3:35 AM
8 lbs 22″ long
I am sitting down to write this post and it still seems so unreal to me that my baby girl is turning one. It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting in the back of the car with her on the way home from the hospital. I can remember Alex and I talking about how we almost couldn’t even look at her without crying.
I can remember our first night at the hospital and Alex was holding Avery and singing “Rock-a-Bye Baby” to her. I can remember how much love in my heart there was for both of them at that moment, I though my heart would burst. Avery is a pretty lucky girl to have such an amazing daddy. It is so fun to watch him with her.
Today is Father’s Day as well as Avery’s first birthday so I wanted to throw a quick shout out to my husband. Thank you for all you do for our family. You work so hard so that I can stay home with her and we are so blessed for that. Thank you for rubbing my feet when I was swollen and pregnant and for putting up with my crazy hormones before and once she was here. Avery is really lucky to have you to call daddy. It melts my heart when she lights up when you come home and when she loves on you.
Those first couple of days, weeks even were full of so many emotions. Here we were with this new life and all of a sudden we were in charge of keeping her alive! There were so many things that we were adjusting to. One thing that was really important to me was breastfeeding. While preparing for her arrival, I went to a class and did a lot of research and reading. I guess I was not aware of how hard it was going to be.
Her latch was not great at first and I was cracked, sore, and bleeding, but I pushed through and went to a support group to seek out help when she was only 5 days old. My mom took me and it was one of the best things I could have ever done for us. Not only did I find the advice and support I needed, but I stumbled upon the most amazing women that would soon lead to our playgroup that we go to every week.
I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have become part of that playgroup. It is such a great way for Avery to build her social skills and has been a great outlet for me as well. I have built amazing relationships with these other mommies and it is so fun to watch our babes grow up together! I look forward to our playgroups and get together every week!
Just a quick shout out to my playgroup mommies and babies! Thank you for including us in the group! I cherish the moments, laughs, and support from you all and look forward to many more as the babies grow!
Back to breastfeeding for a minute, I have a few pictures I want to share. It was such an accomplishment for us to make it this far and to celebrate, I have a few pictures to share. Sorry if it bothers anyone, but I think these pictures are beautiful and to celebrate one year of nursing, here they are!
It is crazy what a journey breastfeeding has been for me. I am sure there will be some people shocked that I shared these pictures, but they. Really do mean so much to me. Breastfeeding isn’t something that comes natural like you think it does. It is hardworking and I am so blessed that I found the r support to make it this far! Not all moms are that lucky.
Words cannot really describe the feelings and emotions you have when you become a mom for the first time. The love in my heart for this girl is bigger than anything I have ever felt before. She is my everything. Her giggles, smiles, and curiosity is what keeps me going everyday and I’m so lucky to have her call me mama.
Avery has such an amazing personality. She can literally light up a room wherever she goes. She loves to wave hello and grin at anyone she sees. That little nose scrunch and toothy smile will brighten anyone’s day. She loves to give kisses and hugs. My girl melts my heart everyday. I find myself looking at her in awe and just thinking how lucky I am to have this sweet girl in my life. She is curious, smart, adventurous, and tough. I will do a separate post about her birthday part, but for now I leave you with some of my favorite pictures of Avery this year!
Well as many of you know, I have about a million pictures of this little cutie, but I think I will stop there. I will leave you with a video of Avery’s One Year Photo Shoot by the amazing and talented Kelley Baker. Not only did she capture these beautiful pictures, but she also created this darling slideshow of the pictures for us to cherish. Thank you Kelley!