Avery Lucille

So, a good place to start with a new blog would be a quick rundown on our oldest daughter, Avery. Born 6 weeks early (for the rundown of our issues conceiving and having Avery, visit our old blog), Avery was born on a Tuesday at St. Mary's Hospital in Clayton, Missouri (St. Louis) at 3:23 pm. She weight in at a chunky 5lb 5oz (for a 6 week early preemie) and was 18 inches long. She had a little bit of jaundice that was treated during her 1 week NICU stay, but other than that, she was completely and utterly healthy. Her birth story is an interesting one, so head over to that other blog to get the very long rundown of that too- it's a long story. :)

Avery was released 3 days after I came home from the hospital, which was 1 week from the date of her birth. She had a fairly mild NICU stay, and for that I am forever grateful. NICUs are not fun places to be, nor are they very fun to leave your brand new baby in while you head the 45 minutes home alone.

Since this blog is about Avery, let me explain to you about the first time we met. When they were pulling her out of my belly (c-section thanks to my breech daughter), her daddy was able to watch her come out since I couldn't (even though I think I would really like to see that). I was staring at him as he watched and he looked at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "She has a full head of hair." Well, I kinda expected that from the wicked heartburn I had been experiencing (okay, I know it's an old wives tale, but really I did expect it). The nurse got Andrew and led him over where he got to meet her for the first time (maybe he should make a blog post about his first encounter with Avery), then when he came back by me, he told me a little more and they brought her over for him to hold. He got to be the first to hold her, which is just fine with me. He's a pretty good dad. The first place I touched her was her nose. And she was just staring at me. And I was just thinking, "No way, that baby just came out of me- I'm a mom!" Well, they took her back to the NICU and after a while he followed them back to check her out. When I was done in the OR and done with the longest 2 hours of my life in recovery, they wheeled me down the NICU and back to her bed, where they explained a few things to me and placed my practically naked daughter in my arms for the first time. Her cord had been cut, she had a diaper on, and I think she had her IV already in her head (because of her small veins in her arms), but I'm not sure. I just remember she was pretty still and we stared each other down. I don't even remember saying anything and I don't even know if I cried (which would be unlike me if I didn't), but I remember looking her over and thinking for a 6 week old baby, she was bigger than I expected. 5lb 5oz is a teeny tiny thing, but she was still bigger than this minuscule baby I was expecting. And she was breathing on her own, without any tubes. That was a big accomplishment and my first clue-in to the fact that she was strong and ready for the world. And did I mention her full head of RED hair? Perfectly adorable. Every time I think back to our first bonding moment, I just think how ready she seemed to be and how absolutely petrified I was to be in charge of the well-being and safety of this tiny creature. She seemed to trust me though, so I accepted the challenge. :) It was the first time I encountered the absolute complete sweetness of my daughter. (I still feel weird saying my daughter.... and soon, I'll get to say my daughters.... my girls.)

That was the beginning of my mommy-hood and Avery's life as a daughter! Couldn't love that girl more if I tried...