Welcome Home Ava!

Ava May Williams

I have seriously never felt so blessed/lucky/grateful in my life. Ava is THE BEST BABY EVER. She is so cute and sweet and John and I feel more in love with her everyday. We are obsessed with everything about her....including her poop.

I had been having contractions on August 3 starting at like 3:00 pm. They only lasted about 30 seconds and they weren't super painful. However, they were like 1-2 minutes apart and our doctor said that we should go to the hospital when they lasted 60 seconds and were 3-5 minutes apart. At 9:00 that night, we finally decided to go to the hospital and have them check. I was hoping I was at least dilated to a 4.

First of all, we all know how I had planned on having everyone in that delivery room where blindfolds so that nobody would see my lady parts. Of course, right when I walk in, guess who one of the nurses is...two of my old students' mom! FIGURES. Luckily, she wasn't my assigned nurse...however, she kept coming in to look. GROSS.

When the nurse checked me, I was dilated to a 2 1/2. CRAP. I felt like they were going to send me home. They decided to keep me there for an hour to monitor my contractions because they were so close together. Once they got me all hooked up, my contractions started lasting 1 to 1 1/5 minutes. The nurse came to check me again and I had dilated to a 3 1/2. She called the doctor and he said to just break my water and get it over with. BEST DOCTOR EVER.

They gave me the epidural (most painful thing ever), broke my water, and then had me pushing at 5:30 am on August 4. 20 minutes later, Ava popped out! The nurse kept asking me if I wanted to watch with a mirror and finally stopped asking when I told her I would literally throw up if I saw anything. The doctor barely made it in time to deliver her....with no blindfold on. (P.S.... I lost all sense of modesty/caring when a nurse had to help me go to the bathroom, I had to wear mesh undies that someone had to keep checking, at least 13 people had something to do with my rear, aaaaand a complete stranger had to show me how to nurse.)

EPIDURALS ARE THE GREATEST INVENTION EVER. I had no idea Ava was even close to coming out until the doctor held her up. WHAT THE WHAT! I just pushed a baby out of me and didn't even know it! And HOLY COW, where they heck did all that hair come from?!

John cut that little cord and then took her over to the nurses to get checked. She had some fluid in her lungs and had to have the respiratory doctor come in to check her. Luckily, it wasn't too bad and they weren't super worried about it...she would just puke it out later (yay me!).

We love watching our sweet little baby every minute. I am so afraid of missing anything she does. She already makes the most hilarious faces! She has the classic "Maren scowl", a half-smirk, rolls her eyes, and she looks totally surprised. Sometimes she does all of these things at once. She doesn't cry very often, I have to wake her up to eat, and she has the cutest little squawks.

She is SO TINY. When we left the hospital, she was 6 lbs, 8 ozs. She doesn't fit an any newborn clothes! She drowns in a sea of cloth whenever we dress her.

Her coming home outfit...way too big!

We are so grateful to have our sweet little Ava with us and that she is so happy and healthy. We love her and she is literally the CUTEST BABY EVER. I just need to teach her how to put out the baby vibe.

HILARIOUS SIDE STORY

While in the hospital, the Daily Harold newspaper came into my room. They were doing an article on breast feeding. They got several recommendations from the staff about Ava and I and they wanted to take a picture of me nursing her. ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS!? Clearly they did not get the blindfold memo. I told them No Thanks and that it was really weird (yes, I actually told them they were weird).

Great Grandma and Grandpa King

A name so nice, you have to say it twice!

Zero make-up, but SO happy!

John is the best dad ever! She totally has him wrapped around her little finger!

Grandma Peggy

Um, yeah, my hair did look that good.

Auntie, Grandpa, and Grandma King

Cute, even when covered in nasty.

John waiting for her to do her business and get the heck out!

She fell asleep like this...she needs her beauty sleep, do not disturb.

First bath