Cute pictures of the baby

Today we went to the city to do the whole tourist thing with my dad and my brother. We went to the farmer's market at the Ferry Building, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, and then we drove down Lombard Street and around the different neighborhoods to see the Painted Ladies and the other fancy houses. Ava was seriously a trooper and slept and slept in her car seat. She stayed nice and covered, safe from all the people and birds flying over our heads. Sweet Ava has no idea what she slept through today haha. I, of course, was more interested in taking pictures of her than of anything the city had to offer. :)

Bryson and I with the Bay Bridge in the background.

Sleeping in the stroller

Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks?

Haha I LOVE that I caught her "smiling!" She makes this face all the time in her sleep.

Kaitlyn, aka Auntie Kait, bought this for Ava before he was born. :)

Bath Time :)

Ava's umbilical cord stump fell off the other day, so we decided to give her a "real" bath in her cute plastic bathtub that Becky gave us. :) I don't think she knew what to think of it...but she did well and she smelled SO good after she was all washed and clean.  We love our little sweet Ava. 

Ava's Newborn Pictures

A girl in my ward took newborn pictures of baby Ava when she was 5 days old. I could NOT be happier with how they turned out. She did SUCH a good job and I just loved watching her take pictures and be so sweet with our little Ava. When I saw the first one, I broke down and cried. I just think they are perfect. :) I love how she caught Ava smiling a few times - those are some of my favorites! :)

I couldn't choose just a few to share, so hopefully this isn't Ava overload. :) :) 

I absolutely LOVE this one!

We love you little Miss Ava Loo! :)

Ava's First Bath

Grandma Lisa gave Ava her first sponge bath. 

We love Grandma Lisa.

We brushed her hair.

Total relaxation,

She loved the warm water on her head.

Keeping warm in the towels.

Holding Daddy"s finger.

Fresh and clean. 

They gave us this cute hat at the hospital. She"s nice and cozy.

Our little burrito all swaddled. 

Haha she always opens just one eye. Not fully committed to sleeping or being awake,

We love our fresh and clean baby Ava.

Baby Ava

One day old - In the hospital

Ava really seems to be the best baby I could possibly ask for. I don't know what is "normal" for newborns, so maybe everything about her is normal...but I feel lucky to have such a great baby! :)

Her first night, she slept in 3 hour increments and woke up with a soft cry each time to feed and then went right back to sleep. Last night, she slept for 2 hours, woke up to nurse and then slept for 5 hours straight. She's a great eater - that's for sure! She nurses for an hour at a time - she just can't get enough! The day we left the hospital, she slept the whole day once we got home and wouldn't even wake up to eat, which made me feel like such a bad mom because I couldn't feed my baby enough haha! She must have had a traumatic day with all the poking and prodding that they did before discharging her and she just needed to sleep and sleep. She has definitely made up for it since and eats like a champ. :) She hardly cries at all...just when we are changing her because she is cold.

We just like to sit and stare at her as she sleeps. She makes the cutest little lip movements and little squeaks and sighs as she sleeps. Of course, we think every tiny movement is just "the cutest thing ever." haha. I love her soft baby skin, her sweet puckering lips and her tiny, perfect hands.

The hardest part for me about having a baby is the recovery process. I am amazed by those women who have a baby and 3 days later are out and about, looking amazing. That is definitely not the case for me haha. I am slowly starting to feel better and I can walk semi-normally again (haha)...but wow, a woman's body goes through so much during pregnancy and delivery, it's amazing. I feel like a deflated ballon in some spots, but like an over-filled water ballon in others haha and just sore in a million other places. TMI? haha Sorry.

Well, we love her. I feel like she is already growing too fast. I want her to be a newborn forever. But, it will be so fun to watch her grow. :) We love you Miss Ava Loo. :)

Introducing...

 Miss Ava Sophia Webster

Welcome to the world sweet baby girl!

Born September 29th at 6:46 pm

8 pounds 11 ounces, 22 inches long
10 days overdue (whew!) :)

So much to share about her journey into this world...but for now, I am taking time to sleep while she is sleeping. I will write much more later. :)

But, we are SO completely in love with her! She is wonderful! 

Tonight's the Night!

It is Wednesday morning and I just go the call from my doctor to tell me that she has moved my induction date to TONIGHT!! Originally, she had told me that Wednesday (9 days overdue) was "too soon" and that Labor and Delivery would "never be okay with doing it that early." Early?! Excuse me, what? haha. SO, we had scheduled a Friday evening induction (11 days overdue) because that was the only thing available (nothing on Thursday), but she told me that I could call Labor and Delivery on Tuesday and see if anyone had cancelled their inductions for Thursday and left an opening for me. (Are you following?? haha) So I called on Tuesday (yesterday) and they told me that they only openings they had were for Wednesday but that I would have to call my doctor and then she would have to approve. Well, it just so happened that my doctor was "out of the office" for the afternoon and I could not contact her until the next morning (this morning). I emailed her, left her an "urgent message" through the advice line of the hospital, AND called her directly asking her to approve a Wednesday induction. I was convinced that she would never be okay with a Wednesday induction (being "too early" and all), but decided that it doesn't hurt to TRY. Well, this morning, she called me and said, "Okay, call Labor and Delivery tonight at 5:00pm and they will tell you when to come in." I jumped up and squealed, "TONIGHT??" She laughed, "Yes, tonight." Then I said "thank you" about a billion times, hung up the phone and screamed with excitement!

SO, we will see how it goes! For some reason, I have it in my mind that it's still too good to be true. I am half expecting to call Labor and Delivery tonight and have them say, "Oh, nothing is available for you...come back in 2 weeks." haha. I can't imagine actually going in and getting things rolling...it still seems so out of reach! It's very surreal. It's actually kind of nice knowing that it's happening tonight...we can slowly get the apartment in order (or not, since I have been meticulously cleaning and doing laundry every day for the last week in anticipation ha), make sure we have everything we need in the hospital bags, install the car seat base, take showers and naps, and all that good stuff.

Bryson came home early from work, my mother-in-law extended her stay for another week (she is amazing) and we're just waiting until 5:00 rolls around so we can call Labor and Delivery and see when they want us to come in. Our baby girl will be here sometime tonight or tomorrow morning! September 28th or 29th - those are good birthays! :) I am excited, nervous, happy, scared, anxious, ecstatic...all rolled into one. Here we go....

Thing I am looking forward to doing once I am no longer pregnant:

• Loving on my baby girl (obviously)
• Eating Subway (no lunch meat while pregnant), Sushi, and things like feta cheese on my pasta
• No more heartburn!!
• Sleeping on my stomach and back
• People talking to my face rather than my belly haha

We looooooooooove you baby, can't wait to squeeze those baby bunns! See you soon!

Update

I figure it's easier and faster to update my blog than to call everyone who has been asking haha. SO, here goes.

41 weeks pregnant

Baby is one week overdue as of today. I went in today to the doctor to do a NST (Non Stress Test) because that's what they do once you are 41 weeks. I actually really liked it - I LOVE all the information I got from it! I am someone who loves information - you can never have too much of it! So, they took me to a room with a few beds and had me lay down and hooked two little "microphone" monitors to my belly. One was monitoring the baby's heartbeat and one was monitoring contractions. The lady turned on the "microphones" as she called them, and I could hear the little boom boom boom of my baby's heartbeat...nice and steady because the baby was asleep. Of course, she wanted to measure the heartbeat while the baby is moving around and kicking, so I did a little poking and shoving and woke her up. I sat there for 30 minutes while the machine tracked the heartbeat and contractions. After about 30 minutes, the lady said everything looks perfect. Baby has a strong heartbeat, reacts perfectly to contractions and all that good stuff. Then, she did an ultrasound to check positioning and to make sure there is enough amniotic fluid. It was SO cute to see her little toes and her fluttering heart. The ultrasound lady said that the baby is sitting head down, with her back squished against the left side of my body and her little feet against the right side - which makes perfect sense considering she is always kicking my right side. I also asked about size (because everyone knows my fear of having a huge baby). I told her, "I was 9 1/2 pounds...does my baby look that big?" She said, "Honey, I would be surprised if she is over 8 pounds 2 ounces." I have no idea where she got that random 2 ounces from, but I can definitely deal with an 8 pounder! Of course, there is no way to actually tell weight, but she said that judging by my weight and that I'm not "that big" it doesn't look like the baby could possibly be 9 pounds.

A few randoms:

• I am STILL the exact same weight that I have been for the last month. Maybe no one else thinks that's strange, but I do...because my belly is getting bigger by the minute haha. 
• No stretch marks...which I realized today must be kind of rare because ALL the ladies in the NST room had tons of them. 
• I am still only dilated to a 2, 70% effaced, and baby has dropped lower...but not super low. 
• Pregnancy has brought out an occasionally irregular heartbeat for me, so when they take my blood pressure on the machine, it reads really high. But, when they take it manually, it's nice and normal...so that's good news. 
• We still have 2 names ready and when we see her, we hope we will just know which one is right for her.
• Bouncing endlessly on an exercise ball does absolutely nothing. At least not for me! haha

Overall, I am progressing very slowly...but still progressing, which is good. If the baby decides she is just as snug as a bug and doesn't come soon, I have an induction scheduled for Friday evening. I asked my doctor today if she could move it up a day or two and she said she will call and see if there is an opening for Thursday...I am PRAYING for Thursday rather than Friday night! 

And that's all for now! Just know that we will DEFINITELY have a baby THIS WEEK. I will be a MOM by the end of this week. CRAZY! :) Can't wait to kiss those baby cheeks!!

In case you were wondering...

Just in case you are wondering what it looks like to be 4 days overdue...

Go easy on me :)

So...let's see. I have gained a total of 25 pounds. For the last 3 weeks, I have been the same weight, which I don't understand since my belly has definitely continued to grow and grow. That means the baby is still growing. The doctor said she is probably around 8 pounds and probably on the upper end of 8 pounds. Great news, huh? (ha). My little rolly polly. I still do not have a single stretch mark, which I think is a miracle. I am starting to just feel uncomfortable...my back is hurting, my body aches by the end of the day...I am ready to no longer be pregnant. :) Yesterday, it was soooo hot here (in the 90's), I went to Costco and walked around for an hour, eating samples and just walking for the sake of walking. Then, I went to the gym and walked 2 miles on the tredmill. And still...nothing. So, we have a stubborn little one on our hands. Like mother, like daughter. :)

I will miss my little shelf. But not that much.

My phone resting on my belly

We are still waiting :)

The baby is officially 2 days overdue. I had a doctor's appointment today and she said I am still only dilated to a 2, but my cervix is thinning out really well (I never know if talking about dialating and effacing is TMI...if so, I'm sorry!) and the baby has dropped really low. Everything looks good...but things could happen tomorrow or couldn't happen for another week. Who knows!! My doctor will not induce me until next week (11 days after my due date). SO, at the VERY latest, we will have a baby by the 30th. Holy cow, that feels SO far away. Hopefully she will come before then! :) I have been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions for a while now...but nothing regular or painful.

I went to Target with Bryson tonight to buy an exercise ball so I can bounce all day long and possibly get things rolling. I was worried that it would be $20...but they were on clearance for (drum roll please...) $2 !!!! What a little miracle haha. No big deal, I know...but what are the chances that on the day that we actually want to buy an exercise ball, they are marked down to $2? A little tender mercy I think. :) 

I am trying REALLY hard to not get anxious and annoyed haha. I know she will come when she is ready, but sometimes I just want a baby in my arms already! :) She is just as snug as a bug in my belly...I think she just enjoys kicking my ribs too much. :) I need to find a project to do while I wait so I don't drive myself crazy thinking about it. 

Anyway, that's it for now! 

0 days???

Oh my gosh! This morning, I saw something CRAZY!! 

The day I found out I was pregnant....waaaaay back in January...I made a countdown on the dashboard of my computer. I checked it all the time when I used the calendar or the calculator and slowly watched the numbers get smaller and smaller. BUT, I can honestly say that I never thought this day would come when it would say 0 days, 13 hours....meaning TOMORROW is her due date! Of course, that doesn't mean she will COME in 0 days, 13 hours haha...but how did this day arrive so quickly??

I honestly still feel great! I feel like a lot of girls at this stage feel upset that their baby hasn't come yet...but I don't. I am ready for her whenever she decides to come, but I know it will happen when it's supposed to happen. I am hoping for a healthy, chubby, rolly polly little baby girl. :) 

Get in my belly

I was looking through old videos on the webcam and saw this one from when I was about 20 weeks along. I remember thinking I looked "SO" pregnant and I would be shocked when people couldn't tell that I was half way through my pregnancy haha...let alone pregnant at all! NOW, I understand. :) 

Now, fast forward 20 weeks to my current 40 (in a day or two) week pregnant status. It's crazy to watch your body change so much over 9-10 months. It's also amazing that your body can do such a miraculous thing and create a baby! Sometimes it just baffles my mind thinking about how it all works. 

Hope you enjoyed those lovely videos haha. :)

Just thinking...

Just sitting here, thinking of this little bug. MY little bug. :)

These were taken at 20 weeks - almost 20 weeks ago! Crazy how time has gone by so quickly!

We were lucky to get such a great profile shot of our sweet baby girl! I've seen other ultrasound pictures that don't look nearly as clear. 

We loved watching her stretch. Sweet, sweet, sweet. :)

Now that it's down to the final countdown, I can't help but wonder so many things about her. What will she look like? How much will she weigh? What color hair and eyes will she have? Will she be lucky enough to inherit Bryson's long eyelashes? haha. Will she be stubborn like me? 

When will she come?

Here's a picture of Bryson as a baby:

And here's one of me: (check out those ears!! haha)

Who will she look like??

I know my life is about to change drastically - like never before. There are parts of me that are scared, parts that are already exhausted just thinking about it, parts of me that are so excited...but the biggest part is just in love. In love with a baby girl that will be completely new to this world. Somehow deeply in love with this tiny person who I've never met. In love with my little squishy little bug.