Reese Ava Autry

Reese Ava Autry was born on April 1, 2010...My little April fools baby. She is two months old now and I feel somewhat able to function enough to blog for a moment.

For those who don't want to know the details, just look at the pictures and be happy. However, if you want to know how Reese got here:

I went into labor on March 30th. In the middle of the night I could not sleep and got up with contractions. I knew they were nothing big, but they did keep me up. So I went to the doctor and I was dialated to a 1 and 50% effaced or something. Anyways, I went home and did my usual routine and had contractions all day. When John got home and the contractions were every 3 -5 minutes we were trying to figure out if we should go in. I called a good friend who works in OB care. She said since I was a previous c-section I should go in just to be on the safe side. I never really had a ton of pressure, just back labor. So we got there at about 7 pm and I was dialated to a 1.5. The baby's head was not in position at all and I was definately having contractions that were good every 3-5 minutes. So I walked the halls, squated, drank a ton of water, and nothing changed. They wanted to keep me overnight for because I was a previous c-section. So they gave me some medicine around 2 am to help me get some sleep and see if I would stop contracting. Well, I just kept having those contractions without any progress in labor. Then a new doctor came in the morning, Doctor El Gammal. She checked, no change, no head. So she called for an ultrasound machine. Now you know it is not good when the doctor takes 10 minutes doing an ultrasound and sits down and says where is that head. Then she called for an ultrasound tech to come in. The ultrasound tech comes in and sits down and starts looking for the head. Once again it was a challenge. Reese was sideways, bum up, head close to the bottom with her hand dangling in my cervix (explained a few random pains) and she was facing my back. The doctor said there is no way I could deliver her that way and she can't change her position because of the risks involved from being a previous c-section.

So there I was on the operating table being cut open...now they warned me, but you never want to think it will go that way. They cut me, then the uterus and then I hear straining and a vague inclination that my body is being rocked back and forth. I hear the doctor grunting and she can't get the baby out. I will never forget my husbands eyes. He was watching with interest at first and then they get out scissors to cut my uterus again and his eyes were all I saw. At any rate Reese came out very healthy. she was 6 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. I hate that I have so many issues, but that was not the end for me. I had to have 3 layers of stitching because my scar tissue was bad with my previous c-section. I also had to have my bladder wrapped because of scar tissue. Then when she was trying to put my uterus in she noticed it didn't go in nice and snug cuz my sacrum (lower spine) was not toward my back like normal. There is no way I could have delivered ever. That really would have been nice to know before the whole process. Oh and did I mention my uterus is a little thin at the bottom. Man, well I might be lucky to have one more, but it will be a scheduled c-section at 38 weeks.

The recovery was not fun. I had so much gas in my tummy afterwards that I looked 9 months pregnant and as the nurse said you could play my tummy like a drum......

I am still very much recovering, though I can do just about everything like normal. I know I had surgery and can still feel it, but it does not hurt.

Still I am so grateful for Reese and I hold her and love her so much. I also have to note that during the whole delivery I was so calm and peaceful. I felt the presence of Heavenly Father so strongly that I knew everything would be alright. I am so grateful for that.

There is the hand that Reese loves.

They made Reese go under the lights because of a antigen issue. She was so strong she kept pulling off the socks and the goggles. John was vigalent about taking care of her, even though it was rough night. She also pulled up her head and on all fours in the hospital when they first put her in this on her belly. Strong girls :)

Hello Again :)

Ok, I know it has been quite a few months since I blogged. I thought about doing a mass update and going back, but that would make it a lot harder to catch up. So lets just say pregnancy, John breaking his Fibula on Thanksgiving, the Holidays, and life has happened and I will just update with a few recent pictures and move forward.

So this is what comes from old photos....Celia has a photo like this when she was younger. She thought that looks great and begged me to do it again until I did....So here she is getting her hair curled before school.

So one day the little boy I watch during the day, Daniel Embry, didn't come over because of sickness in the family. I thought great, I can do that baby quilt for my friend that I have been meaning to do. Two baby quilts and these two doll quilts later, I wondered why I had even started looking at fabric in the first place. It was fun, but I am glad to be done with those projects.

Yes it Snows in Georgia - once, maybe twice a year. This was taken on our first snow of this year. She was so happy to play in the snow.

Celia and her good friend Daniel Embry. They loved playing in the snow and throwing snowballs at each other.

We had to run an errand and so we didn't get a chance to make a snow man at our house.....so we did the next best thing and made one at the grandparents house. Here's our snowman on my parent's porch.

All of the above pictures were taken at Bear Hollow in Athens during Winter Break. The kids (Daniel and Celia) were so cute and fun. Celia made friends, like always, we played at the park, looked at animals and just had a nice day out.

Ever wonder what a 5 foot nothing girl looks like pregnant. Wonder no more. I have not gained too much (17 lbs) weight this pregnancy and my waist is smaller (currently 41 inches, with Celia it got to be about 44 or so inches) this time around. Yet this picture really shows what 8 months of baby growth can do for you or to you. Either way I am happy to be pregnant and excited to meet my baby girl. It hasn't been an easy pregnancy, but she will be worth the small inconviences of food not tasting good and having a nose that constantly runs.