One Month Old

Little monkey, I can't believe you're already a month old. Where has the time gone?? Everyone told me to enjoy every moment because time will go by so fast, that you will change in a blink of an eye. I believed this but didn't really understand until you were born.

When I think back to the first days after we brought you home it feels like a lifetime ago. It makes me so sad that I can't remember every precious moment of the first days of your life. But then I think about the wonderful moments and memories to come and I am overwhelmed with joy. You have completely changed my life. I never knew it was possible to love someone so much. Not that things are always easy. Here is my best attempt at documenting the first month of your life.

We brought you home Friday, May 5th. For being 25 days early, you did remarkably well and were very healthy. The first night alone in the house with you went very well. You were so sleepy that we had to wake you up for each feeding. I remember Dad playing with your hands and feet to keep you awake while I fed you. He still has to do this sometimes, you are a sleepy nurser!! The next day we took you to the pediatrician to be weighed and tested for jaundice. You had dropped down to 6lbs 4 oz and your jaundice levels had gone up. I began feeding you every two hours and the nurse instructed us to put you in indirect sunlight as much as possible to help with the jaundice.

During the next week you continued to sleep pretty much around the clock. Unfortunately your jaundice level continued to increase so for 24 hours you lived in a little photo light therapy bed. It broke my heart to see you in there. Your dad slept in the living room with you while you were in the bed. He comforted and soothed you all night long... you didn't like that bed. Luckily you responded well to the treatment and we didn't have to keep you in there too long.

You had your first sponge bath May 11th and you hated every minute of it. Grandma and I worked as fast as we could to get your little body clean and get you warm and dry again. Thankfully, you now seem to enjoy baths. You look so content and when you're dry and cozy in your PJs you are so happy, it is probably my favorite time right now.

We do tummy time most days and you have been able to turn your head from side to side since you were 2 weeks. You've even rolled over from your tummy to back twice!!

You are still eating every three hours at night but a few days ago you made it 5 hours so I'm hopeful that you will start sleeping longer at night. I could use a little more sleep :)

You currently weigh 7lbs 12 oz, way to grow!! I'm so proud that you gained a full pound from your birth weight, especially considering you dropped down to 6lb 1 oz about a week after you were born.

I'm so excited to see what the next month will hold, I know you will grow and change so much!!

Sleepy Heads

My kids have it really rough...


Chillin in her swing


Yes, I know he's spoiled

Bath Time

Matt and I gave Avery her first real bath Wednesday night. Her umbilical cord finally fell out so we don't have to do sponge baths anymore! I think she enjoyed being in the warm water but definitely does not like her hair to be wet!

Family Fun

My parents and sister flew down from Colorado so they could meet the newest member of the Williams family. I think it's safe to say it was love at first sight. When we picked them up from the airport they all went straight to the backseat to say hi to Avery before even acknowledging Matt and I!! I guess I better get used to that :)

My mom arrived 4 days after Avery was born. It was so wonderful to have her here, she was so helpful. She even got up each night to feed Avery at 1:00 so that Matt and I could get a little more sleep. I hope that I will be half the mom she is :)


Dad arrived next, he has always had a huge soft spot for babies but when he met his granddaughter... well lets just say I didn't know if I'd be able to get her out of his arms long enough to feed her!! He was so cute with her, it totally melted my heart.


The proud grandparents


We picked Stefanie up from the airport Friday afternoon and hit terrible traffic on the way home. It was pure torture for her to sit next to Avery in the backseat and not get to hold her for more than an hour!! When we finally got home Stef was able to hold and cuddle her all evening (well, when she could get Avery out of my dad's arms!). She was such a natural, she's going to be a great aunt!


While I was pregnant, I really missed being able to eat sushi... Saturday afternoon mom, Stef and I left Avery with the boys and went to Whole Foods to get everything we needed to make sushi rolls. They were delicious and so fun to make. Thanks Stef!


While we made sushi, the boys enjoyed ribs and beer. Such a typical Dad and Matt picture... I love it!!

Our Little Angel

Avery Lynn Williams

6 pounds, 12 ounces, 18 inches. Born at 11:05, Wednesday May 5th



Avery's birthday story

I had my weekly OB checkup on Wednesday the 5th. I mentioned to my doctor that my right ankle had been really swollen for the past few days and asked if I should be concerned. She said it was probably nothing but just to be safe, she sent me to radiology for a doppler sonogram of my leg. The results came back positive for a blood clot.

She told us that a stint would need to be placed in my abdomen to eliminate any risk of the blood clot traveling to my heart. Once the procedure was done, she would induce labor. Before sending me off to surgery she checked to make sure I wasn't in labor and found out I was actually four centimeters dilated!! This increased the urgency of the the procedure and within an hour the stint was in place and I was getting an epidural. I hadn't realized how tense I was or how painful the contractions had been until I couldn't feel them any more. Sweet relief!!! I have so much respect for women that give birth without any pain medication but I sure loved my epidural.

From that point, things progressed very quickly. The nurse checked my cervix about 2 hours after my water was broken and found that I was fully dilated and ready to push. Her exact words were "you've got to be kidding me, you're already at a 10!!" She called the doctor and then I began pushing when the next contraction began.

I pushed for about 40 minutes, and Avery was born at 11:05. For the last month or so she got the hiccups at least once a day and her birthday wasn't any different, she had the hiccups for the last ten minutes of delivery! She has a full head of brown hair and is as cute as can be!! She was 3 1/2 weeks premature, we are so blessed to have such a healthy little girl.

Baby Avery Update

We had an exciting start to the week. As of Monday afternoon, I am no longer taking the muscle relaxant to stop my contractions. The nurse came out and took my supplies, it is really nice to not be hooked up to the pump anymore but a little unnerving as well.

Monday night I woke up around 3:00 am, I was having contractions every 3-5 minutes. I told Matt, wow, that didn't take long. I was up for about 3 hours and was planning on calling my doctor as soon as her office opened to see if we should come in. Surprisingly, they subsided around 7:00 and I felt good the rest of the day.

Yesterday evening the contractions came back. Another night of counting contractions and not sleeping. I called my doctor this morning and we headed in. She monitored the contractions and confirmed that yes, they were approximately 5 minutes apart. But after further (painful) investigation, we found out that nothing has changed. My cervix is still closed and I am not dilated at all. She told me that I should be prepared to keep having these type of contractions for the next few weeks. Ouch! So now, we sit and wait.

While at the doctor, she did a bio-scan sonogram to take Avery's measurements. Her legs are in the 80th percentile for length and she weighs approximately 6 pounds!!! Unfortunately she was hiding her face so we didn't get any good photos. Can't wait to meet her!!

Things I Will Never Again Take For Granted After Being Pregnant:

1. Getting out of bed without putting forth a monumental effort
2. Tying my shoe laces... my tennis shoes are the only shoes that give my feet any relief yet they're so difficult to get on!!
3. Sleeping on my stomach... and my back
4. Shaving my legs!!
5. Trying to get my feet into my pants without almost falling over
6. Sleeping through the night. I have a feeling I will continue to long for this simple pleasure long after pregnancy is over though
7. Not having to use the bathroom every 15 minutes!
8. Eating or drinking whatever I want. Sushi and wine, oh how I've missed you!
9. My innie belly button
10. A body that doesn't retain water!

39 days to go!! maybe....

It's hard to believe that I'm well in to my 34th week of pregnancy, but it's also hard to believe I still have almost 40 days until my expected due date!! I am so ready to meet Avery Lynn! Hospital bags are packed, everything is set up and ready for her when she finally arrives! Some days I think wow, I can't imagine being pregnant for 6 more weeks and others I wake up terrified that she will be born next week and that we aren't ready. Gotta love pregnancy hormones!!!

I am still on the muscle relaxant, terbutaline, which has kept the contractions at bay for eight weeks now. I had my OB checkup last Friday and my doctor said she wants to take me off at the end of this week.. as in tomorrow or Friday!! She feels that going forward the risks of keeping me on the medicine outweigh the benefits. So I'm just waiting for the home nurse to come out and take my supplies away. I hope they are busy and have to wait until Monday :)

I have a love/hate relationship with my"terb pump". On one hand, I know it has kept our little girl safe inside me and given us a greater chance of making it full-term. On the other hand, I am so sick of toting this little machine around and monitoring my contractions every day. Ultimately, I know that God is in control and the only thing that matters is that our precious baby girl is healthy.

Belly Pics 33 weeks

A Perfect Weekend

I am truly blessed. This past weekend was so amazing; I feel so fortunate to have such an wonderful support group of friends and family.

Last Thursday, two of my co-workers, Lynda and Terri, brought over Avery's gifts from TranSystems. Because of the bed rest situation, we had to cancel my work shower. I really miss seeing many of my co-workers everyday. It was so wonderful to see them and spend some time catching up.

Later that evening, Matt and I headed to the airport to pick up Stefanie and then went back to get my mom the next morning. It was wonderful to have them here and I'm so thankful that we were able to coordinate their trip with my DBU shower since we had to cancel the Colorado shower. The three of us had a great time getting our nails done, eating way too much, enjoying the beautiful weather and getting ready for Avery's arrival! They were so helpful, I don't know how many loads of laundry they did or how many times they ran to the store to pick up various items I've needed the past few weeks but I appreciate everything they did so much!!


Since moving to Dallas almost two years ago, I have made some great friends and Saturday morning they threw me a wonderful baby shower. I couldn't have asked for anything more!! It was so nice to see everyone and have them meet my mom and sister. Everything was just perfect, I am so thankful Matt got a job at DBU (wow, two years ago I never thought I'd say that), I've made so many wonderful friends.