Well..she's here! And has been here for awhile!

Sooo maybe I am terrible at updating this thing! Well for starters Avery Hope was born on March 4, 2010! Here's the story!

Well, as you know my last post was stating that I was heading in the next day to be induced. Well, as I was writing it all out I was having some contractions here and there. Around 3 o'clock I had taken a nap and woke up at about 5 with a contraction. I then had them about every half hour for about 2 hours. I really didn't think too much of it but when I went to the bathroom I noticed I was bleeding. I didn't feel very good about that because usually during pregnancy blood is a BAD thing! At least, that's what I had always assumed! Anyhow, I called the doctor because I just wanted to be sure! About 20 mins after I called my doctor called back and by then my contractions were about 10 minutes apart. She said to go ahead and just come in because she was staying at the hospital that night anyways so we would just go ahead and get things started.

Well, I called and told Ross and while he was on his way home from work I went ahead and jumped in the shower. At this point the contractions were probably 6-7 mins apart. We got to the hospital and since it was after hours we had to go through the emergency room (which, mind you, is all the way at the other end of the hospital!). Once we got up to the maternity floor and got our paper work done, we went to the back and I got changed into a gown and everything. My doctor came in and checked me and I was about a whopping 1 cm! LOL!. She officially decided to keep me and 10 mins later we were in a room.

I got situated and sat in a chair for a bit and had a popsicle. Stupid me hadn 't eaten anything since lunch but once I started getting contractions I just didn't feel much like eating..but I wish I had because I was pretty nauseous! I sat in the chair for a bit and decided that I wanted to go ahead and lay down and I asked for something for my nausea. My nurse asked me if I wanted to go ahead and get an epidural or get some pain meds because she checked me and I was at about 2 1/2. I decided to go ahead and get the epidural (bc heck, if they were offering it..I was going to take it!) because they assured me it would not run out (like I had heard as a r umor).

The anesthesiologist was GREAT! He told me everything he was doing and I barely felt a thing! All I felt was some clicking deep in my back for a few seconds but that was it! Once I got that, I layed down and my nurse put my catheter in. I started going numb and the contractions were GONE! It was amazing because once I had that they started speeding up like CRAZY! I was feeling really uncomfortable though from the catheter..I was burning for some reason and it wouldn't go away! So, since it was about 2 in the morning we decided to go ahead and try to sleep as much as we could...well about 5 seconds after that I heard/felt this giant POP and a big gush of water!! My water broke! I called for the nurse and she came in and I asked if it was clear and she said no..there was maconium (sp?) in the fluid. My nurse came back in and checked me and said that I was then at about 4 and she would be right back. My heart instantly sunk! She was gone for a bit and then comes back in..but this time with another nurse, my doctor, and an ultrasound machine!

My doctor says "I could have swore that this baby was head down at your last appointment"....WHAT!!! Yepp, Ms Avery was breech! So, I ended up getting prepped for a c-section. I was okay with it and wasn't even scared in the slightest bit. I just knew it was what needed to be done and to be honest I was a little relieved! I was burning SO bad from the catheter it was almost unbearable! Anyhow..csection went great and we were blessed with our little princess!!

She really is SO amazing and I am blessed in every way. I have enjoyed every minute with her and it was worth every bit of the wait! She is amazing!

She is sleeping great so far! She goes to bed around 9..wakes up around 4 or 5am to eat, and then goes back to bed until about 9! Talk about amazing! Of course it wasn't always like that but it's awesome. I am back to work, I had 8 weeks after I had her off which was awesome. It was pretty hard for the first 2 weeks after. I just was uncomfortable and got really tired easily..I pretty much just did way too much.

Anyhow, I'm going to go ahead and post some pics now..enjoy!

Tomorrow is the day!!

Well, I am being induced TOMORROW! This little girl isn't in much of a hurry to come out! I go in at 6:30pm so we will most likely be meeting our miracle sometime Friday afternoon! I have been sitting here in disbelief..because I just can't believe it is finally happening! I'm so anxious to see her and actually meet this miracle who has been inside of me for 9 months! A miracle that we tried so hard for over 4 years to have. I can assure you I will never take her for granted. We are so blessed to be able to have this baby and I think sometimes people don't take the time to realize how lucky they are. I guess it's a little easier to see when you struggle for so long with infertility.

I'm so excited to see if she has hair, if she has long fingers, her feet, legs, little butt, ears, etc. I'm so excited about every part of this baby. She is the true definition of a miracle and I have only God to thank for her!

I'm a little nervous about labor to be honest..it's just scary to me..but at the same time I'm so thankful I actually get to experience it. It's something I never thought would come. At my last appointment I was only a fingertip dilated so what they have to do is use a foley catheter (it has a balloon) and manually dilate me to about 3-4 where it will then fall out and they will use some sort of hormone cream before they can even begin potocin (sp?).

So, that is that for now..in a mere 2 days I will be holding my miracle in my arms! Here are some of our maternity pics we got back!!

It's almost time!

WOW! I am just a few days away from my due date! I have been really terrible about updating this blog though..I don't know why I find it a chore to sit down and write, but I do! Everything has been going really well. At my last few appointments there has really been no change..I'm not dilated at all but she has definitely dropped. Lately I have been feeling uncomfortable but that is to be expected for sure.

I have an appointment tomorrow so maybe we will have made some progress by then! If not, my doctor said we will probably induce around 41 weeks and if we wanted to go a few days after (to give myself a chance to go into labor on my own) then we could but we will definitely not go over 42 weeks because that gets to be too dangerous for the baby.

At this point, I am just getting SO anxious! There were 8 woman due within 2 weeks of me and they have ALL had their babies! It's just such a crazy thought that we tried for over 4 years to have this baby..and now we are (hopefully) days away from meeting our little miracle! I can't thank God enough. I am just so thankful for the opportunity we had with the trial study and have a hard time believing that it's even still real! For the record, I guess the clinic is now doing Mini IVF as an option and not just for the trial study..I am SO glad!

I will post a few pics of Avery's nursery now..it's pretty much done! I just can't wait to bring her home to it!

There are a few pics of her nursery. That's all I have for now, the next update with me the announcement of Miss Avery Hope!!

Christmas and 31 weeks!

Hey everyone!! I hope you all had a blessed Christmas. Our Christmas this year was really good, minus the fact that Ross had to work..but he did it so he can be home for Avery's first Christmas next year! I had such a great time with both of our families, I'm so thankful for all of them. Best gift was the HD Camcorder my parents bought us. We totally didn't expect that! They had already gave us money to put towards our new computer (since our other one blew up) and also a Keurig coffee maker..so that was MORE than enough right there! The camcorder will be SO great so we can put videos online for my family in California and of course to just be able to have videos of Avery.

The fact that Christmas is now over makes me realize how quickly the time is approaching that we will be meeting our little princess! 2 months, that's it! My first shower is on January 9th and I couldn't be more excited for it! I have dreamed of this for YEARS! I'm a little anxious about timing with everything and whether or not we will have everything we need..but I'm sure we will be fine. There's always "what ifs" and I question everything! Like, how many newborn outfits do we need? What about 0-3? 3-6? Crazy!

Anyhow, I am feeling pretty good still! Thankfully! I can tell I am definitely getting sleepy as the days go by..but my body is feeling good. She is getting the hiccups constantly, and seems to be moving more and more! It's funny sometimes when I'm sitting because my whole belly moves! It's such a funny feeling but also funny to watch. I am still on every 2 week appointments so my next one is this Wednesday


Here are a few pics for ya! The belly pics are at 31 weeks.

Okay! That's it for now! I hope you all have a great New Year's!

29 almost 30 weeks!

WOW! Can you believe it?! I feel like the last half of this pregnancy is flying by! I guess it doesn't help that it is around the holiday's and everything..that always makes time fly it seems. I am feeling really good though! Belly is growing every day and her movements are getting stronger and more often too! I think for the first time I over-did it on Saturday. We had an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" Party. We spent the day cleaning and making food so I was on my feet all day..by the end of the night I felt SOOOO exhausted and sore! I woke up on Sunday feeling fine though.

We also celebrated our 6 year anniversary on Sunday. 6 years! Can you believe it?! 6 years ago I was an 18 year old..and here we are, finally getting our wish! We've come such a long way in 6 years..that's for sure.

Anyhow, I have my 30 week appointment tomorrow. After that..I start going every 2 weeks! Holy cow! I really can't believe how fast this is going! I am trying to cherish it as much as I can..because we really don't know if I will ever be able to get pregnant again..without IVF. Let's just pray that another one is in God's plan :)

Well..here are some pics..one is of me and my ugly sweater before our party on Saturday!

The last one is of us just heading out the door to the zoo..just thought I'd throw a recent picture of "us" in there!

Merry Christmas!
xoxo
Jenn

25 weeks and Avery's Nursery!

Wow! 25 weeks already! In the beginning it seemed like time was creeping by but now it seems like it is going SO fast! I am feeling great so far, I can feel the exhaustion coming back. It's not the same as it was in the beginning where I couldn't get through the day without a nap, but I can feel myself getting really exhausted. However, once I get home and get ready for bed it's hard to actually sleep! My mind races about this and that and it's like my body is so tired but my brain isn't.

We received a gift in the mail from Target last week from a guy that Ross knows from the internet. This is the 2nd surprise from people we know via internet. SO sweet!!! It sure does brighten your day when things like that happen! This passed weekend we started Avery's nursery! We painted the walls and put together all of her furniture. Just by doing that I feel SO much better. We still have to get her bedding and we are really thinking about doing a mural on the wall to match the bedding but we will decide that for sure once we see the bedding in the room. We hope to get her room done by the holidays/Christmas. It gets so busy around the holidays and everything and my first shower will be January 9th, so I want the room ready to go so we just have to put everything away. I can't believe how quickly it's all happening!

Well, here are some pictures..first off my 25 week pic!



Here are some before pics of the nursery....




And after it's painted and the furniture is together!




Okay! That's it for now!

xoxo,
Jenn

Oops..it's been awhile!

WOW! I can't believe it! I am already 24 weeks along! The pic above is me at 23 weeks however..I haven't gotten my new pictures uploaded. I am just in AWE of how amazing this experience is! I love my little girl so much I can't even stand it! Now I am REALLY feeling her kicks and even Ross is able to feel them a lot of the time. Her personality is already so stinkin cute!

My last appointment was at 22 weeks and I was measure at 21 which is totally normal. You should measure within 2 weeks of how far you actually are, either way. I'm hoping she will stay smaller as she has been. At our ultrasound with the doctor, she was in the 35th percentile. My OB says no big babies for me! I'm too small to handle a big baby. My next appointment is @ 26 weeks and I will be doing my glucose test (wish me luck!).

We have purchased all of our furniture!!! Yay! We just really need to get the bedding now so that we can paint and get everything put together. With the holidays coming we really want to get it done so that once I have my showers we can just put everything away.

Anyhow, things are great over here, loving every minute and feeling blessed every minute. I still can't even believe it a lot of the time! My weight gain has been great too, only at 5.5lbs. My OB wants me to gain about 5lbs this month since I lost weight in the beginning.

Okay, that's about it for now! I will try harder to keep posting!