They Grow So Fast

I probably heard the above phrase one million times while I was pregnant. Since having Avery, I've probably heard it 5 million more times and now I know exactly what those mothers, fathers, grandparents etc. meant. It's just not fair. My daughter is getting so BIG! I'm pretty sure she weighs at LEAST 18lbs. She's sitting up by herself, scooting around the house and eating solids 3 times a day. I mean, come on....I WANT MY BABY back. Don't get me wrong, I find great joy in witnessing her grow. It's amazing. I'm proud that my daughter is growing and thriving. Sometimes, I just wish time would slow down. Month 5 has definitely been a huge month of growth/change. She's transformed. She's mobile. She gets more smart and more beautiful everyday. I love her to pieces.

What we've been up to...

Phew, it's been a while. So, very quickly, this is what we've been up to.

We turned 3 months

We turned 4 months

We celebrated the birth of Jesus

Our hearts ached for the people of Haiti

We spent way too much time indoors as we experienced some MAJOR California storms

We turned 5 months

We've been livin' and lovin' life. Thanking sweet Jesus every step of the way for the many blessings he's bestowed upon us.

Pierced Ears

A couple of weeks ago we took Avery to get her ears pierced. It was so bitersweet for me because on one hand I wanted them pierced, but on the other, I did not want to hurt my precious little baby :)

I attempted to hold her while the young lady pierced her ears but I just COULDN'T do it. She was moving like crazy and I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to hold her tight enough so daddy took over, and he held her. Of course, she barely cried. I think she was more in shock than in pain. She cried for about 10 seconds after the first ear was done and for about 5 seconds after the second ear was done.
                              
              She was probably freaking out with me because I was covering her eyes. Silly Mommy!

Clearly Daddy wasn't freaking out like me.

Avery's looking like "don't let that lady near my other ear" hehe!

              And here we are after, at home, all smiles. You can't really see the earrings but, they're there!

I LIVE for that smile!

Rainy Day

I'm so happy that we're getting a little rain. I'm baking cookies and playing with this beautiful girl. I love her to pieces.

Happy Monday!

I needs some energy

So, I totally gained 50 lbs while I was pregnant. Yes, that is an obscene amount of weight BUT, it was all for a good cause. At any rate, my daughter is now 3 months old and I still have approx 27 pounds to lose. That's a huge problem but, the biggest problem is that I find myself more lazy than I have every been in my entire life. I force myself to do the 30 day shred at least 2 times a week but, I really should be running on the treadmill at least every other day and I just don't have the energy to do it. I really cannot stand this extra weight. I have no fat clothes (aside from maternity clothes) and I refuse to buy jeans in a larger size.

Everyone told me that breastfeeding would melt the pounds away and unfortunately, that has not been the case with me. In my opinion, breastfeeding increases my appetite! I always tell Larry that I still have the appetite that I had while I was pregnant. It's ridiculous if you ask me. I feel doomed now that the Holiday's are right around the corner.

I'm really interested in running the OC Marathon in May. If I commit to doing so I would like to join a training group that meets every Tuesday and Saturday and that may conflict with my school schedule so I'm trying to figure out exacty what my schedule will be next semester.

Well, my daughter is babbling away so I'm gonna play with her and put her to bed. I'm sure she loves her chunky mama!

Where did October go?

Is it just me or did the month of October fly byI cannot catch up on anything. I feel so behind!

October was an awesome month for us. We had quite a bit going on. We visited my brother and his family for a week. Avery attended her first football game. We had our first set of shots (so sad) and our very first Halloween. My precious daughter started sleeping through the night and we were finally able to venture out of the house without a meltdown! yay!I know I've probably said this before but seriously, being a mom is the BEST job ever. Avery is so fun. I am witnessing her display her little personality on a daily basis and I LOVE IT. She is very much my child. She will be totally fine one minute and will flip out two seconds later. She has no problem letting you know what she does NOT like.

Here's a quick rundown on our current happenings with Miss Ave:

At her 2 month check up Avery weighed in at 13.5lbs.(95th percentile). She is 23 1/4 (90th percentile). Her head circumference was 39cm. (forgot the percentile...ooops). She's such a big girl! and yes, we are still breastfeeding (I'm always asked when discussing her weight).

Avery took her shots like a champ. I let her daddy stay close to her and I swore I wasn't going to look but I did. She received three shots and cried for less than 15 seconds. I was very proud of her. I gave her tylenol immediately after leaving her appointment so there was no fever and no crabby baby. After her shots we took Avery to Friday's to grab a bite to eat. This was our first time taking her to a restaurant and she did pretty well. Although she didn't get a fever she was very cuddly for the rest of the day so I let her nap in our bed and cuddled up with her.

This is her before the shots. I think she had a sense that something bad was about to take place.

Avery is now sleeping through the night. We never really had a problem with her sleeping. She always slept 4 hour stretches throughout the night but she is now on a schedule. She typically goes to bed between 10 - 11pm (late, I know). She'll sometimes wake up between 2:30 - 4:00am for a quick feeding. She'll wake up again between 7:30 - 8:30am, nurse again and go back down until 10:30am or so. She LOVES to sleep. She'll take a quick nap around 12:30 (45 mins or so) and then she's up until 5ish. She'll take one last nap that normally lasts for about an hour or an hour and a half and then we bathe her, feed her and hang out until bed time.

She loves to sprawl out. Gosh, I love this child!

I now have less anxiety about taking her out. In the beginning if we were out and she started crying I'd want to leave immediately for fear of annoying those around us. Now, I understand that babies cry, she will cry, it won't be the first or last time so the people around us can deal with it. Of course I don't let her cry incessantlly but I'm not running towards the door the minute she starts crying.

My SIL and I decided to take Avery and my nephew to the pumpkin patch a few weeks before Halloween and that was a complete FAIL. My nephew thought he was too cool for the pumpkin patch and my daughter fell asleep on the way there and was not happy when mommy woke her up to take pictures with pumpkins! She was not having it.

This is the only picture my SIL managed to take of us two. Avery was having a meltdown the entire time we were there. Next year, I promise adorable pictures of my toddler playing amongst pumpkins.

Once Halloween rolled around, she was a little more tolerable. I plopped her on the couch with her pumpkin, snapped a few pics and called it a day. Of course she did not partake in the Trick or Treating (maybe next year) but she did have a great time at my brothers Halloween party. So much so that she crashed on my brothers shoulder in the midst of all the partying.

I hate that this picture is blurry, but i LOVE that smile. Btw, here shirt reads: So Cute It's Scary. So true!

So, there's my October recap. Phew! I will definitely be updating more often because doing it all at once is tiresome.

Happy Two Months Avery baby! I love you Punky!

Birth Story

I'm a terrible blogger I know, I know! I definitely need to make more of an effort to document what's going on with our mini fam.

At any rate, I realize that I never got around to posting our Birth Story and since I do plan on creating a book out of our blog for lil' miss, I decided I'd better get the Birth Story up before I can no longer remember every single detail. I am primarily posting this because I plan on turning this blog into a book for Ave so, here goes.......

On the morning of August 21st, 2009 I woke up to use the restroom around 6:00am. When I got out of bed, I felt a lot of pressure down there but being 39 weeks pregnant I didn't think too much of it. I had been dilated 3cm and 100% effaced for two weeks so at this point, I was pretty sure Avery would be making her arrival AFTER my due date. I did however decide to turn on the tv and lounge on the couch. I lay down and immediately fell asleep. I woke up at 6:30am and felt a sharp cramping pain in my lower abdomen. I still didn't think this was "it" so I glanced at the time, took a mental note and lay back down. Ten minutes later, I felt the same pain. I then decided to stay awake and see if the "pain" would come back and sure enough, 10 minutes later it was back. I was actually having contractions!! I couldn't believe it. I immediately called my sister in law and told her I thought I was having contractions but wasn't sure. We talked for a bit and she told me I should probably call my doctor. Because we live about an hour and a half from the hospital, I was reluctant to call after only having contractions for thirty minutes. So, I hung up with her and called my mom. The funny thing about all this is I never once told Larry what was going on. I didn't wake him up or anything. In my mind I really didn't think this was "it" so I figured, why bother. My water never broke, I never lost my mucous plug and the last thing I wanted to do was go to the hospital with false labor. I would have been majorly disappointed. I talked to my mom for a bit and she tells me that her water never broke and I should just call my doctor and explain to him what was going on.

So, I call the pregnancy hotline number and sure enough my doctor was not on call that day. Looking back I see just how good God is. He took total control and I just sat along for the ride. You see, my doctor was once out of town for one of my very last appointments and I ended seeing Dr. Bhoudaria. She was amazing and I immediately fell in love with her. Don't get me wrong, I love Dr. Brock but if he couldn't be there for my delivery, I was hoping and praying Dr. Bhoudaria would. So, sure enough, after leaving a message for the on call OB, I get a call back from Dr. Bhoudaria. I told her that I had been having contractions for about 45mins. She said that I should probably wait it out at home for a while and monitor them a bit longer. I then told her that I was dilated 3cm and 100% effaced and we live pretty far. She changed her mind and said we should come on in!

So, I finally decide to tell Larry. I woke him up and told him that I thought today might be the day. Looking back, we were so calm it's crazy. He asked me if I was sure and I said no, but I told him I had been having contractions and that Dr. Bhoudaria advised us to head on down. So I got dressed and did my make up. I remember dropping to the floor every time I had a contraction. For some reason, I felt better on my hands and knees...lol. My bag was already packed, but I threw a couple more things in the bag for Larry. He shaved and got dressed. We took our bags and car seat down to the car and met our neighbor to give him keys to the house so that he could feed Juicy.

By this time, it was 8:30am. We were headed to Beverly Hills from Orange County, in rush hour traffic. This was my greatest fear. My entire pregnancy I had thoughts of delivering my precious daughter on the 405 freeway. On our way to the hospital the contractions started getting stronger and they started getting closer. The traffic was pretty much non-existent that day. We were so blessed. I text messaged my close friends and told them we were on our way to the hospital and I'd let them know what was going on as soon as I got checked in.

I'm pretty sure we arrived to the hospital at around 9:45am. The maternity ward was packed that morning. They had nowhere to put me so we waited in the hall for about fifteen minutes. When they finally had a room available for me, I remember walking by a board with all of the patients names; I quickly found my name and saw the words "rule out labor" written next to it. These people really didn't think I was in labor! I was given a gown and told that someone would be in to check me shortly. This is when things started getting real.

I changed into a gown and Larry and I sat in the room in silence. My contractions were getting stronger and he was complaining that his stomach was hurting (nerves). He asked me if I thought it was okay for him to use the restroom in the room and I told him that I was pretty sure it wouldn't be a problem. As soon as he closed the door a very friendly nurse came in and asked me probably about 100 questions, well not 100 but 15 mins worth of questions. The whole time she was asking questions she kept looking around. Finally she asked if I was there by myself and I giggled and said no. I knew that Larry was probably done with his bathroom business but he was afraid to come out since he had been in there for so long. After about 5 more minutes he finally came out! It was hilarious. She was so startled and he looked so embarrassed.

Anyway, she finally got around to checking me to see how far along I was. She goes down there to do her thing and her eyes immediately get big. I was now 8cm dilated and my water bag was bulging. I couldn't believe it! Rule out labor, I think not. I was definitely in active labor. She commended me on being so strong and immediately went to go grab Jeannie who would be my nurse for the day. Jeannie immediately came in, hooked me up to an IV. She asked me if I wanted an epidural and I said yes. At the time I had no clue why I was saying yes because I felt like I could probably go for it with no drugs. I mean, I was already 8cm why not go for it. Larry asked me if I was sure because prior to this, I was so adamant about delivering naturally but I said yes and didn't think twice about it. I cannot remember the name of the gentleman who administered my epidural but he was amazing and hilarious. I was terrified but it went so smoothly. After the epidural we called all of our family members and friends to tell them the news and to also let them know that they needed to head to the hospital, QUICK!

I was then moved to the delivery room. It was all happening so fast and it was so surreal but for some reason I was extremely calm. I was amazed. I was shocked. I couldn't believe that I would be meeting my daughter. My mom and SIL soon arrived and then Larry's Grandma and his mom arrived and then allllll of my girls arrived. It was the sweetest thing in the whole wide world. We felt so loved. Within an hour August, Alona, Jessica, Ashlyn and Shani were all there. My amazing nurse Jeannie broke my water and told me that she was almost positive I would have the baby before 2pm. I was so excited! I couldn't believe this was all happening so quickly. But then, all of a sudden things started to slow down. More and more friends started coming and eventually it felt like there was a party in our room. I loved that everyone was there but I wanted to be alone. I didn't want to talk and I just wanted everyone to leave. I started crying and I told my mom I wanted everyone to leave. She looked across the room at Larry and he knew. I don't know what he said, but everyone left and I felt much better.

At this point, Jeannie explained to me that Avery was in the Posterior (face up) position and I needed to lay on my side a bit to get her to move to the correct position. At the same time, the epidural had caused my contractions to slow down quite a bit. My contractions were now very sporadic and irregular. So, I lay on my side for a bit, chatted with my family and friends and ate some very yummy Italian ice. I did this for about and hour and a half and my contractions were still very irregular. Jeannie suggested that she administer some pitocin to help speed things up. I so didn't want the pitocin but, I felt that it was the right thing to do, so I agreed.

Finally, at around 3:30pm I was told it was time to start pushing and THIS is when I got nervous. Pushing always seemed like it would be the most painful part. So I started pushing and pushing and pushing. Avery kept coming down and going back up. I was so fatigued. I felt like I couldn't push for much longer.

At this point my Mother, Sis in Law, Larry's Mother and Grandma were in the room with us. We were all very quiet. I think we were all waiting for them to tell me that I would need to have a C-Section. But, Dr. Bhoudaria came in and reassured me that I could do this. They placed an oxygen mask on me and thirty minutes later after two and a half hours of pushing, Avery was finally plopped on my chest at 6:05pm. I strongly believe this is why the Lord led me to get the epidural. There is no way I would have been able to push for two and a half hours without it.

I think I would have been a complete wreck if it were not for Larry and my amazing nurse. Larry stood by my side the entire time, stroking my hair, feeding me ice and constantly being my cheerleader. Jeannie did the same. She fanned me, placed cold comperesses on my forehead, told me over and over again that I could do it. She was awesome!

I immediately requested two cheeseburgers and french fries from McDonalds since I hadn't eaten all day and I scarfed it down in five minutes while holding my baby and being wheeled to my recovery room.

I had a laceration on my cervix and a second degree tear but the pain wasn't too bad.

I will never forget that first night. I didn't sleep a wink. I stared at Avery as she slept next to me. I cried, I took a million pictures and I thanked my awesome God over and over again.

So there is my birth story. It was such an amazing day. The day my life changed FOREVER!

One Month Already?!?!

My Dearest Avery,

Today you are one month old! Your mommy cannot believe it. This growing up thing is very bittersweet. You are the light of my life little girl and I thank God for you EVERY SINGLE DAY. There is no greater joy than looking into your big brown eyes; my heart skips a beat every time.

You are growing so very well. You were 7lbs 8oz at birth, 8lbs 8oz at your two week appointment. and last week you were up to 10lbs 8oz! Slow down monkey, please.

Obviously breastfeeding has been pretty easy for us. You had your first bottle about a week ago and have had 6 or 7 more bottles since then. I'm not going to lie, I cried the first time your daddy gave you a bottle. I was a tad bit jealous :) No worries though, you still love to eat with your momma.

Some say that you are spoiled but I don't think so. You were doing a great job of sleeping in your crib but you now prefer to sleep on my chest...lol. I'll pry you off and place you in your crib and the minute I do, you are wide awake. Sometimes mommy falls asleep with you on her chest. I'm hoping we can get you back in the habit of sleeping in your bed, quick!

You looooove bath time. I swear you sorta, kinda, almost smiled tonight during bath time. I love bathing you, it's one of my favorite part of our days. I hope you always enjoy bath time.

You sleep pretty well. Mommy has to do a better job of getting you on a schedule but for the most part you sleep 3-4 hour stretches throughout the night. You will wake up to nurse and go back down rather quickly. Don't get me wrong though, there are those nights that you require nursing, singing, dancing and candy to go back to bed. I'm totally joking about the candy (duh) but man, at 4am I'm almost willing to try ANYTHING.

You have pretty much outgrown all of your newborn clothes and I'm actually happy about that. You have tons of fall clothing so I'm hoping it cools down soon. I'm anxious to see you in all of your cute leggings and long sleeves!

I'm enjoying watching you grow and change lil' one. You are so fun. You bring me so much joy and I'm so proud that you are my daughter. Thank you for being YOU. Thank you for making me a mommy.

I love you to the moon and back Princess.

Love,

Your Momma

Due Date

So today is Avery's due date and instead of having a baby, I'm crying over the fact that my precious baby girl is already one week old. Yes, we had the baby! Avery Parker decided to make her grand entrance on Friday, August 21st at 6:05pm. She was 7lbs 8oz, 20.5 inches.

She is absolutely perfect. I am so in love with her. I cannot believe this precious child belongs to me. I feel so undeserving yet so honored that the Lord chose ME to be her momma. Since her birth date, I've been trying to find the perfect words to thank Him for this amazing blessing. I find myself searching for the right thing to say and there are just no words that can explain how thankful I am. Instead, I am constantly saying "Thank you Father". I cry constantly. My heart is full of love not only for her, but for my Saviour who continually blesses me. He is good. Avery's birth date was hands down, the absolute best day of my life. I hope I will always remember every single detail of August 21st, 2009. I look at the pictures every day, I find something new every day, I love her more every day.

I will definitely post the birth story soon but for now, I'm soaking up every single minute with my baby girl. My mom left today after spending a week with us and I'm still pretty bummed about that. She was an amazing help and I will miss her company. I will now have to call her 100 times a day to get answers to my new mommy questions :)

Here are a couple of pics. I have probably taken 1,000 pictures since last Friday so it was hard to narrow it down. I would normally ask you all to forgive my appearance as I look quite rough in the picture below, but nope, not this time! Yes, I look rough but I don't care. I had just given birth to the love of my life.

*my mom and I before the 2.5 hours of pushing.

*daddy getting ready to deliver his baby girl :)

*My daughter laying on her momma's chest.

*Daddy's first time holding lil' miss Avery

L O V E

*First car ride.

*Avery's first nap in her crib

*I'm including this pic just for fun, one of my friends sent it to me. Look at my hair. O M G!

"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished"

Luke 1:45

I have reached the ultimate stage of uncomfortableness. o-m-g, you will not believe how big I am. I have to remember to take a picture. I don't think I've been around a camera for the past two weeks. At my last appt., (which was Monday), I was 3cm dilated, 100% effaced and Avery was at 0 station. This is all wonderful news except, I'm having NO contractions whatsoever. Or maybe I am and I just can't feel them. At any rate, I'm definitely in the early stages of labor but this could go on for weeks. It is now hard to eat, sleep, walk, talk, laugh, etc. I mad an appt to have a Mommy to Be massage and mani/pedi at Glen Ivy tomorrow and I'm hoping this will put me in a wonderful state of relaxation.

On a totally unrelated note, have any of you tuned in to watch Guilianna and Bill? I've watched the last 2 episodes and I love them. They are too adorable.

I have tons of pics to post but ehhhh...i don't wanna download them. Yes, I'm THAT lazy. It's horrible, I know.

I'll keep you guys posted :)

xo