We just wanted to put together a blog for Ava to keep family and friends posted on how she's doing and especially after she gets here!

Due date is May 26, 2010

Thursday, December 9, 2010

And we're back...






I've been so busy with day to day life, I haven't had time to actually do anything on the computer. Now that Ava is asleep, let's see how far I can get updating you guys on Ms. Bush.

She is almost 7 months old now and is full of energy! She's started to crawl, well more of a army scoot... she can get under some barbwire if needed. She can say "Dada" and we are working on "Momma" right now. I can't imagine life with out her. She can sit up on her own for a bit and then gets a little lazy and slumps over to the side. She likes riding in the grocery store cart and kicks her little legs and squeals! She likes car rides except when she's really tired. LOVES Logan and she likes Jessica too but, Jess isn't a fan.

I think I left off when she was about 2 or 3 months old so it's been awhile!

4 months- she could roll over from stomach to back and wasn't sleeping at night because she was flipping over onto her back and couldn't get back over and it would wake her up. So about month 5 she was flipping over both ways and sleeping much better through the night. We started introducing rice cereal, fruits, and vegetables to her and she hasn't turned away any food. Anything you put in her mouth she enjoys! She became more vocal in this stage, cooing, squealing, and laughing a little. She had her 4 month shot and it went much better than the 2 month shot, the day of she was fine and then the next day she was really fussy and ran a fever so we just gave her Tylenol every 5 hours or so to help her out.

5 months- She is rolling over back to front and front to back. Sleeping much better at night now. I weaned her from breast to formula. It was more difficult for me than it was for her, I don't even think she missed it. At the time, I was concerned she wasn't getting enough. I wasn't pumping at all because of the convenience factor and so I didn't know how much I was producing. The doctor said that her weight was a little bit low but nothing to worry about and from months 4-5 she was about the same weight so I thought I wasn't producing enough. So I made the decision to switch and she stayed the same weight from 4 to 6 months and the doctor said it was fine. Looking back, I wish I wouldn't have weaned so soon. Once we went to formula full time, she has been sleeping 12 hours a night.

6 months- She's getting really good at rolling over and scooting to what toy she wants. She is laughing more and is more interested in toys and sitting up on her own. I've noticed lately that she will start to cry if someone new holds her. Before, anyone could hold her and she would smile at them and be happy. You have to warm her up to the person first. I have to hug them or sit close to them first before she will go to them. It's kind of cute when she starts to cry though, she pokes that bottom lip out and starts to cry like her feelings were really hurt by us giving her to someone new. She usually stops crying the minute Shane or I hold her again. She knows who her grand parents are. She doesn't cry at all when they hold her or take her from us. She does this weird thing with my mom, she will grab her face or hair and scream in her face to where her mouth is over my mom's nose. She's got a grip too, she drew blood from my mom's face before!!! Needless to say we've been teaching her no! We've also been doing a little bit of sign language with her and getting excited and saying "Yay!!" when she does something good and she will usually do it again. I seem to think it's just so we will clap and say yay again! She gets really excited! She still hasn't anything we feed her. We gave her a lemon and she made a horrible face but was still sucking on it! She can drink from a sippy cup, straw (if we're holding it and monitoring how much is in the straw), a regular cup (if we are helping of course). She has definitely learned some manipulative traits. When I leave the room she will scream until I come back in. When she is hungry, she screams, face turns red, and she has those big crocodile tears streaming down her face! It's really a spectacle to watch!

It will be her first Christmas this year and I'm really excited to see if she will like her new toys! We're not going over board this year because she's so young but I'm sure she will enjoy it all! This last 7 months has flown by. I remember this time last year when I was pregnant with her. We were so anxious to find out the sex of our baby and I wanted to buy one of each when we did find out that our baby was a girl.

I will leave you with some pictures that Vintage Charm Photography took of her this Christmas!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

July and Mimi and Papaw visit....

We went to San Saba so we could show off how big Ms. Ava got since they last saw her and she did so well on the 3 hour ride there! We even saw Sister and Aunt Linda! They said she was a beautiful baby and they are right!!! She's a doll. It was a great visit with them, I am so glad they got to see her hopefully we will make another trip up there on a weekend and then go to Abilene to see them. Shane's been wanting to take me to see his old stompin' grounds. I think it will be a fun trip!!

I posted pictures of Ava's goat, Ava's Angel, that little goat is the cutest thing. We got to feed it and I think I may have caused a bit of a problem... each time I went to feed it I put it in the golf cart with us and now it wants to nurse the golf cart! Sorry Mom and Dad!!!

We spent our 4th of July weekend running all over visiting everyone and we had a blast!!! We went to see Nana on Friday, she loves seeing Ava because she broke her foot and can't get out much! We went to the Bombers game that night and sat with the Johnson's. The music was really loud and a loud train came through and it didn't even phase Ava, she slept through it all! I really thinks she likes loud noises! Then we went to see Kathi and Janice on Saturday. Kathi had hip surgery and her mom was down staying with her and they just loved seeing the baby! I had a good time with them too! Then that afternoon we went to the Berndt's for a little get together with all the kids and we had a blast!!! The food was great, the company was great and seeing all the kids play together was fun because it won't be long before Ava will be running around with them! They had a little kids pack of fireworks and the kids had a good time watching them. Ava slept the majority of the time. Sunday we went to church and now we are lounging around the house... getting it picked up and also relaxing!

God is truly amazing! We are so blessed, I can't say it enough, to have a beautiful family and a wonderful daughter. She's so good and I hope it stays that way!!!!

Love to all,
Jackie, Shane and Ava

Month 2!

Well, we are doing fantastic! We have a routine and it's working so well. Ava usually goes to sleep around 9:30pm and the sleeps to about 2:00am or 2:30am and then she will usually sleep from then til about 6:00am and then til 8:00am then nap through out the day at her leisure. She has her rough time of the day usually between 5:00pm and 9:00pm and is a little fussy but nothing we can't handle! I can't believe how good she is. She hardly gets upset about anything and LOVES being outside. It could be a thousand degrees outside and she wouldn't care! I can't wait until she's a little older so we can put her in her swimming pool! I'm sure she will love it because she loves to take a bath! I am really not looking forward to her two month shots, we go on the 19th and I'm dreading it. I think we just got through her 6 week growth spurt, it was a little rough but we did it! It was much easier than the 3 week growth spurt, I didn't know that she was going through one then and I thought I'd was feeding her too much and no one told me about it until after she was finished with it! Ava is truly a blessing and I will try to update more, I know I'm slacking but it's a little difficult... I'm sure I'll get the hang of it though.

6 weeks and other pictures!


Ava and her goat! Ava's Angel is the goat's name.









Monday, June 7, 2010

Pictures of Ava!










Ava is here!!!

I've been gone for a while caring for my beautiful daughter!! She is a great baby!

Here's the story.

Sunday May 16, 2010:
Shane and I drove to the hospital and got checked in around eight that night. The nurses were really nice and explained everything to me and made me feel somewhat better but I was still extremely nervous. The IV hurt so bad, the tried to put it in my arm and I guess my vein rolled and so she had to put it in my hand. That night they induced me with cytotech, I think that's what it's called. It's a really small pill that they put around the cervix to thin it out. They gave me three doses of that and my contractions started the next morning. The pitocin drip was started around nine or so and I was dilated to about two or three centimeters. I got the epidural before my pain started and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be horrible but the IV hurt worse than the epidural. The nurse told me that before I got it and I didn't believe her but she was right! I loved my nurses at College Station Medical, they were helpful and awesome! I stayed dilated at a two or three until about three in the afternoon. My doctor wanted to do a c-section then but the nurse really thought she could help stretch some more and hopefully that would help me get closer to my goal of a vaginal birth. I had a previous surgery done a few years ago and had some scar tissue at my cervix and that was the problem. I dilated a little bit more but never got past six centimeters. The epidural was wearing off at around nine that night and I was really hurting from the pressure and plus the nurses stretched and stretched to get me to dilate more and my body just wouldn't do it. I was exhausted and said let's just do a c-section. I was so scared that I was going to die. I had been on pitocin all day and the nurse told me that there could be a chance I may need a blood transfusion because I could loose too much blood. That made me panic a lot! I always think of the worst possible thing that could happen and then I'm always relieved when everything turns out ok! They rolled me back at around eleven o'clock and I was really nervous and couldn't wait for them to let Shane in the operating room with me. I didn't enjoy being by myself in the operating room. I was freezing and I didn't want them explaining anything to me because I was so panic stricken. Shane came in and held my hand and I felt much better. So they started to cut into me and it tickled a little when they were tugging around and then I felt this awful pain. I thought they were really doing some damage to me! Ava's head was a little bit in the birth canal and they had to push it up through my abdomen and I wasn't numb in the birth canal. I just remember squeezing Shane's hand and saying it hurts and then I was put to sleep. Shane said that when the doctor pulled Ava out she let out this big scream and then they cut her cord. Shane said I was awake when they pulled her out but I don't remember. They wheeled her to the nursery and they cleaned her up and measured her and weighed her. The family got to see her but Shane told everyone that he wanted me to old her first. I remember waking up and they were finishing stitching me up and the nurse came over and told me that Ava was happy and healthy and Shane was with her. They wheeled me back into this small recovery room and then Shane came in. I was so cold from the medicine and was shaking so bad my incision hurt! The nurse came in with Ava and she was so alert and she was looking around! The nurse handed her to me and Shane and I were in complete awe of her! I just couldn't believe how beautiful and awake she was. I have never felt that kind of love before. The nursery nurse came in and helped with the first feeding. It wasn't awkward like I thought it was going to be. It was completely natural and she already knew what to do. Feedings were every two to three hours and since my milk hadn't come in yet, it was very stressful because she was hungry and there wasn't enough colostrum to fill her little tummy. I felt like I wasn't doing anything for her and I was a horrible mother because I couldn't calm her down. I didn't like sending her back to the nursery when she was crying. I just felt like the nurse staff would think that I didn't know how to calm her down on my own and that I was passing her off to them because I couldn't handle her. Which looking back now, I definitely think that I had the baby blues. I was so emotional and couldn't control the tears, it was extremely frustrated. Ava had jaundice and had to stay a little bit longer than normal but once my milk came in she was released to go home. I was so scared to take her home but I wanted to get out of the hospital so bad!! We were there for six days. When we were discharged, Shane's mom came with us. Shane took Ava in his truck and I rode with Idoma home. We got home and Idoma watched Ava while I got some much needed rest. It was stressful coming home but somehow we made it!

Ava is almost three weeks old and she is such a good baby. She gets really upset about having gas she can't burp up, but Mylicon is the answer! That stuff is like liquid gold. At birth she was 6lbs 8oz, 20.5 inches long and her discharge weight was 5lbs 14oz. Her 2 weeks doctor appointment she was 6lbs 14 oz and 20 3/4 inches long so she's a growing girl! I will post more in the following weeks with more pictures!!!

Love,
Shane, Jackie and Ava

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Growing Belly!!!

From 6 weeks to 35 weeks... so far!


6 weeks

12 weeks

18 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

25 weeks

25 weeks

28 weeks

30 weeks

32 weeks

33 weeks

34 weeks

35 weeks

....And we're back!






These were all done at the 28 weeks appointment. I must say she's the most precious baby in the entire world! I'm a proud Mommy!

The doctor says that she's looking great, that Mommy and Ava are both doing well! Today's doctor appointment was good, I've graduated to weekly visits (I'm at 35 weeks now) and that I'm about 40-50% effaced. He said that there was a slight "dimple" in my cervix and that was also good and that hopefully at the next appointment we will progress. I'm a little nervous and scared because it seems like it's happening a little too fast and I've gotten really comfortable with the idea that it's been Ava and I all this time and now I'll be able to see her and it's just surreal I guess. I'm still very excited just a little nervous. Shane has been amazing through out this whole pregnancy and he's getting very excited as well. We both can't wait to meet her! In just 5 short weeks we will be able to hold her!!!

We've got the room all ready and she's got a ton of clothes from her baby shower. I have another shower coming up this weekend, I'm really excited because it's hosted by my lovely co-workers on my team. They're amazing! Speaking of amazing, the baby shower that my mom, Caroline, and Julie hosted was terrific! The food was amazing... cilantro dip, OMG! I got to see lots of family and friends and I truly felt blessed to have those kind of people in my life!

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything but I'll try to stay in touch!!!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Ultrasound Pictures!

We found out we were pregnant September 4, 2009 and were ecstatic!!! The pictures below are every ultrasound from every appointment we've been to (except the last I forgot to ask).

21 weeks
21 weeks, she's sucking her thumb

21 weeks, waving at us!


19 weeks 3 days



15 weeks 3 days




11 weeks 3 day




7 weeks 3 days







7 weeks 3 days






5 weeks 4 days








I had to take 2 pregnancy tests because I couldn't believe my eyes!