Ava's first days home

getting ready to go home Meeting the dogs

Magnum is already fascinated

My first sponge bath at home and I loved it!

These were just too cute not to post!

Ava has had an eventful first few days at home. She's met and gotten used to the dogs. She must have gotten used to hearing them bark in utero because she is not at all phased by them. Magnum is fascinated with her and Biscuit isn't too sure. Biscuit has been moping around like a sad little puppy and she is a little mad at me for bringing this new puppy home. She does not approve, but luckily she hasn't hiked her leg on her like she did when we brought Magnum home.

Ava's first night home was a sleepless one. Not because she cried the entire time but just because she didn't want to go to sleep. She wanted to be up all night and be held. Steve's mom got here early that morning and took care of her for a few hours so Steve and I could get a couple of hours of sleep. Then all day yesterday and last night she slept! Of course she wasn't having anything to do with her bassinet and wanted to sleep on mommy's chest or next to one of us all night long. We got some sleep and I actualy had to wake her up to feed, but mine was a restless sleep because I was so worried I would suffocate her. She has been sleeping all day today too and wakes up only for feedings. I'm hoping that she sleeps well tonight because she had an eventful day. We gave her a sponge bath this morning and she had her first pediatrician appointment today. Both went so well! She even went with us to Barnaby's for dinner.

Ava has arrived!

Ava Michele Hendrickson

was born on July 26, 2008 at 11:38 p.m.

7lbs 12 oz & 21 inches long

More about her birth later but for now enjoy the pictures!

Thanking God for the epidural




Ava & GiGi
Ava & Grandaddy
Mommy & Ava

Daddy's baby for sure

She's on her way!

Baby Ava is on her way and may be here tomorrow! I went in for my check up this morning and my blood pressure was back up again so they got concerned and monitored the baby. I had a few contractions that I didn't even feel and the baby didn't tolerate the contractions very well. Her hear rate would decrease each time I had a contraction. So they sent me over to the hospital for a few hours of monitoring. My doctor is going out of town tonight so she really was hoping it would turn out well and she could bring me back in for induction on Monday. But of course it turns out that baby still didn't like contractions and they decided to keep me here tonight and induce in the morning. I will have to be delivered by another doctor in the practice :( We are pretty bummed about that because we really wanted our doctor to deliver her.

They did do an ultrasound though and I got to see her sucking her thumb. Just the cutest.

Right now I'm starving and waiting on my dinner so we can get this show on the road. My mom will be here at about 5 a.m. and Steve's mom is trying to get an earlier flight so she can be here tomorrow.

As for me I'm sooooo nervous and Steve is a wreck. He is so scared I'm going to end up having a c-section. We of course will do whatever it takes to get Ava here safe and sound. The next time we post she'll be here!

Still Pregnant...

I've been getting daily phone calls from family members for updates and each day I say the same..Still Pregnant. No signs of labor coming on at all! I've started going with Steve again on daily dog walks to see if we can't inspire the baby to get a move on. I keep hearing that first babies are usually late and I really don't want her to be late! I should be enjoying my last couple of weeks of sleep and leisurely activity instead of worrying about it.

I went to this website where this "madame zaritska" predicts your birth, the sex of the baby and what it'll look like. Here is what she said. Let's see if she's right:

The day you deliver, outside will be blustery. Your baby will arrive in the evening. After a labor lasting approximately 7 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and will be 20-1/2 inches long. This child will have blue eyes and some very fine hair.

Well we know she's right about the sex!

Monday my friend Kelley came over with her 7 month old Amelia. I was really curious to see how the dogs reacted to the baby. They LOVED her. Amelia is used to animals because they have a dog at home. She was in her car seat crying and Magnum and Biscuit just sat in front of it and as soon as Amelia saw them she would stop crying. Magnum would lick her hands, feet and face and she would open her mouth and stick her tongue out. LOL it was so cute! He was very gentle with her and not too aggressive. Biscuit just sat in front of her and wagged her tail. They did not seem upset or put off at all. I'm really curious to see how they react to Ava when she comes home, especially when she wakes them up in the middle of the night. Biscuit does not like to be woken up and she is not a morning dog at all! haha.

38 weeks

Good News! I had my weekly check up today and they are no longer worried about my blood pressure. It seems to be staying below the scary point and some of my swelling has actually gone down, so now we just wait on baby Ava to arrive. They checked her again on the fetal monitor and she was doing great. Very active and very steady heart rate. I'm still 1/2 centimeter dilated and have increased to 70% effaced. I haven't felt any symptoms of pre labor so we have no idea when she'll decide to make her appearance. She is very comfortable in there and doesn't seem to have any intention of coming out soon. She should know how many people are excited and waiting to meet her!

More good news..I'm officially on Maternity leave until January! Maybe that's why my blood pressure went down?? haha. My bag is packed and in the back of the car so the next two weeks will be me relaxing around the house and getting things ready for her to come home.

Today I also took Casper to the vet for his annual shots. He has been vomiting clear liquid a lot lately so we were a little worried that he might be having kidney problems. The vet said that he looks really good and that she didn't see any symptoms of renal failure or tenderness around the kidneys. She thinks that he might just be having indigestion from his food and suggested we change him back to his old diet and give him medication for his indegestion. He's 13 years old and has always been very healthy so I'm hoping she's right and he's just reacting to his food. One day he projectile vomited water all over Biscuit's head. I guess that's what biscuit gets for irritating the hell out of him all day. When we got home from the vet Casper actually looked happy to see Biscuit and Magnum. He was so glad to be home.

In other news, My cousin Courtney found out yesterday that she is having a boy! She's very excited and said she felt like it was a boy from the beginning. I'm excited to go out and buy little boy clothes. Now I get to buy both girl and boy stuff. My cousin Michael is also having a boy around the same time!

Maternity/Family Portraits

A few weeks ago I mentioned that my friend Kelley came over to take some Maternity portraits. While she was there we also got a few pictures of our little family pre-Ava. She took hundreds of pictures and with the exception of my extremely swollen face and eyes, so many of them turned out so beautiful. She and her husband have a photography business called k/d loftis photography. They do weddings, babies, engagements and so forth. She is also going to do Ava's first baby portraits!

Anyway here is a sample of some of the pictures we had taken.

View Album

Get your own

Fur Babies- As long as their still our only babies....

37 Weeks

Monday's appointment was pretty uneventful. We did labwork and re-scheduled for today. Today I had an ultrasound and got to see baby girl and her cute chubby cheeks and sweet little lips. I also got to see the little feet and 10 toes that keep kicking me in my right side. She was asleep and had her arms up to her face again, she would also smack her lips occassionally. The tech got a little concerned that she couldn't get her to wake up and that she wasn't practicing breathing. She said I needed to go down and eat lunch to get her moving and come back in an hour. So I went downstairs and grabbed a sandwich. I figured I better eat a brownie and drink a root beer too to see if that wouldn't wake the little munchkin up.

When I went back in she still wouldn't wake up!!! She did move and kick a couple of times but she still wouldn't practice breathing. So then she sent me over to my OB who hooked me up to a fetal monitor for a non-stress test. Baby passed that with flying colors. I had to press a button every time I felt her move and there were a few times she moved and I noticed her heart rate increased. They said that's what they want to see which was good news!

Anyway the doctor was pleased with the ultrasound and the stress test so she felt like everything was okay. As far as the blood pressure it was about the same but all of my lab work came back normal so I do not have pre-eclampsia and we don't have a need to induce as of right now. She did check and I'm 1/2 centimeter dilated and about 60% effaced which is also pretty normal. So for now we just wait and continue to monitor her movements and my blood pressure. I'll go back in a week for another check up. She could be here early or late and we just don't know. She'll just come when she's ready I guess!

In non-baby news Steve had quite a shake up yesterday. He witnessed a fatal accident on 288. He was driving and a car a few car lengths in front of him was hit by another vehicle. By the time he got up to it there were people screaming and frantic so he jumped out of his truck and ran over to the car and the driver side was completely crushed. The driver was pushed all the way over to the passenger side and was unresponsive so Steve called 911 and they asked if the victim was still alive, Steve said he didn't think that she was. There was a nurse on the scene who checked her pulse and confirmed that there was no pulse. It all happened so fast and Steve was pretty shaken up. It's so hard to believe how quickly something like that can happen and how quickly someone can lose their life. It makes you want to hold your loved ones closer and make sure you don't take them for granted because you never know when God will take them.

Marcella's Wedding Pictures

36 Weeks-She's dropped!

We are in our final month and freaking out that it's almost time! The baby has definitely dropped and my girlfriends were the first to notice yesterday. I had thought she probably did just by the feeling I have and the heartburn relief I have had in the last couple of days. Yesterday we were getting ready for the wedding and my bridesmaid dress actually fit better! That's how Steve and I knew that she had dropped.

Wednesday I had a doctors appointment and my blood pressure was acting up again. My blood pressure was up and I'm very swollen in the legs, face and hands. I was told that I'm starting to head toward possible pre-eclampsia so baby Ava may be here a little early. I'm not at all surprised because a lot of women that have the thrombophilia that I have (MTHFR) end up with pre-eclampsia. Luckily it's been delayed because we have been treating the MTHFR properly. So, I've been instructed to take my blood pressure twice a day and take it easy all weekend. I go back in on Monday for some labwork and another check up. Yesterday with the wedding and running around my blood pressure got up to 153/93 so at the reception I sat down the entire time and today I've been in bed all day. This morning it was back down to 129/77. The doctor said the baby might come early on her own or we may need to induce to take care of the rising blood pressure issue. We'll know more on Monday after my appointment. They are not worried about her coming early because next week I'll be full-term and she'll be perfectly healthy.

Last night I dreamed about Ava. She was just born and we were visiting my Aunt Bonnie and Cousin Erin. She had blonde hair and chubby cheeks but I couldn't tell who she looked like yet. When it was time to leave to come home I couldn't figure out how to strap her into her car seat (yes another car seat dream!) and she was crying because she was getting frustrated. So I told Steve that this weekend we need to practice strapping in a bear or something to make sure we know what we are doing when we leave the hospital!

Things to do this weekend:

1. Pack hospital bag
2. put pack n play together
3. install car seat in the 4-runner
4. Find someone to care for the dogs while we are at the hospital.