Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Avery is here!

Our little baby girl is here and she is pretty fabulous!! Her birth story is a little anti-climatic being that we had a schedule repeat c-section but here it is all the same. We had scheduled the surgery for July 29 at 12:45pm so, needless to say, there wasn't much sleep going on Wednesday night. I am a little OCD when it comes to organization of clothes and laundry so I was up until about 12:30am finishing up the folding and hanging of all Avery's clothes. I finally fell asleep around 1:30am and woke up bright and early at 7:00am. We brought Brady in our bed and had one last snuggle as a family of three. That was the first of MANY breakdowns that day. As his little hands held my hair and he looked at me with those big brown eyes I couldn't help but feel a little sad for him. This was his last day of being the baby - he now had to be the big boy, big brother, mommy's little helper. I hoped I had prepared him for this day. I prayed that I had done enough with him so he felt secure and loved no matter who or what walked into our home. Somehow in my heart I knew I had. I knew he has felt more love in eighteen months than his heart could possibly hold. His big smile let me know that everything would be okay. I got up and showered slowly thinking about how in a mere six hours I would be sitting in a postpartum room staring at my little girl, my second little miracle. I cried tears of joy as I thanked my Heavenly Father for another child and another seamless pregnancy. His hand has protectively watched over my family over and over again and His love never ceases to amaze me. I got myself already and even put makeup on because I wanted to look as close to myself as possible in the "after" pictures. I did my hair for the first time in weeks and I justified it by saying I was meeting my daughter today!! After I was all ready I gave Brady a bath and put him in his Big Bro shirt and thought how little he looked. Man, was that about to change!!! We dropped him off at my parents and I started to feel really nauseous. I hadn't been able to eat since midnight and I still had to take all my medicine that morning (12 pills) and I have never ever taken them on an empty stomach. Anyway, before I knew it, I was puking all over my mom's wood floors. Not my finest moment. I could see Brady out of the corner of my eye and he looked worried and confused. I got myself together and we were running a little late at this point so we quickly took a picture and had to say goodbye to Brady. I started to lose it again. I hugged my little boy as hard as I could and whispered "I love you" in his little ear and he grabbed my hair and gave me a kiss. It was hard to say goodbye to him. We got in the car and headed to GBMC for the long waiting game. We had to be there at 10:45am to start the prep and it seemed like forever before they took me back. Nick and I were in this tiny pre-op room and he was getting antsy. He was looking in all the cabinets and pulling out his own scrubs for the surgery. He is always good for a laugh, though, and I can always count on him to be the rock when I am feeling nervous. All of a sudden it was 12:45pm and all these people were in this tiny pre-op room and they said, "are you ready to meet your daughter?" and I started to cry again. Nick gave me a kiss and they whisked him away to the waiting area and I walked in the OR. Before I knew it, the anesthesiologist said, "Amanda, I am going to put you to sleep now. When you wake up, your daughter will be here!" Then, I woke up. I woke up to the most horrible pain I have ever had in my life. Unfortunately, because I had to do general anesthesia, I wasn't numb from an epidural so I felt really horrible. I could see Nick holding our sweet baby girl but I could not focus on it for one second. The pain was just too horrible!! Finally, after about two hours, the pain was under control and we were taken to our room. I was feeling pretty comfortable and held Avery and fed her for the first time. It was amazing how much I instantly loved her and felt connected to her. She looked exactly like Brady to me, except with a pink hat on!! We shared three glorious days in the hospital together, getting to know each other. She is the sweetest thing. When Brady came in to meet her on Thursday, he did so good. Everytime he looked at her he just giggled. We put her on his lap and he smiled so big. It was so healing for my heart to see happiness in his face. On Sunday, we were discharged from the hospital with flying colors and have been nestled in our home together ever since. Nick has the whole week off so we have really been able to bond as a new family of four. So far, she is a pretty low maintenance baby. She really doesn't cry much and is such a good eater. Hopefully this continues!! We are so proud of our little family, especially our newest addition, Avery Kaye Long!

8 comments:

Clark and Liesel said...

She is just beautiful! I am glad that she is here and that you are all home and enjoying your time together! I love her name and love her pink flower headband in the picture! Congrats! Best wishes for a quick recovery.

Englishfam said...

I love birth stories! As for the puking, I puke EVERY time I have a baby. It is so annoying. I thought this time I was in the clear with Claire, but sure enough about an hour after delivering I puked randomly. Okay, too much info, I know!
Anyway, so glad to hear it went so smoothly. What a miracle and blessing these kids of yours are. And so adorable too! :)

The Critchlow Family said...

She is absolutely beautiful! I'm am so happy for you guys!! I love the last picture you posted of her sleeping with that cute cute bow headband on her. And I can't believe how much hair she has! What a lucky little girl to be born into such a cute, loving family! We miss you guys. Congratulations!!

Caralee said...

Congratulations-Avery is seriously gorgeous! I'm glad she is an easygoing baby for you so far. You deserve it!

Richard and McKenna said...

yay! She is so beautiful! I am so glad everything went so well! I have to say your birth story brought tears to my eyes, which has never happened before!! It makes me SO excited to experience the magic of birth again and see Liam as a big bro! :)
p.s. no worries--that is not an announcements! haha! :)

Nicole said...

Congratulations, Amanda and Nick and Brady! She is so precious!

Unknown said...

You did such a great job recording the event that I am bawling while reading it!! You are such a great mom and she fits right into your family. Love you guys!!

Our Bitter Sweet Life with T1D said...

Wow, she is already here! Congrats! Darling family and she is adorable! Best Wishes!