6 MONTHS!!!

s0o0o0o0o, it's been a long time since i've been on here. much needed updates...

ava marie has gone through so many stages...

held her head alone at 1-2 months

rolled over at 2 months

she smiled at 2-3 months old

laughed at 3 months

grabbed for things around 5 months

crawled at 5 months

peek-a-boo at 5 months

started reaching up when she wanted to be held

started pulling herself up at 5-6 months

sat up alone at 6 months

had her first taste of apple juice at 6 months

first taste of baby food at 6 months

we also think she's picked up the word "heeeeyyyy", due to daddy and grandpa both saying that as soon as they walk in. she has gotten SUCH a personality as the time goes by.

i've also been blessed with friends and family passing down clothing. i think i can count on two hands the number of outfits i've actually bought so far.. which is AMAZING!!! i still have huge boxes to go through that shes not able to fit into yet.

i'm super excited for my sister-in-law, who's about to have her first and i cant wait to meet him! (or her, being as we havent actually met in person yet :0) !!! ) i'll be visiting her along with my mama-in-law in april. stooked!!

andrew has been working 10/7's and just moved up to 12/7's, but he tries his hardest to spend time with us when he gets home without passing out. we miss him, but it wont be those hours much longer and i'm sure we'll love the paycheck.

well, hopefully i'll be writing more often now... i'll keep ya posted!!

SHE'S HERE!!!

Ava Marie Baney is here!!! here's a fun little survey to start this blog off...


[[AbOuT MoMMy aNd PReGNaNcy]]


MoMMyS FuLL NaMe: * Samantha Jo Baney

AGe WhEn PReGNaNt: *21

CuRReNt AGe: * 21, 22 in a few days. (sept 21)

HOw FaR & lOnG wERe yOu wHeN yOu FoUnd OuT?: *a little over a month

STiLL wiTh ThE FaTheR?: * of course!

WhAT waS yOuR FiRsT ReaCtiOn wHeN yOu FoUnd OuT yOu wErE PreGnaNt?: * didnt believe it, i had to take another test.

HOw DiD tHe FaTheR ReaCt??: * he was excstatic!

HOw DiD YOuR PaReNtS TaKe ThE NEwS?: * dad was a little worried, but came around... the in-laws were sooo happy :0)

HOw DiD yOu FeeL aBoUt yOuR FiRsT ULTraSOuNd sOuNd?: * teared up a little!

WhaT MoNth DiD yOu FiNd OuT ThE seX Of ThE BaBy?:* 6months, i think.

WHeRe yOu HaPPy aBOuT ThE seX OF The BaBy??: * yep, could have gone either way

WHaT weRe yOuR CraViNgs?: *chocolate... lots and lots of chocolate

DiD yOu ExCeRSiCe wHeN yOu wERe PreGnaNt??: * for a little while i was doing the same thing i was before i got pregers... then took it down to walking... then just stopped all together.

HOw MuCh WeiGht DiD yOu GaiN??: * 30lbs

DiD yOu GeT MoRniNg SiCkNeSs?: * yep, only once in the mornings.

DiD yOu eNjOy weaRiNg maTeRniTy CLoTheS??: * at first... they were comfy. then i just started to get cranky and felt like a whale. haha.

WhaT BoOks DiD yOu ReaD wHeN yOu weRe PreGnaNt??: * the pregnancy book... did lots of reading online also... and had magazines coming in like crazy.

DiD yOu aTTeNd aNy PReGNaNcy CLaSSes, LiKe LaMaze?: * we took budget for baby, baby basics, breastfeeding class, and birthing classes.



[[aBouT The DeLiVeRy]]

HOw DiD yOu KnOw yOu weRe iN LaBoR?: * i got what they call "bloody show" and shortly after started having bad contractions.

DiD yOuR waTeR BreAk??: * yep, about two hours after i went to the hospital.

WhaT weRe yOuR CoNtraCtiOns LiKe??: * really really bad, severe menstral cramps... times a billion.

HoW LoNg weRe yOu iN laBoR fOr??: * 15 hours before they decided to give me a c-section! ugh.

EPiDuRaL???: * yessssssssssssssss

WhO waS iN ThE DeLiVeRy RoOm wiTh yOu??: * just the hubby

WaS iT aN EaSy DeLiVeRy??: * c-section.

DiD yOu CrY DuRiNg LaBoR??: * i cried when they told me i couldnt have her natural.


[[aBoUt ThE BaBy]]


BaBYs FuLL NaMe: * Ava Marie Baney

BiRTh DaTe: * august 15th, 2009

TiMe BoRn: * 7:49am

GeNdeR: * female

LeNgTh: * 18.8 inches.

weiGht: * 6lbs 9oz

WhaT waS ThE FiRsT ThiNg yOu SaiD tO yOuR BaBy?: * hello baby girl!

wHo ViSiTeD yOu aNd ThE BaBy aT The HoSpiTaL?: * kim strickland and the mcintosh's

wiLL yOu BreAsTFeeD?: * sure am.

wHaT waS The FiRsT NiGht BeiNg a PaReNt LiKe?: * unreal, i felt like i was in a dream!

DiD yOu GeT sLeeP?: * not really... i kept checking on her, so paranoid.

wHeN DiD yOu Go HoMe?: * two days after surgery.


[[PReSeNt TiMe]]

HOw OLd iS yOuR BaBy NoW? * 1wk, 3dys

WhO DOeS uR BaBy LoOk LiKe NoW??: * both of us!

BeeN BaPtiZed??: * nah, i'm going to let her decide to do that. my mom didnt baptize me when i was younger, i chose to do it myself.

yOuR BaByS CuRReNt MiLeStOnE AchiEveMeNt??: * holding her head up herself for a while.

WhaTs yOuR BaBy'S FavOriTe ThiNg To Do??: * EAT!!

yOuR BaByS FaVe ToY?: * the swing! she loves it.

WhAt iS iT LiKe BeiNg a PaReNt?: * the greatest responsibility you could ever have.

ReaDy FoR aNoTheR OnE?: * not until ms. ava is out of diapers!





well that answered some things. about the c-section...

went into labor around 5am on august 14th... finally around 4pm, they were bad enough to go to the hospital and see what they could do for me about the pain if they wont admit me. they said the contractions were pretty irregular, but they want to keep me in there to monitor ava because her heart rate was going up and down so rapidly.

about two hours later after them just monitoring me, my water broke... needless to say, i was in for good. hours passed and they tried to give me pain meds to help me, but nothing was working for me. got the shakes real bad from the pain. finally around 1:30am they gave me an epidural. it was my life saver! i got to go in and out of sleep for a while. mostly i was just excited and couldnt sleep, but i tried. finally around 5 or 6 am they checked me and i was 10cm, ready to push. everytime i tried, though ava's heart rate would go crazy again. sooo.. they called the doctor in. he was at home, i guess, so i had to wait on him to get there. finally around 7 he came in and talked to me about using a vaccum and forecepts... and i just didnt know what to do... he said let me check you and then we can decide... sooo he checked me and realized that she was actually trying to come out head sideways... soooo, stubborn like her daddy... i did all that work for them to just cut me open anyways. i was really upset about it, but knew that i had to do it for her and my safety. the doc actually did a REEEEALLY good job on the cut, no one will ever know. i'm just glad she got here ok and is healthy.

she had a little jaundice, but they said it's going away, so that's good. we have her 2 wk check-up on the 2nd of september. i can already tell she's gotten bigger. she likes to eat, sleep, and poop. haha. she sleeps through the night though, which is absolutely amazing. i'm taking advantage of it while i can, because i know it wont last long. everything is going really well!! i find myself staring at her a lot in disbelief that we made such a gorgeous human being. i'm soooooo happy she's finally here!!!


we love you all! we'll update you after her check up! :0)

well...

i believe i spoke too soon. i think i have had some "bloody show" come up tonight. called the labor and delivery around 7... explained everything to the nurse/doctor and they said it was all very normal. but looking online after i googled what happened, it says i can expect to start having contractions within the next 48 hours. which doesn't necessarily mean that i'll go into labor, but all the same, it's a step up from where i am now.

hang in there guys... she just might be on her way! :0)

38 week check-up!

went in for the weekly check-up today. apparently nothing major has changed except that i'm officially a full cm dilated. which isnt bad. at least i'm moving forward. still at 75% effaced. as my friend kim said though, that doesnt really mean anything... she could still come tomorrow if she wanted. it's all up to mother nature.

my next appt is on tuesday. not sure if they'll check me again that soon or not. they actually asked me if i wanted it done today, so maybe they'll just ask from now on. i had one of the new doctors today too. i really liked her a lot. hopefully one of the two that i've seen will be delivering.

went grocery shopping afterwards... nothing too exciting except that we have a fridge full of yummy food now. and tons of snacks in case we end up going to the hospital within the next two weeks. apparently the hospital food is yucky.

it seems like all the girls around here are just as, if not more, excited for ava to get here. they all have boys, so throwing a girl in there... she's going to be the princess. hopefully she doesnt get TOO spoiled :0) . i'm excited to see her though, and how she looks, and acts. the suspense is killing me!!!

nothing else new, except our friend just got the cutest little baby rottie... she's the most lovable, cuddly little puppy i've ever seen. she just lays on my tummy and goes to sleep. it's precious! even though ava doesnt really like sharing the tummy... she usually kicks right where sadie's head is lying. haha. here's a picture of her...

well, until tuesday!

16 days!

had another doc appt today... i thought i was going to be "checked", definitely wasn't. kind of upsetting. i want to know whether or not i'm making any progress!! what can ya do?

they weighed me (havent gained a pound, i'm thankful i picked fruit this week at the grocery store instead of the 5 gallon bucket of ice cream i usually insist on), measured the tummy, i'm at 35 weeks gestational (which is apparently normal?), she felt around to see how big ava had gotten (she's still under 7lbs, gonna be a petite lady like her mama), and then checked to see if her head had dropped any (dropped a little, but not all the way there yet). so there's definitely been some progress. our next appt is on thursday. she said if i wanted, i could have my membranes stripped then, but i'm not really sure about that. it's painful and sometimes not all that effective. i think if i've made it that far next week, i can handle it until 40. if she tries to stay in longer than that then i'm going to have to kick her out! eviction style. her heartbeat is still strong at 140bpm... at least she's healthy. that's all i can ask for, right? i'd just like her to stay small so that i dont have to look towards a c-section.

i've been having small contractions. lots of braxton hicks still, now with a little bit of cramping. not painful, but still annoying enough. plan on doing lots of walking! and the good weather has come just in time! it's been under 100 these last couple days. and it's been heaven! i just cant wait until the rain finally starts coming. i think this is the only month that it rains, but when it does rain, it pours! so i'm pretty excited about that.

nothing else going on really... just nesting as usual. i'm actually about to jump off here now and go do some dishes! :0)

another update in a week! <3

9 months!!

lots of news to fill you in on!

went to the doctor today. everything is going well with little miss ava marie. she's about 5lbs right now (doc said she'll gain a pound and a half to a pound every week until she's born). she's in head down position, but her head is resting on top of my pelvic bone instead of settling inside the socket. she should come to be in place before labor sets in. i'm a little under 1cm dilated, and already a good 75% effaced. which is good, but doesnt really do anything to speed things up. one thing the doc said that we need to keep an eye on is how narrow the birth canal is. she said we're going to try natural, but if there seems to be complications then we're going to probably have to look towards a c section :0( . i'm scared of that. so i'm going to try my best to push that little girl out of there! haha. other than that, everything is good. heartbeat is strong (as are her kicks and elbow drops). i should know when she settles into position because i'll be able to breath... hallelujah! we have an appt every week from now until her bday! so i'll have tons of updates for you every week now. :0)

we had our last child birth class last night. this one was pretty much a review of the baby basics class. how to swaddle, take care of the cord, the diaper changes, nursing, all that good stuff. she also threw in normal newborn appearances. and a lot of those things, i had no idea where normal. like rashes and bumps and stuff like that. good to know. also, some babies are cross eyed when they come out. the lady said it's mostly because the bridge of their nose isnt high enough yet, so really they're looking at themselves. we found that kind of funny.

no more classes, just doctor appointments and lots of waiting to do. i already have my hospital bag ready, ava's bag is all ready, carseat is a go... feel like the house could be cleaner, but we all know what it's like living with a man. i'm going to have to send him to mommy cleaning bootcamp along with ava when it's time.

andrew volunteered for the range next week. (when people go out for target practice). it's pretty far out there in the desert, so i told him he better get me a number for the office and i have a back-up daddy ready in case she decides to come early. haha. just for the drive to the hospital, of course, i dont think she'd come without her real dad there. he'll only be out there until around 1-2 everyday, then he's off. so it wont be bad at all. plus i have a feeling i have a couple more weeks in me. buuuut ya never really know with a baby.

think that's about it for now. not as long as i thought. hopefully not much longer before she gets here, i know everyone else is just as excited as i am to see her! :0)

it's getting hotter!!

i'm 35 weeks and it's up to 115-118 degrees out here. needless to say, i'm a little miserable during the day. everything is going well other than that, though. gotta be thankful for mine and ava's health, right? gallons of water do the trick!

so today was our third child birth class. we got a lot of good info on epidurals. my "doctor" actually isnt a doctor, she's a midwife. i'm hopeing she's on duty when i go into labor. that way she can help me with tricks on how to do without the epi. they let you get in the shower or tub during labor to help ease some of the pain. if i have to get anything, it's not going to be narcotics. i'm deathly afraid of those drugs. guess we'll see though. i dont have a "birth plan" i just kind of want to go with the flow. who know's how labor will really go anyways. gotta have an open mind.

we also got a tour of the labor and delivery unit. the rooms are amazing. the nurse that was in there was absolutely hilarious. i hope he's there whenever i go in. he knew exactly how far along i was just by looking at me! he knows his stuff! "see you in a month" he said. crazy!

we had an amazing time in temecula last weekend. we only planned on staying the day saturday and going back that night. buuut we were tired and ended up staying the night. i didnt get much sleep at all between babies crying, hank barking, letting him in, getting him to lay down, and stay down, ava kicking. i was a wreck the next day! i definitely am NOT ready for the whole sleeping two hours a night thing. but i guess you never really are ready for that. tough, but gotta do it.

we saw ice age 3 in 3d while we were there. i loved it!! i recommend the 3d! andy and i kept our glasses so we'll send them to you if you want to go :0) . also, we got ava's crib!! i have a shipment of things coming in on thursday (maybe even tomorrow if i'm lucky), and some pictures from the family, and we'll all set! i cant believe we have everything we need for her. now all we really have to do is wait. waiting is never fun. not even when you're prego. even though, the longer she stays in there, the better. for her. apparently she's about 5lbs, 18 inches. (according to the average studies). we'll find out for sure how big she is next wednesday. i'm so excited! havent seen her since i was 6 months! seems like forever ago!

wellll... i dont think there's anything else going on. so i'll have to catch you guys up next wednesday after my appointment! :0) i'm off to watch rescue me, eat some cereal, and hopefully sleep for hours! <3