She's Here!!!!

Ava Anne McCurley has finally arrived! After an extremely quick (less than 2 hours) active labor and delivery, our baby has been born! She was born at 11:05 pm Sunday, December 14th. 8 lbs, 11 oz. and 19 inches long. She is absolutely perfect. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. Pictures to be posted soon!!

Are we done yet?

So I am officially ready to be done being pregnant. Don't get me wrong, I love being pregnant, but now that we are so near the end I am more anxious than ever. We've tried every home induction remedy we know of, castor oil being the last. What a mistake. I would rather be pregnant for two more weeks than have to go through that again. Labor is "supposed" to start once it's out of your system, and I think I'm almost there, but dammit, if I don't start labor by tonight I am going to be more than frustrated. I guess it really is just up to the baby. I'm praying for a miracle tonight!

Soon!

Ava will be here very soon! We're hoping by the end of next week!

Soon Soon!

Great news from our midwife appointment today! Ava has dropped reeeaaalllyyy low, I'm 1 cm dilated and my cervix (probably too much info, but who cares!) is nice and soft and ready to let this baby go! She needs to cook a little longer though, so it's off my feet and just ridin' it out for now...

Yay!

Mother Christmas?

I have to blog this because it's too cute and I don't want to forget (which I have been doing a lot lately).


Apparently my younger cousin Owen thinks that I am giving birth to a Christmas tree. I'm not sure how this idea came about exactly, but I suspect it's because whenever he asks about the baby I tell him she'll be here at Christmas. However he translated Baby into Christmas Tree though, beats me.

I Ran Over Mike's Toes Today. Oops!

Mike and I had our first appointment with our new midwives this afternoon. We are so excited! The appointment was great; very different from our OB visits. Very, very casual and relaxed. The routine was exactly like the doctor's visits, but there was no waiting and no feeling rushed. Our midwives are fabulous - very personable, extremely casual (their shoes are always off, lol), and they give me hugs when I leave. I'm so glad we decided to go this route.

On that note, I am so thankful I've been given the opportunity for home birth. I am looking forward to having a peaceful and calm delivery in the comfort of our home. It will be about me, Mike, and Ava only. No hospital personnel to deal with, or worry that our birthing plan won't be respected. And what an amazing way for Ava to enter the world - no bright lights or being passed around by unfamiliar people...she'll be home with her mother and father and people who love her. It is going to be amazing.

On the baby note, it seems I am slipping into my nesting phase. All I want to do right now is work on Ava's room and get everything decorated and set up for her. I decided to do vintage shabby chic - so lots of rose pinks and sage greens. I found the most adorable shabby chic floral bedding set in like new condition at a baby consignment store for only $50..so I decided to buy it and go with it. I also found several beautiful Oilily pieces at a ridiculous discount. Ava is going to be so cute! It's probably my new favorite store.

Petunia Pickle Bottom

Today I purchased my first piece of baby gear! 

After much debate, I decided to venture into Last Chance in hopes of finding some maternity-ish clothes for the upcoming months. The adventure got off to a great start, when I found an oversized bin chock full of great $3 tank tops. I picked out 10 or so and headed off for more. After searching through countless racks of dresses, shirts, shorts, skirts, and shoes (with no luck), I spotted the ultimate treasure: a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag! I had seen these many times before pre-pregnancy, and was excited to hunt for one now that I'm expecting. Well, lo and behold, I found the most marvelous green and pink kimono boxy backpack thrown into a bin by the shoes, it's poor little body overcome by women's support hoes and socks. I raced to the bin and snatched it up and, OH MY GOSH, it was only $30! A bag that retails for $200 was in my hands, in great condition, for $30. I shoved it into my basket and hurried to the checkout. 

It is my first official piece of baby gear and I can't be happier. Ava will be so stylish! 

Introducing Baby Ava.

Mike and I had our first ultrasound on Wednesday. We are having a baby girl! (I knew my dream meant something!) She is healthy and happy, measuring at 8 inches and 7 ounces. She is due December 18th. We have decided to name her Ava Anne. Anne being both of our mothers' middle names, Ava because we think it's beautiful. 

The ultrasound was an amazing experience. Seeing our baby for the first time really made everything feel real. I couldn't believe that the images I was seeing were of the human being growing inside of my body. And although she was very "alien-like", she was still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She kept her ankles crossed (what a little lady!), and was pretty camera shy, flailing about in her little home. 

We cannot wait to meet her. 

It's Official!

Mike and I had our first ob-gyn appointment this morning. I have to admit it's a huge load off my chest. Now that I know this is real, and everything is okay, I feel like I can finally relax a little.

The appointment itself went very well. The doctor's office is directly behind the condo, so I walked over for my 9:45 check-in. Mike showed up right around 10, and helped me fill out the bagillion papers they need. After I peed in my cup and filled out said paperwork, I met with the nurse practitioner for my exams and bloodwork. Yada yada yada, you all know how it goes.

The highlight of the appointment was when it came time to listen for the heartbeat. Mike joined us in the room and held my hand while we listened. The nurse found it almost immediately, and boom! there it was. Little Baby working away, his little heart beating so fast. All I could do was laugh and smile, while "Baby's really there!!" thoughts filled my mind. For some reason the pregnancy didn't seem real until I heard Baby's heartbeat. The nurse was also able to determine that I am at least 16 weeks along, unlike the almost 15 I was thinking. Apparently not remembering your last period is a big deal in the pregnancy world! Well, duh. I guess next time I'll keep better track. At least now we know we can be expecting baby a little sooner than we thought.

We then scheduled our next appointment, and were given information to schedule an ultrasound in the next couple of weeks. Now that I am further than I thought, we will be able to find out Baby's gender a lot sooner! We left the office all-smiles and walked back to the condo.

We were both giddy from the great news, so we grabbed some lunch at Athenian Express before I returned to work. It was definitely a magical morning for both of us.

Baby.

I've recently discovered that pregnancy brings along a most interesting "symptom": vivid dreams. The last few weeks my sleep has been constantly disrupted by these strange, and usually scary, dreams. Having previously been a "dream-less" sleeper, it's been quite a change.

I decided to look into it and found that this is actually extremely common during pregnancy. Many women described their dreams more as nightmares, while others said they simply dreamt of their future life with baby. After countless nights of nightmarish horror dreams, last night I finally dreamed of baby.

Details have become a little sketchy, but the parts I do remember are wonderful. Baby was a little girl, and she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I couldn't stop holding her and smiling at her.

It was a dream I wanted to last forever.