Ava's Grand Appearance

Well it finally happened! Our beautiful little girl, Ava Christine Thames, arrived on January 17, 2012 at 7:33 am weighing 7 pounds 12 ounces and 21.06 inches long. Her arrival didn't quite go as planned though. I started having contractions around 3 am on January 16th but Steven and I walked around our yard all morning waiting for the contractions to get stronger. We finally headed to the hospital around noon on January 16th. I had a long labor and developed a fever. Around 7 am on January 17th, the doctor suggested we get a C-section and we agreed. So, after 28 hours of labor our little angel was born via C-section. Unfortunately, she had a few complications as well with a fever, pneumonia, and bilateral pneumothoraxes and required a 7 day stay in the NICU. Steven and I stayed at the hospital the entire time and would not leave her side. She pulled through like a champ and is now doing very well at home! Here are a few pictures from our journey of labor through her hospital stay and finally the joy of bringing our precious baby home. Steven and I love this little bundle of joy more than words can express. She is our world. Enjoy!

Steven was my rock throughout labor. He did an amazing job and was so supportive!

These two ladies were troopers and stayed the whole time with me. Thanks girls!

My Mom and Dad waiting on Ava.. we had a room full of family and friends in the waiting room

Our first family photo :-) This was taken right before they whisked her away to the NICU

Ava Christine Thames welcome to the world beautiful!

Our poor little angel in her oxy hood for the first day or so. We couldn't hold her until she was weaned off the hood.

Proud Daddy

Grandma spending time with Ava in the NICU

Finally headed home!

Daddy showing Ava her nursery for the first time :-)

We love our little angel with all of our heart!

And the waiting game continues...

Well since Miss Ava hasn't made her grand appearance yet I thought it would be a nice time to post some pictures of her completed nursery. We had such a great time planning for and decorating her nursery and we did it with a lot of help and love from our family and friends. Steven did an amazing job at painting the room and installing the chair rail. My Aunt Bobbie is such a talented artist and painted some murals on the walls with some help from my Mom and I. Steven's grandma, MaMa, sewed the curtains and re-upholstered the glider cushion for us. Steven and I have been collecting wooden toys and Golden books since those are our favorites. Ava has a very nice library collection from my storybook themed baby shower and the generosity of our friends and family. My Mom gave me a ton of stuff from when I was a child that I have incorporated into Ava's room which makes it extra special. There really isn't a "theme" per se but I am not into themes... I was going for a vintage shabby chic look. We did incorporate some moon and stars to add some character since Steven loves astronomy. Hope you enjoy... the only thing we need now is a baby! She was technically due 4 days ago but she's already showing us that we are on her time clock now. :-)

One of the my favorite pieces is the chandelier light.. Steven bought that for my birthday last year

My Aunt Bobbie painted this mural above the changing table

We ordered the wall decal from etsy (my addiction) and it turned out great.

Our glider that Steven painted, MaMa re-upholstered, and I made the pillow (my first sewing project with my new machine)

Some more of Aunt Bobbie's paintings on the bottom of the wall.. Ava's own little garden

Hmm... I wonder if she has enough clothes lol

This shelf has a lot of items from when I was a child combined with some new items

The curtains made by MaMa and the shelfs have been in our family for years (made by Aunt Bobbie years ago)

Above the other window... we love wooden toys

Waiting on Ava

Well today is t-2 days until our official due date, January 11, 2012. Steven and I are both very excited and anxious to meet our little girl, Ava. So far I have been lucky in that my pregnancy has been pretty smooth sailing (no morning sickness, no really strange cravings although I LOVE anything spicy, and I haven't had any medical complications). I am hoping our delivery goes smooth as well. So far no signs of labor and we have our next doctor's appointment tomorrow. Ava is actually due on Steven's birthday.. I secretly want her to come on another day so her and her Daddy can each have their own special day but it would be a pretty awesome birthday gift to give Steven a daughter. However, let's be honest... I have no control over when this little girl is going to bless us with her presence! I just can't wait to be a Mommy and Steven is so excited to be a Daddy. He talks to my belly every night.. it's so adorable. Here are some of our maternity pictures we had taken by Studio386 photography and one from Christmas 2011.

I love the background on this one

Christmas 2011

My sweet hubby and I

The love we feel for this little girl already is amazing!