions; 'peaceful', 'calm', 'a good baby', 'pretty', 'precious', 'perfect'.  Makes a mommy proud and very happy!
20.  Having grandparents closeby for socialization and much needed change of scenery.  Wednesdays seem to be our Nana and Papa days to help break up the week.  Now, I can't wait to get up to Maine!
21. Her soft skin, holding her hands, kissing her feet, smelling and kissing her head when burping her. 
22. Watching her slowly losing her hair while maintaining a nice mohawk and mullet. 
23. Being on the brink of switching from our rotation of 5 newborn outfits to a greater variety of 0-3 month wardrobe. 
24. Having a family of three!
25. Getting my first 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night as she went from 8 pm to 2 am between feeds!   I don't think that this is the norm yet....here's to hoping!

Overall, Avery is a joy to have in my life.  Josh and I are in heaven and are so happy that she is here with us!  Avery is a great baby and we feel very lucky!  
  
   

Just a few more favorites....in no particular order

Avery's Photo-op 3/15/13 (her actual due date)
9 days old....more to come!

Em + 15 Grandview Rescue

I would be lying if I said that the initial three days home after the hospital were peachy.  Josh and I basically arrived home with approximately 3 hours of sleep under our belts and my milk hadn't come in yet so we were dealing with a very hungry baby! We just didn't know it!

Em came down one day to help out which was awesome!  She helped us get her to sleep and shed light on the fact that our little one was not getting enough to eat.  One hospital grade breast pump and many exhausted tears later, Josh and I were convinced by my parents to come home for some additional help!  We were running on fumes and were torched, you could say.

My mom arranged for a NICU RN friend from church to come over and help me with nursing and halt any potential engorgement (we thought I was on the brink).  Kim Peterson will forever be considered as a saving grace in my book.  She came over at 9 pm and helped me with nursing and taught me so many good tricks.  Luckily, my milk had just come (day 4 post delivery) in that very moment it seemed and Avery was able to latch and eat well.

The next day, Avery and I were guided again by Kim Peterson during her first bath.  It was so nice to have an expert assisting me and teaching me how to take care of my very tiny lady (6.2 at this point).  Avery loved the bath and was beginning to get into the groove of nursing.  So was I!

But, boy!  No one can really quite prepare you for the healing process that takes place post-delivery.  The magical 2 week mark did seem to be my turn around time. But until that time. I was a hurting cowgirl!  Riding a horse would have been much better for the wear!

15 Grandview was excellent!  My mom helped put Avery down one night and I got some much needed sleep.  Josh slept above the garage and got plenty of sleep!  Avery, got mostly good sleep!  I will never underestimate the value of sleep again!

Overall, Josh, my family and Kim Peterson saved my life, sanity and helped buoy me up during what I call, "my darkest days".  Soooooo glad that is behind us!

 Here are pics from that visit:

 

 

First bath: 4 days old

Avery has arrived!

3/6/13 10:27am

6 lbs 10 oz 19 inches long

Here are a few details that I don't want to forget (or maybe should) about this eventful delivery!  On the eve of the 5th at 11 pm, my water broke.  Josh and I woke up in a daze after about 2 hours of sleep and quickly pulled our things together and headed to the hospital.  For those who are wondering how to expedite the process of baby delivery, ask your OB/GYN to strip your membranes as my water broke about 48 hrs afterwards!

Once we arrived to the hospital, some nice janitors escorted us clear across the hospital as we parked in the wrong lot, me in a wheelchair with soaking wet pants.  Once we got to the triage, I immediately asked for an epidural.  Long story short, I had to be poked 3 times.  First epidural attempt, numbness on only my right side and could feel everything on the left.  Second spinal attempt, similar results even with stronger meds.  Third attempt via non-medical resident anethesiologist, worked like a charm!  However, given the above 3 trials of pain meds, I basically had full-blown labor contractions from 11-7am. Lesson learned: don't have medical resident perform epidural!  Also, the meds made me extremely itchy and I had to take off the gown because the presence of it on my skin was intolerable.

The medical team allowed me to rest for about an hour before pushing.  Josh slept on a cot and I yelled at him to get me a basin as I threw up 3 times.  She came out after 2 hours and was delivered by a soft-spoken Asian doctor, don't know his name, nor ever met him previously.  I remember the heartburn being really really bad when pushing, but the pain of labor was tolerable as the final epidural kicked in!  Thank goodness!  Josh was fantastic holding my leg and encouraging me.  I was expecting to swear and be really really mean, but luckily this was not the case and we made it out both crying as we held our little girl.  I initially couldn't see her because of my tears, but Josh took some great shots and here they are!  I'll get to the aftershock in my next post.....some dark days ensued.