Ava has arrived!!!

Ava Maxine Veldman arrived on Thursday Feb. 25th at 5:22 pm. She weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz and was 21 inches long. Her mommy and daddy think that she is the most beautiful thing in the world. We're not sure where she got all that dark hair from, but she does have both of the Grandpas' hairline. :) As for her name, Ava is just a name that Nate and I agreed on. Maxine was Grandma Hinds' first name (Nate's Grandma). Grandma passed away a year and half ago. She was an amazingly kind and generous woman. We know that she is smiling down on us, and we are honored to have Ava share her name.

The excitement of labor began when my water broke on Thursday morning around 7:45. Luckly Nate doesn't go to work until later on Thursdays so he was still home. We were to the hospital by 9:45. After being checked in, and they confirmed that my water really did break (there was NO doubt in my mind) they settled us into the labor and delivery room. I had wanted to walk for awhile, as I was still feeling pretty good. Well my walk lasted about 15 minutes and then BAM, the "real contractions" hit and they were coming every 1-2 minutes. The next hour or so was quite miserable, I'm not sure how people do that natural childbirth thing for hours on end! Once the epidural was in I was much more comfortable (as was Nate, he was feeling pretty helpless). Within a few hours I was fully dilated and decided to wait another hour for her to come down on her own since I wasn't in intense pain. Once the back pain became pretty intense it was time to push. We had a wonderful resident, physician, and nurse present during the delivery and I couldn't have imagined that it would go so smoothly. Before we knew it we were holding our little angel!

Her arrival was much anticipated. Uncle Wes, Grandma Becker, and Grandma and Grandpa Veldman came to see her on the night of her arrival. There were lots of phone calls to share our good news. We came home on Sat. and were greeted by Grandma and Grandpa Becker, Lisa, Brent, and Reece, Great Grandma Schutterle, Aunt Darlene, Aunt Marylin, Melissa, Kristin, and Carl. They brought food and of course lots of pink clothes!!! :) Thank you all so much for making the long trip up from Iowa for such a short period of time. We love you very much and were so glad that you got to meet Ava. Grandma and Grandpa Becker spent the night last night (Lisa, Brent, and Reece stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Veldman's). They took the monitor so that we could get some sleep. We are very thankful, as Miss Ava was up almost on the hour. Why you ask, oh because she's a little bit of a princess and loves to be held. So thank you for waking up hourly to hold her so that we could sleep.

We want to thank everybody for their kind messages, thoughts, and prayers. We can't wait to introduce you all to Ava. Below are some pictures of our first 2 days. I'll post more very soon. Thanks for checking in!

D Date

Yes, today was the due date and Baby V. has decided to not come out and play. We took another trip to the gym for a nice 2 1/2 mile walk on the treadmill which seemed to do nothing. I tried napping today since I didn't sleep at all last night. Instead, I laid there and thought to myself...hmmmm, I wonder if it's a girl or boy, girl or boy, girl or boy; I wonder what he or she is going to look like, etc. etc. Needless to say, I didn't nap.

I will be heading back to work tomorrow morning unless Baby V. decides to come in the middle of the night. I've been off the past couple of days and am going stir crazy sitting at home. I figured I might as well go to work if I'm not having a baby.

Baby V is still very active. However, he or she is now dancing on my bladder rather than in my rib cage. I guess that's a good sign even though it's a bit more uncomfortable at times. He or she continues to grow, as you can see in the pictures below. These are the 40 week pictures, and will be the last of the belly pictures posted. Hoping that our next update includes news of Baby V's arrival!

Dr's appointment

I had another doctor's appointment today. My Dr. is actually out of the office so I saw his sister who is just wonderful! She was the original Dr. that I wanted to see, but she was out on a medical leave when I had my initial appointment. Anyway, the appointment went well. I am currently 3 cm dilated. She stripped my membranes and said that if it's going to help it will be within 24-48 hours. I've read different research on the effectiveness of inducing labor through stripping the membranes and it isn't real strong, but I thought I would give it a shot. I started having contractions yesterday, but nothing regular. The Dr. said that she would be very surprised if I didn't have the baby this week, but who knows. Once again, time will tell.
Nate and I are so excited to meet this little one, but the reality of it is also a bit anxiety provoking. We laid there in bed last night and I said to him, "you know, this baby is going to come out soon and our whole world will be turned upside down". I know that it will be wonderful in so many ways, but it's also a bit scary to think about. Everybody says that all those fears will go away once you hold that baby. I'm sure they are right. Besides that, it's great to know that we have so many wonderful friends and family to help us through the difficult times, and celebrate all the wonderful times to come. And I know that Nate is going to be a Great daddy! I can't wait to see him hold this little baby for the first time!

So, please keep your fingers crossed that this little one decides to come out and play soon. I'm debating whether to head to the gym again to walk another 2 miles on the treadmill. My only fear is that my water will break all over the gym floor...this may be slightly embarrassing!

39 Weeks

Today marks 39 weeks. I feel as though the past few weeks have gone very quickly, however I'm just so anxious for Baby V to come out. We had our Dr's appt. yesterday and there weren't a lot of changes. I'm still dilated about the same, but effaced a bit more. He said that the baby has dropped some, which I can tell because breathing is a bit easier and I'm in the bathroom every five minutes. However, I was hoping that after working two 12 hr shifts this weekend that I may have dilated a bit more. Nate and I keep telling the baby that it's ok to come out and play, but he/she seems pretty content in there. So, I have another appt. scheduled for next Monday.

Not much more to report. I'm off to the gym to see if I can walk this baby out. :)

38 Weeks

We are now at 38 weeks and 2 days. But hey, who's counting? :) I had my Dr's appointment this past Monday and we made just a bit of progress. He said I was 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. He told me that he could see the baby coming next week, which makes me very hopeful. I'm working my 12 hr day shifts this weekend. Hopefully being on my feet all day and running around will help things move along. We have another appointment next Monday, which Nate will be coming to since he has the day off.

Other than that, not much of an update. Hopefully we'll have lots of stuff to update next week! Have a great weekend!

37 Weeks

Today marks 37 weeks, which means Full Term...YIPEE!!! The time seems to have gone so slow, but quickly at the same time. As I mentioned before, everything is ready here at home. We just need a baby. Oh, and I need to pack my hospital bag.
I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and he told me that I was dilated 1-2 cm, and was 60% effaced. Now I know that you can be dilated 1-2 cm for a very long time. However, this was encouraging to me. It's nice to know that there are changes that are happening that are bringing us closer to meeting this little one that we've been anticipating for so long. I think that both Grandma and Grandpa B and V are beyond excited to meet this baby as well.
The last couple of days at work have been funny, as everybody "knows" the sex of the baby. One person "knows" that it's a boy, and then five minutes later another person will come up and tell me "oh, I know that you're having a girl". I'm still working full time, and hope to work up until the due date.
Below are some pictures of the every growing belly. I'm hoping that my belly button will return to an "inie" after Baby V arrives...it's been stretched to the max. :)

Yes, those are wrinkles on my belly from lying on the couch (my favorite place) wrapped up in my blanket prior to this photo shoot.