dan goes back to work tomorrow. i am very sad about that. it has been wonderful having him around all the time for the past 3 weeks. right now avery is sleeping on her daddy and it is a sight to see. she is so tiny compared to him lol. but when you look at her on her own, she has grown so much in the past 3 weeks! she is still going through her growth spurt and is always hungry it seems. i feel like as soon as i finish feeding her, its time to get ready for another feeding. she is still fitting into her newborn clothes, and most are still pretty loose so thats good at least that we are getting alot of use out of the clothes. we do have a TON of 0-3 month clothes though so i hope those dont go to waste..

life is hectic. but it is also wonderful. avery has gotten a little fussy the past few days during the daytime, and is hungry alot. i think she is having a growth spurt. right now she is sitting in her bouncy chair and just looking adorable. this is the last week dan is home with us. it is sad :( i wish he could have more time off to stay with us!

avery had her first dr apt today. she is no 7lbs 14 oz. what a good girl she is w/ eating! :) she also had her first shot and she was not happy about it. i couldnt watch them give it to her. right now she is laying on daddies chest and making faces at me. it is adorable. today is the first day that we are all alone as a family of 3. mom and sister have gone home. no friends visiting. its just nice that we can all sit here and enjoy each other.

life with avery

what a change a baby makes. dan and i are so happy with our little girl. we cant believe we created something so amazing and perfect. avery is a fan of cuddling, sleeping, eating, swinging in her swing. i love the little face she makes when she is awake and looking at me. its as if she is smiling i swear. so it might really be gas, but a mom can have her dreams cant she? hehe. it is tiring but every minute is worth it. who ever thought we would be cheering for poopy diapers :) i dont want to put her down. all i want to do is stare at her while she sleeps or sits in my arms. she is wonderful.

poem

here is a poem written by my grandfather for avery:

Avery Grace

Little Avery Grace, has found her place. Here in my heart. This shall be, just her start. To keep us close, and ne'er be apart. She shall always be, as sweet as can be. The same as grandma Anna, who was also an Avery with grace, for all who knew her. So go on, dearest Avery, to daddy and mommy with honor. So go on, and make us prouder. A whole life I wish upon you. All our blessings, Avery Grace, to you. Dedicated to my newest Great Grand Daughter Avery Grace August 2nd 2009 Nat Gross

birth

welcome to the world, avery grace born 8/2/09 at 9:20 pm. 7lbs 12 oz, 20 3/4 inches. she has a head of gorgeous platinum blonde hair and blue eyes.
here is the birth story:
i started feeling contractions around 4am on Sat 8/1. i went for a walk, tried to relax and time them. throughout the day they grew stronger and stronger. towards the evening they were getting to be pretty painful. when they were 5 minutes apart, we called the dr and he said to come to the hospital and they will check me out. this was around 10 pm Sat night. Well i was definatly having the contractions, but i was still not dilated at all. I was 100% effaced at least. They sent me home and told me to come back when i wasnt able to talk/walk through the pain but they were still 5 minutes apart.
Home we went and my sister was saying over with us and she spent the night helping me try and relax through the pain. Her and Dan took turns throughout the night and they were great. The pain, not so great lol. Finally at 6am i couldnt take it anymore, and the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart still. We called the dr and he said to come back in.
When we got there, i was checked and i was 2cm dilated. hurray for progress! they admitted me and got me the most wonderful thing i could think of at the time. My epidural :) once the meds kicked in i was a happy camper. So throughout the day things were progressing nicely. They had me on pitocin to help speed things along. They broke my water around 5cm and i didnt feel a thing. finally around 7:30pm they said i was 10cm and it was time to push. we practiced a bit and off we went. I pushed for an hour and the dr came to check things. apparently avery's heary rate was pretty high so the dr said we could try forceps and have her out in 1-2 more pushes or we could do a c-section. i chose forceps. we got some more anesthesia because it was starting to wear off on my left side. at 9:20pm the most beautiful baby ever was born :) she scored an 8.9 on the apgar scale. i found out that i had a 3rd degree tear. that part has been pretty painful :(
overall my birthing experience was not bad. i love our little girl and we could not be happier.
she loves to eat and sleep and she has found her hands and loves sucking her little fingers.
i cant believe she is finally here!

well we are one day past your due date. i had a very sad day yesterday because i was very frustrated and just wanted you here! but this morning i woke up around 4am w/pains and here it is 4 hrs later and i am still feeling them. they range anywhere from 1o minutes to 4 minutes apart. once i start to see a pattern of 5-6 minutes apart, i will call the dr. i was worried it was just gas pains but dan told me it couldnt be because my belly definatly spasms during these periods. it feels like a mixture of gas, cramps, sciatica, and belly spasms all in one. fun isnt it? i hope today is the day!!