We’re Home!

This hospital stay seemed to go so much faster.  We arrived on Friday and then were going home Sunday!  Avery looked adorable coming home from the hospital!

Once we got home, Shannon brought Kenz over.  So happy to have both my girls home!

Later that night Chad came over with the girls for a quick hello.  Up until now, Kenzie was really indifferent with Avery and didn’t interact too much with her.  Once her cousins held her though, Kenzie all of a sudden wanted to hold her too.  Since then, she’s been very sweet with her sister!

 

The rest of our first week home looked pretty much like this…

 

 

 

 

 

Our new normal.

Kenzie’s first real sleepover

While Jeff and I were in the hospital, Mackenzie stayed with her Auntie Shannon for the weekend.  She had spent a couple of nights there to prep, but never 2 nights in a row.  After staying the day with Sarah, Shannon picked her up and took her to get some dinner.

Shannon said she did great, other than some grumpy nap wake ups. 

On Saturday, she came to meet her new little sister and then hung out at Auntie’s for one more night.  Yes, that is both feet in a Baskin Robbins container. 

Glad to report that our sweet girl did great at her Auntie’s all weekend!

Our Hospital Stay

Picking up where we left off…

We were moved into a recovery room and Avery came along with us.  Last time Kenz spent time in the nursery so Jeff and I were able to get at least 1 hour of uninterrupted sleep.  This time since Avery was with us, we got no sleep.  It was a rough first night but thankfully she napped during the day and so did we.

Since our hospital stay felt a lot shorter this time, we had only a handful of visitors.  Jeff’s mom and Aunt Holly both stopped by to visit our little bean.

And then our most favorite visitor showed up.  Kenzie!  Shannon brought her over to meet her little sister.  I was a bit worried because when she showed up, I was nursing Avery and I didn’t want Kenzie to get jealous.  Kenzie actually seemed pretty indifferent to Avery while we were at the hospital.  We did get to snap the below pic before Shannon and Kenz went home though.

Later that night Sarah, Reggie and Christian stopped by to say hi, and then Chad and Crystal brought some goodies for us-a cupcake for me and a juice for Jeff, both of our favorites.

The next morning Dr.  Retino stopped by to discharge Avery.  We had to do a follow up appointment later that week since Avery’s jaundice levels were high but other than that, she was good to go.  We ended up being discharged around noon and were home pretty early!  A much less dramatic hospital exit than Kenz’s. 

Avery’s Birth Story

Neither my doctor nor myself thought I’d see Avery’s due date without having Avery.  The weeks leading up to it, I was already dilated 4-5 cm, practically half way there.  Unfortunately, Avery’s due date came and went, and I was scheduled for another induction on Friday 2/20/15.

I was pretty nervous about having to be induced again.  I kept imagining Kenzie’s 36 hour labor all over and was dreading it.  We dropped Kenzie off at Sarah’s first thing in the morning.  It was hard kissing my baby good-bye, knowing I wasn’t going to see her that night.

We made a quick pit stop at Panera for some pastries for our nurses and a bagel for myself.  Then we headed to the hospital, getting there around 10am. 

They had me in a bed with Pitocin starting around 11:00am.  I kept mentioning it to the nurses that this was going to be a long labor and they kept saying they thought it was going to be a lot quicker since it was my second pregnancy and I was already so far along.

I had decided ahead of time to try to labor as long as possible without my epidural.  I knew they had a reputation of slowing down labor so I decided to try to do without it. 

Around 3pm my doctor came in to check on me.  I was still only 4.5cm dilated and she mentioned breaking my water.   Last time this happened, I still labored for 24+ hours and Kenz got an infection.  I told her I wanted to wait and she said she’d come back in a couple of hours to check me then.

I talked to my nurse and she really thought breaking my water was the right thing to do at this time.  She reminded me this was not the same pregnancy as my last one.  I was already further dilated naturally and second pregnancies always go quicker than the first. 

Around 6:15pm, my doctor came back and confirmed I was 5cm dilated.  She repeated what the nurse had already said, that breaking my water would help progress the labor and we decided to go ahead and do it.  The doctor also mentioned that my water was already bulging so it was close to breaking on its own. 

Both my doctor and nurse warned me that the contractions would become more intense now that my water was broken.  They even positioned me sitting up with my heels touching to help further dilate me.  They asked if I wanted my epidural which I said I’d wait on.  The next few minutes were tough.  The contractions were coming every 1 to 2 minutes and felt incredibly intense.  Around 6:30pm, I asked for my epidural.  The nurse called and unfortunately confirmed the anesthesiologist was already on a case, and wouldn’t be here for 45 mins to 1 hour. 

My nurse’s face fell, and I wanted to cry.  The contractions were so intense I had to do the breathing techniques they taught in birthing class.  I gathered up everything inside of me and reasoned with myself, I could do anything for an hour.  If the contractions were coming every 2 minutes that meant approximately 30 contractions before the anesthesiologist would be there.  Thirty didn’t sound too bad I told myself and from that moment, I started to count down. 

Around 7:30pm, the anesthesiologist showed up and I was sooo happy.  He quickly did his thing and by 8pm I was feeling great!

Around 9pm I gave Jeff the signal that I was tired and hoping to take a nap.  Around 9:30pm, my nurse came in to check on me so Jeff walked his mom and brother’s girlfriend out.  My doctor showed up shortly after and checked me, announcing I was 9 and three quarters dilated, only a small lip of my cervix was stopping me from pushing.  I was SHOCKED!  In 3 short hours I had progressed so quickly I was going to meet my baby that night!

Jeff came back in the room and the nurse mentioned I was 9.5 cm dilated.  He laughed a bit and said no really, where is she at.  My doctor then confirmed I was ready to push.  Poor Jeff was just as shocked as I was!  My doctor left to complete some final paperwork and came back shortly after 10pm.

Because my epidural worked so well, the doctor had to tell me when to push.  Unfortunately Avery’s heartbeat was staying low during the entire time I was pushing so after 15ish minutes, the doctor advised she was going to use a vacuum to assist.  I was so overwhelmed, I knew there were some concerns about using a vacuum but could not think of what they were.  She must have saw my face because she mentioned the possible side effects and then prepped the vacuum.  During the next set of pushes, I felt a relief of pressure and all of a sudden Avery was plopped onto my stomach. 

She actually caught me by surprise because my eyes were closed!  My sweet girl was born at 10:22pm with a head full of hair, dark hair!  She weighed 8lbs, 4oz and measured 19 inches long.  Jeff cut the umbilical chord and the nurses cleaned her off right on my chest. 

They took her to the warming table after a few minutes to complete their measurements.  My doctor finished delivering my placenta and then stitched me up.  I ended up with a third degree tear. 

Once she was measured, we enjoyed an hour with our sweet girl.  I nursed her for a majority of it and drank in her beautiful face during that time.  The nurse bathed her right in our room after I was done.

Shortly after Jeff ran out to get our bags and the nurses prepped me to move all of us to a recovery room.  Once we were moved, we settled in for the rest of the night with our newest family edition. 

Welcome my sweet Avery!

On the Eve of Avery

I haven’t talked much about my pregnancy with Avery, mostly because life with a toddler is non-stop.  But that doesn’t take away from the miracle it’s been, growing my sweet baby girl.

Time really does fly by the second pregnancy.  I remember finding out and then telling Jeff just days after Kenzie turned 10 months old.  We were going to be those parents with 2 kids under 2 years old. 

This pregnancy has been different from my first.  The major thing, it’s been less stress about the actual pregnancy.  I knew my body could do it already, I trusted God would let it do it’s thing again.  In fact, this time around, I wasn’t diagnosed with gestational diabetes!  I could not believe it but it was such a blessing not to have to worry about eating at specific times when trying to juggle a toddler and work. 

I only had one major annoyance this pregnancy, PUPPPS.  A horribly itchy rash that affects less than 1% of pregnancies.  It started in the beginning of my second trimester and lasted close to the end of my pregnancy.  It was killer and caused me to have many sleepless nights and tearful breakdowns.  There wasn’t much that could be done, just wait to hope the hormones evened out and allowed it to go away.

I am much larger this pregnancy than last.  I’ve gained 14-16 lbs vs 9 the prior pregnancy but my stomach is HUGE this time.  In fact, the doctor is estimating an 8.5lb baby.  I am much further dilated than last time, coming in at 4-5 cm.  With Kenz, I was induced at 2 cm.  Since I didn’t have GD this time around, I’ll be left alone to go into labor.  This waiting game is so different!  I’m almost half way there in dilation but still feel very minor contractions.  Lots of calls from family…is today the day?  Nope!

The one thing that I’m most nervous about (other than birthing an 8.5lb baby) is how Kenzie will adjust.  My sweet girl is so used to being an only child and loves the one on one attention.  She’s a little rough and used to getting her way, by example her favorite phrase right now…MINE!  I’m praying that she grows into being the big sister I know she can be.  I’m praying she’ll love taking care of Avery and eventually see the fun in having a playmate close in age and who cannot run away.  Sisters Forever!

For now, it’s just a waiting game for Avery.  Will I make it to my due date, will I have to be induced because I’ll be overdue.  Will it be tonight?  For sure, it will be this month!  Haha!

See you soon baby girl!

My Grumpy Valentine

This Valentine’s Day we made the decision to stay in.  I wanted to sit on the couch and do very little to encourage Avery to come out today.  I did not want her born on Valentine’s Day.  My little girl deserved 2 separate celebration days!

So instead, I hung out with this little munchkin while Jeff got in a HIM training ride.  She really wanted to get into her bank but has a bad habit of putting the coins in her mouth.

When I told her no, this is what happened next.

Poor girl!  Jeff cooked us tri-tip for dinner and bought stuff to make chocolate covered strawberries.  They were the best! 

And now…I’m officially ALL CAUGHT UP ON POSTS!  I was telling Jeff at dinner, some women nest by cleaning the house.  I wanted to catch up on all my blog posts before Avery comes.  Done!  You can come anytime now little girl!

The Silliness Doesn’t Stop

Kenzie sure does keep us on our toes.  The second you aren’t looking, she’s doing something crazy for the first time.  Case in point…

She pushed the box from in front of the stairs to in front of the TV.  Then proceeded to balance her weight on it and “fly”.

 

 

Once she started to STAND on the box, Jeff put an end to it.  The day after my mom left, Jeff joined his cousin and aunt at Disneyland.  Kenzie loved meeting Pluto!

And just yesterday we headed over to Babies R Us to make a return and Kenzie found her next Christmas present.  I’m sure all she’ll need to do is smile at Jeff for that to become a reality. 

Getting Ready

My mom came down right after Avery’s shower to help me get the house ready for another baby.  We went through all Kenzie’s old clothes, Avery’s new clothes, all the baby accessories like the bouncer, playmat, etc. 

We did find some time for fun though.

On her last day, we all went to breakfast at Molly’s Souper in Upland. 

I’m very thankful that my mom was able to come down and help.  We are as ready as ever for little Avery. 

I thought Molly’s might have some special juju.  We ate there the day before going into the hospital to deliver Kenzie.  I was 39 weeks exactly.  This time around we went I was 38 weeks 5 days…but alas no Avery 2 days later.