2 months

She wasn't real crazy about the hat! Haha

This past month has gone by even faster and has been even more fun that the first! At her 2 month appointment she weighed 10 lbs 5 oz, so she's gained 3 lbs since birth!! She also had to get her shots which was not fun, but she handled them like a champ. She cried for about 2 minutes, then was smiling before we left the dr office! Then she just slept for the rest of the day, except when I would wake her to eat.

Coming home from the hospital vs. now! She's getting so big!!

Avery is smiling and interacting more and more each day. She is cooing and tries to mimic me sometimes, which is about the cutest thing I've ever seen!! Seriously everything she does is cute. Yawning, burping, sneezing, crying, sleeping..all adorable! Her most recent milestone has been that she has discovered her hands and she sucks on her fingers, and tries to touch/swat things. She can even hold her paci to keep it from falling out too! She's also beginning to realize that she can move her feet. Of course she's always kicked and moved her arms, but now she sees it and notices that she is somewhat in control of it!!

Eating her fingers!

Holding her Wubbanub!

Cousin Jojo helping "Baby Avie" with her binky!

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve. I'm so excited for Santa to come, although she'll have no idea what's going on this year, I can't wait to see her playing with her toys in the next few months. I'm so excited to share our Christmas traditions with her and to even start our own as she gets a little older. Christmas is such a magical and exciting time, and this Christmas we've been truly blessed with our perfect and sweet baby! She amazes us a little more each day and we love her more than we ever knew possible!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Visiting Santa!!!

Wearing our onesies at our BFF Christmas brunch! LOL

5 weeks of Avery

Wow time is flying by so fast!! My little pumpkin turned one month on Thanksgiving, and on Monday the little booger will be 6 weeks old!! This past month has been a whirlwind. I think part of what makes it go by so fast is that taking care of a newborn is a never ending cycle of feeding, changing her and putting her to bed throughout the day and night so all the days pretty much run together. We are so blessed to have a pretty good night sleeper though. She pretty much sticks to the same schedule of 2am and 5am feedings and once she slept right through tot he 5 o'clock, which was heaven! The other reason it goes by fast is because each day is a new adventure and we are all still adjusting to it. Everyone says children grow up so fast, but it is truly remarkable to see them grow right before your eyes.

I am not sure what Ave is weighing, but she is already outgrowing most of her newborn sized clothes. It's crazy, because she was swimming in them when we came home from the hospital and only a few of the tiniest outfits fit her those first few weeks. It felt like we were constantly washing her clothes so she would have something that fit. Then one day this week, I had to try on 4 different pairs of pajamas to find ones that were not all the sudden too short!! So this is kind of bittersweet.. I am glad that she can start wearing some of her 0-3 month clothes, because we have a lot more that'll fit her in that size and they're so cute, but sad because I realize she really will only be so tiny and cuddly for a little while longer!

 It is an empowering feeling though, knowing that I am keeping this tiny human alive and thriving with only the help of my body still. I'm not going to lie, breastfeeding is HARD! It's exhausting and frustrating and painful at first, and growth spurts feel like she's draining the life right out of me, but I AM SO GLAD I have stuck with it. The human body is so amazing. Her's sends a message to mine as to how much milk to make, and to make the most fatty kind at night to fill her belly for sleeping. Not to mention that it's the best possible nutrition for her, and good for me too! It's amazing when you think about it. Now the problem is going to be getting this child to like a bottle…we have tried 4 different kinds and had other people try to feed her, but she won't really take to one without a fight. So we've got to get in some more practice, because my maternity leave is halfway over and she's going to starve if she keeps being so picky!!

So some one month milestones..
Avery is smiling, and not just in her sleep anymore! It's adorable. Sometimes it is when she's filling her diaper, BUT she also smiles at me on her changing table, and when I talk to her before her first early morning feeding. She smiled at Jon this morning too! I just can't wait to hear her laugh. She has giggled in her sleep, but I just wonder what on earth is so funny that she is dreaming about?!

We have started tummy time, and she has flipped from her belly to back a few times now!! She can't do it every time and I am not sure that she even knows what she's doing, but of course we think she's advanced and probably a genius. :)

She recognizes mine and Jon's voices and will follow us with her eyes! It's so neat. Only a matter of time until she gets a kick out of peek-a-boo.

Also, in the past week she has become mesmerized by the TV. Sometimes when she is fussy, laying across my lap to check out the tube is the only thing to keep her quiet. I might have a future couch potato on my hands!

Watching Real Housewives with Momma!! LOL

39 Weeks and Avery's Birth Story

Man have I neglected my blog! Just been so busy with-- ya know taking care of an adorable and tiny little human! So where I left off- 39 weeks pregnant and beginning to get miserable!!

Originally, I was set to be induced on October 25th (Thursday), and crazy me wanted to go to work that Monday and Tuesday, so I could save my PTO for when Avery was actually here, but everyone else, especially my boss, was urging me to take those days to rest at home and relax before the baby came. My poor feet had had about all they could take of carrying the extra pounds and looked like this...

I was cranky and ohh so tired too. After staying up at school until 7 pm on Thursday the 18th trying to get grades in for the 1st 9 week report card and finish up some parent conferences over the phone, I decided my boss, and teammates were right. I needed to rest, and I was making the next day at school my last one. It would already be a half day for me because I had my weekly Dr. appointment in the afternoon. I called my long term sub that night, and she said she'd be glad to start early. I felt a little guilty, because I am such a cheapskate and really wanted to save my days, but I knew it was the right thing for me to do. I thought I'd have time to get the house nice and clean, catch up on laundry, sleep and even some trash TV…little did I know that Avery would be here before I would get the chance to do any of that! :)

At my Friday appointment, I still wasn't dialated beyond 1cm (nothing!) and baby girl was still up high. My Dr. said "You can't go into labor this weekend anyway because I am not the one on call! We'll see you Thursday for your induction!"

That weekend I was so tired, so Jon and I were really lazy! After watching a Diners Drive-Ins and Dives marathon the weekend before, we had already decided we were going to check out this BBQ place at the Farmer's Market  that had been featured on the show, as our last date before becoming parents. So Sunday morning, we got up early to go check it out, and walked around sampling all kinds of delicious fruits and veggies too. When we got home, I wanted to do some more walking to see if I could jumpstart the whole labor process. For some reason I was really scared of being induced and just prayed that things would happen naturally. So I grabbed Abby and went on a nice walk around our neighborhood for about 30 minutes..it was all I could handle. I was exhausted!  When I got home we took a long nap and ordered our fav pizza for dinner with jalapenos. I wanted to see if the spicy food trick would work now. We ate and headed to bed around 9. On the way to the bedroom, I made Jon take this  39 week pic of me, realizing that it COULD be my last preggo picture, but having no idea that I'd really be in labor in just a couple of hours.  

At 11 pm I woke up with terrible cramps, but thought it was just indigestion from the pizza. I went to the bathroom, threw back some tums and went back to bed. 11:30 I woke back up. More cramps…thought this might be a contraction? Drank a glass of water and went back to bed. This kept up about every 30 minutes until 1:30 am when things got a little more intense. Jon was supposed to have jury duty in the morning, which had already been postponed once due to a flat tire, and since I had had a bout with false labor the weekend before, I didn't want to wake him unless this was the real thing. I couldn't just lay there in silence anymore though. So I got some more water and camped out on the couch with my contraction counter app to start timing things. Contractions stayed at 7 min apart until about 4 am when they got to 5 min apart. The hospital rule is 5-1-1, head there when they are 5 min apart, lasting 1 min long for at least one hour. So I woke Jon up to give him a warning that I had had contractions all night, and that I was going to take a bath to see if they would stay 5 min apart. Well they did, so I got dressed and laid back down to try to wait out as much at home as I could and we headed to the hospital around 5:30.

We got there, checked in, hooked up and I was only at 3 cm and in a lot of pain. I got the epidural a couple hours later, and we notified our families that Avery would be there that day. We couldn't believe the day we  had been counting down for so long was finally here! We were going to become parents!

Once I got the epidural, labor was a breeze! I was pain free until the very end, and I progressed very quickly.  Unfortunately Mondays are my doctor's day off, so I had the on-call doctor from her office, who ended up being amazing! They came in to check me and reposition me every couple of hours, and everything was very calm and laid back. Shannon, Jon and my parents were there most of the time for me to talk to and to feed me ice chips.  Around 1 o clock I started feeling pressure and pushing my epidural button for some more numbing action, and the nurse came in to check me. She said I was at 9 cm and should be ready to push within another hour. This is when I started to get really excited and nervous! About 30 minutes later, I was a 10, so she called the doctor and we kicked out all the visitors. Jon turned off the TV and it was just him, me and the nurse to do some practice pushes while we waited for the doctor. The silence really freaked me out for a second so I asked Jon to please put on some calming music. He got my phone, put it on one of our favorite Pandora stations- Elton John Radio. I started singing along to Philadelphia Freedom and instantly felt better. Music is such a powerful mood changer!

My incredible nurse Michelle coached me through pushing a couple of times, while Jon cheered me on. It was such a special moment. Soon the doctors and nursing staff came in, and she rest is kind of a  surreal rush and a blur. Pushing went by REALLY quickly. The next thing I knew, the most beautiful little human was laid on my chest while I cried hysterically from pure amazement and heard Hotel California playing in the background. I remember looking up at Jon and seeing his face in complete awe and adoration of our little angel. It was the most overwhelming, beautiful and amazing moment of our entire lives.

Avery Parris Mercer was born with tons of dark hair on October 22, at 2:10pm, weighing 7lbs, 3 oz and measuring 21 inches long. Our lives have been forever changed! We are so in love!

I can't believe it's almost been 3 weeks, but I'll update on how that's going later. It's time to feed my little munchkin!

36-37-38 Weeks

These last few weeks have been very busy and gone by so quickly! I think things are FINALLY starting to slow down though!!

36 weeks- My wonderful work friends threw me a fabulous shower!! I got lots of cute stuff for Ave and felt so loved!! My talented sister took some maternity pictures that weekend and she got some good shots. I'm glad we didn't wait much longer to capture this special time, because I officially have stretch marks now, so the belly is not as cute as a couple of weeks ago!!

Here's a couple of my favorites though. :) 

37 Weeks- I was informed that the hospital I chose back in May, Baylor Frisco,  has been experiencing some over crowding in Labor & Delivery, because it's so luxurious, and a smaller facility, so everyone wants to deliver there. So I had to choose a back-up plan..So I'll likely be delivering at Plano Presby. At first I was disappointed, because I also have to choose a new pediatrician too, but at this point I just want a comfortable experience and the best care for baby, so I really don't care where it all goes down. 

Last weekend, we also went to a going away party for my oldest friend, Kera, whose crazy self has decided to enlist in the Air Force. She leaves for Basic on the 16th, so we are secretly wanting Baby to come before then so she can meet her first!! 

38 weeks- I'll officially be 38 weeks tomorrow, and my body has definitely changed this week! The swelling in my hands and legs/feet has become very uncomfortable by the end of the day. The bones in my  feet hurt, all the time, especially first thing in the morning, which is weird. My back is killlling me, but its my upper back, not the typical lower back pain that most pregnant women get.  I officially said adios to my wedding ring, before it got stuck on my little sausage finger, and woke up one day with a beautiful cluster of red stretch marks right under my belly button. I'm out of breath a lot and sitting up out of bed is a joke. BUT I'm just keeping my eye on the prize! A healthy, beautiful little baby is going to make it all worth it. 

I had my last ultrasound this week, and they are estimating that Avery is right around 7lbs already!! That means if I make it full term, she'll likely be an 8 pounder.  My Dr. doesn't think I'll be able to handle a baby much bigger than that naturally, so if I don't go into labor before the 25th, I'll be induced that day. Soooo at least 2 weeks from today, the newest little Mercer will join this crazy world!! Avery is already positioned head down though, and I'm dialated to a 1, so she might decide to come earlier.. who knows?!! 

As uncomfortable as these last couple of weeks have been, I am a tad bit sad that my pregnancy is almost over. I've been so lucky to have a very easy, problem free pregnancy and I know I'll kind of miss it. I'll miss my clearer skin. I was having terrible breakouts before becoming preggo, and I guess the hormones cleared me right up! I'll miss everyone doing everything for me..haha Jon and my friends have really spoiled me and don't let me do much on my own. It's been nice being catered to. I'll miss eating all the desserts I want without any guilt. I have to lose these 30+ pounds I've put on, and I don't think ice cream is going to fit in my diet for awhile. Most of all I'll miss feeling this little miracle move inside of me. While I can't wait to meet her face to face, it is truly the neatest feeling to feel her kick, squirm and hiccup inside my belly.

I am just about as prepared as I can be to meet Miss Avery. We are getting the carpets cleaned tomorrow, and I finished my parent conferences tonight, except for the no-shows, and I have my sub up to date on what's going on in my classroom. I'm going to grade some papers this weekend then pateintly wait for her arrival. I am also ready to sleep on my stomach again, get in shape, eat sushi, a cold cut turkey sandwich, and drink an ice cold Dos XX with lime. :)

35 weeks

Holy cow! I can't believe I'm 35.5 weeks pregnant!! Our little girl will be here in one more month (or less)!! Things at work are still crazy busy and the stress is 10 times worse than it was at this time last year. I hope things start slowing down and falling into place soon. I've been trying to get in as much girlfriend time as possible lately, and spend lots of quality time with Jon too! It's crazy catching up with friends and not knowing if I'll be a mommy by the time I see them again!! AHHH :)

Everyone keeps asking how I'm feeling,  I usually just say "great, how are you?" and the honest truth is..I'm exhausted. Most mornings begin with a self-pep talk that I can make it through the day, and a prayer that I'm right. Once I get in the car to drive to work, I feel pretty great. Around 10:30 though-- another pep-talk and prayer. "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!!" The rest of the day is so packed that it goes by pretty fast and the next thing I know, I did it!! If I didn't stay at work for another 2 or 3 hours a night after this accomplishment, I probably wouldn't be so dang tired, but oh well!

Besides that, just the same ol' symptoms, no real complaints. Hip pain and heartburn, now accompanied by minor swelling of the feet. I officially have a stretchmark right where my belly button ring used to be, but I really don't care as much as I thought I would. With as many skin issues as I already have, what's one more? Starting tomorrow, I go to the Dr. every week and begin getting cervical checks! It's so exciting to get so close!! :)

At home, things are nearly prepared and perfect!! Bedding and newborn clothes are washed and put away, hospital bag is packed and this past weekend we bought our travel system. We need to set up the pack-n-play, monitor, install the carseat and put a few finishing touches on the nursery. There are still  some things to buy, but my wonderful co-workers are throwing me a shower on Friday so I'l assess what I still need this weekend!! I feel so lucky and blessed by all the gifts, love and support that we've gotten so far from everyone. It is truly amazing!!

We are ready almost ready to meet you, baby A!!

32-33-34 weeks

I've been SO busy and exhausted these last couple of weeks!! So here's a recap…

32 weeks- had a Dr. appt, got a flu shot and caught a cold. Was sick all Labor day weekend, and Jon was worse off than me. We literally laid in bed all three days. I got my glider delivered though, making the nursery ALMOST complete!

 Our pretty and comfy glider/recliner!!

Abby loves to lay in the baby's room and has to check it out any time we go in there. I take it as a sign that she will be a good big sister!

33 weeks- Jon and I celebrated 10 years of life in love! So crazy to think we were just kids when we started dating and now we are about to have one of our own. We are so lucky to have each other. We are truly best friends and I can't imagine my life any differently!! Also, we picked a pediatrician for our babe! :)

Jon thought the Boppy was just a comfy neck pillow. LOL

34 weeks- Well I'll be 34 weeks Friday, but I had my 34 week appointment today so I'll tell you about it. I've officially gained 25 lbs..I never thought I'd like the sound of "Come here, Biggon" but when Jon says that as he goes in for a belly rub, it's pretty adorable. We had an ultrasound today and we love getting to see Avery and her growth so far! She is weighing in at about 4lbs 12oz, so she is right on track for where we should be!! I found out that I am slightly anemic though, so I need to start iron supplements tonight. They said this should explain some excess tiredness and my occasional light headedness though.

31 weeks

Well it's been a busy, exhausting couple of weeks back at work. Today I made myself leave at 4:45, and it felt early since I've stayed until at least 6 pm the last two weeks. I am pretty excited for a new school year though! It feels great to not be a first year teacher anymore. I actually got a great compliment this week from my new boss..she said she had no idea I was a 2nd year teacher! She thought I had been doing this a lot longer, because I seem so confident and prepared. Ha! Little does she know, I pretty much wing it on a daily basis. :)

It's been so fun to see my kids from last year and their reactions to my belly!! They are so excited and just want to hug and pat the baby when they see me. They say the funniest things like, "What did you feed the baby for lunch?"and "Are you going to play with your baby when you get home?"  Today I had a kid put his ear to my stomach and say  "She must be sleeping because she isn't saying anything!" These little conversations remind me of why I love my job!

1st Day of School!!

Tomorrow I have my 32 week appointment and I am kind of nervous, because I think I've gained at least 5 lbs since my last appointment 2 weeks ago! I've been so busy that I just scarf down food any chance I get..including more fast food than I normally eat in a month! I need to get back to my meal planning and cooking that I was so good about all summer.

This week's pregnancy symptoms have been rougher on me than normal. I experienced ankle swelling for the first time after meet the teacher night…but I think 14 hour work days might even induce swelling on the non preggo person's body. I've had heartburn around the clock, no matter what I eat, but the Tums usually help for a couple of hours. I'm pretty used to the heartburn now and it doesn't burden me too badly until it wakes me up for a middle of the night puke session (yep, disgusting and it's happened twice this week).  I told Jon that if the wive's tale is true about heartburn being an indicator of hair for the baby, then Avery will should resemble Rapunzel. ;-) Another thing that's back and worse than ever,  hip pain. Except its not the dull/sore pain that I normally experience, but an excruciating pinched nerve type pain that has brought me to tears more than once. The heating pad and warm bath are becoming great friends of mine.

Besides these discomforts, I really have been feeling great! I love feeling this little girl becoming stronger in her movements! I am just reminded daily that this little life inside of me is such a miracle!! And Jon is the cutest expecting father ever! Seeing him so  genuinely excited just makes me even more in love with him. I can't believe we only have 8 weeks (more or less) until we are parents!!