Ava has a big sister, and her name is Bella Bear!

People keep asking how Bella is doing with the addition of Ava.  At first, Bella wasn't too sure about her but now she is loving her little sister!  She snuggles with her on the couch (while I am watching, of course), she sleeps next to her crib (no longer on the bed...wahoo!!) and she is always concerned when Ava starts to cry!  We are so happy that Bella loves Ava!

Ava is awake!

Newborns sleep a lot.  And by a lot, I mean when they are not eating, they are sleeping.  Or pooping.  Anyways getting video of Ava Mu awake is a treasure.  This first one is from the hospital. 


The following are videos taken when she was 2 weeks old...listen for hiccups, cooing and pooping.

Daddy loves his little girl!

Pictures of Ava!

We were excited to get Ava's first professional pictures taken at the hospital  when she was just over 24 hours old and surprised at how well they turned out!  Here is a slide show of those pictures:

and of course, Nick used his trusty FlipCam and took Ava's first video!  She was about 3 hours old:

Ava Muriel's Birth Story

Ava Muriel was born 12/21/2009 (Winter Solstice!) at 6:31am.  I wanted to use this post to tell the story of her birth.  I always loved hearing other Mom's birth stories, so I wanted to make sure that I had Ava's documented.

Ava's first due date was December 20th, but as the pregnancy went on, the my OBGYN thought that the date was a few days earlier, so she changed it to December 18th.  When I went to my last doctor's appointment before my due date, I was 2 cm dilated, but Ava's head was not in place.  She was too high.  I also had high blood pressure at that appointment, which worried the OB a little because my blood pressure has always been low.  I had to follow up at the OB's office on December 18th, my due date, if I wasn't already in labor.

Well, once December 18th came, I was ready for Ava but she wasn't ready to come out. I did not have any major contractions.  I had, what I thought was braxton hicks contractions but otherwise, nothing was happening down there.  Ava was quite content staying in my belly!  Apparently, she did not take to heart the eviction notice that I had written her 2 weeks prior! :)

When I went to my follow up OB appointment, I was happy to hear that my blood pressure went back down, but was not so happy to hear that Ava was still not engaged.  Poop!

So, I decided that I needed to take matters into my own hands.  I swam to try and get her head engaged, I walked for a couple of miles every day.  I did hip stretches, ate pineapple, ode the bus, and walked up and down the Harbor Steps.  I even made, what someone calls, Labor Cookies.  Basically they are ginger snaps with cayenne pepper.  They were pretty good!  But they did not make me go into labor. I was getting desperate and there still was one thing that I had not tried that was the last resort...Castor Oil.  Yuck.

December 20th came and I knew that today I was going to drink the Castor Oil. So, at 5pm, I decided to mix the Castor Oil with a root beer float.  I waited for the ice cream to melt a little then drank it all out of a straw.  It wasn't that bad!  And Nick and I waited to see if this would be the day.  Nick had not packed his bag for the hospital yet (I know, I know) so I told him that I have a feeling that this is going to work and he had better start packing!

Well, it took about an hour to start working.  And by start working, I mean it cleaned out my pipes good!  Which was an interesting experience.  To say the least.  But I couldn't tell if the cramping was due to the plumbing being cleaned or if it was the real thing.  I didn't realize that they were real contractions until about 9pm when they were consistently coming every 10 minutes.  At that time I told Nick to try and get some sleep because we may be going to the hospital late at night.  And boy was I right!

At around 1 am, my contractions went from 7 minutes apart to 4 minutes apart rather quickly.  So I yelled Nick's name to wake him up and told him that we had to go to the hospital asap.  That is when I realized how uncomfortable our BMW is on the roads in Seattle...every bump that we hit I thought she was going to pop out!

We got to the Triage at Swedish Hospital around 2 am Sunday morning on December 21, that was proceeded by vomiting in the parking lot and waiting for the slowest elevator in the city.  The triage nurse brought be back and checked to see how dilated I was.  Nick had to use the restroom, which was right next to the room.  When the nurse checked me I was 6 cm dilated and ready to go.  By the time Nick got back to the room, it had been about 5 minutes and they were ready to wheel me into a birthing suite.  And as I was being wheeled out of triage, I saw two women who were being sent home because they were not ready to be admitted...I was glad I was not them!

Once I got into the room, the contractions just got intense!  A lot worse then I thought...once they started getting on top of each other and I didn't have a break, I decided that I wanted the epidural.  And as I was about to find out, the doc would have made me get it anyways in the end.  My mom arrived, just as I got settled into the birthing suite...then my water broke.  I have to say, out of the entire labor, that was the weirdest feeling.

Once I had the epidural, I felt good but things started to get too exciting.  During every contraction, Ava's heart rate was dipping dangerously low.  Once the contraction was over, then the heart rate was fine and dandy.  I think the drugs made me oblivious because apparently everyone was really worried, but I wasn't.

Anyways, the Nurse and the OB realized that there was a cord issue.  Most likely the cord was wrapped around her neck.  I was progressing so fast, that at this point they wanted me to deliver in the Operating Room.  We would try and push a couple of times with the vacuum and if they didn't work, they would need to do a C section ASAP.  Again, the epidural relaxed me so much that I was not worried (Thanks, Dr Park!).

We got into the operating room and everything was so chaotic to me.  Nick and my Mom were all gowned up and I couldn't tell them apart from the nurses!  They had everything set up for the C section and the NICU nurses were on standby.  I couldn't feel my legs, so they had to position me on the bed and then they said it was alright to push.  So I did.  I had no idea if I was doing it right.  But the OB just encouraged me and said that the head was coming and that I should continue to push because we may be able to avoid a C Section!  So I pushed three more times and the head was out!  Sure enough, Ava had the cord wrapped around her neck twice.  The Doc cut it off and two more pushes later, our little baby girl was born!

I was worried at first because she didn't cry.  I kept asking, "Is she ok?" but no one would answer.  I think Nick was stunned because he was just staring!  They took Ava immediately to the NICU nurses that were on the other side of the room.  I told Nick to go over there and take pictures because I wasn't wearing my glasses and I couldn't see her that far away!

Ava ended up being A-OK.  She didn't cry, but made a lot of pissed off faces and squeeked!  She also had the hiccups, just like her momma!  She was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 19 3/4 inches long.  She is beautiful!  And I was shocked that my labor, from start to finish (inclucing when the contractions started at home), was only 9 1/2 hours!  I am a lucky one!!

Ava's Eviction Letter

Here is a letter that I wrote to Ava 2 weeks before her due date!

Dear Ava Muriel:
I love you dearly, but it's time to go.  I no longer want to be your mobile home.  I understand that the lease agreement covered 40 weeks, but there have been some issues that have not been resolved.
First, there has been structural damage done to the exterior siding of your home, and i'm sure there will be some inside as well once you vacate and we are able to inspect the property.
Second, since you moved in, there have been constant plumbing problems, to include frequent leaks and sewage back ups.
The neighbors tell me that your midnight parties keep them up, and sometimes they notice strange sounds and foul odors around your home.  I also understand that you have been kicking and hitting some of the furniture that was provided to you at no extra cost.
There is a hearing scheduled with the judge on Monday to determine when the enforcement of this eviction will occur.  I strongly urge you to vacate the property voluntarily BEFORE the official eviction date, otherwise the authorities WILL come in and remove you by force.
Thank you for understanding!
Love,
Mommy

My Pregnancy

Here is a quick little slide show of how my pregnancy progressed in the last nine months.  Looking back, I am a little sad to see my belly gone, but I am loving every minute with my little Ava Mu!