4 Generations and Avery's smile caught on camera

My Grandma Malinda came down today with my Aunt Rhonda and we took a picture with 4 Generations of girls. Also we were snapping pictures of Avery and actually caught a smile. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Lila & Avery

These are just too cute not to post! Avery is on the left and Lila on the right. Avery passed out in the few minutes we were taking the pictures. Too funny!!!

Avery's Friends and Family

Here are just a few of Avery's new friends and family. Baby Lila is only 4 days older than Avery. They will have lots of fun together! Avery also has a cousin, Reid, just four days younger than Avery. June is going to always be a big celebration!!!

Avery's 1st Fourth of July!

Avery celebrated her first 4th of July with my parents and cousins who came down from Granbury. Yesterday she turned exactly one month old and she is already starting to lift her head all on her own. She has also realized she has a tongue and always has it out. It is pretty cute!

Two weeks at home!

Avery has been home now for two weeks today and we have had SO much fun. For starters, my sister and I had to dress her up in a few of her outfits and take pictures. She was a natural and just laid there and let us take one after another :) Then Kevin and I gave her her first bath (sponge bath) because she still had her umbilical cord. She did not fuss at all, so I am thinking she is like me and loves baths! Last week was a little of a struggle because Avery was extremely fussy and never seemed to get enough to eat, so last Friday I went and visited a Lactation Consultant. Sure enough - I am not producing enough milk to keep up with Avery. She thinks it could have something to do with her 10 day stay in the NICU and getting used to bottles, so she didn't have the endurance to get all she needed in the standard 40 minute breastfeeding session. Kevin and I had to start supplementing with formula, but she loves it! Since she is finally full, she is sleeping a lot better and already weighs 8 lbs. and 1 oz! I can't believe how much she is already changing. She also lost her umbilical cord last Friday and we coudn't be more happy to have it gone. It was getting in the way and was starting to bleed which really was making me nervous. We also had to take Avery to the doctor last week because I woke up and noticed that she had yellow/green goo in her right eye. It wasn't red, but looked awful. It was Avery's tear ducts getting clogged, so I had to massage around her eye to help her out. Kevin took this week off from work and stayed home with her today, so I could go get a massage. He had got that for me for my birthday gift. What a perfect gift!!! It was awesome. Avery is looking forward for my parents visit tomorrow and my cousins visiting this weekend!!

Avery in the NICU

So because of Avery's fever, they ran a blood culture which came out positive for Group B Strep (GBS). I honestly didn't know anything about it previously. I remember testing for it at 36 weeks and was negative. On Sunday, June 8th around 11AM, Kevin and I were looking forward to bringing our new baby girl home and to our surprise the Pediatrician came in to break the bad news. Avery was positive for GBS which meant a minimum 10 day stay at the NICU. I was horrified! First my baby is sick and then I have to leave her here at the hospital. I couldn't hold back the tears! I was crying so loud a random nurse came in to check on me. I knew God would take care of our little Avery and after a 10 day stay in the NICU her treatment was complete and was better than ever.

Birth Story

Wednesday, June 4th I worked my last day at work going from meetings to meetings. I would start working from home starting Thursday, June 5th until Little Miss Avery decided to arrive. My sister had come in Wednesday evening and cleaned my entire house to help me out before the big day came. I love my sister!! Thursday morning I woke up at 8 and logged on to my computer to start my day of work. My sister got up and went over to visit Angie (who had had Lila James just 3 days before). Around 1:30pm Brooke and I went to grab McDonald's quickly before my 3:00 39 week check up. We were so very excited to see what my new status was. Surely I was more than 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced! During my examination with Dr. Mills, she looked up at me with a strange look and said calmly, "Brandi, your water just broke." I couldn't believe it, this was too perfect as my sister was going to head back to Waco that evening and we couldn't have planned this any better. I asked Dr. Mills if Avery would come that evening or the next day. She said I would bet on tomorrow, June 6th (My MOM's birthday)!!! I grabbed my phone right away and called Kevin who was expecting an update from the appointment anyway. Little did he know I was about to break the big news :) I think he was in disbelief at first but quickly shut down his computer and was at the hospital in a matter of minutes. Next, I called my mom who also did not believe me at first because Brooke and I tend to play jokes on my mom and she was just expecting an update from the check up, as well. She freaked out! She was so excited. Next, I called my dad who was already 30 minutes down the road at work, so he got in his car and came straight down. Brooke, Kevin and I went and checked in to the hospital and finally got a room. We had nothing to wear since we were not prepared to go straight to the hospital from the doctors, but Kevin went and grabbed all the things once I got hooked up to the IV and settled in. By 7pm, we started the Pitocin, since my contractions were not picking up quickly on their own. Around 10PM, my parents and sister decided to go back to our house to get some rest on one condition that I call them as soon as I am 8-9 cm. Kevin and I did our best to rest. The contractions really started picking up around 10-11pm. I was having them every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes apart and they were starting to become a little intense. I asked for the epidural and got it around 11:30PM. Dr. Mills came in and checked me at 1AM and I was only 3 cm dilated which wasn't much from the 2 cm and 80% effaced I was earlier that day. 5 hours later and several "bonus pumps of epidural" Dr. Mills came in to check again at 6AM, I told her that I was starting to feel the contractions stronger even with the epidural even though the contractions weren't showing up that stong on the charts. She checked and sure enough I was already 9 cm! I grabbed my phone and called Brooke and her and my parents were at the hospital in no time. At this point, I started feeling really sick like I had fever and the contractions now felt like urges to push. Dr. Mills came back in and I was already 10 cm and ready to go. I was running a fever of 102 which was not helping any! We started the pushing Kevin was on my left and a nurse on my right. Kevin was AWESOME! He did great. He was worried that he would get a little lightheaded but he was a champ and helped me with my oxygen mask and running for ice chips every second. After one hour of pushing at 7:34AM, our Little Avery Brooke was born. She is a true miracle from God! The second I saw her, I began to cry and she was SO BEAUTIFUL! They brought her right up to me and she was just crying and looking at me. I wonder what was going through her mind? WHAT an experience! She weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 inches long. She was running a fever as well, but all her other vitals were great. Kevin went to get my parents and sister and can only imagine how excited he was. I think it was all just such an overwhelming experience for us both. It is truly undescribable!!!