...and due the fact that I'm doing the from my phone, I can't add captions until later.
Enjoy! I know I have.
Friday, December 28, 2012
A Month In Pictures
I've taken quite a few pictures in the last month. While these are only ones from my phone, I thought I'd share.
...and due the fact that I'm doing the from my phone, I can't add captions until later.
Enjoy! I know I have.
...and due the fact that I'm doing the from my phone, I can't add captions until later.
Enjoy! I know I have.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
It's About Time
I know I am about one month too late on this post. I have promised a lot of people the story of Avery entering the world, and life since. So, without further ado...
I left school Friday afternoon, 11/16/12. I knew I had from Friday at 2:45 until Tuesday at Midnight to live life as a family of three, prepare the house and do any last minute things. So, I packed my school bag, told my kids good-bye and never looked back.
The weekend was filled with last minute things, spending time as a family and having one last "Cullen and Erin" date before being a family of four. Monday morning, I drove to Austin to have my sister color my hair (b/c God forbid I have bad hair in all of Avery girl's hospital pictures). On my way home from Austin, I got a phone call from Dr. Furman asking if I'd rather have my baby Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I said yes before total shock set in. I nervously drove to Cullen's work thinking about all of the things that all of the sudden were incredibly important... Like spending time with my son before I had a son and a daughter. Like cleaning the whole house. Like making sure I was packed up, and Noah was ready for a several day spend-the-night at both grandparent's houses. I hadn't called Cullen. I figured I would tell him in person. So, I arrived at MTV to tell Cullen. I wish I had his face on camera. We were both shocked. I picked up Noah and came home to play. We did whatever he wanted. After Cullen got home from work, we packed Noah up and headed to Coco's house for dinner and to drop the little buddy. We kissed him good-bye. I cried. Big time. Crocodile tears. Not pretty.
I had a hard time falling asleep that night. It wasn't until after midnight. Sad part was, we were scheduled to be at the hospital at 4:00 am. So, we arrive at the hospital and check in about 4:30. I get hooked up to my machines, get comfortable and settle into what I KNOW to be a very short process. After all, I'm already 4.5 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Well, several hours passed. Nothing. No progress. Nurses come in every 30-45 minutes complaining that they can't keep the monitors on Avery.
Around 11:00 am, the doctor on call said she wanted to break my water to speed things up... It was at that point that I asked for my epidural. Epidural in, I continued the waiting game. With each passing hour, I felt a bit deflated. I just wanted to have her here! We waited, waited and waited more. To spare ALL boring moments, we spent from 11:00 to 4:30 waiting around. At 4:30 or so, contractions started to pick up. I was feeling a tremendous amount of pressure and on-again off-again pain. I thought my epidural had worn off around this time. Other than the pain I was having, I could suddenly move my legs. I had total control over them, and I didn't earlier in the day.
So, I pushed the magic nurse button. Magic nurse Chris (who is so amazing, she deserves a blog post all on her own) came in about 4:45 to check on me. I told her about my pain/pressure/control of my legs. She had a doctor come check me and it turns out the doctor could see Avery's head.
Cullen is out in the hallway on the phone with my dad. He came bee-bopping in with the phone. I told him it was time to push and I think he lost his color temporarily. He hung up the phone. I was prepped. EIGHT MINUTES and THREE PUSHES later our darling little Avery Anne was here.
Now it's been a month. We are home, settling into what seems to be a routine. I've learned how to nurse a baby. This didn't work with Noah. I'm more than thankful it is working now. Noah is madly in love with his sister. He tells me many times daily how cute she is or how much he loves her. He will get anything for me that I need for her. He is such a sweet big brother. HOWEVER, the transition from only child to big brother for mom and dad was a different story. He has had a tough time sharing Cullen. He's not sleeping through the night. He's throwing huge fits of rage when things get tough or thing don't go his way. He is having a hard time sharing his toys with his friends. He's just in a time of transition. It's hard. But, then he'll have a spark, a fleeting moment, where he is so fun. Moments where he goes with the flow like he used to always do. We've learned that if we expend his energy, he is less apt to throw fits. He listens. We are praying for this time of transition to end. He is perfect with strangers and his day care worker. He is perfect for his grandparents. So, for now, we are learning to deal with the bit of resentment he has towards us. This too shall pass... Or so they say.
I left school Friday afternoon, 11/16/12. I knew I had from Friday at 2:45 until Tuesday at Midnight to live life as a family of three, prepare the house and do any last minute things. So, I packed my school bag, told my kids good-bye and never looked back.
The weekend was filled with last minute things, spending time as a family and having one last "Cullen and Erin" date before being a family of four. Monday morning, I drove to Austin to have my sister color my hair (b/c God forbid I have bad hair in all of Avery girl's hospital pictures). On my way home from Austin, I got a phone call from Dr. Furman asking if I'd rather have my baby Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I said yes before total shock set in. I nervously drove to Cullen's work thinking about all of the things that all of the sudden were incredibly important... Like spending time with my son before I had a son and a daughter. Like cleaning the whole house. Like making sure I was packed up, and Noah was ready for a several day spend-the-night at both grandparent's houses. I hadn't called Cullen. I figured I would tell him in person. So, I arrived at MTV to tell Cullen. I wish I had his face on camera. We were both shocked. I picked up Noah and came home to play. We did whatever he wanted. After Cullen got home from work, we packed Noah up and headed to Coco's house for dinner and to drop the little buddy. We kissed him good-bye. I cried. Big time. Crocodile tears. Not pretty.
I had a hard time falling asleep that night. It wasn't until after midnight. Sad part was, we were scheduled to be at the hospital at 4:00 am. So, we arrive at the hospital and check in about 4:30. I get hooked up to my machines, get comfortable and settle into what I KNOW to be a very short process. After all, I'm already 4.5 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Well, several hours passed. Nothing. No progress. Nurses come in every 30-45 minutes complaining that they can't keep the monitors on Avery.
Around 11:00 am, the doctor on call said she wanted to break my water to speed things up... It was at that point that I asked for my epidural. Epidural in, I continued the waiting game. With each passing hour, I felt a bit deflated. I just wanted to have her here! We waited, waited and waited more. To spare ALL boring moments, we spent from 11:00 to 4:30 waiting around. At 4:30 or so, contractions started to pick up. I was feeling a tremendous amount of pressure and on-again off-again pain. I thought my epidural had worn off around this time. Other than the pain I was having, I could suddenly move my legs. I had total control over them, and I didn't earlier in the day.
So, I pushed the magic nurse button. Magic nurse Chris (who is so amazing, she deserves a blog post all on her own) came in about 4:45 to check on me. I told her about my pain/pressure/control of my legs. She had a doctor come check me and it turns out the doctor could see Avery's head.
Cullen is out in the hallway on the phone with my dad. He came bee-bopping in with the phone. I told him it was time to push and I think he lost his color temporarily. He hung up the phone. I was prepped. EIGHT MINUTES and THREE PUSHES later our darling little Avery Anne was here.
Now it's been a month. We are home, settling into what seems to be a routine. I've learned how to nurse a baby. This didn't work with Noah. I'm more than thankful it is working now. Noah is madly in love with his sister. He tells me many times daily how cute she is or how much he loves her. He will get anything for me that I need for her. He is such a sweet big brother. HOWEVER, the transition from only child to big brother for mom and dad was a different story. He has had a tough time sharing Cullen. He's not sleeping through the night. He's throwing huge fits of rage when things get tough or thing don't go his way. He is having a hard time sharing his toys with his friends. He's just in a time of transition. It's hard. But, then he'll have a spark, a fleeting moment, where he is so fun. Moments where he goes with the flow like he used to always do. We've learned that if we expend his energy, he is less apt to throw fits. He listens. We are praying for this time of transition to end. He is perfect with strangers and his day care worker. He is perfect for his grandparents. So, for now, we are learning to deal with the bit of resentment he has towards us. This too shall pass... Or so they say.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
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