Emma is 6wks old

It is hard to believe but our precious Emma is already 6 weeks old. She has changed so much already. She is holding her head up even better than before, she is starting to really smile, giggle and coo, her hair is getting longer and thicker, she loves to lay in her bath hammock and to soak in the warm water and throws a fit when we take her out because she wasn't through relaxing, and she has grown so much. I have found out that she will sit in her swing now and watch Zack and Cody on Disney. She even smiled at Lilly today when she kissed her. At her one month checkup she weighed 8pds 5 oz and was 21 and 1/2 inches long but we had to make a trip to the doctor last week and she was up to 8-12. We are having to start changing clothes out in her closet. Most of the newborn things are starting to get too short.  We have had to make a couple of visits to the doctor over the last 2 weeks. The doctor first thought Emma had reflux and then thought it was the stomach bug going around but it has turned out after a test that she is allergic to the formula. She is lactose intolerant to regular formula as well as soy. We are now having to use a special formula and so far it isn't sitting too well on her tummy either. I will be returning back to work the week of Jan. 5th. I am fortunate enough to only have to go back part time and will only be working 2 and 1/2 days a week. We are still searching for childcare for Emma but we are hoping to speak with a lady next week about keeping her. We are looking forward to Christmas. This will be our first Christmas as a family and we cannot wait to celebrate. We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Years and safe traveling. 

Happy LATE Thanksgiving

Hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Sorry it has been a while since our last post. We are still trying to get adjusted to parenthood. It is hard to believe that Emma is already 3 weeks old and has grown so much already. We had the pleasure of Bryan's parents being in town all week. It was nice to have them around to see the grandkids and help us get some things finished around the house. We were able to spend all of Thanksgiving day with Bryan's family at Katie and Dave's house in Nashville. We look forward to seeing Mark and Marty back at Christmas time. We will try our best to keep this updated but until the next blog, be safe and take care. 

EMMA AVERY HAS ARRIVED!

Emma was born on Friday, November 7th at 11:38 am. She weighed in at 7 pounds and 9 ounces. She was 19 and 3/4 inches long. Sorry for not giving anyone notice until she was actually born. My lab work came back Thursday night with me in pre-clampsia and the doctor put me in immediately. We were scheduled to be induced tomorrow but she couldn't risk it. They started the lowest dose of potosin Thursday night just to get my body somewhat adjusted and turned it up at 6 am Friday morning. At 8:15 the doctor broke my water and I went from 5 to 8 within an hour. A piece of advice for anyone who is thinking about having kids and wants an epidural, take the epidural before they break your water. I've learned my lesson for any future pregnancies. About 30-40 minutes after that it was time to start pushing. I am thankful that labor was very short. Bryan was wonderful. He stayed in there with me while they gave me the epidural. They made him sit in a chair in front of me so he couldn't see the needle. He even cut the cord. The look on his face will always be remembered the moment he saw his little girl. Oh and she already has him wrapped around her finger. I do want to thank my mom for being there. I don't know how things would have went if she hadn't been there to help. Our journey is just beginning into parenthood but we look so forward to it. Love to all and thanks for the wishes. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

We just wanted to wish everyone a safe and fun Halloween weekend. Bryan will be working the final regular season football game tonight and I am going to attempt to drive to my parents house so I can see my  nieces. There is still no little one. I seem to be stuck at a 4 and 80%. If she hasn't arrived by the time I see the Dr on Thursday, she will officially schedule an induction on Tuesday, Nov. 10th. We will let you know when we actually have her. I think she is being just a little stubborn and my aunt says she is going to be a typical woman, always running late and having attitude. Who knows. Have a great weekend. 

Emma may be here next week!

Well let's just say this week has been interesting. We made a trip to Williamson Medical Monday night but after monitoring me for a few hours they sent me home. I had an appt scheduled Tuesday morning with Dr. Bell and from the time we left Williamson late Monday night to Tuesday morning I had dilated another centimeter. They have been concerned with the swelling I've been having so they ran more tests. As of the appt Tuesday, she was hoping she could get me through to next week and possibly the week after. I had to go back today for an ultrasound so we could find out if the blood flow was ok and what little one is weighing in at. She has an estimated weight of 5pds and 3oz. Dr. Bell is pleased with this. She is still a little drama queen b/c she was sleeping with her hand on her forehead. The unfortunate news is that Dr. Bell called this evening and they found protein in the test that they ran and it is enough for me to be considered mild pre-clampsia. I am on bedrest now instead of just taking it easy. I go in Friday morning to get my blood pressure checked. If my bp is up and/or I've started having some of the symptoms we discussed one of the other doctors will  assess me and possibly put me in immediately. Dr. Bell is hoping I can make it through the weekend and see her first thing Tuesday morning. She will then assess me and do another round of test. More than likely Emma will be here at some point next week especially with me have the pre-clampsia. Dr. Bell is just hoping she doesn't have to perform and emergency c-section. Keep us in your prayers. 

The Nursery!

The nursery is pretty much complete. After 2 weeks of scurrying around we only lack getting pictures on the wall and the bookshelf cleaned off. Bryan did a wonderful job painting and helping get everything in place. Now we just need Emma to complete it. As you can see from the pics, she is a very loved little girl. A closet full of clothes already that is just newborn to 3 months. Everything else is still bagged up. Her bin full of shoes because let's face it, every girl needs matching shoes. One of the pics is of the spare bedroom where we had to unload all the presents and most of those showing were from our work shower. Going for now but hopefully we will have some exciting pics in the next couple of weeks. 

Pictures and surprises

Me and the cake
My cousin and I. We are 3 weeks apart. Look how much bigger I am compared to her and this is her 3rd child.

The sign in table. Everything was beautiful.

They had some of the neatest ideas and sayings around the room. I thought this was fitting being so close to Halloween.

They hand painted so many of the decorations and gifts.

These were just a few of the pics from my shower this past Sunday. Our work shower is tomorrow and they are so excited and being so secretive. I wanted to update everyone. I had some problems on Monday and had to see the nurse practioner to be monitored. She never could find or see anything but wanted me to follow up today with my doctor. Dr. Bell checked me and I have dialated to a 1 and the baby has dropped which explains why I haven't been feeling her move so much. I go back in the morning to get checked again. I have a feeling she will be here before Halloween. I'll keep you guys updated. Bryan and I will be scurrying around tonight to get some of the necessities finished. Have a great day.

Good report

I went back to the doctor today and received a good report. My cervical length was shorter than last week but not enough for her to be concerned. My fluid, blood pressure and weight is doing great. My cervix has started to soften but has not opened at this point so I think that is a sign that we need to get Emma's room finished just in case. During the ultrasound she was looking around and blinking. We were able to get the best ultrasound pic yet. You can see her head, tummy and knees and was sucking on her thumb. I was able to return to work this past Monday with the rule of staying off my feet. When we get home at night I'm ready for bed. My energy level is little to nothing. My feet and legs are so swollen that you can't tell where each ends and begins. The joys of pregnancy. We have the first baby shower Sunday for family and friends. I'm so excited because everyone has worked so hard on it. We will also have a shower next Thursday at work and can't wait for it. Everyone is tickled that there will be a new baby at the Central Office and it is a little girl to dress up. We haven't painted the nursery yet but maybe by next weekend we can start. My mom brought up all the stuff that had been stored at their house until we got in and got settled at our house. It is amazing at how much stuff you need for a baby. Well that is all for now. We will post pics of the showers and hopefully the great ultrasound pic by next week. Have a great rest of the week!!!!

Updates

We have received Emma's bedding finally. After many months of deciding what her room was going to look like we came to an agreement. I'm posting some pics of the bedding. Also, we have her dresser. My parents were able to find it at a great deal in Lawrenceburg. We are hoping to finish cleaning her room out this weekend and get the holes patched so we can start the painting. I go back to the doctor tomorrow to see what all is going on. Last week when I went, I was measuring shorter than ever and the doctor was a little more concerned. There is a possibility that if the measurement gets any shorter then I will have to go in and have steroid shots just to help with Emma's growth in case she comes early. Their main goal is to get me to 35 weeks. At least if something should happen at that point it won't be as dangerous. I'm posting a pic of my belly so friends and family afar can see the progression. I am now 30 weeks. Poor Bryan is having to help me get off the couch and out of bed more and put up with my bursting into tears at the drop of a hat. I'm also posting a pic of Bryan holding Lilly. After being with me all day, she is inseparable from him at night and on weekends. Well that is all for now. I will have more updates as they come along. We have our baby shower in two weeks and looking forward to seeing a lot of family and friends that I haven't seen in a while.   

The nursery has been started

As you see from the picture, we have started working on the nursery. I love this crib with the Pooh accents. I wanted a little Pooh for Emma's room so it worked out wonderful. Now the decision of paint is coming up. It truly seems real for us now that we will be bringing our daughter home in less than 89 days. 

Emma Update

We went to the doctor last week for my monthly check up. I hit the 24 week mark so time is flying by fast. While we were there the doctor discovered some problems and I am now on bed rest. The problems that I was having and she found put me at high risk for preterm labor which we don't want so we are taking all precautions. Unfortunately on Friday night the pains had proceeded to get worse so we had to make a trip to the hospital for them to monitor me. We will see what she says when we go back next week. We've had 2 ultrasounds in the last 2 weeks and Emma is growing so much. Yesterday she was moving her mouth and tongue on the ultrasound as well as posing with her hand resting on her cheek. She moves non stop. She hates to have the monitors or anything for that matter resting on my belly. Bryan laid is head on my belly other night to nap and she kicked him a couple of times to wake up. Lilly has also gotten her share of kicks. She thinks my belly is resting place for her now and Emma doesn't like it. We are starting to pick stuff out for the nursery. We will take pics and post them when we start painting and get the bed and bedding. That's all for now.  

Trip to the beach

We wanted to share some pics from our recent trip to the beach at Orange Beach, AL. We left early Friday morning and just got back this afternoon. Weather was warm but nice. Bryan spent a day at the movies while my mom and I shopped at the outlet mall for Emma. Katie, my oldest niece, kept Bryan busy on Saturday by not letting him out of the ocean until it was time to get in the pool. We got to have dinner on Saturday at Lamberts which was so tasty. We had a wonderful time, so much so we didn't want to come back.

Ultrasound Pics

She has long skinny feet and toes
She kept putting her hands over her nose so we couldn't get her profile.

Here she is looking at us

Her hand

This is a pic of her stretching. They wanted to make sure the spine looked good.

Here are a few of Emma's pics. I hope you can tell what they are of.

Our house and 4th of July

As you are all aware, we have been quite busy these last couple of weeks. We are in the house and have been able to put our touch on some things. Bryan's parents were up for the 4th and helped us complete many tasks. We were able to have dinner that Friday with his parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephew. It was so much fun to have everyone around. We have learned that they do a neighborhood fireworks show that goes on for several days in our subdivision. We have been able to meet a few of our neighbors which we really enjoyed. We will keep you updated on everything as it goes.

Pics from Union Station

Here are some of the pics from the couple of nights we stayed at Union Station Hotel in Nashville for our honeymoon. Thought I would share.