New Life

May 27 2011 - 8 weeks pregnant - 120lbs

January 06 2012 - 40 weeks pregnant - 139lbs

On December 30 2011 Steven and I had temporarily moved to Yongsan (roughly two hours away) waiting for Avery to make her appearance. Since 38 weeks I had been having contractions every 2-3 minutes yet Avery's due date came and went.

Sunday - January 08 2012 - 2 days past due:
Steven and I had slept in until 1400 (2pm). My contractions were weak and irregular for the first time in over two weeks. To kill time Steven and I went to the PX. Five minutes into our excursion I experienced 3 very powerful contractions nearly back to back. I told Steven I wanted to go home (well our home for the time being). He told me I would have contractions no matter where I went so we should just stay at the PX and shop the sales rack. I got two new shirts :) After we checked out we headed back "home". I packed my hospital bag while Steven played xbox. I'm a bit of an organization freak and didn't want him messing up my packing system.
At 1700 (5pm) we decided to head to the hospital which was located on Yongsan. I was 4cm and admitted immediately. Steven skyped my mom to let her know it was time. The nurses dug around in my left hand trying to find a vein but were unable to get an IV in. My blood pressure dropped, an alarm went off and several nurses rushed into the room. Avery did not like the drop in BP, I did not like being stabbed multiple times with a needle. They were finally able to get an IV into my right wrist. Roughly an hour later I was given my epidural and the doctor broke my water. My labor was progressing too quickly so the epidural couldn't keep up, I felt everything! Steven was my rock, he held my hand the entire time and talked me through contractions <3 The anesthesiologist continually pumped drugs into my epidural in the hopes that it would take effect. By 2200 (10pm) I was fully dilated. Steven and the nurse kept talking about the full head of hair that Avery had. I requested a mirror be brought in the room so that I could see. I could still feel the contractions in the top of my belly but had no urge to push so we held off on pushing and let my body work Avery down. At 2245 (1045pm) I started pushing, luckily the epidural kicked in just in time. My nurse held one leg and Steven held the other. Avery was born 19 minutes later!

Avery Quinn Lyon - January 08 2012 - 11:04pm - 7lbs 9oz - 19.5in - at 121 BAACH Seoul, South Korea

Bloginity: The Origins of Avery

I have finally lost my bloginity. I was inspired after reading a blog written by a fellow Army wife/mother/friend in Korea. This is the perfect way for people who lack a FB (such as my parents) to stay up to date on our life. This first post is going to be a random mess just FYI.

Steven and I married in December 2010. Steven wanted to start a family from the moment we said 'I do' but I was not willing to be pregnant without him by my side so we waited. He was sent to South Korea, his first duty station, in March. I moved to Korea a month later on our own dime with my life in two suitcases. While in Korea we were guaranteed a year together and decided to start our family. I had preemptively started taking prenatal vitamins in February, went to the dentist (good oral hygiene is important for pregnant women), and had a preconception appointment with my doctor the week before I moved so I felt slightly prepared. We spent a week living in a hotel, also on our dime, before moving into our apartment in the city. 

I took a pregnancy test on Steven's birthday later that month. We had agreed to wait until May 1st to test but I got up early that morning and couldn't wait another day to test. I brushed my teeth looking at everything but the pregnancy test trying to pass the time. It was positive! I excitedly ran into our bedroom, test in hand, and woke up Steven. I told him I had a birthday present for him but he sleepily told me I already bought him a bike and tried to go back to sleep. I informed my dear husband that I had taken the pregnancy test early which caused him to perk up. I told him it was positive and showed him the test. We held each other in a loving embrace for a few minutes. 

We were very strapped for time that morning as we had to attend a Korean head start class. We decided to call our parents after class as we only had 5 minutes to spare and doubted the calls would be that short. We HAD to tell someone though. Steven called his friend Mitch (congrats Mitch you were the first person to find out we were pregnant) and I called my friend Kristen. Telling someone allowed us to get through the excruciatingly long class. 

After class Steven called his mom at 4am her time. She apparently didn't believe him, hung up and didn't answer the phone again haha. My parents were on their way to work when I told them over Skype. My mom was happy for us, I think my dad was too busy thinking of ways to murder Steven :)

                            April 28 2011: the beginning of the journey known as motherhood