Basically Brooks

Wow! I can't believe it's almost been a month since our last post. Time is flying by and I sure do wish it would slow down! Things are going great right now. We are working hard to keep Ava on a schedule and even though it can be tough at times, it's going great. Last week we stopped waking her up for her two thirty feeding and let her wake us up when she got hungry. The first two nights she woke up at two and two thirty and then she started stretching it out to three or three thirty. One night she slept until four and she did that three nights in a row. Six hours of sleep felt so good for all of us! What's even more amazing is that last night she slept from 10 to 5 a.m. She is well on her way to sleeping a full eight hours. Many of you know that Kyle and I have decided to use the Babywise method so that Ava will start sleeping through the night at about eight weeks. Lots of you moms out there know what Babywise is, but some of you may not. So, I'll tell you a sum

Snuggle time with Daddy. I love this girl! Wow! Two weeks has passed since Ava was born. Lots has happened in those two weeks. Let me see if I can catch you up! This week, Kyle went back to work. We have really missed him being at home, but we are also having wonderful days together! Kyle has done a great job adjusting to work and being a daddy. He still helps a great deal at night too which blows most people away. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband. Ava has quickly gotten on a feeding routine and is eating every three hours during the day. At night she eats at 9:30 and then we have to wake her up around 2:30 to eat and then wake her up again at 6:30 to eat. I think if we didn't wake her up she'd probably sleep until morning, but we gotta make sure she's getting the calories she needs to gain weight at a healthy pace. Last Wednesday we took her to the doctor to get her weight checked. She had only gained two ounces since we left the hospital. We went back

Well, since our last post, I gave birth to our first daughter, Ava. We are totally in love with her. She is perfect and beautiful and amazing. We can't thank God enough for this precious blessing. Let me update you on the last week. Last Thursday morning, we went and checked into the hospital at 9:30 for my scheduled C-section. The surgery was scheduled for 11:30. I felt pretty good up until the hour before the surgery happened. At that time, I got the nervous shakes. I was scared of going under the knife for my first time ever, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well everything went. The doctor was late so everything got pushed back about an hour which made the nerves really kick in. At a little before 1:00 I was wheeled in to the OR. Kyle had to wait in a little room until a nurse came to get him. I had to get my spinal tap and he couldn't be in there for that. I warned the nurse that I was going to squeeze her really hard because I was scared to death of that needle. I wa

We can't believe this is the week we will see our daughter. Some of you may be thinking, "What? How do you know? Your due date isn't even until next week!" Well, let me update those of you who may be thinking this. Last week, on Wednesday, we went to the doctor, hoping and praying that my body would be showing some progress towards having a baby. The doctor checked and informed us that the baby is still kinda high, and that I'm not 1 cm dilated, but I'm not 0 cm either. So she told us it was time to make a plan. Here's what she came up with. She said that if I am dilated 2-3 cm by this Wednesday, then she'll send me over to the hospital right then and start inducing me. But, if I'm not 2-3 cm then the following day, Thursday, she would do a c-section. She knew we were going to be on Fall Break and that we'd love to spend a couple of free extra days off with Ava so she said we could do it this week. She's going out of town on Fri

Yesterday Kyle and I went for our second ultrasound. Our doctor was not 100% sure of Ava's position so she ordered us another one. We were both excited and anxious to see Ava again. Boy, is it different from 19 weeks to 37. She looks so smooshed in there! We got a picture of her beautiful profile and another that ensured us she is still a girl! We got to see her spine, her brain, her heart beating rapidly, and even her full little bladder. (Mine was about to pop since I had to wait 2 hours without using the bathroom. That was no fun at all!) The ultrasound showed us three main things. 1. Ava's definitely in the heads down position, 2. it looks like I am 37 1/2 weeks pregnant instead of just 37, and 3. She looks like she weighs about 7 lbs 9 oz. as of right now. The ultrasound tech kept telling us that her weight is an approximate. He said sometimes they are so close it's scary or so far off it's embarrassing ! Anyway, she sounds like she's at a heal

We have been so busy lately we feel like we never stop going. Let me take a moment to update you with what's going on at the Brooks home. First of all, we have had two wonderful showers in the past couple of weeks. One was hosted by my dear friend Jenny, at church, and the other was hosted by Kyle's former job...the doctor's office. We have started a big collection of things we actually need. We are slowly starting to feel like we are actually ready for the big day and the day we bring Ava home from the hospital. One of my biggest fears was that I would go into early labor and not be able to leave the hospital because we wouldn't have a car seat. Well, that has been resolved because this week we got it along with our stroller. We love it! We put it together immediately and started strolling around with it. We also installed the car seat base in our car and feel pretty good about things now. Our friends and family have truly been blessings during this time by helping to

Let me start off by saying, I am not one of those women who get depressed because they gain weight during pregnancy. If you don't want to gain weight, don't get pregnant. However, this is the week that I have had it with comments from people. So, I decided to blog about the rudeness of people. I know that short people who get pregnant carry it differently than normal size people who get pregnant. My weight is in my belly. And I look big. Period. I wish other people could just use their brain and realize that all women are different BEFORE they open their mouth. This week at open house, every person who passed by me said I looked like I was about to pop. Women at church, Wal-Mart, and everywhere else say I look miserable (and I can be laughing my head off at a joke when they say this), I am compared to every other pregnant lady that has walked this earth, and I am asked over and over how many babies are in my belly. This week at school a man teacher came into the faculty meeti

Well, we are officially in the third trimester...just three short months until we get to see our daughter. We can't wait! Now that we have her room almost complete, we are starting to feel impatient about waiting these next three months. Of course we want her to stay in there as long as possible, but we're so excited! This week we went to the doctor for the sugar test. They couldn't find blood from my arm so they had to get it from my finger. That hurts! I am so sorry for all the diabetics that have to do that several times a day! I asked when we'd know the results and the nurse said that no news is good news, so I'm guessing I don't have gestational diabetes. That's good because I don't know how I'd live without bread for three months! Kyle and I are keeping busy in our classrooms. He had to move his room to a new one down the hall, so that took a while at the beginning of the summer. I have been working on getting my lesson plans done for

I can not believe we are actually under 100 days until Baby Ava gets here....well, hopefully she won't hang out in there too much longer than that! We are so super excited about meeting our daughter. This past week we began putting furniture in her bedroom. As of right now we just have the crib and a storage shelf put up furniture wise. But we did get her bedding put in the crib and it looks awesome! Now we just need the dresser and of course our sweet baby to go in there and then her room will be complete. I am so excited and Kyle keeps saying he's getting really impatient with all this waiting. We went to our second birthing class last night. It's always such a fun experience. We love meeting new people and learning about birth. Kyle was thrilled he didn't have to practice pushing this time....he complained that he was sore for days after the last class. Our next doctor's appointment is coming up soon...July 21st. This is the one where they test for gesta

WOW! 20 days since the last blog and the Brooks family has been very, very busy! I guess I should tell all you followers out there that this is Kyle posting the blog. Rebecca suggested that I post this blog and has since then fallen asleep, so I guess here goes.....I would like to first start by saying that I have officially felt Ava move. Each time I would go to feel her move she would not kick and as soon as I would walk away she would make a movement. I finally told Rebecca to let me tell her when I felt a kick so that I could distinguish between the movements. This past Saturday I was finally able to feel her precious movements and she actually kicked three times in a row. We went to the doctor this past Monday and everything is just fine. It was an informal appointment with an amazing sound at the end...Ava's heartbeat. The next appointment will consist of Rebecca completing a sugar test. This means there will be a nasty drink involved and needles! After that w

Ava's getting stronger and stronger every day. That's what the books say and that's definitely what I'm feeling. I started feeling little flutters several weeks ago, and now they are turning into strong movements and rolling. I love feeling her move around inside of me! Kyle can't wait to feel her. He sits patiently on the couch with his hands on my belly-just waiting for her to kick. Unfortunately, I have to learn to control myself when she does because I get so excited and say, "Did you feel that!?" and his answer is,"I don't know because you were talking." So I gotta either work on that or wait until she gets even stronger. I know it may not seem like a very exciting post, but we are really excited about it!

Kind of fuzzy, but a great memory! It's a Girl!!! One of the only pictures of the cards I made! Yesterday was a pretty big day for Kyle and I. We had our first ultrasound and found out that we are having a precious baby girl! We were so shocked when the ultrasound tech. said it was a girl because everyone had convinced us it was going to be a boy. We were shocked but so very excited. This day was extremely emotional for me. As soon as I left school I was sobbing with joy. I just could not believe that in a few short minutes I was going to see our baby! I have honestly never been so overjoyed in all my life. The ultrasound was so fun. I laughed and cried the whole way through it. She was bouncing all over the place. We were really hoping we would get a good view of whether or not the baby was a boy or a girl an

We have officially started working on the baby's room.! We have quite a few things we'd like to do before he/she gets here. Here is our short list: Remove and replace baseboard with new that matches the rest of the house. Put up crown molding to match the rest of the house. Put up chair rail. Replace the fan. Paint. DECORATE!!!! As you can see, I am pretty excited about all this! This week my mom came over to rip off the old baseboard. She is a hard worker! She and Kyle knocked that job out in about 45 minutes. She has even said she would paint and put up the new for us as well! We are so thankful for all her help. Kyle and I are not gifted in the fix-up-your-house department. We are very fortunate to have such a large, talented family who can help us if we need it...which we do! Here are pictures of Kyle and Mom working on the baby's room. More to come soon!

My belly is getting bigger and bigger each day. Even though I haven't gained any weight by the doctor's scale...it's definitely growing. There has been a request to see the baby bump, so here it is in all its glory! Enjoy! This is me today at 16 weeks.

We had the fastest doctors appointment in history on Monday. It was so fast, Kyle almost didn't make it in time for it! But, he got there thankfully just in the nick of time. This appointment was pretty uneventful. They just checked my weight, blood pressure, and urine, and then we got to hear our baby's beautiful heartbeat again. This time it didn't take any time at all to hear it. It was 170 beats per minute again--same as last time. Once I commented on the fact that it was the same, it dropped to 164. The doctor laughed and said it was listening to me. We were really excited about this appointment because we got to schedule our ultrasound. We will know if we are having a boy or a girl on May 20 th ! We are both so excited we can't stand it! Kyle just knows it will be a boy, I on the other hand haven't said what I think it will be because I just don't know. However, I am getting convinced it may be a boy since everyone else is just so sure of it. E

This week, we reached the second trimester of the pregnancy. I was very excited to meet this milestone for two main reasons...1st you can breathe easier because the baby will most likely be healthy and less chance of miscarriage and 2 nd there is hope that morning sickness will be gone! Don't get me wrong, I wasn't as sick as some people who throw up 3 or 4 times a day, but just about every day all day I was nauseous and queasy-I only actually got sick 3 or 4 times a week. It really is true what women say, it seriously goes away as soon as you hit the 2nd trimester! What a relief! Not too much is going on here. We are just trying to be patient and wait to find out the gender of our baby. Some days it seems like the days and weeks are flying, but then other days it seems like it is going slowly. I just can't wait to call and pray for our baby by name. On a much funnier note, I think I will now include some of the awesome advice I have recieved from my 4th grade st

Yesterday, Kyle and I went to the doctor's office to see if we could hear the heartbeat. As soon as I got there, the receptionist said that our doctor was out delivering a baby and it would be about 30 minutes before she got back. No big deal, I just waited. Then Kyle got there about ten minutes after I did, and we waited some more. And some more. Two hours later, we were taken back to a room where we waited for about 20 more minutes. And finally the doctor was there! No complaining, she's a busy lady! And I had my best friend there to keep me company. What more could a girl ask for....except maybe a cheeseburger-I was STARVING. We were so happy when she came in. I thought I was going to jump off the table. She started telling us about finding the heartbeat and how it could be difficult to find. She told us that if we couldn't hear it, we would schedule an ultrasound so we could SEE it. Well, as soon as she said that I started to get nervous we wouldn't hea

Well, Kyle and I have a long 4 day weekend and then it's back to work on Monday. We can't wait until Monday because we finally get to hear our precious baby's heartbeat. I know that in that instant, everything is going to become even more real! I wish I had more patience than I do right now. But I am really trying to just enjoy each day of this pregnancy and not wish for the time to go by so fast. My Mammaw Gerl told me one time to stop wishing my life away. It didn't make since to me when I was younger, but now it definitely does. So, that's what I'm going to try to do! :) Since our last post, Kyle and I have purchased a car. We felt that the Camry was on its way to dying so instead of fixing its many problems, we decided to get a more reliable car. We got a great deal on a Honda Civic and it's the perfect size for my short self! Even better, we most likely will be able to pay it off before our baby gets here. Yay ! So we can check dependabl

Hello World! I wanted to post this on the blog at the beginning of the pregnancy so that it can become that much more real. I really have no words to describe how I am feeling right now. I do know one thing that God has so richly blessed our lives that it is just an amazing feeling to understand that in a few months I will become a dad. I will admit that there have been some moments when I have been so excited and overcome with joy that I can hardly stand it. I have not cried as of yet but I am sure it will come. I hope that doesn't sound girly , it is just the feelings I am having-thinking of being a father and R ebecca being a mother (she will be awesome). What an amazing journey God has put us on, from Rebecca and I meeting in 7t h grade, Senior year of high school, The Proposal, Wedding, and now understanding that we will be parents. It is an amazing time and God is blessing us each day. It has become more real being able to tell people we care so much about, the blessing Go

On March 2nd, Kyle and I went to our first doctors appointment. Boy, was it fun! Let's just say that funny things seem to happen to us no matter where we go. I won't go into specifics, but just know that peeing in a cup, while difficult, is quite hillarious! We found out our baby's official due date....October 15th. Right in the middle of the month. The nurse informed us that instead of us being almost 9 weeks along, we were really only 8 weeks. We thought it was weird that we were off a week, but it's no big deal! At this visit, they confirmed that we are pregnant, drew blood (which is a tramatic thing for me always!), and gave me a TB skin test. It wasn't that bad, Kyle said he was proud of me when it came time for the needles! I am trying to become courageous because I know that is the least of the pain that I will be experiencing in the next 7 months! Before we left, we scheduled our next appointment. We are really excited because we get to hear the he

This has been a great week for us. We told my mom, Grant, Mandy, and Sarah on Wednesday night after small group. Mom was totally surprised and excited. Sarah was excited too! Mandy said she guessed it so she wasn’t that surprised. Mom couldn’t wait to tell her mom, so we all loaded into Grant’s CRV and drove over to Granny’s. They were really excited as well. We were so glad we could tell that news with part of our family. The next night we were going to tell Kyle’s mom and sister, Katie. They were ecstatic! Now that we have told some of our family, this pregnancy seems to becoming more of a reality every day. Now I can talk with my mom and Kyle’s mom about what I am experiencing and it is awesome to not have to keep this a secret from them anymore. My sister, Mandy (Amanda to everyone else but family), asked if I wanted to go to a big sale at a consignment store yesterday. I said yes just to have something to do knowing that I wouldn’t buy anything because I am already starting to g

Pardon the hair and the outfit, this was really early in the morning! The Results Are In! Proud Father Holding the Test Kyle and I found out on Sunday, February 1, that we are pregnant! We had made the decision in November to go off the pill at the beginning of the New Year. We had talked a lot about starting a family, and prayed a lot about it too. We had always said that we wanted to wait until we had been married five years before we wanted to start trying, but one day in November, we just started talking about it. Both of us felt a stirring in our hearts and felt God saying that this would be a good time. We were excited about getting off the pill, but had a constant thought in the back of our minds that it would probably take months for us to get pregnant. We prayed that God would bless us with children and it was a constant conversation that was going whenever we were alone-it was our secret. We didn’t tell anyone that we were not using any birth control, and we were so excite