Sunday, March 29, 2009

R.I.P Lipstick Jungle...

I just read online that its official...Lipstick Jungle has been cancelled. I am furious...

The best I can be...

Its sad that it takes a tragedy to make you realize how valuable every decision you make really is, and how essential it is to treat everyone with the tender care you would hope for the ones you love. Brad just called from NY (where the funeral is) and he couldn't stop talking about how much Mike touched every one's lives, he said the line for the calling hours was wrapped around the block when they got there and was still around the block when they left and the calling ours had been going on for hours. He really was one in a million, the type of guy/person you want to be, he really did live life as everyone should. He was the best son, friend, father, husband anyone could ask for, he set the bar high.

They have already planned an annual golf tournament in his honor, Brad and all the guys will make it a point to be there every year, it will give them an opportunity to spend time with Mikey and Mason (Mike's boys). This is one of the first times in my life that I have been envious of Greek life, the way these Sigma Chi boys have bonded together brings tears to my eyes.

I am going to be a better person tomorrow than I was today and if I continue to live my life this way I can only hope that people are wrapped around the block for me when its my time.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Tragedy...

I woke up this morning thrilled that when I went to bed tonight Brad would be beside me...and within a few minutes my whole day and perspective changed. One of Brad's closest friends and fraternity brothers passed away last night from a heart attack. I am crushed, and so sad that I can't give my husband a big hug when I know he is hurting. Please send your thoughts and prayers out to Mike's family, his beautiful wife and their precious little boys who will grow up only hearing stories of their amazing father who touched every life he encountered.

This has been a senseless week of tragedies. On Tuesday a college friend passed away from a diabetic condition he wasn't even aware of, his brain stem was severed by the swelling when his sugar levels hit 1,000 and he was gone. Two great men gone at the all too young age of 33.

Makes you realize just how precious and short life is, it can change in an instant. Hug the ones you love a little longer the next time you see them, call your friends and tell them just how much they mean to you. Mike and his family had planned to stay with us on April 8th on their way to Raleigh for Easter, we were looking forward to their visit...and Brad had planned on going to Radford with Mike and the boys the last weekend in February but since Avery was in the NICU he didn't end up going, I so wish he would have gone and had been able to spend one last weekend with Mike.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Happy 1 Month Birthday my Darlin...

Here are a few of my favorites from Avery's 1 Month Pictures
























Progress

As earlier reported, Sunday night was a horrible one...but knock on wood, we have made some progress. Avery has been eating between 9 and 9:30 and falling asleep between 10pm and 11pm, and waking between 3 and 3:30am to eat, and then sleeping again until 7:30-8am, all in her co-sleeper. I am so proud of her. Now if we could only get Riley to sleep through the night, he averages at least 3 trips outside during the "should be sleeping" hours...

Avery's 1 Month Pictures came out FABULOUS. I can't wait to pick them up...April 8th can't come soon enough...oh wait, yes it can, because Brad will be out of town again that whole week.

We are all sick...Olivia is super congested and coughing, but still at daycare. Today she is going to come home to take a nap though, she doesn't take great naps there and she needs her sleep when she is sick, the girl has Oscar all week so I can tell she isn't napping well. Avery is still a snotty mess, and her cough is heartbreaking. I have had a sore throat all week and can't seem to shake it, I can't wait for it to break into a full cold and just be done with it already.

How about this crappy weather? How the heck am I supposed to walk off the pounds? Seriously! Looks like next week might be walk worthy...

Saturday Night is April's 30th Birthday Party...I can't wait. A night out with the ladies to celebrate her 30th year!

Brad is going to pick up his stylin' Toyota Sienna on Monday, apparently the dealership doesn't do Fleet deals over the weekend so we have to wait until Monday. He is just chomping at the bit to get his hands on that "honey wagon"...not so much.

And tomorrow my friend Susan is taking the day off and coming over to hang out and meet Avery, we can't wait to see her, I am used to seeing her everyday at work!

I am on the edge of my seat, I cannot wait to watch Private Practice tonight. I am actually a bit ashamed that I am so excited to see a married man cheat on his wife, 99% of the time it makes me want to vomit, but for some reason I love Noah!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Bad, Bad Night...

This is how it went...

10pm - Fed Avery
11pm - Went to bed
12:15am - Riley got up and needed to go outside
1:25am - Avery got up and needed to eat
2:00am - Riley wanted to go out again
4:45am - Riley wanted to go out again and wanted to eat breakfast, in his crate he went.
5am - Avery finally went back to sleep (yes, she was awake from 1:30am-5am) on my chest, not in her co-sleeper.
6:30am - Riley starts to howl and check himself into the sides of his crate & Avery wakes up and wants to eat again
6:47am - Olivia wakes up

Thats it...thats the night in detail.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

A single momma I will be...

For a WHOLE week...needless to say I am NOT looking forward to Brad's week of training in Charlotte. He leaves on Sunday and will be back late Friday night. He will be home the following week and then will spend another full week on the road. Bad timing with the new job considering its not a walk in the park taking care of a 20 month old and a almost 4 week old...I can't believe Avery is almost a month old.

Tuesday my Mom and I are taking Avery for her 1 month picture session, I am hoping for a few good ones. I made a promise to her, that we will photograph her as often as we did Olivia, I don't want her getting the short end of the stick just because she is the second child.

I am watching Friday Night Lights...and I am tearing up. I can't imagine having the "birds and the bees" conversation with these girls. Avery was cat napping on my chest while Brad and I watched and I was looking at how small she was curled up, and I pictured us having this same conversation...I just can't imagine. Brad was freaking out. And while I am talking about Friday Night Lights. I cannot watch JD McCoy, I am so embarrassed for him.

Olivia's vocabulary is growing leaps and bounds on a daily basis. Yesterday she said "Oh no, its yucky". Hilarious. If you could have heard her tone...she is pure comedy. She is starting to repeat what we say, so now we have to be careful...her new word of the day is Waffle, which is what she had for breakfast.

Riley is back on some serious meds, I picked up 4 prescriptions for him on Thursday, seriously...this dog is a fortune. Lets hope these help, because he is a mess right now.

My good friend April turns 30 on Friday so we are celebrating with a Girls Dinner out and Game Night at her house on Saturday. I am THRILLED, it will be just what I need after a whole week with my two girls.

Avery is still very congested. TMI Warning...her spit up is filled with mucus, the poor thing just can't seem to get ahead of it.

I am also happy to report that the WHOLE family had a peaceful, delicious lunch at Don Pepe today. It was the first time the whole family has been out together. We figure we can handle it as long as Avery is still napping in between feedings.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Knock on Wood...

Last night wasn't terrible. Avery went down around 11:00pm, after eating for the last time at 9:30pm. She slept the entire night in her co-sleeper, which was a first, usually she ends up in the bed with me. She was up again at 2:30am to eat, and she started to stir again around 6, but didn't fully wake up until closer to 6:45am to eat. The whole house was basically awake at 6am, poor Olivia woke up screaming at 4am and had to crawl into the guest bed with Brad.

Avery is still super stuffy, the poor thing snorts like a little pug when she tries to breathe.

Brad has big dinner and drink plans with a few boys from work, lucky man. Wish me luck as I handle both dinner and bedtime with both girls.

Monday, March 16, 2009

"It won't be like this for long"

Like my new favorite country artist said "It won't be like this for long". I have to remind myself of this every night when we "go to bed", which these days means something very different than it used to mean. Last night Avery and I curled into our respective beds around 10pm, she was up to eat at 11pm, but keep in mind, neither of us slept from 10-11, I just kept putting the pacifier in her mouth. Then she slept on me from 11:30am to almost 3am and then she ate again, I woke Brad up to set up her humidifier in our bedroom since the poor thing is so snotty she can barely breathe. Then she slept on me again from 3:30-6:45am and then ate again around 7am and slept on me until about 9:45am. We both got some sleep, but of course I don't sleep well when she is sleeping on me because I am afraid I will crush her, etc. She hates being swaddled these days, she used to love it, but now she can't stand it. As soon as we put her in the Co-Sleeper she wakes up, even if she is dead to the world when we put her down. She used to sleep well in her Baby Papasan seat, but now not so much.

I wish I would have taken better "notes" from these early days with Olivia so I could project how the future was going to turn out, but of course I didn't, and even though it was only 19 Months ago, I cannot remember in detail how the nights went, some stick out in my mind, but I don't recall how old she was. I know Olivia's first full night of sleep was at 6 Weeks Old, so that means we have another 3 weeks to go, but we are in need of some serious improvement if we have any hope of meeting that goal.

Brad is counting down the days, only 4 more to go...and then he leaves for Charlotte on Sunday evening for a week of new hire training. We will miss him dearly...

Olivia is great! Her appetite is slowing down, which for her is a good thing, the girl has a BELLY. She is a big fan of snacks though...we need to work on that. We know she has structured snacks at daycare, why we have such a hard time saying NO is beyond me. She is loving the role of Big Sister, she holds Avery a few times a day, wants to help feed her. The best part is that she puts her arms out and says "Baby" like we are just going to hand her over, its pretty funny. She hates having to sit on the couch to hold her, she doesn't understand why she can't just carry her around.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Sleep anyone?

Being that we just went through this whole newborn stage a whopping 20 months ago we should recall what its like to have a newborn, and by "what its like" I mean, that you get very little sleep. Avery sleeps like a ROCK when you hold her, nothing rouses her, but as soon as you put her down, the eyes pop open and she starts to squirm. Last night her and I fell asleep in our bed and were OUT until I woke up at 12:30 and realized we had been sleeping for a few hours, as soon as I put her in the co-sleeper she was up and ready to eat, so she ate around 1am, then again between 3:30-4:00am and then Brad took over and she ate again at 8am just as Olivia and I were getting ready to leave for The Little Gym.

I am hoping tonight is a little better. Olivia is spending the night at YaYa and GaGa's house, YaYa has been begging for some quality time with Olivia, so she gave in and let her take her for the night. Brad and I have a romantic evening planned...Costco Pepperoni Pizza, some delicious White Wine from Sebastani (one of our favorites from Sonoma) and hopefully a movie in bed. Movies are always tough, if Avery is fussy we can't seem to get through it.

Brad has been busy cleaning out the home office, getting it ready to become his office when he starts his new job on March 23rd. He is very excited about the new job and we are THRILLED for him.

We are still trying to plan a week in Northfield for early May, but it isn't in stone yet. We hope it works out, we would love to see everyone.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Miss Fussy Pants Turns 2 Weeks Old..

Avery's 2 week check up went well this morning, she is "perfect" so they say. If they only knew that she wasn't good at putting herself to sleep, kicked her feet like a crazy person and liked to stay awake until 2pm most days, they might rethink the adjective usage...but we have to agree, she is pretty great, despite her attitude.

Here are her stats:

Weight - 9lbs 14oz - 95%
Height - 21.5 Inches - 90%

Monday, March 9, 2009

Sun is Shining

Seasonal Depression doesn't live here anymore, everyone was in a great mood all weekend. Lots of quality time outside, Olivia would live in the backyard if we let her, its adorable. She stands in the morning room and looks out the window at her swing set and yells "WING", which is her rendition of "Swing". We enjoyed the weather, with beers on the deck. The Koehlers came over and played outside and the kids chased each other around for a few hours.

Its a BIG day in the Turner Household. Brad gave his notice today at Chasen's. He is moving on....its about time. We are all thrilled for him. He will be starting with BSN Medical on March 23rd, he will cover the entire state of Virginia, so that means travel, but its a great opportunity for him, so there was no way I was saying "No, I can't handle that". He will spend his first week on the job in Charlotte for a week of "new hire training", that should be interesting, a 20 Month Old and a 1 Month Old...lets take bets, will I want to kill myself or kill Brad when he gets home?

Big day for Riley too. Riley went to the vet today, time to get his "bum cleaned" and the idiot pooped in the Yukon. I was thrilled. Avery and I brought him inside, then made our way back to the Yukon to clean up his lovely mess.

Tomorrow Avery goes back to the Doctor for her 2 week check up, that means shots. I remember Olivia's 2 week appointment vividly, I cried my eyes out. I am hoping I can hold it together tomorrow because I will be flying solo tomorrow, Brad won't be there to comfort me.

Brad will be getting a company car with his new job, so we are planning on selling the Acura TL, if anyone knows someone in the market for an 05 Acura TL, fully loaded, please let me know.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

30 Years Later...

Yup, today is the day I turn the Big 3-0. I'm not freaking out so much as I am realizing just how quickly time passes. I don't mind getting old as long as I just don't age, makes sense right? Its scary to think that my girls will eventually be without me, that is the only thing that scares me about getting older, but after 30 years, I realize that is just the way it works.

So an update/addition to the Olivia Health Drama...she woke up from her nap on Thursday with Fifth's Disease, awesome right? She has a bright red face to go along with her always on snotty nose and a cough that won't quit. Seriously, what gives? Can't this girl catch a break? I hate that she has had such a rough winter, I wish I could pin point what is causing all of it, the other kids at daycare haven't been nearly as sick as she has, so it can't be all coming from there...the good news is, she takes it like a champ and unless she is running a high fever you would never know she feels like "doo-doo".

Avery is great, still eating every 2.5-4 hours. Generally speaking if she is awake its tough to even stretch her to 3 hours, but if she is sleeping usually we can get a good 3.5-4 hours in between feedings, but of course during the night she wakes like clockwork at 3 hours to eat. She is awake a lot more these days, we love to see her little eyes taking in the world around her.

Olivia is still doing great with her, so gentle. Last night we took a walk as a family, Olivia pushed her baby doll in her stroller and I pushed Avery, Olivia was so proud of herself.

We just found out that Brad's Cousin Alex and his wife Kristen are expecting their first in September, that will be two September babies for the "Martin" family, since Shannon (Brad's Sister) is also expecting late September. We wish them healthy pregnancies.

No plans for the birthday, my Aunt Martha is in town from CT, so she will be joining us for dinner tonight here at our house, likely we will just cook out. I haven't had an appetite since Avery arrived so I told my Mom I didn't care what we had, likely I wouldn't be eating much of it, so I will let the others decide.

I am happy to report though that Brad surprised me last night with a Magic Hat Sampler, I can't wait to crack one of those bad boys open.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Snow in Richmond?

Who would have guessed that March would roll in with a snow storm....Riley had fun looking for his ball.





Meet our "lil" Lady

Introducing our sweet baby girl, Avery Emerson Turner


Avery joined the world at 1:53pm on Tuesday February 24th, 2009. Weighing in at a cool 9lbs 12oz, and measuring 20.25 inches in length.
Photo in the Newborn Nursery before being admitted to the NICU




I finally get to hold in the NICU- Thursday Morning at 9am




Brad gets to "meet" Avery again in the NICU

Avery's Coming Home Outfit - Saturday February 28th, 2009

Birth Story...

I arrived at Johnston Willis at 6:45am with Brad and my best friend Beth. We met my labor nurse Jessica a little before 7am when she escorted us to our room, a corner room, Brad worked his magic with his CJW connections. We got settled into our room and Dr. Davis came and broke my water at 7:51am, I was a "tight" 3cm, 50% effaced and -1, which means she had dropped a little, but was still high, but Dr. Davis was feeling good about her position. They started pushing Pitocin immediately. I was already contracting on my own, but I couldn't really feel it, I could see my stomach tense, but didn't have any pain. Jessica checked me again at 9:30am, still 3cm. I received an Epidural around 10am and it was heavenly. At 11:30am Jessica checked me again and I was still at 3cm, I thought for sure I would be closer to 5-6cm, I was disappointed but pain free, and Avery was hanging tough in there, so there was no rush. Brad and Beth decided to take a break and get some lunch, so I rolled over and rested for a little bit. At 1:00pm Dr. Davis came through to check on her 3 laboring patients, I was 8cm. She left and went to check on the other patients, at 1:30pm she came back to check on me before going back to her office, she said "if you are ready, we are going to have this baby", sure enough I was ready. A few pushes later and Avery was here...

I am so thankful that Beth was here to experience her birth with me, watching her give birth to Austin tops the list of one of the coolest experiences I have ever had.

Now on to Avery...she came out looking a little purple, but after several suction attempts her color improved and she finally started to scream. They took her from me to "clean her up" a little, weigh her and do her APGAR scores. They brought her back to me and I could tell something wasn't right. She was having a lot of trouble breathing, her eyes were freaking me out, they were straining, like it was hurting her to breathe. The nurses said I could spend 30-60 minutes with her and then they would take her to the Nursery and "check her out and bathe her" and she would be back to me within 3-4 hours. Being that I was already worried, I told them to just take her back to the Nursery, I wanted to ensure she was getting the attention she needed, I wouldn't enjoy the moments with her if I was freaking out.

About 2-3 hours later her Baby Nurse came into the room, WITHOUT her, and I could tell something was wrong. She looked around the room, saw a room full of visitors and came around to my bed. She explained that they did a deep suction and thought they had cleared her of the fluid that was giving her issues, but that when she started to give her a bath she had an "episode" and turned blue. The Neonatal NP recommended that she be evaluated for admittance to the NICU. A few hours later the Neonatal NP came into the room, looked around and asked to speak to Brad and I alone, clearly not a good sign, I could feel my heart sink and I started to shake. She spoke very slowly and explained that Avery was "okay", but that she had some challenges to overcome.

#1 - She has fluid in her lungs

#2 - They could hear a heart murmur, and suspected that she had a PDA, meaning that a ductus in her heart had not closed at birth like it should have.

#3 - She might be fighting an infection

I still couldn't really walk, the Epidural was still at work, but they let Brad go see her, and he was able to talk to the Doctors and Nurses more about her condition. They told him that they were running a lot of tests, a blood culture to determine whether she had a true infection or not and that the culture would take 3 days to come back, at this point I was devastated, 3 days, that meant she couldn't come home with us, little did I know at this point that was the least of my worries. Pam Fuller, the NP came back to talk to us a few hours later and explained that a Cardiologist consulted on the case and did an Echo of her heart, in fact the ductus had not closed and that was causing most of her issues. We have learned a lot over the last few days about this and to simplify things, it basically means she didn't transition well. She didn't start doing the things she needed to do on her own after she came out, she was still counting on me for circulation, breathing, etc. At this point she said at that earliest it would be Monday March 2nd before she could come home.

I went to see her Tuesday Night once I could stand and walk, I couldn't see her face, she was under an Oxyhood and her breathing was so fast I had a hard time even looking at her, her stomach was going up and down faster than you could imagine, I lost it. All the wires and monitors, all the beeping was freaking me out. The nurses were great, and very compassionate. We saw her a few times on Wednesday and Brad talked to the Neonatologist who prepared us for Jaundice issues as well as them moving her IV to her head, thank god they warned us, it wasn't a pretty sight. Finally Thursday morning we were able to hold her, she was off the Oxygen and breathing very well on her own. We were discharged Thursday morning, but they let us hang out until we were ready to leave. We were able to feed her, so we stayed and fed her a few times and then headed home around 4pm, it was almost 70 degrees and sunny. Thursday we asked to speak to the Neonatologist again, we were getting mixed messages from each and every shift of nurses. The Doctor prepared us for another week in the NICU, that it would take her 2-4 days to wean her off the IV even though she was eating, but because she wasn't digesting her formula well they switched her to a Lacto-Free Formula and they needed to see how that worked.

Friday we packed up and headed to the hospital for the day. Brad dropped me off, so I was already with Avery when he came in. As soon as I walked in, I saw that her IV was out, her feeding tube was out and she was dressed and looking like a healthy, normal newborn. I cried y eyes out, Brad came in and saw me crying, he was worried something had happened. I was so shocked, I had just said to Brad on the way to the hospital that I couldn't wait for her IV to come out, I always worried about pulling at it, and hurting her. We fed her a few times and headed out for lunch. We picked up Olivia at Donna's and with Brad's Parents headed back to the hospital for her 6pm feeding. They told us that she would likely be able to go home on Saturday and that since we had a Toddler at home we didn't have to "Room-In", which is protocol for NICU babies, the parents spend the night with them in the hospital to ensure they can handle it. We fed her again at 9pm and then I went back to the hospital Saturday morning at 9am and by 12:30pm she was home with us, all dressed in her Going Home Outfit.

And now she is home, healthy, a typical newborn. She feels so much smaller than Olivia, its amazing how much of a difference 1 pound makes when you are talking about it spread over only 20 inches of body. She isn't a great night-time sleeper, but she sleeps like a champ during the day.

Of course, Olivia woke up Sunday morning with a fever of 102.7 so she has been home with us all week. Brad was able to stay home with me yesterday and my Mom helped out today, but its been a circus here.

Avery got a "clean bill of health" today at her 1 week Appointment, she goes back next Tuesday for her 2 week Appointment.

Thank you all very much for you thoughts and prayers, we could feel the love and support and hope that you all know how much we really appreciate having family and friends like all of you.