Date Night

After much convincing, my sweet husband agreed to date night! We went straight to eat (at Red Lobster), and came straight home...and it was so wonderful! We even had to wait about 30 minutes for a table, which was not a problem for me! There were plenty of interesting people to watch and discuss!

It may be awhile before I talk Dusty into date night again, but it was well worth the wait!

Dear Feet

I have to lean over to see you now...and yesterday was the last time you'll get much attention from me! I'm thinking I'll spring for a pedicure before Avery Claire's birth day!

One of this week's pregnancy calendar updates probably explains why bending over to paint my toenails, or just put on socks, becomes more difficult every day! Something's definitely 'up under my ribs'...but sometimes I'm pretty sure it's a little girl's feet!

35 Weeks Belly Shot

Avery Claire is definitely growing - or at least her mommy is!!

I hope it's my imagination, but I think I get a little bigger every day!

34 weeks, 4 days ultrasound

Avery Claire weighs 5 lbs, 11 oz today. She's a very busy little girl and got all points today for movement, breathing, fluid, and growth!!

Today, the ultrasound tech said, "Wow! Look at all of that hair! And it's long!" So, Papa, I think she's definitely going to have hair!

My blood pressure was great today. Dr. Frazier said "it's even normal today!" She started checking for dilation and effacement (cervix thinning) today. I am not dilated (which is good), but my cervix is beginning to soften (which is also good).

34

This week, Avery Claire weighs about as much as a cantaloupe.

How far along: 34 weeks
Net weight gain/loss: up 25 lbs.
Maternity clothes: Yes
Stretch marks: No (fingers still crossed!!)
Belly button: a very, very stretched out innie
Sleep: Pretty good, except for bathroom breaks
Baby movement: Yes. She’s a busy little girl!
Food cravings: I’m still eating delicious cheese straws from the shower!
Food aversions: Nope
What I miss: Sleeping on my belly. I know I could sleep so much better (except my belly is in the way of this!)
Looking forward to: I’m trying to talk my hubby into a date night. We said we’d have one when we got to 34 weeks, but he’s getting cold feet!
Best moment this week: Seeing Avery Claire on the ultrasound, of course! And our Russellville baby shower!
Milestones: 34 weeks!!! Yea!! Today, Avery Claire weighs 5lbs, 11oz. She continues to lose more of her wrinkles. Her central nervous system is maturing, and she’s working on maturing those lungs. 99% of babies born at this time have no major problems!!

We're ready to ride!

Last night, we got the stroller/car seat out and tried to figure it out. We had to put it together, which wasn't a problem. It did take us a few minutes to figure out how to get the car seat unlocked from the base. We doubted our parenting skills for a few minutes, and thought our sweet girl might have drawn the short end of the stick (and that she might be stuck with the car seat base on the bottom of the car seat forever!).

(The stroller/car seat is much cuter in person, I think. There is a yellow stripe that is really cute that doesn't show up so much in this pic.)

Russellville Shower

Today, our sweet Russellville friends threw us a baby shower! It was wonderful and sweet and we are so thankful for you girls!

Here are the hostesses.

Tia, Sara K., Coty, me, Elaine, and Mrs. Goodwin

(we're missing Diane & Mary Elizabeth - we missed you girls!)

Nana & me

Nana, me, Mema, and Aunt Steph

Blair, Anna, Grandmother Jane, me, Nana, Grandmother Joann, my aunt Tammy

Tia & me

Abby & me

(Abby and I grew up as bestest friends, and we're both having little girls! Her baby is due in June, and I'm so excited our girls are going to be so close in age!)

Decatur Girls

Cheryl, Trux, me, Kate, and Judy (I'm so glad you girls came!!)

Demopolis Girls

Tanya (Patt), me, and Dana (It was so good to see you girls! I'm so glad you came!)

Dana painted this adorable rocking chair for Avery Claire. Isn't it precious?!

Maybe someone else got more pics of the gift room? We didn't do so well!

Emma & me

We love her! Isn't she a cutie?

Janna & me

Avery Claire is going to be the cutest dressed, most accessorized little girl around! She's so lucky that we have so many sweet, thoughful people in our lives. We thank each and every one of you for all you've done for us!

Avery Claire's Room

We're making progress!! We still have to get things hung on the walls and things added to the bookshelves, but things are coming together! It looks perfect and we can't wait for Avery Claire to come home to her room (in a few weeks)!

Yea for 34!

Today's a big milestone in the Davis house!! We made it to 34 weeks!!

Here's the update BabyCenter sent today: "You'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine." We can breathe a little easier!

33 weeks, 5 days

Again today I had the really nice ultrasound tech - but I didn't get many pics. As Avery Claire gets bigger, it seems like the pics get less clear.

Here's a face shot again - turn your head to the right and you can see her nose and her lips. Her nose looks big and her lips look really dark and plump - the tech zoomed in close so we could watch.

My doctor's appointment today went great! My bp was actually better than it's been since before bedrest! And Avery Claire scored all points on her BPP! She's moving around and growing, she's working on that breathing, and my fluid is great! Dr. Frazier is very pleased!

33

This week, Avery Claire weighs about as much as a pineapple.

How far along: 33 weeks
Net weight gain/loss: up 24 lbs.
Maternity clothes: Yes
Stretch marks: No (fingers still crossed!!)
Belly button: a very stretched out innie
Sleep: Better this week than last!
Baby movement: Yes. She’s a busy little girl!
Food cravings: Hmmm….orange juice
Food aversions: Since I’ve discovered that Tums really do help with the heartburn, I’m good!
What I miss: Going out to eat with my hubby!
Looking forward to: We’re having another baby shower!! Some of our sweet Russellville friends are throwing us a baby shower, and a lot of our family is coming! We haven’t seen many of them since this summer, so we’re excited!
Best moment this week: Seeing Avery Claire on the ultrasound, of course! And our first baby shower!
Milestones: Today, Avery Claire weighs 5lbs, 5oz. Her skeleton is hardening and she’s losing more of her wrinkles. On the ultrasound today, she was working very hard at maturing her lungs. She can recognize music and really likes it – especially her daddy’s ringtone and the potty dance commercial (which we hear countless times on daytime TV)!

Snow Day....Again

We had another snow today in North AL! School was cancelled (again!), and it's snowed steadily all day long. Here's the view from our back porch this afternoon.

Barfield Shower

This weekend, sweet friends at our hometown church hosted a baby shower for us. Of course, it was against doctor's orders for us to attend...

These cakes are from Edgar's Bakery in Birmingham. Aren't they precious?!

So, the shower was brought to us...

We spent Saturday night opening some very cute things for Miss Avery Claire!!

Papa was the man behind the camera, so he didn't make it in any of the pictures, but he was in attendance!

Dusty and my dad spent Sunday afternoon putting together a bookcase for Avery Claire's room. My mom, Dusty's mom, and my Grandmother Joann spent the day cleaning and ironing! I guess I'm the official supervisor?! I don't know what we'd do without them!

We promise that if you come to visit, we will not force you to work! They are waaay too good to us, and we really appreciate it! We're going to be spoiled by the time Avery Claire joins us!

Valentine Flashback

What a difference a year makes!
Last year, we spent Valentine's weekend in Nashville.

2009

This year, we spent the weekend at home, opening baby shower gifts and putting together furniture for the nursery.

We're excited about the difference one more year will make (although we are not rushing it)!! Next year, we'll celebrate Valentine's Day with our new Valentine!

Name That Bird

This morning, I was standing in the kitchen and noticed a flash of bright red in a tree outside. It belonged to this bird! Have you ever seen one like it? I ran to get the camera because I thought it looked so weird. Maybe it's a common bird around here, but I've never seen one. Just thought someone more knowledgeable than me might know what kind of bird it was.

Dusty asked me if I had become an early morning birdwatcher. I don't think that's really my thing, but I'll definitely be watching for this bird from now on!

Mommy Mode

I'm officially in "mommy mode!" This necklace is so not me, but I ordered it on Etsy from DaisyMetalCreations and I think it's precious...

Just proud to (almost) be a mommy, I guess!

32 weeks, 5 days Ultrasound Pics

There are two ultrasound techs at my doctor's office. They are both sweet, but one of them is extremely nice. The other one gives more pictures. So, for the past couple of weeks, I've had the really nice one...but I'm not getting as many pics.

Today, the really nice one was training another tech who is going to begin filling in at the office. So, what usually takes ten minutes took about 40 minutes. The room is like an oven and I'm like a heater myself = very hot and uncomfortable. At one point, the really sweet tech was fanning me while the other girl worked to get measurements.

Don't get me wrong - I love seeing Avery Claire on the screen! And those machines look very complicated and hard to work! But I was getting very uncomfortable and was close to losing it when she finally finished!

Below is a face shot. You could see this so clearly on the screen. It's disappointing when the picture prints and you can't see it as well! Look closely...turn your head to the right a little...you can see the eyes and nose and mouth and those sweet, chubby little cheeks! And there's a hand by that mouth, as usual.

Here's the hair again! They are so amazed by the amount of hair that we get pics of this every week now!

Avery Claire passed the BPP (biophysical profile) with flying colors! She weighs 5 lbs, 1 oz and her heartrate was 149 today. She's growing and wiggling and practicing her breathing just as she should!

32

This week, Avery Claire should be about the size of a jicama. She's still measuring above average!

What? You don't know what that is?! Don't have a basket of jicamas in your kitchen?

How far along: 32 weeks
Net weight gain/loss: up 22 lbs.
Maternity clothes: Yes
Stretch marks: No (fingers still crossed!!)
Belly button: an even more stretched out innie
Sleep: Some nights = pretty good; other nights = not so good
Baby movement: Yep. And she's fiesty!
Food cravings: Hidden Valley Ranch Dip and Ruffles….that made me sick to think about for awhile - I’m over that!
Food aversions: Onion rings from Burger King = heartburn!!! Those are off the menu for awhile!
What I miss: Sleep! I know it’s not going to get better once Avery Claire gets here…but at least I’ll be able to sleep on my stomach again!
Looking forward to: We’re having a baby shower!! The sweet ladies from our church in our hometown are throwing us a shower. We’re disappointed we won’t get to be there. (It’s too far to travel away from the hospital here!), but we are very excited about it!
Best moment this week: Seeing Avery Claire on the ultrasound, of course! And making it to 32 weeks! When all of these blood pressure issues started, 32 weeks was one of our major goals. We prayed to make it here to breathe a little easier.
Next goal: 34 weeks!
Milestones: Today, Avery Claire weighs 5lbs, 1oz. She didn’t gain much this week after that big growth spurt last week. Her eyes now dilate according to light and dark. Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up. In one of the pics we got today, her little cheeks look very chubby! And the ultrasound tech said, again, “Look at how much hair this baby has!”