I know it's been far too long since our last update on this old blog, but things got a little busy towards the end of my pregnancy and posting was the last thing on my mind! Since we have had some significant developments since our last post, I thought now would be a good time to share a big update (mostly because it's nap time and I have a few minutes to myself for the first time in weeks)! Sorry for the lengthy post...lots of photos!
As you likely know, Travis and I welcomed our son, Avery James Peterson into the world nearly three weeks ago. Here are some highlights from that wonderful (but crazy experience):
Saturday, July 18 was a VERY hot day in Seattle around 95 degrees. Since I was just a few days from my due date, we figured we should get out of the house as a distraction. Not sure why I though this was a good idea, but we decided to spend the afternoon at Green Lake with Jamie and her pal Jenni. Although we were under a shady tree, it was still quite HOT and as you can see below I was quite large and in charge. Jame took it upon herself to pose for a shot of a "leg rub" she was going to give me to help my swollen feet.
Later that night, at 1:00 am early Sunday morning on 7/19 my water broke and we were out the door within 10 minutes headed to the hospital. I was quite surprised that my water actually broke since I had heard that only 1 in 10 women actually have that happen. It was probably a good thing though since it was a clear sign that things were happening and took the guesswork out of the equation as to whether I was really in labor or not.
Once at the hospital the party really got started. It was an extremely long day to say the least and there were lots of complications. To sum up the short version...
- The doc confirmed my water broke and officially admitted us.
- I spent most of the morning walking around through contractions trying to move things along
- Things were moving very slowly, so the doc gave me Pitocin to try to progress things faster. However, baby wasn't responding well to the Pitocin, so they backed off of it and wanted to let my body progress on it's own.
- Unfortunately, because my water broke I ended up with a uterine infection which caused me to spike a high fever during labor. I also had a big drop in my blood pressure. Both of these factors were impacting the baby and causing distress. At this point we knew there was a 50/50 chance I'd end up with a c-section depending on how things progressed.
- After 23 hours of labor, I did get fully dilated, however, at that point the doctor felt it was best to proceed with a C-Section since my health was declining and the baby was in distress. It was the a race against the clock to see if we could get the baby out before midnight - this was not a medical need but more of a personal sentiment as 7/19 was my Grandma "Gaga's" birthday and we though it would be really neat for them to share that special day. Especially since I share a birthday with her husband (my Grandpa John). Sort of a neat coincidence that we wanted to take advantage of.
- At 11:59pm, one minute before midnight, we met our son! Travis was a champ, right by my side in the operating room keeping me calm. I will say it was a very strange experience to be fully aware of what was happening but unable to see it. Since we didn't know what we were having, it was really neat to have Trav announce the gender and then bring him over to me behind the curtain. What a moment...
- Although I was smitten with my new boy, there was a little more drama on the operating table - there was a tear in my uterine artery, so that had to be repaired before I could be closed up. Although this was a bit of a scare and caused a lot of blood loss, I was just fine in the end.
- My doctor noted that it was a good thing we went ahead with the c-section since I would have had to do one anyway given Avery was "sunny side up" in the womb (different than breach), and he was also larger than anticipated. We were not expecting a nearly 9 lb baby...although many of the hospital staff took one look at Trav and told me they weren't surprised given his 6'5" frame.
Since it was after midnight in recovery, our visitors came the next day. First to meet Avery were my Dad and Jamie (Dad was in town on business and was there just in time).
Here are a few other shots from the hospital. We ended up staying until Wednesday given all the complications with my infection and c section.
Needless to say we were so excited to go home. I was in rough shape given I had the full labor experience and a c section, coupled with complications. We packed up quickly Wednesday morning and headed home! Here are some shots of us settling in as a family of three:
5 days old...it just felt like the right time for the first trip to Target : )
First walk in the stroller
Playtime with Daddy
Clearly he is his mother's child...already giving me attitude
Hint of a smile for the first time
Yup, we're all pretty exhausted around here :)
Then we were lucky enough to have more visitors! My Mom and Molly came out to join the fun. It was so amazing to have almost all my family (sorry Mag) out with us to help us transition into our new life at home. My mom, bless her house, basically cleaned our house from top to bottom on a daily basis. She also had the magic "Granny Nanny" touch, rocking Avery to sleep when no one else could. I'm not sure if we would have made it through the last few weeks without their support, it's been amazing. Here's a few shots from their time with us:
Of course a visit from Chef Jimbo couldn't be complete without some protein. He showed up one morning with two GIANT briskets for us (as if we even had room in the fridge). Trav and his "meat baby" are below next to Jamie and our "real baby". Not complaining though...he and Trav teamed up and made a killer smoked pastrami dinner that lasted us all week.
Despite some challenges with jaundice and dropping too much weight, Avery is now doing great and very healthy (growing rapidly everyday and Mom trying to keep up with his appetite already)! It has been a pretty crazy and exhausting two weeks, but it has been equally amazing to welcome this little man into our family and become parents. Our hearts are bursting at the seams and we literally spend hours just looking at him and smelling his head. His personality is starting to come out already (see his many changing faces below) and we can't wait to see who this little man shapes up to be. Mom is on the road to recovery and everyday we figure out a little more about what our new life is like and how to manage the "new normal" every day. It's hard to believe we waited almost a year to meet him, and he's finally here, all ours.
We love you Avery James, can't wait to see you take on the world!
Thanks to everyone for the support, kind words, congratulation and well wishes. It means a lot! Sending lots of love from Seattle.
Cheers! (and a yawn)
KP
