Newborn Photos and More!

We've made it through another week and Avery continues to amaze me. She has certainly started to "wake up" and doesn't sleep her way through the day, but she still isn't very fussy. She has her moments, but when she cries, it seems like it has a reason. She might be hungry or she might just want to rock instead of be stationary. 

We've had a few setbacks in the sleeping department though. I can get her to fall asleep in my arms, but then when I try to put her back in her crib at night, she wakes up shortly after. We're working on it and I remember Connor having this same trouble, so I'm sure she'll get it eventually. I know it takes babies a while to figure out their days and nights. For now though, I am pretty pooped. It's a lot easier though when you already have one child. You are sort of used to a certain degree of sleeplessness. 

My Mom/Grandma continues to be a lifesaver. She helps with the housework and taking Connor to school or to his activities like swim and gymnastics so I can focus on taking care of Avery or getting some rest. I have come to some things and I enjoy getting out of the house, but when I have some alone time with Avery, it's priceless. I honestly believe she has given me and my body a chance to recuperate in a way that I could never have done without help. 

Speaking of my recovery, it's been two weeks and I feel really good. I was told that recovering from a c-section the second time would be more difficult due to scar tissue, but I haven't noticed that at all. There is still pain where my incision is and getting in and out of bed is a little uncomfortable, but otherwise I feel great. I am still trying to take it easy, but I frequently lift Connor (oops) and don't seem to have any trouble. I won't be approved to resume regular activities like working out until about 6 weeks, but I feel confident I am going to pass my post-op check with flying colors. Yay!

Well enjoy some recent pics of our little family of 4.

Shucking corn for a family meal.

Grandma made a cake in honor of Avery's arrival and here Connor is licking up some extra icing. What a sweet tooth he has!

Welcome to the family Avery. Don't worry, you can sleep through the celebrations.

Connor and Avery bonding.

One evening, we set Avery in Connor's bed during story time. He was really sweet with her and he usually is.

How cute is this? Family story time.

Last week, when Avery was just 6 days old, we took professional newborn photos. The photographer took 502 pictures and Avery slept through the whole thing. She was a perfect baby model. Here is a just a small sampling. Our Aggie baby.

 

 

Lovely with pearls.

Snuggled with our wedding rings.

Sleeping in a suitcase.

Mom, this is so embarrassing. I'm sure I'm going to see this look a lot as she ages.

Our first family picture. Can you believe she got us all to look, even Avery.

Another cute family pic. The photographer had just put on a silly hat, so Connor has a real smile now.

Look how tiny she is.

Resting in Jeff's hands. So sweet.

I'm loving the big boys. Ha!

My Michigan gal.

More sleeping in a the trunk.

A little smile.

We took this one for Pagger Don and Gigi. Pagger Don got her this pony and Gigi bought her that adorable bow.

Sweet feet.

Snuggled up again, but showing her whole body.

Rose petals.

Silly smile. It's amazing that she caught this look.

Awww, so precious and simple.

Snugly soft.

Grandma is still helping out, thank goodness. Here she is getting some quality time with Avery.

Good friend Anthony Zaccari came over to visit with Avery.

One morning, we had a full marching band in the living room.

Enjoying my daughter.

Food coma.

I just thought Avery looked funny with her legs open like this. Hee hee.

I'm not sure she's very happy, but I thought she looked cute snuggled on her side.

Daddy with his two children.

Avery continues to prefer gentle rocking in your arms to anything with too much movement like the bouncer or the swing. This is very different from baby Connor who needed to be constantly shaken up to be happy.

Avery seemed to want to eat all the time, so we thought perhaps she just liked to suck, so we tried a pacifier. She liked it a lot and although she can't hold it in for very long, it does seem to soothe her.

A close up with the pacifier.

More Avery Pics

I made an album of some Avery pictures on Kodak gallery and I am posting them here on the blog. We've had a nice few days at home, because we've had lots of hands to hold Avery and lots of playmates for Connor. Grandma and Grandpa are here and Jeff has been around all weekend. It has been so nice to divide the Connor care duties since I am feeding Avery so often.

Avery continues to be a delight. We are loving every minute.

Enjoy the photos and the video.

http://pix.kg/p/973802445409%3A1597854795/scl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnvRdwdHXNE&feature=youtu.be

Welcome Avery Susan Treadway

It's official, we have a new addition to our family. Avery Susan Treadway was born on April 10, 2012 at 7:51 am. She weighed 8 pounds 1 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. Her head circumference was 13 3/4 inches.

The day we arrived at the hospital couldn't have gone smoother. I was a little upset about having a repeat/scheduled c-section, but I will admit rolling into the hospital at 5:30am and meeting your baby at 7:51 am is not half bad. It sure beats laboring for 15 hours, pushing for 2 1/5 hours and THEN having a c-section like I did with Connor. That was a doozy of a recovery. Of course I still had to have a pretty major surgery, but I seem be recovering well so far and Avery came out with ease thanks to my OB-Gyn.

We told the anesthesiologist our boy and girl names and as Avery was delivered just as Jeff looked over the partition, he said, "It looks like it's and Avery" and shortly after Jeff said, "It's a girl!" I think I needed both of them saying it to believe it myself. I kept calling her "it" like I had been doing while pregnant and then after that I'd say "he." She took some getting used to, but believe me, I'm loving it now. I have found my self saying, "She", "our daughter", "us girls", "princess", etc. It's all flowing now and I'm loving it.

I am so thrilled to have a little girl and she is a knockout so far. She's got that perfectly formed c-section head and face (that hasn't been squished or swollen due to labor) and her eyes are lovely. She had soft brown hair that actually has hints of blond highlights. I think she went to the salon before she was born. She definitely resembles Connor, but in a way that makes them look like siblings, not clones. She has a much smaller head and forehead, smaller cheeks (although they are still present which I love), and slightly different lips. Their noses, chins and eyes look very similar though.

She is pretty different from Connor in temperament too. I will say I'm cautiously optimistic that this baby will not be nearly as fussy/colicky as Connor was. So far she eats and sleeps and when she does fuss it's mostly because we are messing with her. Also, she has had plenty of moments where she was awake and alert, but not crying. That practically never happened with Connor. If he was awake, he was crying. She also sleeps just fine in the bassinet, whereas Connor much preferred being held close and rocked to sleep. Avery is also breastfeeding beautifully. We had a little trouble with one side especially at first, but sure enough, she has begun to practically master that too. What a blessing she is.

Connor seems to be doing alright. He has met Avery a couple of times and has been very sweet with her. He seems quite proud to be a big brother and shows off his I think he is struggling with Mommy and Daddy not being home but then seeing them close to home. He doesn't understand why they can't come with him. He is especially having some Daddy separation anxiety, which is normal, but still sad to see. I'm hoping once we're home (possibly tomorrow evening) we can try to help him adjust. It will certainly be a transition for everyone, but I'm hoping he will adjust well.

Jeff and I have certainly had a chance to bond with Avery but some other people have had the chance to meet her too. Gigi and Pagger Don came in Monday and Tuesday to meet their first granddaughter and Grandma and Grandpa were here to meet their second granddaughter. My Mom didn't know we were giving Avery her first name as a middle name, so I know she was pleasantly surprised. It is my middle name too, so now it's a family tradition. My friends Jessica and Kendall came by the hospital as well and even though they told me they couldn't believe I waited to find out the gender, they admitted that it was pretty exciting. See, I told you. Hee hee.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures from her first few days of life. I know we love her already and I'm sure when you meet her, you'll be a member of her fan club too. She's simply perfect.

All set to go to the hospital to meet our new little baby. Will it be a girl or a boy? We can't wait to find out.

Avery Susan Treadway, fresh out of the oven. She had great coloring from the start and was very alert. Good girl.

Connor getting to check out his little sister for the first time. He said, "It's tiny." Precious.

My first real snuggles with Avery, about 2 hours after she was born. Avery gave us a minor health scare in the beginning as she had critically low blood sugar and was a little shaky. Right after delivery, the nurses took her to the nursery, gave her an ounce of formula, checked her glucose levels and observed her. Her blood sugar improved a ton and so she was back in my arms fairly soon. The rest of the family could observe her in the nursery, but I couldn't since at that point I was completely bedridden, so I was dying to see her. This was very satisfying.

Once we got moved to our postpartum room, Pagger Don got to hold his very first granddaughter.

All snuggled up.

Now Gigi gets a turn with Avery. Robbyn was excited to have another Treadway woman born in April. That makes 4 generations of us now, with Great Grandma Margie, Grandma Robbyn (Gigi), Mommy Melissa, and now sweet Avery Treadway.

An exuberant Grandma can't believe she's holding a little girl in her arms. She was thrilled to have another girl in the family. Watch out boys, us girls are making a comeback.

The proud papa is showing us Avery's eyes.

Now he's stealing a kiss. I think we have a Daddy's girl in the making.

The adorable big brother getting to hold his sister for the first time. He was very gentle with her, but I think at one point he was just going to drop her down. I'm pretty sure he thought she was a doll.

It's cute because Connor is very proud of being a big brother. He keeps showing everyone his "Big Brother" bracelet they gave him at the hospital, but when you ask what he is, he'll say, "I'm a baby brother." We correct him, but he keeps saying it. Silly boy.

Here Gigi is showing Connor how to be gentle with his little sister.

Gigi did a little shopping and bought Avery some adorable clothes and accessories. Check out this darling headband. She looks just like a precious flower.

Beautiful Avery Susan.

Good friends Jessica and Kendall came by to see Avery and they fell in love instantly.

Kendall took a picture of the three of us. I had just been allowed to get up an walk around, so I was still a little groggy and in pain, but it felt good to get up.

We can't believe we created this little miracle.

Grandpa came by after his class to meet his granddaughter. I think she's got him under her spell already.

Yesterday Avery got her hearing test done and Jeff thought it looked like she was rocking out to some tunes. Hee hee. She passed with flying colors by the way.

Avery showing off her bedazzled A&M booties. She is going to be one stylish sports fan.