Life with Two: Avery Selene

Short Version: Avery Selene made her appearance into this world at 3:10 pm on Saturday, May 3, 2008 after about 6.5 hours of labor. She weighed 7 lbs, 12 oz and was 20.5 inches long, with sandy brown hair and very alert blue eyes (so far). She is 100% healthy and has been calm and just perfect.

Long Version: We arrived at the hospital at 8:00 am on Saturday morning (May 3) for a scheduled induction. Right from the beginning this was easier than with Luca because I was able to get a good night's sleep and eat breakfast before going. So, I started off fresh and ready, although just slightly nervous. ;)

They started my IV and the pictocin at 8:30 and at 8:45 my OB broke my water and I was dilated 3-4 cm and contracting regularly. My nurse predicted I would have her by noon, but I knew better. My babies don't make easy appearances, lol! I toughed out the contractions as long as I could (which admittedly wasn't very long) and then received my epidural around 11:00. Much better!! I was able to rest for a while and Anthony napped. During this time, I did get a little shaky and nauseous, but it passed fairly quickly and was nothing like what I experienced with Luca.

By 1:00 pm, I was dilating well, but Avery still wasn't dropping into my pelvis enough because she was turned with her back to my back (the cause for my horrible back pain the last few weeks) with her head resting on my pelvic bone. The nurse tried a combination of uterine massage and turning me in different positions, trying to get her to turn and push down. During all this, her heart beat did slow down quite a bit, so they put me on oxygen as a preventative measure. After that, her heart rate stabilized, but it did make me worry I may need a c-section.

Luckily, around 2:15, I started feeling a lot of pressure and sure enough, she had turned a little, her head had dropped and I was dilated to a 9. My OB was called and arrived around 2:40. I was able to start pushing soon after and aside from getting out of breath, I had no pain at all. She arrived into this world face up (silly girl) but because I only pushed for 20 minutes, it didn't effect her too much. They said she would have some bruising on her face, but so far she's beautifully pink.

She scored an 8/9 on her apgars, her color is beautiful (no sign of jaundice yet), is eating well, and overall is just perfect. She has slept in 4 hr stretches and when awake, is strong, alert, and calm. She loves to look around and watch whomever is talking. She looks very much like her older brother, but is smaller and a little more petite in her features.

Luca's reaction to his little sister was fairly uninterested. He looked at her but then he was ready to play. :) He did try to share his dinosaur with her, which we thought was very sweet. Although he did want it back quickly. haha

We are all doing really well. Much better than I ever thought I could feel after a delivery. We plan on going home tonight (Sunday) because we're doing well and I'd rather be in our own home. Thank you so much for all your love, support, and prayers. We feel it all!!

Love from our new family of four!
Julie, Anthony, Luca and Avery

(There will be LOTS more photos on our flickr site. Link is to the right...)