Miss Avery Elizabeth!

I am thrilled to announce the arrival of our new niece, Miss Avery Elizabeth Gourley! She was born on June 25 at 2:30am. Born at 36 weeks, she is 5 lbs, 12 oz and 19 inches of cuteness! She's healthy, happy, and adorable!

While her mommy's pregnancy was much easier than her first with big brother, Carter, the last few days in womb were drama filled. Ashleigh was going to the doctor's twice a week for check-ups and her blood pressure was all over the place. Her doctors encouraged her to go the hospital several times, but once she showed up, the UCI doctors would question why she was there. Sometimes her doctors were convinced she had eclampsia and were afraid she'd seizure at any moment. They would take away her food and her c-section surgery would be imminent. However, her blood work never showed any organ distress, so they would then change their minds and tell Ash her symptoms (headaches, nausea, blurred vision) were due to her medication or were plain 'ole pregnancy symptoms. This roller coaster ride went on for over a week.

On the afternoon of June 24, Ashleigh had been stuck at the hospital for a couple days. Again, the doctors hemmed and hawed about delivering Avery and ultimately decided they would wait. Dr. Risky, the same doctor who told her two days earlier she would deliver Avery the next time Ashleigh's blood pressure spiked and she had a headache, now said Ashleigh would be on hospital best rest indefinitely! She would not be going home anytime soon! Feeling depressed, Ash settled in. Then came the shift change...The new doctor didn't like Ash's blood pressure readings or her headache. They took away her food (again!) and for what felt like the zillionth time, told Ash her c-section would be scheduled for that evening. Not wanting to cry wolf, Ash didn't tell anyone this news until it was a for sure thing. We got the call at 9:30pm on the 24th and sure enough after a little delay (Ash's 11:00pm surgery on the 24th was bumped after she was all prepped in the operating room because of an emergency with another patient), Miss Avery was born in the wee hours of June 25h.

Due to being a late-term preemie, the NICU team was in the OR in case Avery had any issues. While it took a few minutes to get her breathing after her delivery, the NICU team was the first to leave the OR...and they did so without Avery! For my family and me, waiting anxiously outside the OR, this was the first sign that Avery was a healthy baby. We were absolutely elated! A few minutes later, Grant left the OR holding Avery, all swaddled up, and looking like a porcelain doll. She is so little and her features are so beautiful and delicate looking. She is absolutely perfect, and we couldn't be more excited for Ashleigh, Grant, and Carter! Congratulations Gourleys!

Colin and Avery are exactly four weeks apart in age. Size wise, they look more like four months apart!

Big brother, Carter, loving up on his little sister. So sweet!

"Ba, ba," said the sheep

What do a sheep, goat, and dolphin all have in common? Probably nothing, but Colin makes all three animal noises...This is adorable at 3 p.m., but definitely not as cute at 3 a.m.

Meeting more family...The AZ Whalens

Last weekend, Colin got to meet some more of his family. Kevin's brother and family came out from Arizona to meet our 'lil man. The kids were so incredibly cute with him! They got here on Friday night, and Colin and I had already gone to bed. On Saturday morning, Kevin got up with Colin after the 6am feeding, did the diaper thing, and the two of them drifted back to sleep...Kevin on the couch and Colin in his bouncy seat. At some point, Liam got up to meet Colin. However, he noticed his Uncle Kevin and cousin Colin sleeping, so he went back to bed himself. His mom, Colleen, asked him later why he was still in bed, with the covers over his head no less, and he said he was being quiet because Baby Colin and Uncle Kevin were sleeping...How cute is that! Molly was equally as cute! Kevin said her face lit up like Christmas morning when she woke up and saw baby Colin. Both cousins loved holding Colin, kissing him, and Liam even read him a couple books. We're so happy that Colin got to meet his cousins and his Uncle Tim and Aunt Colleen too!

Molly & Liam...so sweet!

Molly loved holding Colin.

Maybe Good Night Gorilla isn't Colin's favorite book?!? I think we'll have to give it another try when he's a bit older. :)

Happy Father's Day

As new parents, it's really weird celebrating Mother's Day and Father's Day. Over and over again, Kevin mentioned how strange it was to receive well wishes on his first Father's Day. (I felt the same way on Mother's Day, but I think that was mostly because Colin wasn't even born yet!) However, Kevin whole heartedly deserves many thanks and much praise. He is a true partner in our parenthood adventure, and he is already an amazing dad to Colin. We are both truly blessed! I love you babe!

Dad and Colin enjoying some bonding time. Colin's shirt says "Dad's Team."

This is the first smile we caught on camera. Kevin always does his best to make Colin happy, and it's only fitting that this picture was snapped while Kevin was holding him on Father's Day!

Toot Toot!

Colin is now three weeks old! His biggest obstacle as a three weeker- gas! This kid has some major toots...I feel so sad for his little tummy. Everyone says things will get better over time and we've received some good suggestions from Colin's Aunt Colleen and Aunt Ashleigh on how to help him feel more comfortable.

He's now on a fairly consistent eating schedule of every three hours and we're "working" on the sleeping bit. Overall, he's still getting up every three hours or so at night, but he did let us sleep for five hours straight last weekend. (Kevin said that was the best Father's Day gift ever!) Although he loves having his hands up by his face, we went back to swaddling him because his startling reflex kept waking himself up.

Last weekend, Colin got to meet his Great-Grandma Gaebel and Great-Uncle Herb. These two people mean so much to me, and I was really excited to introduce them.

He also got some boy bonding time in...While "us" girls went to my cousin Meghan's baby shower, the boys (Kevin, my dad, Uncle Grant, Carter, and Colin) hung out at the house. It was my first outing away from Colin and while it was a little tricky trying to arrange feeding times, it was nice for me to "escape" for a little bit. I go a little stir crazy at times being so house bound.

Two Weeks Old!

Check out our big two-weeker! He's had an "exciting" couple weeks. He's now eating and "sleeping" in 2 1/2 - 3 hour chunks of time. He had his first sponge bath, outing (to Babies 'R Us of course), and stroller walk. He also had his circumcision completed, which didn't go completely smoothly, but is now healing nicely. He's had lots of visitors including his "Aunt" Emily, his Nanas & Papas, his Aunties and Uncle Grant, Jenny (Connor's mommy), and our favorite neighbors Tracy, Ryan, Steph, & Scott.

He now weighs 10 lbs., 11 oz....up 4 oz. from his birth weight and 12 oz. in one week. He has also grown 2 1/2 inches and is now 22 1/2 inches long. We still try to squeeze him into all his cute newborn sized clothes and diapers, but they are quickly beginning to look like muscle shirts and speedo swim suits. He's also found his lungs! While he still makes cute squeaky noises, he will now let us know when he's really mad! He smiles a lot in his sleep (which melts our hearts), and we can't wait to see more "awake" smiles in the coming months. Most importantly, we still think he's adorable and love him to pieces!

Colin is Here!

Friday, May 28th was the big day! We left the house at about 10:30 a.m. and arrived at Scripps La Jolla about ten minutes early for our 12:00 p.m. check-in time. Colin's delivery was scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

My labor nurse, Leah, was great. She hooked me up to the monitors, started my IV, and prepped me for surgery. Our families arrived at about 12:30 p.m., and we visited until I was taken back to the operating room a few minutes after 2:00 p.m.

The surgery was fairly routine. There were no concerns, but the doctors and nurses were shocked at how much fluid I had. Due to my gestational diabetes, I was warned my fluid levels were double the normal level. Colin was born at 2:42 p.m. As they were pulling Colin out, they kept commenting how HUGE he was! My OB was very happy that we decided to have a c-section. At the time, they guessed his weight to be in the mid-nine pound range. Kevin moved over to the side of the room to see him as they were cleaning him up. He came back over to me several times and kept telling me over and over how beautiful he was! Kevin was very emotional, as was I. After he was all cleaned up, they placed him on my chest for a minute or so. This is our first official family photo!

The nurse then took Colin to the well baby nursery, so they could check him out. Along the way, they were greeted by our anxious and happy family. The nurse was wonderful and took this picture for us.

Kevin was able to stay with Colin in the well baby nursery while he was checked out. His apgar scores were a 8 and 9. While he was there, he was weighed and measured. The doctors were right....He was a big baby! He weighed 10 lbs., 7 oz. and was 20 inches long.

During his check, they noticed that Colin's respiratory rate was a little high. I was able to see him briefly in the labor/ delivery room (where I was prepped for surgery) before he went back to the nursery to be monitored for an extra hour or so. After I was moved to my recovery "suite" (my corner room was really big!), they brought Colin back to me for his first feeding. After feeding, his respiratory rate started to go down. The nurse was pleased with his progress, and she decided to leave him with me and they would monitor him from our room. At this point, I was still feeling great...although a little groggy. All the family came up to the room to meet Colin. A few hours later, my pain level became more and more unbearable. Because I had previously had guillan barre, the anesthesiologist didn't want to give me the morphine block in the operating room that they normally give patients. The alternative pain medicine wasn't working and I had to beg for something different. Later that evening, they finally got permission to change out my pain medication, which took the edge off and caused me to sleep through most of the night. I vaguely remember Kevin and the night nurse helping Colin feed from me. Luckily, I felt like a brand new person the next morning and needed minimal medication from that point forward. The below picture was taken in my recovery room before I started feeling poorly.

The next day, the family came back to the hospital and we celebrated some more. We ate some cake, compliments of my mom, to celebrate Colin's "birth" day.

We stayed at the hospital a total of four nights. The second night was a little scary because Colin kept choking on the extra amniotic fluid he had in his lungs. (This is what caused his respiration rate to be high after birth.) Kevin and I were afraid to sleep, and the next morning we were a wreck. Luckily, Kevin's parents were around and let us take an afternoon nap, while they babysat for us in the hospital room. It was the greatest gift!!! (Not to mention, the Starbucks and pastries they brought us every morning- yum and yum!) The next two nights went wonderfully! Colin's lungs were cleared out and we were able to relax a bit. We started sleeping when he slept. He has always been a great eater and met all his benchmarks along the way. He did lose a little bit of weight, dipping into the 9 lb. range, but left the hospital a 10 pounder!

Colin is a beautiful baby, and Kevin and I feel so incredibly blessed! We are blown away by the unconditional and intense love we feel for this little guy! We are now back home and enjoying our family time. We feel like the luckiest people in the world that Colin James Whalen is our son!