Ava's Birth Story :)

On Tuesday, March 12, I had finished up some thank you notes from my baby showers, put Addie to bed, and come back to the couch to prop my swollen ankles up for a while. I was relaxed because I had scheduled the next day off for a prenatal massage, OB appointment, Addie's well visit, and a haircut... it was around 11:15 (I fell asleep with Addie :), and much to my surprise, my water broke! I was so confused because I was in no pain whatsoever. In fact, I was feeling the best that I had been feeling in a while!

So Eric calls the on-call doctor to let him know what has happened. We inform him that I already have a scheduled appointment the following morning, so he says that it could be a build up of fluid that has come out (HA!) or that if it's my water breaking, then to keep track of contractions as they come. If they get to be close and consistent, then I should head to the hospital! Otherwise, I would just go to my appointment as planned and go from there.

We called my mom since they would need a little more notice than anyone to get here (they are 7 hours away). We just told them to be ready so that if I was indeed in labor, they could just hit the road!

That night was a whirlwind. Eric shifted into overdrive while I rested and prayed that contractions would wait! He cleaned and cleaned and cleaned! It was hilarious... he knew that my family would be coming in town soon, so he had to get the house ready. Plus, he washed and packed our hospital bags since we were not prepared for that (we were still over three weeks before my due date). All I could do was sit there and watch (and laugh!). :) We finally fell asleep about 1:30 and we were actually able to rest until Addie woke up around 8.

I remember not being scared at all. I had such a peace this time around... I knew that my water had broken and that I was going to meet my girl in less than a day! I was beyond excited to get to the hospital! Praise Jesus!

We brought Addie to school on our way to the appointment. When we arrived, they got me right in to another doctor who was free (mine was still with another patient) so he could go ahead and check me. It didn't take long for him to say that we would be having a baby today! :) Cra-zy. We made all of the phone calls, picked up our stuff from the house, and headed to the hospital to get checked in!

I finally got to my room around 1:30 and they started pitocin. I still had not felt a single contraction! Praise Jesus! :) Naturally, the pitocin changed that and I got the epidural after a couple of hours. It was not all that bad.. I don't know why people are so scared of it! Actually, at this point in the process, the thing that hurt worst was the penicillin they put in my IV! It burns like crazy! Thankfully, it only burns for like a minute, but I'm a pansy, so that minute was loooong! :) I had to take it since I never got the Strep B test and I'm very prone to infections anyway, so I was glad to take it to make sure I didn't infect Ava. 

Family started to arrive after work. My parents got there around 8:00. Addie spent the afternoon with Eric's brother and sister, so she was in Heaven! They brought her up there around 10:00. She was way too excited to sleep! Sweet little night owl... 

I got frustrated around 6:00 when the nurse checked me and I hadn't progressed very much. My epidural started to wear off a little in my side, so apparently I tensed up or something when she checked me and I would still be a 3 or 4! Boooo! I know this because it happened again right before Dr. Thomas came in around 6:30 after the epidural boost calmed me down, and I was a 5! Holla! :) My epidural did the stupid wearing-off thing again around 10:15 when she checked me again. She said I was still a 5... epidural boost, enter Dr. Thomas around 10:30, I was a 7! :) Around 11:15, Dr. Thomas came back in and before he checked me, I told him I was ready to push... he checked and I was right! I started pushing shortly after that, and at 12:16 a.m. I heard the sweetest cry from my new baby girl! Eric got to help deliver Ava and cut the cord, etc., and it was so great to watch as we got to keep our baby in the room with us this time! :) One of our nurses grabbed our camera and got some of the sweetest pictures of our new addition! 

My nurse, Betty, was this sweet lady from Belize who was SO excited because we ended up being Thursday's Baby! The local new station highlights the first baby born every Thursday on the news and in the hallways of the hospital! Betty had never delivered a Thursday's Baby and apparently it's pretty competitive among the nurses. :) So glad we could help! I'll put the Thursday's Baby pics in the next post.

Ava weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces. She was 19 1/4 inches long. She was a great size for being three weeks early! I'm glad she decided to go ahead and make her debut! :)

After Ava was cleaned up, Eric got to go and tell everyone that she was here! This was so special because the family could actually come back and see her! Addie was elated (as was everyone else) and couldn't wait to kiss her baby sister! It was such a great moment to see... our family was now complete! :)

Such a sweet sister!

Our family of four! 

I love this one... :)

My Three Year Old

This post is months late, but I need to make sure I type this before her fourth birthday. :)

Addie is at such a fun age! Her personality is absolutely precious... she is coming up with new sayings every single day! She definitely keeps us on our toes!

 At her well visit (which wasn't until March), she weighed 29.5 pounds and was 37 inches tall. Her doctor described her as "average" according to her placement on the charts! She's always been barely on the charts, so we were so happy to have her move up and be average! :) Yay! Addie wears 2T shirts and leggings, 24 month shorts and pants (they fit a little better on her skinny waist), and she's 2T or 3T pajamas. She's now potty trained, too! Hooray! :) My biggest advice on this topic is to wait until your child is ready! I heard this from people and really took it to heart with my Addie. She was smart enough to do it, but she just wasn't ready. Once it got close to time for Ava to arrive, she was good to go, and now she's great! :) It really wasn't difficult at all! 

She is developing very well... she talks all. the. time. and sometimes comes up with sentences and conversations that astound us! Her imagination is one of my favorite things these days. She loves to "play mommy and baby," build forts and imagine going different places, read books and do puzzles, play on her mobigo, play play-doh, draw on her easel, color and practice her letters... the list goes on and on. :)

To celebrate her birthday back in January, we invited her friends and family to Pump it Up, and they all had a blast! Everyone is not in this picture, but it is most everyone who was there... it's very difficult to get 25 young children in one place for a picture! :) She had so much fun playing with everyone. We are so thankful that we have so many great friends with kids who are Addie's age. It will be sweet to see them all grow up together!

 Playing dress up is a fun hobby lately, too! Here is an example of that on the one day we had a good snow at our house. :) She loves all things princesses... dressing up like them, reading about them, talking about them, watching the movies... we have family movie night every now and then and she always chooses a princess movie. :) So far, her favorites are Cinderella and Princess and the Frog.

Addie loves her new big girl bed, too! She got this from her family for her birthday. It was a fantastic transition that we were able to do before Ava arrived. Honestly, I think she would have stayed in her crib for another year, but since Ava was coming, we had to make the change. We are so grateful that it went well!

 Obviously, her favorite thing about being 3 is her new role as Big Sister! This face shows exactly how she feels about Ava. If Ava cries, Addie is the first to run over to her and see if she is okay. Her sweet voice when she talks to Ava is my favorite thing! Addie also loves to remind people to use "Magic Soap" before holding the baby, and she is great at putting the pacifier in Ava's mouth! Addie knows where all of the supplies are in Ava's room and will gladly run and get something when we need it! I just love this sweet little Mama!

Addie Jackson,

We just could not love you more! You are so much fun to be around... You make us so proud every day. You are the best big sister... Ava is so lucky to have you!

:) Mama and Daddy

She's here!

Miss Ava Rae Jackson made her debut early Thursday morning, March 14, 2013.

She was born at 12:16 A.M. 

She weighed 7 lbs, 2 oz, and she was 19 1/4 inches long.

She is beautiful, and we are in love!

More pics and info to come soon...

P.S. Big Sis Addie is in love, too! :)

Rewind...

Thankful for a snow day so I can catch up a bit on blogging... :)

We had a wonderful Christmas despite RSV that kept us house-bound for a week... thankfully, it wasn't too serious. Just a few nights of taking turns cuddling and sleeping with Addie and we were through it. She still managed to enjoy her gifts from Santa, and we, of course, soaked up every minute with her while she was still. :) ha It was hard not going to MS at all over the holidays (especially since I won't be able to travel until after Ava is born), but my sweet family came for New Year's Day to celebrate a belated Christmas with us... so that definitely helped!

At Eric's Mom's house. This is right after our first doctor's visit... two ear infections. :(

 Still manages to love on her new Build-a-bear. :) So sweet!

 How precious is this?!

 Waiting for her surprise at Eric's Dad's house... :)

 A Barbie Jeep!

Her exact words were, "Let's put it together now!"

Sweet baby... but you can tell she just wasn't herself. :( This was a few hours after we went to the doctor again and tested positive for RSV.

 Christmas morning! Santa brought all of the princesses! She was so excited! :)

 Lining them all up in a row... :)

 ...and finding them a place in her new dollhouse! :)

See? She said they were all at a birthday party. :)

 Managing a smile for Mama :)

 Tuckered out. :( Poor baby.

 After naptime, she helped Eric and me with our stockings... and played dress-up for a bit. :)

She got a lot of puzzles for Christmas... one of her favorite things to do!

Katie got this cute pic! :)

 I loved my full mantle this year! :) Can't wait to fill Addie and Ava's stockings next year! 

...and this pregnant lady has loved the fireplace this year, too! Ironic, yes? I'm reeealy hot-natured. And pregnant. That kind of triples the hot-natured thing.

Our tree. :) I miss it already!

More pics to come! I've got to get some from my Mom's camera. :)