Blessings of a Butterfly

12 Weeks

Miss Avery Elizabeth has turned 12 weeks old. First, I can't believe it has been 12 WEEKS! Second, we saw some exciting shifts in her this week. My personal favorite is that this week she actually enjoyed being in her car seat. This was a first and made my drive to and from work much more enjoyable. She has begun reaching and grabbing - specifically grabbing at her clothes and then bringing them to her mouth to chew on. SLEEP SLEEP and more SLEEP. She slept to or past 6am several times this week. Bringing her up to a whopping 10 hours straight. She is also enjoying her awake time much more - looking in the mirror, her mobile, sitting in a bumbo chair and reading. We had a moment that brought me to tears. I was sitting in the playroom, Renn sat in my lap and Avery sat in his lap as we all read Goodnight Moon. In the midst of reading I began to cry - it was simply just too precious of a moment. We have been reading Renn Goodnight Moon daily since he was a baby to the point in which he can now recite it with us - we are hoping to instill the same love for the book with Avery. It was also Avery's first full week of preschool and she is doing much better than her mama. The teachers are loving having an itty bitty baby, she is sleeping, enjoying the new toys and people she is experiencing.
It has been a beautiful 12 weeks and we look forward to plenty more ahead.

Smiles and Giggles

I wish I could find words to describe what it feels like to recieve your child's first smiles. Absolutely giddy is the best I can come up. Watching Avery smile, coo and giggle brings me such joy. She enjoys our faces, the sounds of my daddy's baby rattle and reading one of the best books ever "Goodnight Moon". Smiles abound at The Bailey home.

Time Flies

Avery Elizabeth is 8 weeks old today. Goodness, time flies. I am watching her sleep beside me right now and all I can do is smile. It is so fun to watch her develop and learn as we go who she is and who she will be. A few adjectives we already use to describe her: strong, beautiful, a bit prissy, thinker, smiley, precious, adorable and last but certainly not least she is a good sleeper! Things she is not a fan of: Eric's scruff (you go girl!), her brother body slamming her (he does it with love) and her car seat (makes for rough rides dropping and picking brother up from school). She will head into the world of "preschool" in a few weeks (when I head back to work) and I am already praying for the sick bug to stay away, that she has a peaceful adjustment and has fun making friends.

Love.

I watch you. I watch you sleep. Your eyes dance. Your mouth smiles. I see the future. I see your joy. I dream. I hope. Most of all I pray. Pray that you may always know, feel and receive the love that is offered.

Love from your grandparents. Who will love you through sharing traditions, gifts and the creation of special moments that will most likely involve ice cream.

Love from your brother. Who will love you through play, laughter and the occasional sibling rivalry.

Love from your daddy. Who will love you through constant protection, prayers and sharing of lessons learned.

Love from your mama. Who will love you through coaching, constant encouragement and what will be called tears of joy.

Love from the Spirit. Who will love you by guiding you, directing you and moving you to new places.

Love from God. Who will love you by knowing you, creating you and mentoring you through the life guide we call The Bible.

Love from your Savior. Who will love you with a love like no other love. A love called Grace. A love that surpasses all other loves. An unconditional love that you can always depend on. A love that will always save you. A love that will change you and allow you to change others.

Avery Elizabeth, may you always know you are loved. I look forward to being a part of your special life and watching you spread love through the world.

Arrival

It all felt very planned which was a new feeling for us when it came to the birth of a child. Renn’s arrival was shocking, early and involved a bit of chaos. The fact that this time I was packed for over 8 weeks, was able to shower, curl my hair and apply make-up the morning of our daughters birth was a bit odd. Eric and I drove TOGETHER to the hospital at 5:45 a.m. on February 16th as we were SCHEDULED for an 8:00 a.m. c-section. The hospital check-in was easy and the room we waited in felt like a hotel room with an incredibly nice bathroom. As 8:00 a.m. grew closer the doctor came in and asked if I would be okay if someone went ahead of me? The people scheduled for a 10 a.m. c-section were having some complications. Of course I wasn’t going to say “no”. Therefore I laid back, closed my eyes and took a nap. Seriously, very odd!

Around 9:30 a.m. they came in and got me and I walked to the surgery area. The surgery part of the process was definitely not pleasant but if it was going to equal the arrival of our daughter then I was up for it. Our anesthesiologist was great and worked with me as I wasn’t interested in being over medicated. Last time that did not bode well for me. While it felt to me like surgery took forever our little girl, Avery Elizabeth arrived at 10:02 a.m. She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 18 ½ inches long. All was well. After I was put back together again and all sewn up we were taken to our real room. The texts, calls and facebook updates began. If there was a bummer part to the whole thing it was due to the fact that I went with a lower dosage of pain meds during surgery my recovery process was filled with some extra pain. They kept telling me the best thing I could do was walk. Ug, was that misery but I made myself do it! There is not one part of me that would ever recommend a c-section to anyone.

On day two and three of AEB’s life we got some news. Not fun news. The hospital pediatrician was hearing a heart murmur that concerned him. She had also lost the maximum amount of weight allowed. She was down to 7 pounds 2 ounces. The doctor wanted to run several tests on her heart some of which wouldn’t be able to be performed till 3 a.m. They also said that if she didn’t gain weight at her next weigh in she would need to remain in the hospital. At this point we became naturally scared, worried, nervous and more. There was no way I was leaving the hospital without my little girl! We are very thankful for our family and church family who began praying!!!

Then the good news came. AEB did gain an ounce, which was enough. And the news on her heart came back. One of her valves basically over closed and was regurgitating. They told us to have our own pediatrician monitor the situation and refer us to a cardiologist if the problem continues. All this news meant that we would be heading home with our little girl and be able to see our little guy who had been with family and friends for four days.

Once we were settled at home Renn was dropped off by his Graca grandparents. He greeted his baby sister with joy and we have now begun the process of becoming a family of four.

It was the best executed plan. We are so happy Avery Elizabeth is here. Going to go snuggle with her now.

Ahhh...the room!

Decsion making is not my forte! It was tough to figure out which direction to go with Renn's room and now that we know it is a girl the daunting task of room direction is in front of me.

Luckily, I knew I am not a pinky pinky person so I wasn't going to go that route. So after looking at some web-sites and pictures I decided to go with our wedding colors (dusty rose, chocolate and ivory). The walls are dusty rose, the carpet is a shaggy chocolate, and everything else was going to be ivory. But, I hit a bit of a snag and couldn't find what I wanted furniture wise in ivory so now I have switched to all white. An antique store in Chandler, Arizona has been my savior! I have pretty much furnished the whole room from there and etsy.com. Oh, and then there is the one non-white piece. A precious bench I found at The Red Door (antique store) in Pinetop, Arizona. Pictures will follow soon - once I have a few more pieces in place. To be honest it is a room I would loved to have had or even have now. Isn't that what we get to do with our daughters? I love everything about it and sometimes just find myself sitting on the floor in there - dreaming and praying for her. I can't wait for her to enjoy it!

The wait is over!

Once people found out I was pregnant the question was automatically about boy or girl. And of course the answer is "I will be happy either way." And I truly believe I would have been. I was excited about him having a little boy buddy so close in age to him. And then the idea of a girl...well seems girly and fun!

The day we were scheduled to find out the gender is simply a day of anticipation. At the ultra sound appointment not only are they looking for gender they are looking for good health and development factors in the baby. When we went to this appointment with Renn gender was the 1st thing Eric noticed. At this appointment the nurse was saving it for the end. We went through all the measurements of head, arms, chest, legs and all was looking great. As she reached the point in which we would be able to tell what the gender was I can honestly say Eric and I both thought what we saw was a boy but, the nurse announced it was a "girl!".