Our Sweet Baby Girl

Avery Lynn

born Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 10:12am

7 pounds, 8 ounces - 21 inches long

Perfect in every way!

There are so many things I want to write about her, but that will have to wait for another time.  The three year old just left for the zoo with his Daddy and Avery is/was asleep in her bed, so I must be wise and use this time to do things for myself.  Like eating...and showering.  Aah, the glamorous life of a mom with a newborn!

Grateful

As you can imagine, I'm feeling very nostalgic today.  I was laying in bed early this morning, awake for no good reason again, thinking about our journey that brought us to this day.  I was thinking about those three tiny embryos up there, wondering which one of them was hand-chosen by God to be our precious daughter.  Looking at this picture makes me feel like July 20th was SO long ago (about 40 weeks!), yet when I think about how this could very well be my last full day to feel "baby girl" move around inside of me, I wonder where the time has gone and how it passed by so quickly.  

I feel like I've done more complaining in these last couple of weeks about being uncomfortable and have forgotten to enjoy this little one growing inside of me.  My desire to see her face and hold her in my arms has overshadowed the incredible miracle taking place even still.  I am no longer complaining about her ramming her foot/leg/backside into my ribs, but smiling through it because I know I'll never feel that again.  When she used me as a punching bag in the wee hours of the morning and bounced on my bladder like a trampoline, I thought about how I used to long for those moments.  I've waited 8 1/2 years for these things and I'm now sad that I've wished the last couple of weeks away.  Today I plan to not lose that focus; to smile at the movements I feel; to know that this road was planned out by God before I was even born.

I also began to think about all of the encouragement and prayers we've received during the last 8 1/2 years.  To be completely honest, I'm speechless when I think about just how MANY people have been there to support us during our journey.  We've only made it this far because of God, but I can also add that my emotions have often times stayed in tact because of the encouraging words, prayers, support, and love from our family and friends.  We're beyond blessed to have people like that surrounding us and I'm just amazed at His goodness for bringing them into our life.

Thank You, God for all of the blessings You have given Lou and I in this incredible life we have together.  Thank you for this precious little boy whom we absolutely adore.  Thank you for this sweet little girl whom we can hardly wait to meet.  Help us to raise them up to follow You; to show them Your Heart and to teach them about the importance of keeping You first in their lives.  Create and strengthen their bond from the moment they meet, uniting them as siblings forever.  You chose both of them to become a part of us and we thank You for trusting us with Your precious children.  We love You, Father.

Ten and counting

(image from here)

I'm 10 days from my due date today.  That can be counted on just two hands.  I'm not excited or anything...yeah right!  I'm still being realistic though, and I'm not I saying that I can guarantee she will be here in that amount of time.  I realize it could be longer by a few days, but I'm hopeful it will not be.  Ten.  T-E-N.  TEN!!  That is all.

38

I'm 38 weeks today, which has me feeling...I'm not really sure.  It's been a long 38 weeks, yet it's also flown by so quickly.  I have friends who have never known pregnancy to last this long. I have friends who have gone much longer than this.  I have people who check in on me, people who (jokingly) request that I avoid certain dates to give birth, and people who are just as excited and antsy as we are.  They're wondering the same thing...is today the day?  It's the number one question on my mind at all times.  Some days, it consumes me.  (Like...the last few days!)

In just a matter of time, I'll finally know what this little one looks like.  Blonde hair?  Brown hair?  What color of eyes?  In our situation, there are so many unknowns that the suspense is about to send me over the edge!  I can't begin to guess about her features, her length, or even her size.  All I can do is wait.

A good friend recently reminded me that my life will not ever be as it is right now ever again...so enjoy this time.  It's great advice and I'm trying to do just that.  To enjoy these last few days/weeks as they are, taking every day as God has chosen to give it to me.

Gonna Miss This

I'm waiting.  I'm anxious.  I'm impatient.  And I'm content.  Wait...what?!  Content?  I don't typically "wait" well for things (hence, the anxiousness and impatience), so I find it odd to look inside myself and find contentment too.   I'm on the verge of complete fulfillment of a dream I have literally had since I was a little girl.  It's so close, I can almost touch it.  Any day now, it could be 100% fulfilled.  I just don't know when that day might be.  (According to my pregnancy ticker, it's only 19 days away!)

So why am I content?  I'm just trying to slow myself down and remember to enjoy this time I still have.  On the outside, it's just our family of 3.  Me and my boy.  A mother of one.  On the inside, it's just her and me - and no one else.  Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want to share her or that I'm just SO physically comfortable these days that I don't want her to come out.  That's certainly not the case at all!  It's just knowing that after she's born, so many things will be different.

My boy won't have the attention he used to.  My love, hugs, kisses, arms, and lap will have to be shared.  A bit of freedom that I have gained with a 3 year old will be lost as we re-enter the infant stage.

I'll never again feel her move inside of me.  I'll never feel her stretch from head to toe and be able to complain at her that it hurts, insisting there's just NOT ENOUGH ROOM to do that.  She won't be in there to flip-flop around or to practice kickboxing as I'm trying to fall asleep at night.  I won't be the only one to feel her hiccups...like I do right now!

However, I will be able to introduce her to so many people who have been praying for her.  I will be able to gaze into her eyes and feel her in my arms as I take in her sweet smells, knowing that because of Him and His faithfulness, my body carried her safely through a full-term pregnancy and brought her into this world.  I'll be able to grant her big brother's current request to hold "baby sister" and allow him to give her kisses.  

A song came to mind as I was thinking about all of this.  As a mom, it's always "gotten me", bringing me to tears wherever I am as I realize that there are times I DO wish certain days/ages/phases would pass.  But Trace Adkins is right -- I AM going to miss this.  All of it.

http://www.cmt.com/videos/trace-adkins/217378/youre-gonna-miss-this.jhtml

Valentine's Day

Today is February 14th -- Valentine's Day.  I've been thinking all day about how much things have changed over the years.  Our first Valentine's Day was celebrated just 4 months after we began dating.  Now here we are -- 16 Valentine's Days later, 11 years into our marriage, one boy, and a baby girl on the way.  Gone are the nights of nice, expensive dinners.  Gone are the gifts of a dozen red roses.  (Though I ADORE roses, I quickly put the nix on that not long after I quit working and saw the credit card bill for said roses that died in less than a week!)  Gone are the times of getting dressed up, trying to look just perfect for him, before we went out for a night of fun (along with the other couples we practically shared a table with because the restaurants cram you in so tightly).  I can't say I'm sad about any this.  In my 8th month of pregnancy, I just can't say I'm willing to deal with the hassle of it all.  Babysitter.  Crowds.  Reservations.  High prices.  "So-so" food because they have so many people to serve.  Waiting.  I'm content with the night at home we have planned for tonight.  Lasagna, a caesar salad, and garlic bread for dinner (because it's what my hubby loves to eat) and specially decorated brownies for my Valentines for dessert.  (My cravings had nothing to do with making the brownies...it was all for them...really.)  Some may look at our plans and call us dull.  I call us perfect, for the life we're currently living is the reason our night is so uneventful...and I love it.

**UPDATE** As pointed out in my comments, I DID, indeed receive a dozen red roses this year for Valentine's Day.  Such a sweet man.  :)

EIGHT months?!

Another post about pregnancy...surprise, surprise.

As of this past Saturday, I am 31 weeks along.  I just got an email about my 8th month of pregnancy and it got me searching to see if that was really true.  (Surely it couldn't be.  My due date is 2 months from today!)  That whole concept of a pregnancy being 40 weeks or 9 months confuses me to no end, but I found this chart, and sure enough...8 months is here.  Holy schamoli - how did that happen?!

 (from http://www.baby2see.com/pregnancylength.html#weeks_into_months)