Avery's Birth Story

Lily was so overjoyed with Avery. She has always loved babies, and we made her feel like Avery was HER baby, so we could not get her off of him for the first few weeks!! She is still SOOO in love with him!!! It just makes me cry tears of joy to hear them playing and laughing together!! These pictures were taken the day after we came home from the hospital!!!

Warning: There are graphic delivery pics on this post!!!

When we found out we were pregnant with Avery, we made the decision for me to stop babysitting and just be a full time mom to our kids. I started babysitting out of our home when Lily was 5 1/2 months old. The extra money was nice, but I absolutely hated it. I felt like Lily wasn't getting the best of me, cause I had at least 3 other kids to take care of, though there were times that I had up to 6 other kids, besides Lily. So I quit babysitting at the end of April. So I had 5 months with just Lily and I. I really enjoyed that time with her. While I was pregnant I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to be as close to Lily as I was then!!! Seems silly now, but at the time it was a big concern of mine. My pregnancy went pretty normally, though there were a few scares in there. At about 25 weeks, I had my 2nd ultrasound, because I was measuring bigger than my weeks. That is totally normal for me. I just have big kids. Anyway, when I had the ultrasound they measured the fluid, and I was measuring low on fluid, so we had to go to Springfield to get a 3-D ultrasound. It was way more accurate, and it was so very cool!!! My fluid measured normal while I was there, so that made me feel alot better!! Because I had to have a C-Section with Lily, I was going to try for a VBAC with Avery. I had such confidence in myself, and to be honest, I didn't really think that anything could go wrong. The main concern was his size. We kept having ultrasounds to check his weight, and though they were pretty accurate, my doctor just didn't think he would be as big as Lily!! To understand, my kids take up my whole abdomen. I am VERY short waisted, and there is just not room in there for them. So I guess, because they are so curled up and cramped in there she just couldn't feel how big they would be. This is also the reason that I start having pre-labor contraction off and on, starting at about 33 weeks. Very annoying!! Anyway, the doctor was going to break my water on Monday Sept. 25 if I didn't go into labor on my own before then. But, I went into labor on Friday Sept. 22. I woke up at about 6:00 with contractions that were definately different than all the previous ones I had been having. So we went to see the doctor, and of course, there was no change. But she said she could tell I was trying to thin out with the contractions, so she wanted us to walk around in Berryville (where she was practicing) for a few hours and then go back and see her. So we did that. We went in to the hospital, and there was no change (2cm and 80%). So we went home for a while. We went back to the hospital sometime later that night...no change. I was getting very uncomfortable, and I was tired, and to be honest, I didn't want to hear "This is just early labor stuff that going on right now" anymore!! I didn't care if it was "early labor" and not doing anything I was hurting!!! So we stayed the night in the hospital where they kept me on Nubain (sp?) shots and such like. The next morning there was no change (UGH!!!!!) so Adam and I decided I would be more comfortable (being in pain) at home than in the hospital, so we went home. The contractions got steadily worse throughout the day. I tried to get some rest, though that was an impossibility. I was in and out of the bathtub all day. Although, the tub didn't totally take the pain away, it did make it more bearable. Around 7:00 that night Avery started stretching with each contraction. He would stretch out as much as he could in his cramped space. That mixed with the pain of the contraction was more than I could handle, and I broke down, and cryed. At this point I was ready for a C-Section. Adam called the doctor who sent us back to Berryville. Finally there was a change...2 cm, but 100%. They said that since I was completely thinned out I would start dialating faster. I got some sort of pain medicine, and went back home. To be honest, I didn't think it would ever be over with, and I just wanted to be in my house!!! So we somehow managed to make it through the night. It was another VERY long night. I was in and out of the tub. Adam was so wonderful to me. He did absolutely anything that he could to try and make me more comfortable. I fell in love with him all over again that night!!! At around 11:00 the next morning, I could stand it no longer. So off we went BACK to the hospital. They checked me and (GASP) I was 6-7 cm and 100%. They were all a little bit surprised (I was, too, to be quite honest!!). So when the lady told me how far dialated I was I said, "Oh, thank you Lord, I want an epidural). Up to this point I couldn't have one, cause I wasn't dialating. So when that very lovely anesthesia lady came in, I was overjoyed. They put in the epidural, and my plan was to try and get some sleep. But everyone was so busy trying to get things ready for delivery that I couldn't sleep. I very quickly dialated to 9. Then I stopped. At about 9:00 that night they backed off of the epidural, and had me start pushing. The doctor could just push the little bit of cervix that was left out of the way. I pushed through 2 or 3 contractions, not really sure. After that, the doctor checked Avery's heartbeat, and he did NOT do well with the pushing. His heartrate was all over the place. So because of the incredible long labor, the fact that I wasn't getting to 10, and the fact that he wasn't liking the pushing...they decided to do a C-Section. I don't think I have ever felt so defeated in my entire life. I was exhausted (66 hours of labor will do that to a person) and I felt like I was a failure. But, ultimately, I just wanted to do what would be best for Avery. So at 12:04 A.M. on Monday September 25 (the date the doctor was originally going to break my water) Jospeh Avery Hulsey made his entrance into the world. I can't even tell you the relief that I felt at hearing his cry. As soon as the doctor got in there where she could see him she said..."Heather, I was wrong about his weight". She said the same thing about Lily!!! They pulled him out and showed him to me, and I swear it was like deja vu. He looked exactly like Lily, to me, at that moment!!! Turns out he was just to big to come out vaginally. At least the next time I do this, I can just schedule the C-Section and be done with it!!! When they took him to get him cleaned up and checked out, it was all I could do to stay awake. I just wanted to hear his weight. They stuck their head in and said "9lbs 8 oz 21 1/2 inches long". I smiled and went to sleep. When they wheeled me to recovery they had him there waiting for me. That was a wonderful thing. And they didn't take him away from me the rest of the night. So much better for the pshchy than Lily's ordeal. My blood pressure dropped really low, while I was in recovery, so I had to stay there longer than normal. I was feeding Avery, and I can remember how I felt. I said something about being scared of dropping him cause I just felt so weak, so they lowered the bed, and Adam helped me hold him, so I could feed him. What a wonderful man!!! Like I said, Avery stayed with me until sometime later that morning when I was able to get up and shower. Avery was a champion nurser!! I had no problems with him. In fact, when the nurses would come in they would remind me that he was probably just sucking to be sucking, and that he could use a pacifier. But I knew that the more he sucked the faster my milk would come in, and then he wouldn't need to nurse as much. I had a dream a couple of weeks before Avery was born that he was born deaf. So I kept bugging the poor nurses about his hearing test. Of course it was fine, but I was concerned, and I know I drove that poor nurse that did the test nuts. Avery was a very happy content baby for the first few weeks. Then I think he discovered all of the stuff going on around him, and he got sensory overload. He started screaming at a few weeks old until about 6 months, when he could sit up and get around on his own. It is really just his temper that got the better of him, but I didn't know what to do with him. Lily slept for 3 months straight (exagerating). I can remember the first time that he threw one of his fits. I was in Wal-Mart with my mom (she was staying with me for a few days). Avery had just had his circumcision the day before, and I had to go to Wal-Mart to get gauze and a few other things. Well, things did not go as planned. He started screaming, and I had no idea what to do. I tried nursing him (in the middle of Wal-Mart), I tried everything. My mom couldn't get him to stop crying either, so we just left. I think we did manage to get the gauze. I have to say that trips to Wal-Mart haven't gotten a whole lot better. I can't go and do any major shopping with him. He just gets restless, and cranky. Anyway, Lily was very excited when we came home. We came home on Tuesday night (36 hours after delivery). I was glad they let me come home early. I just wanted to be home with my family!! Lily spent the whole day on Wednesday in bed with Avery and I. She was and is a WONDERFUL big sister. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Avery's head starting to come out!!!

Look at that little conehead!!!

And there he is!!!! Such a cutie!!!

Here is Adam cutting the rest of Avery's cord. Even though he weighed 9lbs 8ozs, he just looks so tiny here compared to Adams big hands!!!

Daddy and Bubby!!! What a pair!!!!

Even though he only weighed 5 ozs less than Lily, he was 2 1/2 inches longer, so he didn't look nearly as big as she did. Especially in the face. I think Lily carried 5 of her almost 10 pounds in her head. I'm not saying that to sound rude, I just really think she did!!!!

Tiny purple feet!!! It's always interesting to me how quickly their little hands and feet turn normal colored!!! But I like the purple pics!!!

Dr. Moffett (my doc) is such a wonderful lady. She went and got Lily when I got in the recovery room. She wasn't supposed to let anyone back except Adam and Avery. But Lily had been there all day with mine and Adams parents very patiently waiting to see Avery. By this time it was around 2:00 a.m. and she was sound asleep in the waiting room. But she wanted to come and see me, so Dr. Moffett brought her back to see us!!!

We were all in need of some serious sleep!!!!!

Daddy and Avery catching some zzzzzz's.

My kids are so beautifully perfect!!!! They let me put my own clothes on him instead of those awful white hospital shirts.

Both of my kids could hold their heads up on their own within hours of being born. They're either really strong and stout, or there was enough fat on their necks to keep their heads up!!!! This was on Tuesday night when we were getting ready to go home!!! That green outfit is one of Adam's from when he was a baby.

I was VERY ready to go home. VERY, VERY ready!!!!