Every year John spends Fathers Day at the LA Roadster show with his dad so they headed off to that in the morning. Next year Ava should be able to go along with them!
That afternoon we had John's parents over for a late lunch before the headed off on vacation. Ava was very excited for Daddy to open his gifts!
Ava and Daddy
Ava, Daddy and Papa John
My dad was out of town on Fathers Day so we are going to celebrate soon.
I'll admit it, I was not careful while I was pregnant and gained 55 pounds. As much as I tried not to, I gave into the "I'm pregnant, I can eat whatever I want" mentality. At my 2 week postpartum appointment I was down 25 pounds. When I went back for my six week appointment my weight was the same. I guess I'm one of the unlucky ones that didn't lose weight breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding was something that just didn't end up working for us. Ava wasn't gaining weight and we had to supplement with formula. Even when I would breastfeed her, she would be starving right after. So I made the decision at 4 weeks that I was going to stop breastfeeding at 8 weeks. So for those 4 weeks, I pumped as much as I could and stocked up our freezer. So even though I am no longer producing breast milk, Ava is still getting some. She is doing great on this formula/ breast milk combo and is growing like a weed. Besides not gaining weight those first few weeks, she started off small so she has some catching up to do. We go back to the pediatrician in 2 weeks so we'll know then how much she has gained.
Monday was 8 weeks. With breastfeeding no longer a concern, I was free to start working out and doing Weight Watchers without worrying about my milk supply. So far things are going well. I've stayed within my points and stuck to my workout plan.
I'm really trying to maintain a positive attitude since I have so much to lose. I have 30 pounds to get to my pre-pregnancy weight and then I'd like to lose another 25 to get back to what I was at my smallest, a year and a half ago. It's easy to think it's such a huge undertaking but I'm instead trying to focus on reclaiming my old lifestyle.
Her first six weeks have been amazing and overwhelming but we are loving every minute. It seems like she is changing every day! Here are some highlights from the first six weeks.
She loves to snooze.
First Doctor's appointment. She was back to her birth weight and grew half an inch at her 1 week appointment.
Mothers Day
First bath
Car show in Santa Maria for daddy's birthday.
One month old. 8 pounds, 3 oz and 21.25 inches.
At my 40 week appointment, baby still showed no signs of coming. So we scheduled my induction for the following Monday, 41 weeks and 1 day. I woke up at 5am to call to see if they had room to induce me that day. Thankfully there was a bed available so we headed in at 7am, our scheduled time.
When we got there, we signed our paperwork and were taken straight back to a room. Side note, Hoag is an amazing hospital. Labor is easier with a view of Balboa and the ocean.
Our nurse came in soon after and started the pitocin. The contractions began but were not bad. As time went on they definitely got stronger. I think the worst part was her head banging on my cervix with each contraction. The last few weeks of my pregnancy she was so low in the birth canal, I swear I felt like she was going to fall out.
At 9am, the doctor came in to break my water and put a monitor in Ava's head to better track her heart rate. For some reason, this freaked me out. Not the monitor thing, just the fact that things were moving so fast. When you go overdue with a baby, you spend a lot of time waiting. Also, we were warned that we may spend part of that day waiting if they didn't have a room available. So here I had waited for so long and then all of the sudden things were moving FAST.
When the doctor broke my water, there was meconium. It's gross so if you are curious, look it up. This scared me but my nurse reassured me that it was common. To combat this they inserted a catheter to flush out my uterus. The catheter also monitored my contractions so this meant I was free from the monitors on my belly. Hooray!
After my water was broken, the contractions started worsening and the pain was becoming really bad. I'd been warned to ask early for the epidural because sometimes it can take awhile for the anesthesiologist to come. So when it was offered, I said yes. I swear the anesthesiologist was lurking outside the door because 2 seconds later she was there. She was fabulous and the epidural was virtually pain free. I'm a big needlephobe and I have to say the IV was actually more painful. I felt better almost instantly. Not only physically but mentally. It was really the breath of fresh air I needed because I was getting pretty discouraged. I am very lucky that the epidural took really well and I didn't feel anything.
After that, things were progressing steadily, 1 cm every hour. By4pm I was 6cm dilated. I figured she would be here between 9 and 10pm. Around 430pm Ava's heart rate started dropping so the nurse turned off the pitocin and gave me some oxygen.
Her heart rate returned to normal so the pitocin was turned back on at half the rate it was before. Her heart rate dropped again so the pitocin was turned off. At 5pm the nurse received a call from my doctor and she decided to take it in the nurse's station. I knew something was up. The nurse came back and gently informed me the best decision was a c-section. Although I knew it was a possibility all along I began to panic. I asked John to get my mom from the waiting room, I knew she would have the words to calm me. She had all 3 of us kids via c-section. After talking to her I knew everything would be alright.
We waited about an hour for my doctor to arrive from her office in Huntington Beach. She got there around 6pm and we were off to the OR to get ready. I was really nervous but thankfully the same anesthesiologist who did my epidural was in for my c-section. Not only did she talk me through everything, she kept me calm and even took the photos for us. The c-section was a breeze and although I've never experienced a regular delivery, I enjoyed being able to take in everything going on without doing any of the work :)
At 6:35pm Ava made her entrance into the world. It was the most amazing, breathtaking moment of my life. Her cry was beautiful!
The doctor had thought maybe the reason her heart rate was dropping was because she was really big but she weighed in at only 7lbs 2 oz!
After stitching me up we were taken to the recovery room where I got to hold her again and do skin to skin contact.
An hour later we were taken to our room and after a short trip to the nursery for some suctioning (she had a lot of fluid) she was introduced to all of her eager grandparents, aunts and uncles.
The first night was rough due to exhaustion and some crummy nurses. We had been placed on an overflow floor and it was just not a good experience. The next day we were moved to the mother baby unit and from then on it was fabulous. Again I must say, Hoag is a terrific hospital.
We had lots of visitors! After 4 days we were sent home and were on our own. It's been an adjustment but we are loving our life as party of 3.
Wow I didn't realize it's been over 4 months since I updated my blog. I got pretty grumpy the last few months of my pregnancy and blogging was the last thing on my mind. So let me catch you up.
As you can tell Ava has arrived! We are overjoyed with our new addition. She is a fabulous baby!! I'm working on my birth story and promise to post it shortly.
Yesterday marked the 7 year anniversary of our first date. Time flies when you're having fun :)
I can't believe I'm 28 weeks! Approximately 12 more weeks to go. As much as I'm enjoying this pregnancy I'm looking forward to the end. I can't wait to meet her and I can't wait to wear normal clothes again. I know it will still be awhile after she is born before I can wear my pre-pregnancy clothes but it will be nice to be working towards getting smaller rather than bigger.
This is my third week of unemployment and I've found I'm getting a bit restless. The weather sure hasn't helped. There are things I've wanted to do like go to the dog park or go for walks but instead I've been stuck in the house. Today was better since it was nice out and I was able to take the dogs for a walk. I really think I need to come up with a list of projects to accomplish before baby arrives to have something to focus on.
I do have some things coming up that will provide some excitement. This Thursday is my follow-up ultrasound to check on the placenta previa. I'm really excited because I'm dying to see how much she has grown. I'm feeling lots of movement and I'm hoping we'll be able to tell whether it's kicks or punches I'm feeling. The other night my belly felt really tight and I told my friend Kristen to feel how hard my uterus is. She said it was actually either the baby's head or butt because when she pushed it moved away. Since then I've felt it a few times. I can't believe she is big enough to feel from the outside!
Next weekend is my first baby shower and then the following week I have my 30 week check up and we begin our child birth classes.
I have a feeling time is really going to start flying...
