37 weeks and hoping to be done soon!

Well we've reached full term! Ava, that means you can come any time now...please...
I went in for my normal weekly check up on Monday. The nurse came in and did all her normal stuff including the Doppler of her heart. She paused when she did this and of course said the non informative answers when I asked why it sounded different. Dr. Kennedy came in with a Doppler too so I knew something must have been up. She listened and said it sounded just a little lower than normal. They were going to send me down to testing to hook me up to a monitor just to see how she reacted.
This was a little different than we were expecting. Usually you walk in, get a really fun exam, then walk out with a "see ya next week". We had joked before we went to the appt "what if she says 'Well you are going to have a baby today!'" so when this started happening we kept thinking wow what if that REALLY happens?!
We went down to testing and were the only people in there so had some fun conversations with the tech. Ava was very uncooperative and went into a deep sleep or something RIGHT after being incredibly active in the dr. office. Of course. So her heart rate was down and the tech said they needed to monitor how high it got when she started moving around. She tried giving me a soda, pushing on my belly - no results. Stubborn girl. The tech then brought out this 'buzzer'. It looked like one of those little handheld fans you see people carrying around at amusement parks, just without the blades. The top of it vibrated - she said "Ok she might jump when i do this..." and as soon as it touched my belly Ava JUMPED the hardest I've ever felt. It was hilarious. Said the increased heart rate looked good, it was just the baseline that looked a little low, but nothing too low.
Dr. Kennedy decided to admit me and keep me overnight just to monitor everything and be safe. We went down to Labor and Delivery and it was so weird! I just kept thinking this is where Ava will be born! We got in the room and I got to put on one of those lovely one-size-fits-all gowns. Grand.
One of our friends in our small group works there so she came in and talked to us and helped us be at ease a little more. I hope hope hope she is working when I go in for the real thing!
Got the monitors hooked up and then I got to sit there in the bed. We called mom and dad to bring us some food (Moe's!) and they got there a little after 7 and I was starving!
Chad left to go home and pack some things (toothbrush, paste, shampoo, etc and laptop so we had something to do ha) and when he got back they ended up moving me upstairs to the high risk unit (don't freak out, they just needed the room in L&D so I got moved). The room was bigger, the TV was bigger, the bathroom was bigger- so I was fine :) Chad and I watched some episodes of House and then went to sleep try and go to sleep. Chad had a couch thing that kind of pulled out that he slept on. I really don't know how much I slept. I was very uncomfortable but wasn't expecting much haha. Nurses came in about every 2 hours too.
In the morning Dr. Kennedy came in and looked at the papers. Said the heart rate looked great all night, and she wasn't worried about anything. She then said 'you were having a lot of contractions though'. I was? I had no idea. At one point a nurse had come in (about 4 AM or so) and said "are you not feeling any contractions?" and I hadn't been but then saw when they would print out - I was having some crampy feelings which I guess are contractions! Who knew! Now I do ha
Dr. Kennedy proceeded to say "You aren't going to wait until 2011 to have this baby are you?" Chad and I semi-laughed then looked at her serious face, then looked at each other. Wait, what? Really? No I wouldn't wait another second if I didn't have to haha. She then said it could be any time but didn't have a way of really knowing when. She did say she thinks she'll come before her actual due date of Jan 16 though. Talk about getting my hopes up. The entire pregnancy I've been trying to convince myself Jan 16th was the date, no earlier, and its worked. I haven't been expecting anything...until now. 2011 is THIS WEEKEND!! That means next week we would be parents. Nesting hadn't really kicked in until that moment. On our drive home I listed out all the things we needed to do: install car seat, pack bags, finish nursery, clean, etc etc etc. Poor Chad :)
SO I've noticed a little more contractions since I know what to expect now. Had several last night and some today too. Guess we will see what Ava wants to do!

Christmas (Take 1!)

Last night we had Christmas with my family. Me, Chad, Mom, Dad, Kevin and Kyle! Cocoa ran around the whole time too :)
Dad and I worked but got off early and headed home around 4:30ish. We hung out for a little bit and then had a traditional Christmas meal of chicken soft tacos (haha we wanted something fast so we could get to the PRESENTS!).
After we ate we all sat down and did our stockings--thanks Santa for coming early! Then we indulged in the gift opening. Youngest to oldest, and this year Ava was thrown in the mix :) We have a wonderful family and I cannot express how much I love them. They are so generous and loving!
We finished presents and then played a game called 'Likewise'. Chad and I found it on sale at Kohl's and thought it looked fun. Everyone has a little white board that you can draw on. You flip over 2 cards : 1 is an adjective (like 'fun' or 'crazy' or 'elegant') and the 2nd one is a noun (like 'thing in a bathroom' or 'celebrity' or 'car) and so its always different because there's a whole stack of each of these words. ...(is this making any sense? I'm not the best at explaining ANYTHING really).  So then you write on your personal white board your answer and hope that it matches someone else in the group and if it does = you get a point. I won! :)
We got home around 12 and ended up going to bed about 12:30 (I went to sleep around 1:30 haha). GREAT day!

36 Weeks! (WHAT?!?)

Still a honeydew but feeling more and more like a watermelon ha! It's getting down to the last couple weeks! I cannot believe it. It has been so fun being pregnant though, I really have enjoyed it, but Ava...you may come any time. :)
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Total Weight Lost/ Gained: 160. Over 30 lbs. Breath in, breath out.
Maternity Clothes: Wait I used to fit into size WHAT?!
Gender: A baby girl :)
Movement: Crazy active! She is now head down too. Seems to be most active around 11AM, 2-4 PM and then around 6 PM. We will see how this compares to when she gets here!
What I miss: Well being able to breath is what I miss most right now. Every time I lay down my lungs squish. Whew!
Sleep: Some good nights, some bad nights. Nothing seems to help 'more' or 'less' just depends on the night. The breathing part is making the nights harder though haha
Symptoms: (all the same) no swelling still, and the breathing part is semi new. Still haven't been rushing to the bathroom every 5 seconds yet...did I just jinx myself?
Cravings: eh nothing huge lately still. Grape juice is just amazing
Best Moment this week: Going to the doctor was fun, but I did kind of get my hopes up a little expecting for her to say "Oh feels like she might come a couple weeks early!!" but no, nothing like that happened ha.
What I'm looking forward to: Finishing the nursery and doing things like packing a hospital bag! Still have to install our carseats too so that will be fun!




This was a week or so ago so not quite the real 36 weeks but only pic I had :)



Thanksgiving in MO!

Ok. Yes I realize Thanksgiving happened several weeks ago. Yes I realize that I have not written anything about it yet. Yes I also realize that I am horrible at keeping up with blogging. Its a wonder that I still have people reading it! ;)

OK so since its so late we are going to do a quick sum up with pictures. Let me just say this - I haven't found the secret to putting pictures on here that actually look like how I edit them. I edit them, they look great, then I post them on the web and it completely changes. I will not rest until I find the solution! (HA. Yeah, right). Here they are anyways!


Here we are! The Burris Bunch! Ava is front and center - oh boy.

 

I love this picture. Not sure why but I love it.

Green bean casserole!

I'm glad I have Chelsie around to take crazy pics with me :)

No I promise we aren't rednecks...we just thought it was funny. Don't judge.

AUBURN BEAT ALABAMA! The game was a-mazing

Thats right! Snow on Thanksgiving!

Sweet potato casserole!

The clothespin game. Its great how easily amused we are.

33 Weeks!

Your Baby: Month 8 (honeydew)


Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! (she loves Michael Buble and Coldplay!) Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.

Your baby is still gaining weight (about half a pound a week), and she could grow up to another full inch this week. With that much baby inside your uterus, your amniotic-fluid level has maxed out, which explains why some of her pokes and kicks feel pretty sharp these days. (There's less fluid to cushion the blows.) Antibodies are being passed from you to your little one as she continues to develop her own fetal immune system, which will come in handy once she's outside the womb and fending off all sorts of germs.
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Total Weight Lost/ Gained: 157. I went to the doctor for my 2 week check up AFTER Thanksgiving and hadn't gained a pound since the last visit! How did that happen? No idea.
Maternity Clothes: The only things I can wear now. Even some of my scrub pants are too tight to wear haha
Gender: A baby girl :)
Movement: Crazy active! She is now head down too. Seems to be most active around 11AM, 2-4 PM and then around 6 PM. We will see how this compares to when she gets here!
What I miss: Well, I don't mean this in any sort of bad way, but I miss not being pregnant? haha There are just times after I got done waddling down the hallway and trying to bend down to pick something up but cant, and catch my breath because the 5 steps I took were just so much, that I just try and remember what it used to be like. But I really do enjoy the fact that there is a little baby in there kicking around- that part is great :)
Sleep: Some good nights, some bad nights. Nothing seems to help 'more' or 'less' just depends on the night.
Symptoms: (all the same) no swelling yet; yesterday I got my first Braxton Hicks contractions so those were fun haha
Cravings: eh nothing huge lately
Best Moment this week: Just feeling her move so much is the most exciting thing. I also got a baby gift from a patient of mine this week and that just made my day!
What I'm looking forward to: Finishing the nursery, decorating for christmas, and doing things like packing a hospital bag!

"Zoom Zoom"

Last Wednesday started out like any other day. I woke up, got ready, went to work, etc. Chad had gotten scratched in the eye by, yep - you guessed it - lovely Winston the day before but when he woke up said it felt a little better. However, after time went on and more light hit it, it got worse.
As I googled all about this condition (I know better than to do that, but hey, its all the resources I had) I read that it could get infected and the sensitivity to light was a bad sign - "call doctor immediately".
I found an eye doctor near our house and asked about this and they said yes, he needed to come in. Now, Chad has no insurance right now and in this span of uninsured he has had to get xrayed and now an eye doctor visit all due to the one and only WINSTON. He's even more expensive than we thought.
So Chad goes in for a work in appointment to check out his eye- I ended up leaving work to go pick him up because they had numbed his eye and all sorts of stuff.
Around 3-ish I got a phone call from Mr. NumbEye informing me that he was at a car dealership and found a car I would like. Yes, we had talked about needing to get a car for Ava that was a LOT more reliable than the Jetta (aka- one that I didn't feel would slide off the road or breakdown at any moment) but we hadn't talked about when. So all I found myself saying was "Don't buy it" haha. If you don't know me very well, I am very bad at decisions. Big ones, little ones, planned ones, spontaneous ones. Any. Even buying a pair of socks I would have to look around at all the other socks and make sure that those really were the socks I should be buying. Am I a tad crazy? Yes. But aren't we all in some way or another?
So I told Chad I would swing by after work and we could look at the car (knowing full well in my head that we would look and then go compare other cars, etc etc). Work ends and we head to look at the car. Chad said he was just sure that I would love it - and he's usually right about these things. I got pretty lucky :) So we went and looked at it and yes, I did love it. Perfect back seat for car seat, diaper bag, toys, random cheerios. Lots of room in the back for stroller and whatever else we can pack back there.
Test drive: went great, no problems, drove awesome. We talked about it and guess what? I really did like it. So I went against my urge to go compare other cars for a week and said "OK" and we drove off the lot 5 minutes later!
....haha no I did say OK but it took about another 2 hours to finish all the paperwork and handle all the craziness that went on. We had lots of speed bumps because papers had to be faxed to Chad's Dad to sign for the truck, we found out my license was expired, the payments they told us were crazy higher than originally quoted, etc. But we jumped through all the hoops and drove home in the car! All we had to do was tie up loose ends and sign some more papers but we did it. It's still crazy to me. I feel like only grown ups are suppose to do that stuff but then I realize, oh wait, I kind of am a grown up. Weird.
Now I get to brag on my wonderful husband. He gave up his manly truck in order for me and Ava to be safe. He is going to drive the (payment free) jetta for a while while I get the new car because he is that awesome and cares that much for his girls. Not many guys would do that- especially give up a huge truck for a tiny jetta. I feel so lucky and just wanted everyone to know how awesome he is. Thanks babe :)

So here is a random photo of our car we got but its not OUR car. I'll take some of those this week over Thanksgiving break.

Behold! My Mom car :) I have LOVED driving it and everything about it. Its turbo charged too hehe I might get in trouble with that...
So just so you know its a Mazda CX-7. Looks just like the picture. And its SO fun!

Chad's eye is mostly healed. He had to wear a contact for a day and then get it checked the next day but it is doing a ton better. Chad nicknamed the new car the Shark and I made the joke that I switched from the Jets to the Sharks and cracked myself up because I felt so witty. Chad gave a sympathy laugh and that's when we found out he's never seen West Side Story. I'll have to force him to watch it sometime. Not anytime soon because it is nearing Christmas video time which means my movie slots will be FULL with things like Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Elf, and so on and so forth. Man I love Christmas.

Say hello to Ava!

This week I am 31 weeks (crazy!) AND we got to do our 4D ultrasound this week! I cannot tell you how amazing it is to sit and stare at a machine that is showing us our little girls face. Yes, a couple tears did fall.
We had to go to our appointment first but for the Ultrasound they wanted me to drink 32 ounces of liquid before hand. For this, we debated whether I should have any caffeine or not. Before you laugh let me just tell you a fun fact about myself. Caffeine has no effect on me. I can drink a red bull and be fast asleep 10 minutes later. This is not just a pregnancy thing either. Throughout the pregnancy however, I've noticed a couple times that on the lucky days I get my 5 sips of coffee or mountain dew or whatever that it doesn't really seem to make a difference with the little angel. Perfect example: the other week when the Burris Bunch were in town for the shower I decided to drink coffee to try and wake up little Ava and get her kicking so everyone could feel - she didn't move barely at all. Of course.
Anyways...how side tracked did I just get? ... Yes so we were deciding yes or no on the caffeine. I just knew that if I DIDN'T drink any and she didn't move, the ultrasound tech would just think what an idiot, its her fault she isn't moving so I went ahead and had a mountain dew...and a half...   turns out our suspicions were true. Ava is just like Mommy. Caffeine=sleepy time. *Note to self, anytime mom wants a nap give Ava coffee* (side note to the note - no mom and grandparents, don't worry, I'm not really going to do this)

OK doctors visit went well. I'm up to 157 and the doctor laughed about the weight gain saying "It's a little more than we wanted but you should be fine" bleh. Oh well. I had several questions to which most of them she just smiled and answered "thats normal". I did find out that my amazing cravings for red grape juice have interfered with some other things. Turns out it inhibits iron from being absorbed...and I'm having to take extra iron in the first place for anemia...so my one craving is worsening my problem. BUT she said I just shouldn't take them together and I should be fine. For a second I thought she was going to take my grape juice crack away from me and I just don't know how i would handle that. Withdrawal for sure.

After the visit we walked down the hall and waited for the Ultrasound. I was about to pee my pants. Ava was not moving at all too. Naturally.

We got back to the room and got to see a couple 2D images - one of them is my favorite 2D one so far. Her little arm is all propped up behind her head and you can just see her little face...fast asleep.
(*NOTE: YOU CAN CLICK ANY OF THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM TO GET A BETTER LOOK OR IF YOU WANT TO SAVE THE PICTURES TO YOUR COMPUTER!*)

Isn't she adorable? Yes. Yes she is. Then she switched to the 4D mode. It was at this point that we realized the caffeine was NOT the choice we should have made. We saw Ava on the screen, but really it was Ava's arm - covering her whole face - which was smushed up against something else. AKA - no baby face.

See? No face, just an arm and side of a head...which honestly was still cute to see haha

Not only was there no face, but there was no movement. She was VERY asleep. We proceeded to take the ultrasound wand and bounce up and down on my belly trying to wake her up. The tech went back and forth along her spine, and up and down on her little head, around her whole body...despite the trampoline and massage efforts it phased Ava none. Just seemed to make her even more relaxed. All I could think of was really? you move ALL the time and the one time we pay $150 to SEE you move, you hide and sleep. thanks girl.  It was quite hilarious thinking of how hard we were trying to wake her up, when in 2 months, we are going to be trying even harder just to get her to go to sleep ha.

So after probably 20 minutes of bouncing and pushing Ava finally moved her little arm. There she was! You could see her little eyelids and nose and tiny mouth all perfectly outlined. Her little hand would come up and rub her eye or she would suck the knuckle of her thumb (no, not her thumb, just the knuckle area - this will be fun to see if she continues this in the real world ha). We just stared at the screen. Anytime she would move there would be an "aww" or a "look!" or something like that. I am just amazed at our technology (am I sounding old yet?)

So that was definitely the highlight of the week. Another little update for the blog: the dreaded first stretch mark made its appearance this morning. Eh, scratch that - I saw the dreaded first stretch mark this morning.  It's probably been there for a little bit but I can't look down and see it because its below my belly button haha. So thanks to the mirror this morning there she was. But hey, its worth it. If I have to get some stretch marks so that Ava has room in that belly to cook a little longer, so be it! (*this note is for Ava when she gets older and reads this: See what I have already sacrificed for you? What a good Mom I am. You should probably thank me...)
Next week is Thanksgiving!! We head up to Memphis Tuesday night and then to Missouri Wednesday. Hooray!

30 Weeks

30 Weeks!

Still a squash! Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

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Pretty much everything is the same since last week- I've gained maybe 2 more pounds (hooray) but everything else is still goin! This weekend is the fall retreat for the youth group that we are helping with so hopefully I can be a trooper and hang in there for it. THEN on Monday we have another doctors appt and our 4D ULTRASOUND! I am so pumped about it! Its just going to be so cool to see her! Its been too long
Besides that we are just preparing everything for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Ava! I'll get nursery pictures up soon...right now its packed with random shower gifts and we are trying to figure out what to do with it all!

29 Weeks and Halloween Treats!

Month 7 (weeks 29-32)
Wow. 73 days until due date. Can you believe it? I can't haha

Baby’s energy is surging ( and this kid has some ENERGY), thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

Baby is how around 15 inches and weighs about 3 pounds.
Your baby is rapidly growing at this point. Obviously your baby is continuing to gain weight, and his/her head is also growing. This is due to the rapid brain development that began in week 28. Muscles and lungs are also continuing to develop and mature.Because there is so much development and maturing going on, it is incredibly important to ensure that you are getting plenty of nutrients and rest.
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Well as you know, Sunday was Halloween. We ended up going to a friends house that night for games and food. I had a halloween shirt with a skeleton baby on it that I had worn the week before to our church fall festival and ALL week (yes, daily) that I was planning on wearing. About 30 minutes before we went to the party though I decided to see if the idea that popped into my head would work...

...and it did. Beautifully. And not a penny spent.  The hat was a black t-shirt covering my lovely bella band. The dress was just a normal maternity dress and the white is a t shit underneath. I took apart a necklace and hung a cross that is suppose  to hang on the wall on the end of the chain. Glorious.

It was a great night! We played some games, ate tons of food and just chatted. I love our group!!

those are my rice crispy treats I made - the black is suppose to be spiders, ghosts and the like ha

**all the above pictures are Kim Brantley's - she is AWESOME. She did my maternity pictures which will be coming soon!!**