He’s concealing his idenity because his Pappaw is a Wolverine!

 

The end of last year was  a very trying time for me.  From bed rest to the scare with Ava before she was born to an ambulance run to the hospital the day after Christmas.  It’s definitely been a time where I’ve had to rely on God for so many things, but mainly to keep my sanity.  Yesterday our pastor taught from II Corinthians 12 and verses 9 and 10 rang very true to me.  I just want to share them because I’m sure there’s someone out there right now that these verses could help…

⁹And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

   ¹⁰Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Here are some pics from our past month.  Enjoy!

Is she really a month old?

This has been the most full and blessed month with our precious Ava.  The start was very rocky.  I’m so thankful for a doctor who has wisdom and compassion and did what he thought was best for her.  So many things could have gone wrong, but God was watching over us and now we get to enjoy her everyday!

She has her own little personality already, and she’s definitely a female!  She’ll get fussy and we’ll start with one thing and go through a whole ritual of things trying to make her happy.  What makes her happy when all has been tried and exhausted?  The first thing we tried

I must say that it is really kinda scary having a girl for so many reasons, and most of them pertain to when she gets older.  I just pray for her every single day that she comes to know God at a young age and that God will always guide her and protect her.  I also pray that I can be the mother she needs me to be.  I just want her to always know how much I love her and how special she is to me.

Happy 1 month my baby girl!  It’s been such a joy to watch you grow in this short time.  I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you!

…and then she was tired of having her picture taken.

I can’t believe Ava’s been here 10 days already!  You think after having Aiden that I would realize how fast the days go by, but I find myself amazed again.  Can I just say what a gem she is?  She’s sleeping 4-5 hours at night before she wakes up, so she’s only up twice a night.   She’s an awesome eater and we only hear from her when she’s hungry.  She smiles all the time.  I think they’re real smiles.  Babies know when they’re feeling good.

So, let’s travel back to the day she arrived.  I went into my Dr’s office for another non-stress test and it was once again showing some dips in heart rate, but not quite as bad as before.  The midwife sent me home and said she would call the Dr and see what he wanted to do.  So, we went home and I got a call that the Dr wanted me to come to the hospital for another OCT where I got a small pitocin drip to see how she would react to stronger contractions.  Well, my little Ava was in distress, so the Dr decided I needed a c-section to get her out because he didn’t want to risk me going into labor on my own and something bad happening to the baby.  I knew it needed to be done, but inside I was screaming!  I did not want to have surgery.  The closer I got to the tim eto head back to the c-section room….oh my gosh, I was shaking so bad!  I was so nervous about having surgery and being awake for it.  The anticipation was worse than the procedure itself.  It went by fast and before I knew it my Ava was here!

Ava had to be in the special care nursery while we were in the hospital.  Luckily, nothing major was wrong.  They just had to give her some O2 to help dry up her lungs and she needed an IV to help bring her sugar levels up.  She was pretty much ok by Sat. morning, but they needed to keep her for observation.  She started eating like a champ and got to come home Mon. with mommy right on schedule!

I wish those days were a little more clear to me, but it’s all a little hazy.  I think it’s because of the anesthesia and the pain meds.  I do know that once I was up and walking the next day then I felt a lot better.  The recovery really hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be.  I’ve been a little sore, but I didn’t really have actual pain after the first few days.  He gave me an awesome incision too!  He did all of my sutures under the skin, and you can barely see the incision.  They said that once it heals it’ll be hard to see where I was cut, so that’s good news!

It was so nice to come home!  We’ve all settled in nicely.  Jeff has been off of work since the day I had her, and he goes back tomorrow.  It’s been great having his help! I can’t lift anything heavier than the baby, and you don’t really realize how much you lift in a day until you aren’t able to do anything.  It’s been so nice having him home though.  He doesn’t have the most desirable hours at his job, so we don’t get to see a whole lot of eachother, so it’s been great getting to spend some much needed time with him.  Aiden has enjoyed it as well.  He doesn’t want daddy to leave his sight.  So, tomorrow will be a sad day when he has to go back, but it’ll be nice to get into a normal routine too.

I’ll leave you with a couple more pics before I head off to take a nap….

And here’s my wild headed boy!

Welcome Ava Grace

Ava was born December 7th.  She weighed 5lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 and 1/4 in. long.  There’s more to come later, but I wanted to share some pictures until I feel up to writing more.  Thank you all so much for your love and prayers!

God Bless My Home!!

Ever go to the Dr for something simple and it turns out to be a day and a half event that you think will never end?   Well, that’s what happened to me!  I went to the doctor yesterday for a simple belly measure and a check-up, and I happened to mention that Ava’s movements were slowing down.  after the check-up he had one of his nurses hook me up for a non-stress test.  No big deal, right?  Been there.  Done that.  First the test showed I was having contractions.  Still no big deal because I wasn’t feeling them.  I sat there all hooked up for about 20-25 minutes.  The doctor reads the paper strip and we learn that when I contract Ava’s heart rate was dropping way too low….Talk about a scary thing to hear!

My next destination was to ultrasound, so they could check blood flow through the umbilical cord and placenta.  Her doppler reading still had very low dips and they saw the cord was wrapped around her hiney, which could have been pulling tight when I would contract and restricting blood flow…

Next stop, hospital!  there I was hooked up for the Oxytocin challenge test.  They wanted to give me pitocin to make my contractions a little stronger to see if she could tolerate labor.  The results were not good at all.  She once again had very low dips in her heart rate.  I ended up being admitted so I could be monitored all night and into today.  If things didn’t get any better than I was going to have to have a c-section because we couldn’t risk me going into labor and something happening to her.

I then I had another OCT, and he had the evening nurse run it longer.  Praise God, her heart rate stayed right where it should!

Sleeping there was a nightmare!  Between my IV pulling when I would change positions, the fetal heart monitor and the contraction monitor, I didn’t sleep much at all.  Finally around 4am I fell asleep till about 7am, although I woke up briefly ever hour to look at the clock.  The only good part was that the baby did fine all night.  No more signs of distress!

It was then time for me to get up and get ready to go to ultrasound so they could doppler the umbilical again and take a look at the placenta.  It showed that everything was fine!  Whew!

God was definnitely looking our for her because it looked like I was definitely going to be headed into surgery to get her out.I go back on Fri to the doctor’s office for another non-stress test and blood pressure check.  Hopefully everything still comes out ok.  The doctor was very hopeful that I won’t have to have a c-section, so I was happy about that!  I must say though that I’ve never been so ready to be done in my life!  I’m ready to have my Ava here and have my health back!  Once again I just ask for continued prayers for us because things are getting a little crazy!

*edit*  If I don’t go into labor on my own in the next 2 weeks then I’ll be induced, so I don’t have any more serious complications that can stem from high blood pressure towards the end.

Can I just say how much I cherish my role as a mother?  Even as a small girl I was meant to be a mother.  It may sound silly, but I can remember praying to God that I would have 2 kids.  I wanted a boy first and then a girl, so the girl would have a big brother to look out for her.  Looks like my childhood prayers were answered   I wish I could put into words how much I love being a mom and how satisfying anf fulfilling it is, but I don’t think there are words that even do it justice.  It’s a feeling you can’t even begin to understand until you have a baby of your own.

There have been so many things I’ve wanted to blog about over the past several months, but I’ve kept pretty quiet because I feel that people can only handle so many honest posts.  There’s been so much said lately though that I can’t ignore anymore.  Most know that I’m a quiet and very nice person, so I’m not usually one to speak my mind to someone who has offended me or someone I love, so this is a great way for me to vent my feelings.

It’s so swcret that God gave us a wonderful surprise where Ava is concerned.  I admit it was hard when we first heard the news and I had a lot of questions and fears about the whole situation.  I really stuck my foot in my mouth because I had just had someone ask me when Jeff and I would be having another one.  I said that I wanted to wait 5 years because I was so happy and content with Aiden.  I quickly learned that God’s timing isn’t always our timing.  I learned to be anxious for nothing and trust God because He knows what’s better for us then we do sometimes. 

There’s been a lot of negativity thrown our way over pregnancy number 2.  Ok, maybe not a lot, but any negativity infuriates me.  Babies are a blessing.  God says so.  I think that anybody who can be upset about a baby is letting their true person show.  It shows me that they’re someone I don’t want to be around.  The biggest comment has been about how close in age the two will be.  Who cares?  How do you think people handle twins?  Triplets?  Can anyone say, “Jon and Kate Plus 8″?  If they can handle two 6 year olds and six 3 year olds, surely we can handle two that aren’t even multiples.

I would like to say that I’d wish people would kindly shut their ignorant mouths and keep their ugly comments and opinions to themselves, especially when they call themselves Christians.  I’m Aiden’s mother and I’m Ava’s mother, so I take anything pertaining to them very personally.  They’re a part of me.  I just want people to stay out of our business.  I’m definitely one who will not be going out of my way to share anything with these people.  I feel as if our life is our business, period. 

God has so richly blessed our lives, and I hope most people can see that.  I guess all I can do is pray for the ones who don’t, and know that God will take care of them and their hearts.  I guess this is one more thing I’m learning to turn over to Him.  There’s always a daily lesson to be learned, isn’t there?  Whew….now I feel better!  Thank you to those of you who stuck with me through this and read to the end

3 years and counting

3 years ago today Jeff and I got married.  It’s a day I’ll never forget as long as I live.  It was a blur, but somehow I remember everything about that day.  I remember not being nervous for one second.  I remember singing and dancing right before it was time to walk down the aisle.  I wasn’t an emotional wreck like I thought I would be because I was so excited to be marrying the man I had been waiting for and praying for.  I do remember though that at one point during the ceremony I had tears run down my cheeks and Jeff wiped them away with the tissue he had.  Then I danced my shoes off at the reception.  It was the best day, and definitely one of the most life changing days of my life as all of you who are married know.

It’s been a wonderful 3 years.  We’ve definitely had our ups and downs, but it has definitely only m ade us stronger.  We’ve grown and grown up so much together.  I couldn’t be prouder of Jeff.  I’ve watched him grow not only as a person, but as a man, husband and father.  He’s finally at a point where he has awesome goals he wants to achieve in the next few years, and I only hope I can encourage him and help him get where he wants to be. 

As all of you know, I’m on bed rest right now.  And I know I have days where I’m grouchy, but I realize even more how much I love him.  He has taken such good care of Aiden and I, and he never complains….even when I have him make 50 trips to the kitchen because to get things I forgot to tell him I needed this first trip.  He’s a great husband.

So, thank you Jeff for 3 wonderful years.  I can’t imagine not having you in my life, and I thank God for you everyday.  I love you!

Thanksgiving at our house was a little different, but as wonderful as always.  I wanted to keep it low key this year since I’m about ready to pop.  My mom had to work on Thanksgiving day, so Jeff and I ordered some food in, which was very different for us.  I felt a little empty without the home cooked meal, but we had our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, and it was well worth the wait and made my holiday complete.  We had it at our house with my mom and dad and my aunt came over as well.  It was nice and quiet and relaxing!

Today I had a check-up with the Dr and the dilation process has started!  Woohoo!  He said that when I go into labor they won’t try to stop it because at this point your body knows when the baby is matured and ready to be here.  I am so anxious to have my baby girl here!  She was a surprise for the year, but definitely a huge blessing!  I can’t wait to see her little face and cuddle with her.  Plus, at this point being pregnant isn’t cute anymore.  I’m just tired and in pain most days.  So, come on Ava girl.   Your family is ready to meet you!

Pray for me as bedrest continues.  It sounds good in theory, but it really isn’t fun.  It’s lying down constantly.  No cooking, No Cleaning.  No playing with your son.  You can’t do a thing, and it’s really starting to get to me.  If it was regular rest then it would be something I could enjoy, but it’s not at all.  It’s an extremely lonely time.  Most days I pray I’ll hear from people I love.  I know it’s good for my blood pressure, but it’s a struggle to stay positive most days.  So, prayers are appreciated!

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from our weekend….

Here’s Aiden walking my Dad and his sevice dog, Chilli.

Aiden gobbling up his Thanksgiving meal

And now it’s time for the Christmas holiday!

Oh wait!  One more!  I’ve only gained 13 pounds?!  Hmmm, I’m skeptical!