I wanted to blog about each of my kids' birth stories so I don't forget!
Avery was a surprise! I don't think I had ever been so excited about anything in my life. Doug and I had only been married 7 months! I hadn't been feeling good and was starting to suspect that something might be going on. It wasn't normal for the smell of coffee to make me gag! When I told Doug about how I was feeling, he said," Ha! I bet you're pregnant!". We laughed it off and, just to be safe, I went to buy a test. It would put my mind at rest, I reasoned. I took the test at Nicole's house and Much to my surprise, it was very faintly positive! So, I took another one. After getting the same result and having an anxiety attack on Nicole's bed. I made an appointment with the doctor. The day before my appointment, I started bleeding. A lot. We went to the Doctor and he did an ultrasound, finding 2 sacs instead of one. One was empty and one had a baby inside. The Dr said that I had been carrying twins and the bleeding was a result of me losing the other baby. I was only about 9 weeks along. I don't think I can describe the feelings I had. Relief that the baby was ok, some sadness that I had lost the other baby, but having never known I had 2 babies and finding out I had lost one was confusing. I think I was mostly relieved that I was still pregnant. I had extreme all day sickness. Doug bought me a little pink bucket to carry around. I used that bucket a lot! I craved mustard, and I would put it on saltine crackers. I also craved cantaloupe. Sometimes, I would eat a whole cantaloupe in one day. I was thirsty all the time and would drink around 4 gallons of water a day.
When it was time for the BIG ultrasound, Doug had just started a new job and didn't feel he could ask for time off. In the end, he surprised me by showing up at the Dr's office and walking into the u/s room. I cried so much when the tech told me it was a girl. Immediately, visions of frilly dresses and everything pink ran through my head! Doug cried a little bit, too. She was beautiful on the screen and everything was perfect.
Avery was due on July 5 but on June 16, I started to feel like something was happening. We went to the hospital and they said everything was fine. That night we went out with some friends and had dessert. I was so uncomfortable. Everything had been getting worse throughout the day. Before we went home, my friend leaned down and said to my belly,"Avery, You need to stay in one more day. You can come out tomorrow night after the shower" (My church baby shower was the next night after Sunday pm church). Well, Avery showed her! That night was terrible. I called the Dr. who told me to go back to the hospital. When they admitted me (around 8am) and took my blood pressure, it was over 200. They checked and saw that my water had broken, then my blood pressure went right back down. It was just stress! They put me on Pitocin and we waited. The contractions got pretty bad so I had an epidural. We waited some more. I was dilated to about a 5 at around 6:45pm. They took my temp and saw that it had spiked to 102. Thinking it meant I was getting an infection and it could spread to the baby, they scheduled an emergency c-section. A few minutes later, I was wheeled into the operating room and Avery was born at 7:07pm. I cried the whole time! She was beautiful and healthy, weighing 7lbs 7oz and 21 inches long.
When it was time for the BIG ultrasound, Doug had just started a new job and didn't feel he could ask for time off. In the end, he surprised me by showing up at the Dr's office and walking into the u/s room. I cried so much when the tech told me it was a girl. Immediately, visions of frilly dresses and everything pink ran through my head! Doug cried a little bit, too. She was beautiful on the screen and everything was perfect.
Avery was due on July 5 but on June 16, I started to feel like something was happening. We went to the hospital and they said everything was fine. That night we went out with some friends and had dessert. I was so uncomfortable. Everything had been getting worse throughout the day. Before we went home, my friend leaned down and said to my belly,"Avery, You need to stay in one more day. You can come out tomorrow night after the shower" (My church baby shower was the next night after Sunday pm church). Well, Avery showed her! That night was terrible. I called the Dr. who told me to go back to the hospital. When they admitted me (around 8am) and took my blood pressure, it was over 200. They checked and saw that my water had broken, then my blood pressure went right back down. It was just stress! They put me on Pitocin and we waited. The contractions got pretty bad so I had an epidural. We waited some more. I was dilated to about a 5 at around 6:45pm. They took my temp and saw that it had spiked to 102. Thinking it meant I was getting an infection and it could spread to the baby, they scheduled an emergency c-section. A few minutes later, I was wheeled into the operating room and Avery was born at 7:07pm. I cried the whole time! She was beautiful and healthy, weighing 7lbs 7oz and 21 inches long.
As a little baby, Avery was challenging! She had colic and acid reflux. But, things leveled out and today she is a healthy 2yr old with a bubbly laugh and an infectious smile. She is very headstrong (she gets that from me!). She constantly tests limits and asks, "what's that?" She loves to play outside. Avery's understanding of sign language amazes me. I can sign to her, a phrase that I am sure she will not understand, and she will either sign back or go and do what I asked her! Avery is God's lesson to me about patience. My heart just about bursts when she prays aloud and I love to hear her sing (she has a beautiful voice!). She is a wonderful big sister and I am amazed at how loving she is to her family. She comes up behind me and scratches my back then gives me a kiss on the ear, just because she felt like it. When Nathan starts to fuss, she brings him a toy or loves on his head. She loves to wrestle with her Daddy (and can get pretty rough!). I can hardly wait to see what is in store for her life! She will surely meet whatever it is head-on!
Cute post! What a sweet girl!
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