The Room of Waiting

Why do they ask pregnant ladies for our birth plan? I think it's to see how flexible and fluid we can be.

I knew in my first trimester that I wasn't going to write out a plan, as the little man would be running the show, not me... boy was I right! I had a small list of things that I didn't want, and although I was really hoping to accomplish all of them, I was also fairly comfortable with any last minute changes IF something was going to happen... who knew!?

My little wish list included:
My OB doctor to run the delivery show
No induction
No IV's
No pain meds, including an epidural
No C-section
No internal baby monitor (that corkscrew thingy in the baby's head)
Joe gets to cut the umbilical cord

Thankfully, we didn't need the corkscrew thingy... but we were graced with everything else. Yes, my doctor was in France during the whole event watching Lance in the Tour de France. She did return the day after the birth and we laughed about the birth plan being thrown out the window. After being induced at 42 weeks, and being in labor for almost 24 hours, it was a no-brainer when the doctors said, "You could continue to be in hard labor like this for another 2 days or you could have your baby in your arms in an hour with surgery."

This would be the group of people I would want in case of a fire... they had the room ready, paperwork signed and Joe and I dressed for success in less than 15 minutes. The actually delivery-surgery lasted less than 10 minutes! Joe was sitting beside me through the whole procedure and the Anesthesiologist stood behind us, giving me a subtle idea of what was happening (not a play by play). At one point he suggested Joe to stand up and watch as the babe's head would be coming out. As he stood over me I could see his face at the exact moment we heard the little coo-cry. It was so magical to see Joe's face light up and know that our little miracle finally made his debut.

After a few teary moments and several stitches later, we were whisked into the recovery room where some of the family met us for the ooh's and ahh's to begin. Once I could wiggle my toes and have one successful feeding we were moved into our tiny room for 4 more days.  Here, Avery learned his name and showed us some of his new skills. He could sneeze and yawn and do that 'smile' thingy right before a big tarry poo. Yup, that's our boy!

On Wednesday night, my OB doctor arrived at the hospital from France. We were so excited to see her and retell our story ... which thankfully I could laugh about finally - 'what birth plan?'  She checked in on us for the next 2 days and on Thursday we received our discharge papers.

Really? This hospital thinks we can bring home this fragile little nugget? Looking back, we were pretty worried about breaking him. We were also looking forward to getting home to a good night's sleep without hourly visits and nurse poking.



Here we are leaving Rochester General. It was so hot and muggy, I had completely nested into the hospital's 72 degrees.  Arriving home was just as surreal as leaving the hospital. We spend months preparing a safe and cozy home for the little one and in a flash we hope that everything we need is ready and accessible. Joe is an amazing partner and father!

We were also really excited to introduce Avery to Caliente, her big sister. We greeted Cali outside to get her floppy running out and then brought her inside to meet her little brother. She gave him a couple sniffs and one big face lick... that was love. Cali has definitely become the protector in the house. She is alert when he cries and enjoys following us around, even sleeping next to his crib at nights instead of in our room.

We are grateful to have such a wonderful circle of friends and family. Thank you to everyone whom has stopped by the hospital or home, or has sent wonderful well wishes through mail. We look forward to sharing more photos as he grows up, hopefully slowly!! We just really enjoy staring at him all day and all night, look at that angelic face :)   



Welcome Avery Ross to our home and our lives. It's so awesome to finally be a family of 4! So, here's our little bundle of joy... he was born at 9.8 lbs and 22.5" long. He lost about one pound in the hospital and has successfully gained it all back, and then some by his 2nd week! Oh, you have a great home to be in if you like to eat good food.

(im)Patiently Waiting

Remember this photo of me at 6/7 months... well this is me now at 9.5 months. Come on little Shaver dude,  come meet your family already!!

We are so looking forward to taking photos of the babe, not the belly. Stay tuned!

An umbrella, please?

     June has been a magical month as most of our pregnancy. Our child birthing classes have been very informative and intimate. Joe was out of town for class #2 and I asked Susanne to join me as my coach. Knowing this was the breathing / relaxation technique class, we were ready for anything, almost. We had our serious faces on, but giggled through most of class. We danced belly to rib cage (I'm sure you can figure it out) and she gave me back rubs and cuddled behind me cheering on my breathing. We became very close sisters in one quick evening!! Love ya Suze.

     We had our last (hopefully) ultrasound to clarify if we would need a C-section... and thankfully we do not have to have one planned. Unfortunately, our doctor said the Little Babe is growing so well that both of my labor fears are coming true.... big baby and big head. Excellent. So as of the end of May he weighed 4 and 1/4 lbs with the idea that he'll most likely gain more than a 1/2 pound each week. Dr. Michelle explained that we should expect either to go early or a 9-12 lb baby. Awesome. We are praying for early, but not too early. We want this guy to have healthy lungs and be born in NY state. Please pray with us that he arrives safely (and slim) around the 4th of July.

     Speaking of taking bets on arrival... Susanne and Rachel gave me a beautiful and memorable little girlie shower. They all brought their favorite books to start the babe's library. It was so personal and touching to hear why each person chose a certain book, as it has close ties to their hearts... and now ours. Thank you ladies for being the amazingly strong circle of girlfriends a woman could ever ask for, you are all gems (near and far!).

     A couple days later, I received the green light to go to Indiana to take 2 more classes for my Gifted and Talented certification. The family gathered to make travel plans and to keep Little Man Shaver safe. Julie helped drive me to Indiana and flew home, then 2 weeks later Joey flew to Indianapolis to help me drive home. Indy was a great 2 weeks to spend with Grandma, Uncle Allen and Aunt Dianna and several rain clouds. I learned that Indiana in June is in 'Tornado Watch' season. I also learned that if you do not have a basement, you might end up having tea in the bathtub with your grandma. Thankfully that never happened, but I was as scared as a Texan driving on NY roads during a snowstorm.

     Though the classes were incredulously intense, I am glad that I was physically and mentally able to take them. Each class was a full day for one week and a boat load of reading, researching and writing each night. Fridays have never felt so good. My Moma came up from TN in the middle weekend to come play. We spent most of the time out of the heat and floating in the pool :) It was great to see her so close to our due date!

     For those following, this also means that I missed child birthing class #4. Joe was a super dad-to-be and husband as he decided to go by himself! He sat through the info and video on C-sections and the show and tell portion of 'strange medical tools you might see', all before taking a tour of the birthing center and then relaying it all back to me over the phone. Joseph, you're one amazing man!!

     Now it's back to work and waiting for this little bundle to make his appearance. Like his sister, he's a very active nuzzler all day and knows to simmer down when he hears his Daddy's voice. Hopefully that will transfer over into the outer-womb room. We'll let you know when we are heading to Rochester General!

The Bump and the Little Man

    Well, I'm sure many of you are wondering what the 8th month looked like and the answer is... like I swallowed a basketball. This boy is all is front, round and large! This was the month that I wish I was out of the office more than in, purely because of the crass comments. I'm not sure when it's ever right to comment negatively on the appearance of anyone but I have made several people apologize to me and the other pregnant women in my office from hearing; "Are you sure you're not having twins?", "You're as big as a tent!", "Wow, did your Dr. get your due date correct, cuz you're HUGE!" or just the quaint, "Hey Big Mama."
    Now people, would it be ok if I commented on your obesity, baldness, or can I just plain comment on your lack of tact? I decided on using these misguided comments as my approach to teaching common sense and starting conversations with a compliment, rather than an exclamation. So, now I usually get the tail between the leg comments, "Hey little mama". The other pregnant ladies and I feel much better about going to work and not feeling trapped in our suites. A little grace goes a long way.

 As for the rest of the preparation... we feel ready and prepared. We had the most lovely family shower in mid-May. Many aunts, sisters, cousins, grandmas and great-grandma gathered at Carol's home for a lovely morning. Little Man Shaver and I were doted upon with homemade blankets, organic clothing and toys, food making supplies and even baby hiking gear! We are ready for anything, almost. I was thrilled to have the chance to chat with my favorite women, nearly all of whom are mothers, and gain some last minute stories. They in turn were privy to many funny Joseph and Aimee stories about us learning all the graphic lessons from vomit to meconium, gross.... gross... gross. The shower was absolutely lovely and this little man will be one cool kid with all the new gadgets and fashionable outfits. Thank you ladies!!   

Now for Joe, well, he enjoyed the shower in a different aspect. He was thrilled with all the fun baby boy clothes and gear, but like a true boy himself, he was more interested in the gift boxes.

Yes, while the ladies were wrapping up the day, Joe stealthily walked over to the large box in the middle of the room full of wrapping paper and decided to see if he could 'Superman' atop the open box. As you can see, the box started to crumple and 'Pumfph!' it collapsed. Brilliant.

Last week was my final week of classes at MCC and as usual, my students will always surprise me. On the last class, I was passing out evaluations and noticed there was an odd 'buzz' to class. For those that may not know or need a reminder, the professor can not be in the classroom during evaluations, but I wanted to know what the whispering was about. Low and behold my students had gifts for us. Difficult to fight back the tears, as you know I'm lacking in emotion these days ;)  They purchased us several children's books that they loved, a HUGE basket of clothing and infant sundries. I was speechless, until I told them that this would definitely not effect their grades. They laughed and I cried more. What a remarkable group of students. I looped with most of the class from the autumn semester. So they witnessed many life changes from our wedding, honeymoon, and then watched me grow into the spring semester. They have left an imprint on my heart and will be superb educators!!


What to look forward to next?
We start our child birthing classes at the hospital, I am starting to count down the weeks, our Dr. still has to give me permission to take classes in Indiana, and hopefully my boss will give me health insurance throughout the summer; nothing major. More to come in June.

The Babe's Room

I really should create the name of this post, 'don't eat the babe!'
   ... you'll see.


We are going with the non-traditional decoration of this room - no theme, just a zen feel.  Until a few weeks ago, we were planning on selling the house in a couple of years, so we didn't want to decorate or paint a mural to just paint over it again during the sale. Now, we are happily planning to stay another 5 years before expanding and heading eastward.

Many of you might not have known that this simple room was Aimee's art room and a second guest room. It was PACKED to the gills with art supplies and it took months to clear out the items and find new homes for everything. Joe was pretty pushy about cleansing the house of my junk if we were going to purchase more items. Oh, believe me, I had my fun in his music room, no worries! So in mid-April, we finally had a blank room to start decorating.

We wanted a soft sage color with wheat and dark chocolate accents. When the room was finished, it was more reminiscent of mint chocolate. Joe said every time he walked into the room he would get hungry and thought about eating mint chocolate chip ice cream. He thought about it so much that I think he got a little crafty. He finally questioned, what if he eats the babe?? There's NO eating of the babe!! Oh, his quick response then was to keep the freezer always filled with chocolate chip ice cream. Yep, I fell for it!

There's a few items that still need to arrive... like the crib, etc. And we have a few little chores left, like to install that fan and change out the brown door... but at least we can sleep now knowing that the major stuff is done! Our friend, Dianne, is making the curtains to match the daybed duvet. I'll post more when those arrive.

The Belly Shots

Oh, not the kind we are laughing about... but here are some great belly growth photos.

Thankfully, I was fairly trim until a week before our 6th month. I had a little bump. Joe thought sometimes I was just pushing my belly out to pretend I looked pregnant. I didn't tell my co-workers until I was 6 months to try to prevent as much unsolicited advice. Perfect timing, as I'm out of the office everyday now with competitions until mid-May... so when I return I'll be huge!

Like it had a timer... on the 6th month, my belly started to pop! I had to make the quick transition out of my fat girl pants and into maternity dresses. Here's our first picture at 6-1/2 months. I wish I could wear tanks and yoga pants everywhere!



These next few photos are at 7 and 7-1/2 months. I'm fearing that I'll have to put the high heels away in a few weeks, as I'm on toting boxes and climbing stairs all day.

I do have to compliment the modern high school student. I have received more offers from teenagers to help hold doors and carry boxes while squeezing through the hallways.

Chivalry is still alive and among our young citizens!

We'll be adding photos of the babe's room soon!

New Babe Digs!

Since Joey's away, I thought Caliente and I should show off some of our newest purchases!

The first batch of cloth diapers are freshly laundered and ready for the little Shaver to come join us. These diapers are awesome. The inserts come out and can be machine dried and the covers dried on the line in a few hours.

I love the rainbow of Happy Hienies, Bum Genius, SmartiPants and FuzzyBunz. Of course, I'm so ecited about the colors that will be wiggling on our son's bum... we had to find alternatives to pants to show off his cuteness.

Baby Legs! We purchased a handful of these leg warmers and Caliente was very excited to model them for you. She's going to be a super big sister!! I love our family.

Party in the Ultrasound Room!!

We tried to gather all of the women to see the BIG 20 week ultrasound. We had it planned for 3:30pm in Penfield. Thankfully it was a snow day and all schools were closed so everyone here could make it. Joe's mom, Julie; Joe's step-mom, Carol; Joe's sisters, Susanne and Molly; Joe and I were all able to come. We knew my mom and sis couldn't make it with them being in Tennessee and going through the big move to Atlanta. So we made foolish plans to have my mom on speaker phone and record the appointment to post here...

Did you know you can't bring a cell phone into a doctor's appt? Did you also know that you can't record an ultrsound?? ummm, sorry mom! So unfortunately they had to learn of the news after the appointment :(

Rewind: The Ultrasound room is about the size of 2 bathrooms and we all squished in there. She asked if we wanted to know the gender and 6 voices bellowed, "YES!!". It wasn't to long after she finished measuring the HUGE 'little Joey' head, that she said, "Well, this one is not shy at all!" ... and there was the image of our babe with spread legs... "Yep, he's all boy!" There was a squeal of excitement and all of the old wives tales were confirmed:

-no morning sickness, huge headaches, salty cravings, clear face, lack of sleep, etc., etc.

The sonographer was really interested in measuring bones and taking pictures of close up body parts. It was awesome to see the baby, HIM.. I can finally say HIM!, to move around and all 10 toes, 10 phalanges, and a smiling face... but I really wish she would have zoomed out to see the whole babe. So here are some close up shots of Mr. Baby Shaver. Yep, we've got to get cracking on boy names. Susanne and Molly are trying so hard to get a nephew with a British accent, hence all of the British name suggestions.

Regardless, we are THRILLED to have a little baby boy on the way. Joe is ecstatic about having a boy, but not too thrilled about all the colorful diapers and clothes I keep buying. I think boys should be able to wear pink with brown argyle socks. We are now 1/2 way there, and I'm just starting to show. More photos to come!

Avocado News

We got the great news this week... Baby Avocado is genetically safe!

There's a 1:1600 chance that baby avocado could have Downs Syndrome and 1:26,000 chance that baby avocado could have Trisomie 18. Those are amazing numbers and yes... we were concerned with everything, since we've chosen to wait so long.

My doctor told me that I was one of her top 10 healthiest pregnant women.. which Joe was SO excited about, and it actually made me so sad. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that she thinks I am healthy, really... but in the top 10?! I know that I could eat better, exercise more, make better life choices.. and this means is that there are 1000's of women out there that are in questionable health conditions. Yep, that' the mercy in me...

Both Joe and my mom had to remind me to keep positive, and worry more about me and the babe. So I did have another chat with my doctor who reminded me that of all the crazy ideas I've had in my life about; worrying about organic clothing, organic vegetables & milk... stressing about housing products that gas-off, making conscious decisions to be environmental.. all of this has helped keep me healthier. (ok, there is a small part inside of me that wants all my crazy ex-boyfriends to know that I wasn't crazy... being environmentally smart is healthy smart!!) and Joey, you are the best!

So, all in all... we are doing great! Baby Avocado is moving around a little. and I can't wait to see if you are a little Aimee or a little Joey!

"I tricked you..."

I had my second ultrasound scheduled along with genetic testing. One of my bridesmaids warned me (knowing my huge fear of blood) that they'd take 15 viles of blood. Everyone else I talked to, said that was rediculous. It didn't matter, I knew I would pass out and vomit and, and, and...

I have never donated blood. Yes, I am a girly-girl when it comes to blood, hence why I am a teacher, not a doctor. If you were in my 4th grade class, you'll remember my oral presentation of "What I want to be when I grow up: NOT a vet!" I spent a few days researching the job and shadowing our local vet. I got nauseous during shots and blood draws, but the worst was when a little Schnauzer was being checked for... I don't know, foreign objects up the bum? Anyhow, when that gloved finger went in... the dog's neck went straight and boom! Aimee went down. From that day, I never wanted to be a vet again, nothing in medicine. I took several F's in Biology to opt out of any dissection or blood. elck.

So, Joe-Joey gave me adult pep talks about how smart and strong I am, that I can do this, give 15 viles of blood. I actually thought I could too. Until that morning, I crumpled. Joe was already at work and I needed a hand to hold. I quickly called Jimmy, Joe's step-dad, whom cleared his schedule to come save this damsel in distress.

We got to the appointment and the ultrasound was first, but I wanted to trick Jimmy. When we went in I was talking about how I need my dad to hold my hand when I give blood and started rolling down my pants and up my shirt. I could only imagine what he was thinking... "Where are they going to take the blood from, your belly?" I tricked you!! It's an ultrasound, you get to see the baby today!!

Now, even though Jimmy helped raise Susanne and Joseph, I don't believe he had ever witnessed an ultrasound. It was so awesome to see it through his eyes. Being the true Jimmy, he asked a gazillion questions, "What's that?", "Why is the baby doing flips?", "Where did you go to school?"... it really was amazing to see the baby SO active in there, arching his back, flicking his head and floating up and quietly sinking down... just to do it all over again. I think the Sonographer was so happy to see Jimmy so tickled that she printed off many photos for us to share. :)

Then we went across the street to donate my buckets of blood. I just asked Jimmy to keep talking to me so I'd laugh. He was great. I was SO distracted that she only took one vile of blood and it was easy. Too easy, only one vile?! I can't believe I've never donated blood before. I'm totally doing this after my delivery. I was instructed to go get a Frosty (ok!?) and rest. Jimmy and I separated and I drove home. Upon getting out of my car, I noticed the stack of papers I had in my hands while giving blood. UMMMM, what are these?

My worst fear was correct... I drove back to the vampire shop and gave them the papers, they almost lost their face, trying not to laugh. Yep, I had to give 12 more viles of blood. Well, I am actually grateful of how it turned out. If I had to give 13 viles of blood all at once, I think I would have been a puddle of tears, but the phlebotomist did a great job and I didn't cry. It was all worth it... look at these beautiful photos of Baby Lemon!