First few days

January 4^th - 5^th, 2013

   The next few days all ran together as we were in the hospital.  Even though it was only a day ago we went home, I can’t remember the exact days. 

    On the 4^th, we were asked if we would sign for the regular Hep B shot to be given to Ava while in the hospital.  We were uncomfortable with it since she had already had such a traumatic entrance, so we said we wanted to wait and talk to our pediatrician.  Our pedi came by later in the day and assured us that within the first 48 hours is the best time to give that shot.  Since we are not doctors, we agreed.  (Looking back, I think this decision affected the rest of that day for poor Ava.)  After her shot, we spent time in the room just adoring her and getting to know her better.  She had a few moments when she would get upset (and she was very opinionated about which breast she wanted), but over all, she was not too fussy. 

Friday night/Saturday morning that changed.  Over the course of the day, she became very upset every time she woke up, and if we could not calm her down within the first minute or so, she became inconsolable.  Earlier in the day, she would be consolable with lots of effort (bouncing, walking around, shushing, feeding, formula feeding, swaying, singing, swaddled, clothes off/on, etc.).  As the day went on, nothing would stop her from screaming- to the point that she would give herself hiccups.  We had several nurses and professionals come give us opinions/advice, but nothing really worked.  The nursery and pedi suggested that she was hungry and needed formula.  The lactation consultant said she did not think that was the problem (she had watched her eat and worked with us several times on Friday and Saturday).  She stayed with us trying all sorts of different things to help soothe Ava.  Eventually, she tried turning on the hair dryer, and Ava slowly was able to calm down.  We never would have thought of that, so we were very grateful to her (especially when we thought this was just going to be Ava’s personality).  We planned to get a noise machine to help at home. 

   That evening we used the hair dryer on 4 or 5 occasions.  We decided we needed to get some sleep, so Ava spent a few hours at a time in the nursery.  We permitted they give her formula once to knock her out, but I didn’t want that to be a usual thing, so they brought her back to feed.  Over the course of the night, (what I am assuming was the effect of the shot wearing off), she had fewer and fewer fits. 

            We are very, very glad that now Ava is *usually* quite content, and we haven’t had anymore inconsolable crying sessions.  I really, REALLY hope those stay away.  Seeing just a few hours of an irate baby makes me have a whole new respect for moms who have to deal with extremely fussy/inconsolable babies regularly.  Wow, it was tough.

She's Here!

Well, the eggplant didn't work- but pitocin did! :-)  Little did I know, I think I was in labor when we went in at 7:30am for our induction.  I didn't realize that "back labor" is literally ALL in your back.  That morning (and on and off before), I had been having terrible pain in my back, but I just attributed it to being 9 months pregnant and about to pop (I'd had Braxton Hicks for weeks, so my stomach tightening didn't phase me).  When we went in, I was already starting to dilate and efface, but still had a ways to go.  We started pitocin around 8:30ish, and that's when I realized the 'pain' I had been feeling in my back was actually contractions.  Right after my IV started, I had a huge contraction that did not follow the typical 'wave' pattern.  It just stayed high and wouldn't come down for what felt like an eternity.  I soon decided it was time to start the epidural.  (I never intended to go natural, I just wanted to see what contractions felt like).  

   We went through the day pretty smooth (I had an upper respiratory infection, so I was inhaling the ice chips my diet consisted of and after a while, I was allowed to have a Popsicle too!).  My epidural would run low occasionally, and I would ask them to increase it every once in a while, but nothing major though out the day.  I dilated very quickly and was at 9cm by 3:00pm.  Unfortunately, that's about the time things stopped going so smoothly.  My epidural began to 'run low' again.  When I let them know, apparently I was out of 'juice', so they called in the anesthesiologist to give me a 'delivery dose'.  Well, that didn't go so well.  I began to have a reaction to the dose and was shaking uncontrollably.  From what I've read, it's not uncommon (and it actually happened earlier in the day too, but I just thought it was nerves getting the best of me).  

   As it turns out, shaking uncontrollably, being unable to breathe from a cold, and having terrible heartburn from being huge are all bad things going into delivery.. 

   While Ava born at 5:47pm, we didn’t get to meet her until almost midnight.  Right after she was born, she had to be taken to the nursery and checked over.  We had a very difficult delivery which resulted in  her being “vacuumed” out after almost an hour.  She also had the umbilical cord around her neck and that was cut before she was even completely delivered.  When delivery was finally over, she wasn’t breathing, and she was grayish.  Needless to say, we were more than a little worried.  (In utero, she had her first bowel movement, so she had swallowed dirty amniotic fluid). 

  The hospital we were at had special ‘low risk’ rooms that allowed the baby to stay with mom and dad for all of their post-delivery care.  We were in one of those rooms, so we could see them start with Ava, and we could see that they didn’t make much progress.  (Meanwhile, I was still being tended to by the OB and had spiked a 102.3 fever at the end of delivery).  They rushed Ava to the nursery, and she was kept there for approximately 5 hours.  They kept saying she could come out soon, but things kept happening to push that time back (temperature had to regulate).  All the while, Grandpa and Nanny, Grandmomma Sue and Grandpapa Jack, Uncle Chris, Aunt Katie, Uncle Ryan, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Whitney were all in the waiting room watching.  Aunt Charlotte and Lori were also there for a while. 

   When Ava was finally taken back to our room, we were elated to meet her.  She seemed so tiny (she was 7lbs and 19.5in)!  We wanted to breastfeed, and she was probably starving since it had been hours since she was born, so we set to that right away.  We had taken breastfeeding classes, read books, and watched videos, but when it came time, we had to use the internet to look up what to do.  Luckily, her instincts kicked in and she got to work with minimal help from us.  That night, she was a very peaceful baby.  I don’t think I slept a bit because I couldn’t stop looking at her.  

Scalini's Eggplant Parmigiana

38w 4d

   When Ben and I went on our honeymoon a few years ago, we stopped in Atlanta first.  While we were there, we ate at Scalini's, an Italian restaurant.  It was really good, but that's not why I mention it now.  They had pictures of babies covering one area of the restaurant.  Apparently they have a magical eggplant parm that will induce labor!  The babies on the wall were all "Eggplant Babies"- babies whose labor came on within 48 hours of mom eating the eggplant. 
  Well, being super close to the end now, Ben and I wanted to give their eggplant a try; however, driving to Atlanta when I could possibly go into labor at any point, didn't seem like a great idea.  We looked up the restaurant, and it turns out, they have the recipe posted!  http://www.scalinis.com/Bambino.htm So last night, Ben and I set out to 'induce' labor with an eggplant! 
  It was actually a rather time consuming recipe, and I'm not a fan of eggplant, but we had fun making it!  Now we're just waiting to see if their magic will work for us!  (I probably should have waited a few more days..)  The recipe was delicious (other than the eggplant part).  If their legend is going to work, I should be in labor by tomorrow night around 9.  My fingers are crossed!!  So far today, I've had tons of contractions, but nothing regular or time-able, so not really anything new.

Making Progress!

36w1d

Catching up- A few weeks ago, Ben and I attended our birthing and breastfeeding classes.  We definitely learned a lot (and saw more than we ever hoped to see...), but I think my favorite part was when they had all the fathers-to-be try on a back pack (worn in the front) with 25 pounds of ‘stuff’ crammed inside.  It was very amusing to see all the reactions to what their wives are loading around (plus some) each day. 

Also, we have been extremely blessed with so many great friends and family members hosting showers for us.  We had one at my work, one with my friends/family, and one more is set for next week from Ben’s work (and a diaper shower from Ben's friends has been mentioned, but I'm not sure on the plans for that yet)!  I am in awe of how generous everyone has been to us!  We really appreciate all of the support!  Ava is one lucky baby to already be surrounded by so many caring people.

Picture with my Great Aunt Lucy, Mom, and Mamaw.

More recently- I had a doctor appointment yesterday, and things went very well!  I had a few typical tests done (which I won’t get results of until next time), and they checked Ava’s position and my cervical changes.  Ava is head down and ready to go! And I am starting to dilate (1cm)!  Yay!  I know it could still be weeks, but at least it now feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel! 

Final thing- completely not on the topic of baby- Ben ran his first half marathon this week!  I am so proud of him!  

After "Santa Hustle" Half Marathon!

Ava's Nursery

33w 5d

I had a few more days off school due to Thanksgiving, and I was (finally) able to finish {or come really, really close to finishing} Ava's nursery.  There are a few teeny, tiny touches I may add still, but since I had time today, it seemed like a good time to post the pictures.  Her due date is in 6 weeks 2 days!!! (And she's considered "full term" in only 3 weeks!!!!!!)  Not too much longer!

Baby Bump Weeks 22-33

Update on Ava's growth!

Maternity Photos

Around 28 weeks, Ben and I asked our friend, Andy, to take some maternity pictures for us (It pays to have a husband who works in media. :-) ). He took the photos, then I got to play in photoshop editing them.  There were a ton that we really like, but here are just a few.