Avery's Arrival

After the longest 9 months of my life (because I couldn't wait for her to be here), Avery Shae made her arrival on September 7 at 9:43am. She was very tiny - 5lbs 8oz, 18.5 inches.

On September 6, I went in for my appointments like always. They did the ultrasound and they lady seemed to think everything was normal. Then while I was doing the NST, the doctor came in and told me they needed to induce that day since my fluid kept dropping. I did not want to be induced because I feel like she knows and God knows when the right time for her to come out is. I don't agree with people getting induced because they're "tired of being pregnant." But I was pretty far along - 38 1/2 weeks - and since the doctor said it was best, I, of course, went along with it.

The doctor told me I needed to go straight to the hospital. I can't really describe how I felt. It was so unexpected. I sat in the parking lot for a little while to calm down before I started driving.

I won't tell much about labor and delivery because I don't want it to be TMI, so I'll just tell a little... I had planned to get an epidural. I had no intentions of doing it natural! Well during the night, I started having really bad contractions. I was clenching the side of the bed and writhing in pain. I called the nurses and they said they couldn't give me one because last time they checked, I was only dilated to a 2. I was thinking that I must be a total wuss if I was in that much pain at only a 2. I decided I would try to suck it up since it apparently wasn't good to get an epidural that early. I went for a little longer and had to call them in there again and explain that I was crying I was in so much pain. They finally agreed to give me the epidural, then they checked me and I was dilated to a 10! So I like to think that I went through most of my labor naturally (even though I hadn't planned on it).

After that things went REALLY fast! All of a sudden they were having me push. The doctor told me the cord was wrapped around her neck and I would need to push hard to avoid having an emergency c-section. I definitely didn't want one of those, so I guess that motivated me. In what seemed like no time, the doctor told me to push one more time to deliver her. I was thinking "what? already?"

It was such an amazing moment to get to hold her for the first time.

I feel like tons of my friends who have posted pictures of themselves at the hospital look all cute - that was not me. I have never been so exhausted in my life. I also don't react to medicine well, so I was shaking uncontrollably and felt like I had narcolepsy. All that to say, I stopped caring about how I looked really fast. But I still wanted pictures to remember that day. So here are some.

She looks like her daddy...

And then she met her grandparents... 

And her "aunts" (she doesn't have any real ones)...

After a few days we went to Wichita Falls and she got to meet her great grandparents.

And we can't forget about Uncle Casey... 

Her mommy and daddy love her SO much! My mom always told me it's a love you'ver never known and she was right. I had no idea I could fall totally in love with someone I'd just met! We are so thankful God has blessed us with such an amazing gift!

Hospital Visit

As I talked about in my last post, I went to the hospital for my ultrasound today, and it was a... MESS!!

During this pregnancy I have been trying really hard not to complain although I have wanted to several times about the heat or how I live at the doctor's office. But I have friends who can't get pregnant or have been on bed rest for several months or who have had miscarriages so who am I to complain when I'm pregnant with a healthy baby girl? BUT there just might be a hint of complaining in this post...

I go to the hospital and they have absolutely no record of me. Apparently my doctor's office didn't send over anything. (I guess they forgot?) The receptionist makes phone calls to several depts. to check, but nothing. If it was something for just me, I would have said forget it and just left, but since it was for the baby, I wasn't leaving without an ultrasound. I had been listening to a sermon from Matt Chandler (our pastor) from a few weeks ago. He was talking about how you aren't the point, and how when things don't go your way, it's a lot easier to deal with if you realize it's not all about you. I kept thinking of this and it kept me positive... for a little while.

Since it's Sat. I had to page the on-call doctor. I tried to do that but they told me I had to have the nursing staff call for the doctor to be paged (apparently I didn't have the power). When we finally got doctor's orders, they didn't know if they should send me to radiology or labor and delivery. They chose the latter. (I am summarizing about an hour of back and forth in this paragraph.)

I finally get to labor and delivery. The first lady said she didn't know why they didn't send me up there in the first place since I'm pregnant. Also she had no idea why I was there and I had to explain. Then the lady doing my ultrasound came down and didn't understand why I wasn't in radiology (and also had no idea why I was having an ultrasound). Because I was in labor and delivery, I was "admitted" to the hospital. I got a bracelet and they even brought me lunch. I was confused by that, but she told me I might as well eat it because it will be part of my bill.

So... after 3.5 hours and a bill I can only imagine, I left. The good news is they said the baby looks great. My fluid is the same. They said she was very reactive and weighs 5 lbs 9 oz. My first reaction was frustration because I feel like I have been getting these tests done twice a week for several weeks now (which involves me driving 30 mins each way to McKinney), and then the circus today, for nothing. Everything has always been fine. The cynical side of me wonders if it's just the doctors trying to get more money.

But then I ask myself - what I would rather have? Did I want them to tell me something was wrong with her? Absolutely not! So why am I upset that it was good news?

Today was definitely a test of my patience and attitude. For the most part, I would say I failed the test, but after calming down (and therapy blogging :) I am very grateful my little girl is ok and I will finally be able to meet her in a couple of weeks!

Pregnancy Update - 37 Weeks

Ok ok so I won't technically be 37 weeks until tomorrow, but whose counting? :) I was born three weeks early, so I've had this feeling that Avery will come that early as well. Not sure if it was really a "feeling" or more of me hoping because I can't wait to meet her. So today I went to the doctor for my first exam to see if I'm dilated, etc. I was secretly wishing I was, but I wasn't at all. I know she will come soon enough, and God knows the perfect time, but I feel like a little kid who can't wait until Christmas to open her presents!

I have felt like she has been moving less than normal lately. It started when I got my ultrasound on Monday. The tech has to see certain movements during the ultrasound and Avery wasn't moving much at all, so we were in there forever trying to get her to move. Until that day, there had never been a problem. I almost called the doctor's office on Tuesday because I had hardly felt her move at all, but every time I went to call she would move a little and I thought I was overreacting. When I saw the doctor today, I mentioned this to her, and she wanted to do another ultrasound to be safe. She said whenever something happens, that's the #1 thing people notice - decreased fetal movement.

After the ultrasound, they said the baby looked fine, but my fluid had decreased. They said it was still in normal range, but was lower than it was on Monday, so she wanted to do another ultrasound in a few days. Since that falls on the weekend, I have to go to the hospital to get one on Saturday. She said it's not a huge cause for concern unless it keeps dropping. She told me to drink water until my eyeballs are full, and then drink more! I admit this is something I could be doing better. I have never been a good drinker. I'm just not ever that thirsty, and when I do drink, I drink really slow. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of water. Rustin has been "helping" me though by constantly reminding me to drink :)

I will post again when I find out something. If everything is fine, I really want to go to Wichita Falls next week. The doctor said it was ok since it's only 2.5 hours away and I would be able to get to the hospital in that time should I start going into labor. Rustin is not too keen on the idea though and is accusing me of having a plan to make sure she's born in WF!

Contractions

Today was a little crazy. I needed to get from Dallas to my OB appointment in McKinney and could have either taken 75 or the Tollway. I decided on the Tollway because there's usually less traffic - boy was I wrong! Apparently BOTH sides were shut down due to overturned vehicles. I called my doctor's office to let them know I'd be late (I was surrounded by cars and concrete and not moving at all!) and the girl said she would have to transfer me to scheduling because there's "no grace period" with a procedure (which was just my NST).  I wasn't seeing a doctor or anything, so I wouldn't be messing up anyone's schedule. And I can't say how many times I've gone into their office and waited 30 minutes or more, yet they couldn't allow me one day to be late? Luckily the girl in scheduling was really nice and told me to just come in when I could.

I was still fuming about being stuck in traffic (did I mention I hate traffic??) and about what the receptionist said. Then I finally got through the madness and passed the wreck. It looked like the cars had gotten into a head-on collision. The front half of both cars were completely smashed and I could see where the airbags deployed. Then it made me realize I could have easily been in a wreck like that, and I felt bad that I was annoyed about meaningless things.

So I finally get to the doctor (an hour late) and they hooked me up for the NST. When the nurse came back in she asked if I was having contractions and I told her no. Then she showed me the sheet and told me I had two! I guess I thought it was just the baby pushing on me. The doctor wanted me to stay on the machine longer to get a better reading. When the nurse came back in again, she said I was just coming off a contraction. I didn't even know! But now that she told me that, I can tell a little better what it feels like. I started to get really worried I was going into labor! But she said they are irregular and it's just my body getting ready. I'm worried that I'll go into labor and not know it, but I'm guessing they'll get pretty intense when that time comes.

Although I seriously can't wait for her to come, I started getting really scared when I thought she was coming NOW. I'm only at 36 weeks and was worried about her being premature. Stay in there at least one more week, Avery!!

Pregnancy Update - 35 Weeks

Ah! I haven't blogged in a while! I'm sure that is very disheartening to all two of you who actually read this :) Anyway a lot has been going on. I went home to Wichita Falls a couple of weeks ago for my last visit before Avery gets here. (I am too nervous to travel out of town again before my due date.) While I was there, my best friend's mom passed away unexpectedly after back surgery. A few days after that happened, we found out that Rustin's great grandmother passed away. It's been tough seeing two people I love so much go through so much pain and feeling powerless to do anything about it, but it's times like these I am reminded that Jesus is the great Comforter and Healer.

I have been going to the doctor for several weeks now for my ultrasounds and NSTs. Each time I go they say she looks great and everything is progressing normally. Today when I went for my ultrasound, she said baby's head is really low and she doesn't see me making it to 40 weeks. I see my doctor next Thurs. (8/28) and she will do an exam and be able to tell more accurately when I might deliver. I want her to get here so bad, but more than that I want her to stay put as long as she needs to so she can finish growing!

Hopefully we will be prepared...Rustin and I have been attending classes at the hospital. We went to Infant Care/CPR, are currently in the middle of four sessions of Prepared Childbirth, and I'm going to a breastfeeding one this Wed. Last week Rustin was out of town so my mom came with me to class and they gave us a tour of the hospital - which is Centennial Medical Center in Frisco. The rooms were super nice and they told us that a day or so after moms deliver, they get a celebration lunch of steak and lobster! I'm excited about that!

I am feeling ok, just really tired. I feel like it's trite to really complain about anything because I have several friends on bedrest or who have had complications, so I am just grateful that baby and mom are healthy, and hoping we stay that way!

Maternity Photos

I was originally not going to get maternity pictures done. I didn't see why I would want permanent photo documentation of what I looked like at the most I've ever weighed. Also, the ones I'd seen seemed corny (the heart formed with hands on the belly) or slightly - I don't know how to say this - too much skin. Not that I judged them for showing too much skin - to each his own - it's just that I personally didn't feel comfortable baring that much. (I'm a wuss.)

But one of our friends, Tressa, emailed me one day and asked if she could do them for us. She said she was starting up a photography business and was trying to build her portfolio. And she offered to do them for free, so we were in! I figured if I looked like a whale, I wasn't out anything and could just never show them to anyone.

Anyway, pretty sure it was still 100 degrees when we did the pictures, but it was still fun! After going back and forth on location, we decided on Addison Circle, which was perfect! Rustin and I used to live there and LOVED it! If it was more conducive to raising kids, we would still be there.

Here are a few from the first place we stopped - Bosque Park.

Oh So Posh Photography in Dallas chose one of the pictures to post on her page to show off her edits, which I thought was really cool for Tressa. And man, it's crazy what a difference editing makes! It further confirms how ridiculous it is to compare ourselves to people in magazines.

And then we did it... the heart picture. Rustin and I both made fun of it before, but Tressa wanted us to do it, so we figured we would, and now I am eating my words. I really like how it turned out!

Then we did some by the Addison Conference Centre, and found a cool garden-type spot by there as well.

Then, hot as it was, we did one clothes change. Not sure why, but I really wanted to get a few pictures in high heels.

So even though I hadn't originally planned on getting them done, I am so glad we did! I think it's such a neat memory to have, and I can't wait to show them to Avery one day!

And we are very thankful for Tressa! She did a great job finding cool locations, telling us how to pose (I need lots of help with that), and editing the pictures! She's still working on her site, but it is www.tressavent.com. Check her out!

Prenatal Testing Update

I had my first set of tests done yesterday. Pretty much everything is fine so far from what I understand. I love my doctor, but it seemed like the rest of the staff wasn't communicating. When I came in, they asked me what I was supposed to have done. (Aren't they supposed to know?) I told them I knew I was going to have NST and BPPs done but wasn't sure if I was supposed to have both that day or not (and I didn't know what a BPP was). The lady was nice and found out for me though. So I started with the BPP.

I still have no idea what it stands for, but the BPP is the ultrasound. It was so fun to see Avery again although she's so big, it's hard to make out what you're looking at. I felt like Rachel on Friends when she's sad because she can't see her baby! Rustin came with me, and we both got nervous at one point because the lady kept looking and not saying anything for a really long time. Well come to find out, she was waiting for the baby to move, and Avery was apparently asleep! She told me I'm supposed to eat something right before I came, but no one had told me that so it had been a couple of hours since I ate. She said if I will do that from now on, the baby will move sooner and we won't be in there as long...whew! And yes, she's still a girl. I had this fear they were going to tell me the last ultrasound was wrong and it's a boy. Rustin said if that happened, he'd have to like a pink nursery haha.

Then I had to do the NST. So they hooked me up to a machine and measured contractions and the baby's heartbeat. After about 30 minutes the lady came back in there and got the paper the machine had printed off. She asked if the baby moved, and I said yes, so she asked why I didn't press the button. I had no idea what she was talking about and politely told her that, although she sort of looked at me like she did tell me and I forgot. Luckily Rustin was there to assure me that I was not going crazy - he hadn't heard her tell me that either. I guess I know for next time! She then told me I was having contractions, but I told her I didn't feel them. She said they might just be Braxton Hicks. Maybe I am feeling them and just don't know what contractions feel like, but I'm guessing if they were real labor contractions, I couldn't mistake them. Anyway she took the paper to a doctor, who said everything was fine.

So now I will go back Thursday and do the NST again and see my doctor, and will keep doing this twice a week until she arrives :)

Here are some of the pictures from the ultrasound...

Baby Shower

I'll be honest - I've always thought baby showers were awkward and boring. I never had a clue what any of the presents were (I mean what is an exersaucer??), and I would always lose at the games because I had no idea what baby food tastes like nor did I know the appropriate size of a pregnant woman's belly when they played the streamer game. My streamers were always WAY longer than everyone else's, and I don't think the moms-to-be liked the idea that I apparently thought they were huge (which I didn't).

A friend of mine pretty much threw a house party for her shower. It was a couples shower at night and everyone just hung out. Aside from bringing a baby gift, you would think you were just at a normal party, which was a lot of fun! I thought of doing that, but realized that my grandma and other family probably wouldn't be able to come to something that late in Dallas, and I really wanted them there. As much as I wanted a "fun" shower, I also wanted a traditional one. So as it turns out, my shower was much like the showers I had deemed "boring" in the past, but when it's yours, it's different...I had an amazing time!!

The girls who hosted my shower did a great job!! I'm very thankful that we've all stayed friends for so long. Sarah and Kat's mom (Mammie) also hosted, which I thought was so nice, and Angie's sweet mom opened her home for us, which is also the same place I had my wedding shower!

Here are a few pictures of the decorations. First, the cake. "Baby cake," as I've called it for years, has long been my favorite, and this one did not disappoint! Mammie got it at Aunt Glenda's, which is a bakery in Wichita Falls and is the same place that made my wedding cake.

They also made the yummiest food! And Jana made a diaper cake, which I am still very impressed by! She's going to have to teach me how to do that.

They also made fake mimosas. (They kept warning people they were fake so they weren't "disappointed" when they drank them haha!)



My family from Wichita Falls came, and since Rustin's family lives in Waco now, his mom was also able to come!

And then the presents... I feel like this is the most awkward part since I don't like being the center of attention, and I felt like I was opening all of them in slow motion. But once I got going it was a lot of fun! Now that I know what stuff is, I LOVE baby stuff!! It's all so cute and tiny! Andrea did a great job of recording all the gifts!

Rustin acted like he didn't like this outfit...but he does.

My grandma bought our bedding for us. I'll post pics of the nursery when I get it all done, but we chose the Hayley bedding from Pottery Barn Kids, which I fell in love with the moment I saw it! Since the bumper was so big, she already gave us that and brought the rest to the shower.

Anyway I think you get the point...I opened presents. I am always blown away at things like this (well this is only my second shower, but still) at the generosity of other people. Everyone was SO incredibly thoughtful, and some people who couldn't be there even mailed their gifts! I'm surprised I didn't cry!

I had to get pics with some of the guests. There were more I wanted to get pictures with, but my camera died. I guess I should have stolen Andrea's sooner.

Here are the "Koerner Sisters" (they hate that haha).  

All of our husbands work at Lucidity. I'm thankful Rustin works at such a fun place so we can hang out with cool people!

This is Dana. She leads our church home group with her husband. We are very thankful for both of them and how they pour into our lives and embody Christ's love so well. 

And the hostesses - Andrea, Jana, Sarah, Kathryn and Angie

It was such a great day! I feel like there are very few times in your life when all your friends and family come together. I mean besides your wedding and showers, when else are you this lucky? I really can't say how thankful I am to everyone who came, and to my wonderful friends who threw it! Avery will have great "aunties"!!

The Name

Yes, we finally decided on a name...

Avery Shae Andrews

It was something I was scared we'd never agree on. Pretty much since we first got married, Rustin wanted to name his child Ocean. I told him this was never going to happen, but that didn't seem to make him give up the dream. Luckily I got him to move on to other options, but unfortunately they were - how shall I say this - not my taste. He liked Bravery, Asia and August to name a few. At one point he suggested us naming her a symbol like Prince. My top favorites were Ava and Stella, but he vetoed those. He finally decided he liked Avery and Addison, and at that point, I was just happy they were actual names (maybe that was his plan all along??) so I told him he could pick out of those two, and he chose Avery. I also liked two middle names - Grace and Shae - and told him if he liked them, he could pick that too, and he chose Shae.

I'm not sure if Shae is an uncommon name or what, but when we tell people that is her middle name they sort of give us a puzzled look and ask how we're going to spell it. I didn't want to spell it Shea because a teacher I worked with has a daughted named Shea and she told me not to spell it that way because everyone pronounces it "shee-uh." Another reason I wanted to spell it with an -ae is because my middle name is Rae and I liked that it was similar :)

Even though I think of Avery and Shae as both female names, I realize they are traditionally male names. Oh well what can I say - her mom's name is Sam.

Pregnancy Update - 30 Weeks

We had a slight scare early in the pregnancy. They did the first trimester screen which looks for the baby's chance of trisomy and down syndrome. They calculated my risk first just based on my age, then recalculated after blood work. My risk for trisomy dropped drastically, but my risk for down syndrome went up. Because of that increased risk, my doctor had me get a level 2 ultrasound at a hospital at 18 weeks to see if everything was ok. That was back in April and when we found out it's a girl! All of her measurements looked great, and she was in the 51st percentile for weight. The doctor said if she was at risk for downs she would weigh less and have larger measurements in certain areas. And I thought that was the end of it...

At my last appointment, my doctor told me that I would have to start coming in twice a week for a fetal non stress test (NST). From what I understand, she is concerned because something caused my first trimester screen to be off. Since they don't think it's downs, they're not sure what it is and want to make sure everything is ok.

So starting July 25, I will be going to my doctor's office in McKinney every Monday and Thursday. For the NST they are going to hook me up to machines as if I was in labor and test fetal heart rate and contractions for about 20 minutes. (This is just what I understand from my doctor. I'm obviously not a doctor, so hopefully I'm explaining everything correctly!) But there is a VERY big benefit with this - I get an ultrasound every Monday! That means I get to see our little girl once a week until she is born! I haven't seen her since the ultrasound in April, so I'm very excited about that!

Although I am an expert worrier, I have tried to continually remind myself of two main things - God is sovereign, and He loves her more than I do (even though it's hard to wrap my head around that one). And I also love the comfort of Psalm 139: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb...My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." 

Other than all of this, I have had a relatively easy pregnancy, but Rustin and I would appreciate prayers that everything would continue to go well!

Babymoon!

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE the beach! So of course I wanted to go this summer. Usually we would go to Mexico, but I'm a little scared to go down there right now - especially being pregnant. So we decided it was a perfect opportunity for Rustin to finally see the beach that I grew up going to every year - Panama City, Florida! My dad's side of the family lives there, so we've gone there to visit nearly every summer that I can remember. My parents came along as well. We missed Colby...sort of. I didn't really miss getting splashed the entire trip.

The adventures started at the airport with my dad getting "randomly" screened, which provided us with laughs for hours! I guess terror suspects are dressing like cowboys nowadays?

 

Then my mom got sick on the plane. Traveling with parents is definitely a unique experience :)

We finally made it to my grandma's house and enjoyed a nice dinner, and then got ready for three days of constant beaching! The first stop was Mexico Beach, which is my favorite. We like going there better than Panama City Beach because it is much less crowded. It's always reminded me of a "Jimmy Buffet" town. We went to Toucans for lunch (which is my favorite restaurant there), and enjoyed a nice meal by the beach.

Then we spent the rest of the day at the beach with my mom (my dad could only handle one beach day)...but not without some pictures first -

 Then Rustin and I stayed at the Driftwood Inn that night. Every year when we come to Mexico Beach I talk about how I want to stay there sometime. I even used to say that that's where I wanted to stay for my honeymoon. It definitely lived up to my expecations! It is just a quaint inn right on the beach. Here are a few views from around the property -

In the main lobby they had a great dane that would put his paws on the desk whenever someone walked in. It was sort of scary at first to be greeted by such a huge dog! They also had a parrot-

That night we drove to Port St. Joe and had dinner at a small pizza place. The electricity went out, but luckily each table had candles!

The next day we went to St. Andrews, which is a State Park and a great place to snorkel. This is the one day my dad could handle the beach.

We saw a few fish while snorkeling, and Rustin caught a starfish! He threw it back of course. We also saw several dolphins swimming not too far from shore.
That night we went to a small oyster bar right on the water. They shucked your oysters right in front of you! I wish I had a picture of the whole group, but it was my parents, my grandma, Uncle Ed, and Aunt Holly and Uncle Greg. I didn't have time to wash my hair beforehand, so don't judge! (And yes, the oysters were cooked.)

 Then it was the last day :( Since traffic was so bad going to St. Andrews (which is toward PCB) we decided it would be much more peaceful to go to Mexico Beach again.

I wish I had some pictures from our last night there, but we had a very nice dinner at my grandma's house with all the family. They also surprised me with a "shower." They were going to do gifts, but realized since I was flying I wouldn't be able to get them home so everyone chipped in and gave us some money and a very sweet card! Anyway I am still recovering from post-vacation depression! I wish we were still there!