Tune in to channel 4 at 10:00 am today (at least for the last segment) on "Good Things Utah" to see this cute little face flash across the screen for her first chance of stardom...it's Avery Mae's FIRST BIRTHDAY today!! Happy Birthday my little chunka munka!!
It doesn't seem like it should even be a year ago that I was celebrating the birth of our third child. I remember during the last part of my pregnancy I thought for sure since she is my third child and Maci was born 16 days early, that she too would make her debut earlier than my September 23rd due date, of course not....as the date got closer and nothing was happening I got to choose a date for induction. After much thought and comparison to my last two deliveries I thought the middle of the week (a Wednesday) would be perfect. Dave wouldn't have to take too many days off of work, I would be home by Friday, we would be able to attend my sisters wedding on Saturday, and not only that, but that day would be shared with my little brother Jesse's birthday and Dave's little brother Bret's birthday as well...September 19th, 2007!!
Avery Mae was welcomed to our little family at 2:59 PM on Wednesday afternoon. I tell you the nurses know their stuff...my nurse predicted that I would have her at 3:00PM (pretty darn close!!) She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 19" long---both the same as Maci. She was beautiful! I was able to enjoy her for the rest of the day, which was wonderful. McKay and Maci were both born late in the evening so I really didn't get to spend much time with them before retiring for the night. Thank goodness I, as well as family and friends that came to visit, got to spend time with her because early that next morning my baby was whisked away from me and taken into the newborn ICU. The nurses were a bit concerned with her coloring (I just thought she looked like Maci and McKay) but no, they ran tests and discovered that she was a Coombs Positive baby. That basically means that her blood cells didn't mix with mine, which then skyrocketed her bilirubin levels (jaundice), which then if levels get too high, the kidneys shut down...I was a complete mess.
Avery had to be under lights as long as possible so the only time we were able to hold her was when I would go to feed her, which ended up being at least every two hours. And every two hours the nurses would prick her little heels to check her levels of bilirubin. The first night seemed like every hour I would get woken up by the nurse saying I needed to come and feed her. This worried me because she was out of the lights more than she should be, but it ended up in the long run being better for her because of the milk she was getting helped flush the bilirubin out of her system. Friday came along, and I was informed that I would not be able to stay with her, so as I was being released, I cried. I had to leave my little baby behind and come to visit and feed every 2 hours. Needless to say our little plan didn't work as perfectly as we would have wished for. Sadly of all, I missed my sisters wedding completely.
As I would go every 2 hours to hold my baby, I felt so blessed knowing that she was probably the most healthy baby in the NICU. I got to know the nurses and some of the other mothers pretty well. Having no idea when Avery's levels would be good enough to be brought home, each nurse stayed positive and made me feel comfortable knowing that she would be taken good care of. Well to all of our surprise, on Sunday morning I was informed that her levels had dropped significantly during the night. The nurse said that the doctor would be making rounds and that there could be a chance that Avery would get to come home with us. I called Dave with the good news, and he met us to prepare her to finally come home. It is kindof strange how things work out...she ended up coming home on her "due date" afterall.
Here she is all snug & ready for the ride home...she is leaving the NICU, Yeah!!
We welcomed little Avery home on Sunday, September 23rd. The doctor ordered her to stay in a bilirubin blanket with lights, and be checked daily to see that her levels continued to come down, until finally after a week long she was perfectly fine. Well, her "suntan" faded and we definately ended up with a surprise...Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes, Fair Skin, baby Avery. And we love every little thing about this little lady.
I can truly say that the Lord has blessed us so much. Avery is such a sweet baby. She is so HAPPY, good tempered, and very patient. She has a special spirit with her that brings so much JOY into our home. We all love her so much and hope she has the most special FIRST birthday ever.
Kim and I looked like we were growing sugar beards and cobweb hair, our eyelids kept sticking shut and yes our arms looked like we were growing blue and pink mold up them both, but we sure were "SWEET"!!
McKay has had his heart set on going to Boondock's for his birthday and I thought it would be just fine with our little family, but no way...he wanted to go with his friends. The problem was inviting all of his friends on our budget. Thanks to my sister for telling me about CityDeals.com I was able to purchase $25 Gift Certificates for $15. I still hesitated a bit since Dave was going to be out of town, the thought of 10 little boys at Boondock's alone, made me a bit nervous. Thanks again to my wonderful family and awesome friends they got me through an eventful 4 hours of fun at Boondock's. Here are some pictures of the birthday bash!!! 
McKay got "tied" up with the tickets as we sang Happy Birthday to him...he got to keep them all!
Half of the group wanted to play laser tag, while the others wanted to minature golf. I think both groups had a lot of fun even though the lines were long, they endured.
I think most of the fun was spent in the arcade...here are a few of the boys waiting to cash in their tickets for awesome Boondock's prizes! I hope everyone had tons of fun...I know McKay did...thanks for celebrating with us at Boondock's!
