She has arrived!

Well, it has been a week since our dear daughter, Avery Rayne, made her appearance into this world. She is absolutely perfect! From her head to her ten fingers and toes...perfect! Thank you to all of you who lifted her up in prayer that she might enter this world a healthy perfect little girl. Our prayers have been answered. On Monday, September 22, at 10:41 a.m. Avery graced us with her presence weighing in at 6 lbs 6 oz and measuring 18.5 inches long. AMAZING. There is really no other way to express the feelings that came over us to hear her first cries. To see her for the first time. To hold her tiny hand. Nine months is long time to wait to meet someone. We start to picture her face, color of her hair, her expressions and then the day comes and she is so much more than we could have ever imagined.

We spent through Thursday afternoon in the hospital recouperating from the c-section, and both mom and Avery are doing great.

So, the question on everyone's mind is, "How did Dad do with his first ever diaper change?" If you looked up in the dictionary "Professional Diaper Changer", you would find (n) Kevin Young and his picture. Dad jumped right in there without hesitation and mastered the art. He is so good at changing diapers that mom has changed very few.

We couldn't wait to bring her home and settle into our own routine without the every 30 minute interruptions from the nurses and doctors. If they didn't need to check my vitals, it was Avery's they needed to check. As to be expected, Avery lost some weight the first few days in the hospital and got down to 5 lbs. 13 1/4 oz., but before we left the hospital, she had gain a few ounces back and her going home weight was 5 lbs. 15 1/2 oz.

Avery had her first pediatrician appointment on Saturday, September 27. She passed the physical exam with flying colors...and her weight was up to 6 lbs. We will go back to the doctor on October

6 for her next exam.

God has blessed our family with this precious little girl and entrusted us to raise her and we are so honored to be called mom and dad. Thanks again for all your prayers, love and support throughout our pregnancy. We asked that you continue to pray for us as parents. Below are some pictures from her first week.

Much love and God Bless,

Kevin, Julie & Avery Young

Dad introduces Avery to Mom.

She is perfect and Dad can't keep his eyes off of her.

One of Avery's many photo ops at the hosptial.

And, we continue with the photo ops.

Will her eyes stay blue or turn to brown like Dad's?

I didn't so much like my first bath, but the ending part is warm!

Two Days Away

(For some reason the posts says 9/12, but we actually posted on 9/18.)

We can't believe she is almost here...only 2 days until her arrival. That's right, September 22 at 10 a.m. we are scheduled to meet our daughter, Avery Rayne.

We have been nesting getting the house all ready, washing her "little" clothes & bedding, putting together the bouncer seat & swing...heck we have had the car seat in the car ready to go for the last two weeks.

As many of you know, on 8/22 Julie was put into the hospital with pneumonia and had to stay for 5 days. She is much better now and we thank you all for your prayers on her speedy recovery. We were very lucky in that it seems that Avery was not placed in any danger during Julie's illness.

Once Julie got her strength back up, we decided to document the last days of our pregnancy with some photos. We hope you enjoy.

We will post her first photos and stats later next week.

God Bless,
Kevin & Julie Young (Soon to be Daddy and Mommy)

Introducing Avery Rayne Young

That's right, we finally have decided on a middle name for our daughter...Avery Rayne Young. (And for those of you who are wondering, it is pronounced "rain".)

We went to the doctor on July 29, for our check-up at 30 weeks. She weighed in at 3lbs 3 oz. We were able to see a really good image of her little face (see image below). She looks just like Kevin when he was a baby. It is truly amazing the detail you can see in the new 3-D technology. Avery continues to stay on track as far as her measurements and the doctor believes we will have a healthy baby girl. Again, we continue to ask that you might pray for her health through these last through weeks until her arrival. (Even after her arrival, you can keep her in your prayers!)



The old wives' tale is that indigestion is a sign of a head full of hair, well she must be full of it because not a day goes by that I don't have indigestion. (That's a good thing, b/c I was 2 yrs. old before I even started getting hair.)

On this visit we also scheduled her birth date for Monday, September 22, 2008. We are not sure of the time, but we will keep everyone posted. It has been a great joy to set the date and anticipate knowing we will be parents on that 9/22. Our lives forever changed and we wouldn't have it any other way.

God Bless,
Kevin & Julie Young

We are still growing...

Hey, everyone. There is not a whole lot to update from our last visit on June 24th. We did receive another ultrasound and all of Avery's measurements continue to be on the healthy side without any indication of an issue. Praise God!

Our little miracle weighed 1 lb. 13 oz. at this visit. As she grows, I continue to grow.

At the last ultrasound, we could not get a great image of her face, b/c she kept it hidden behind her arms and legs. She was in a pike position - she is already gearing up to be a diver or a gymnast. It looked really uncomfortable to me, but I guess she enjoyed it.

Our next appointment is on July 29 and we will start to talk with the doctor on scheduling the c-section. We can't believe we are only 10 weeks away from meeting our little girl.

We will continue to keep everyone update and ask that you continue to keep Avery's health in your prayers.

God Bless,
Kevin & Julie

The Power of Prayer! (Week 21)

The past two weeks we have been praying for this doctor's appointment. We have asked everyone we could think of to pray for our little girl and we appreciate everyone that has been doing so. God has heard our prayers!

The ultrasound went great! All of Avery's measurements are on track. The "double-bubble" that was the big scare turns out that it is 100% her gallbladder. As of today, the doctor is lowering Avery's risks of having down syndrome substantially and feels that she will be nothing short of healthy.

This does not mean we are completely out of the woods, with all the good news the doctor was obligated to remind us that the blood test still came back at high risk for downs. Some children show no signs of downs on an ultrasound and the potential is still there. However, Kevin and I are choosing to believe in the power of prayer for a positive outcome. We continue to ask for your prayers, as well as ask for your praise to God for the wonderful miracle of life he has already bestowed upon us.

Stats from today's visit...
Avery's weight = 14 oz.
Julie's weight = yeah right, like I am going to tell you that! I will say that I have gained a total of 9 lbs at the halfway mark.

Our next appointment is June 24th and an update will soon follow.

God Bless All of You
Kevin and Julie Young

And, We're Back! (Weeks 13 - 19)

I guess you are wondering...where have we been? Well, we just don't have a great answer or excuse, but our goal today is to catch you up on all the exciting pit stops we have had along the way in our journey of parents to be.

Looking back from our last post we had a doctor's appointment on 4/3/08. During our visit the doctor had a little difficulty finding the baby's heartbeat on the audio scan, which made us extremely nervous. After a long awaited hour, the tech quickly relieved our fears when she found the heartbeat shortly after the ultrasound began. This was definitely our first scare as parents, but we are sure not our last worry! And, can we say...WOW...baby Young has developed so much that the baby was trying to give us a wave (as you can see from the picture below- 13 weeks).

We were so completely blown away that after 4 weeks we could actually start to see the formation of the face, body and limbs. Now, our daydreams of what he or she is going to look like really began. We have posted a short video of Baby Young's first on-screen debut...a small case of the hiccups as you will see, and if you listen closely you can hear the heartbeat! Each time we visit the doctor, the reality sets in even more and more...our little one will be here soon and we can't wait!




As we look ahead to 4 weeks later, we are back at the doctor's office in anticipation of finding out if we are having a boy or girl. It is 4/29/08 and Julie is 17 weeks and definitely showing!

This visit was a little different because Kevin was on the road. Not to worry, because that's what grandparents are for. Rita (Sharon) came along on the visit and was very excited to see all the technological advancements in the world of ultrasounds.

We met the doctor, heard the heartbeat, then went to get some bloodwork before the ultrasound. We waited over 2 hours to get the bloodwork done. Rita (Sharon) can tell you that I was not a happy camper. I thought for sure we would miss being able to have an ultrasound today...that chance to find out is it a boy or a girl?! Stay calm, we made it back in time.

This baby of ours sure has made some more major advancements. It completely blows are minds how quickly he or she is developing. Each time we are able to get a little more detail of the physical charateristics of Baby Young. And, yes we now know the gender of the baby. Well, sort of. Kevin wasn't able to be here for this appointment and we decided to have the doctor write in a card the gender so that when Kevin comes back home on May 19, we can open it up and find out what we are having together. For those of you who know me (Julie) best, you know the anticipation is driving me nuts. I am the girl who opened all her Christmas presents early and re-wrapped them before mom and dad could find out. How was I to keep from looking in the envelope? This time, it was easy. I knew how excited I was to see Kevin's face and be in his presence when we find out. So, we will all have to wait for now. But, here is a recent photo of the little one...in 3-D imaging! Baby Young is weighing in at 6 ounces while Julie is weighing in at, well let's just say Julie has gained a total of 5 pounds total for the pregnancy so far. (You thought I was going to tell you my weight!)

Thursday, May 8, 2008, I (Julie) received a phone call from the doctor telling me some discouraging news. The blood test/screening I had done on my last appointment show up with an extremely elevated risk of us having a Down Syndrome baby. The normal rate of risk for someone at my age is 1 out of 649. My tests came back with a risk of 1 out of 60 chance of having a Downs Baby. The doctor scheduled me a follow-up ultrasound on May 13 where they will look for what is called soft markers of Down Syndrome. The blood test/screening that was performed only has an 81% rate of detection of Down Syndrome, so it not a definitive test. It is a preliminary test that is performed to alert any high risks. This blood test/screening also carries a great deal of false-positives, meaning that many of high risk patients will go on to deliver healthy babies.

A plethora of emotions came over me as I was listening to this information. Kevin has been out on the road and that was an extremely hard phone call to make to him. We both agree that this baby is a miracle and gift of God that no matter if the results were not in our favor, we would continue to love Baby Young as we always have. It was just such tough news to take about our baby. Our hearts wept from the thought of our baby having to go through any emotional or physical suffering. Immediately, we turned to God and put our faith in him to heal any illness that might be trying to invade our precious baby's body.

Kevin is not due to come back home until May 19, and we were having a difficult time wrapping our thoughts around the unknown position we were in of whether Baby Young would have Down Syndrome or not. On Friday morning, I recieved a message that some of God's angels (you know who you are) wanted to fly me out to see Kevin over the weekend (Mother's Day weekend). This was an absolute great gift and Kevin & I want to say THANK YOU! Being able to console each other's fears, learn more about the blood test/screening that had been performed, more about Down Syndrome and more about each other's feelings while being in the physical presence of one another made the news much easier on our hearts. For all of those who knew what was happening at this point and for all the prayers that were lifted up and continue to be lifted up, we cannot say THANK YOU enough.

In the midst of our visit together, we were able to relish and celebrate some AMAZING news...it's a GIRL! I brought along the card and ultrasound video from my last visit to the doctor just in case we wanted to find out early. And, of course we did! We watched the video late Friday night and called our parents afterwards. (Which I must say with the 2 hour time zone difference we woke our parents up around 1:30 a.m. to say...it's a girl!) From now on, we will refer to her as Avery Young. We have not settled on a middle name, yet. I started feeling Avery move around and kick late Thursday night and so all weekend when I was still, she would be moving and when I was moving she would be still. I guess we haven't been able to get on each other's sleeping schedules, yet! I am sure I will have to adjust to hers first. :) I know I haven't posted a picture of me, so here I am without a doubt pregnant!

Sunday came and it was time to go home. Kevin and I said our goodbyes and anxiously awaited the doctor's visit on Tuesday, May 13.

Tuesday, May 13, Rita (Sharon), David & I are heading to Louisville today for my ultrasound test, where the doctor will be looking for any soft markers that would indicate Down Syndrome. As any parent, I was extremely nervous throughout the entire appointment. Some of the indicators that the doctor is looking for are the presence of a nasal bone, normal length of the thigh bone, 4-chamber healthy heart, structure of the fingers & toes, which all turned out to be normal. There was one glitch in the ultrasound that brought up a red flag. Avery appears to have what doctors call a "double bubble" (duodenal atresia), which is where the stomach empties itself into the intestines, but there is some obstruction in the intestines that creates a secondary sac of fluid to form a bubble. A "double bubble" is a soft marker for Down Syndrome, however the doctor could not make a definitive conclusion that what he saw was in fact a "double bubble". In most cases of Down Syndrome, fetuses will show more than one soft marker during the ultrasound. Now, we have two tests that are showing a high risk for Down Syndrome and are faced with the question of having an amniocentesis procedure performed that will tell us 99% sure if Avery has Down Syndrome or not. There is a 0.5% miscarriage rate with the amniocentesis procedure, which is why we are struggling with whether to have the test done or not. We already know that she perfect in our eyes and God's no matter what. We opted to not have the procedure done today and take the next few weeks to pray and let God direct as to whether we should have the amniocentisis done or not. We did receive more pictures of Avery from this appointment and I have attached the most amazing one. She weighs 9 ounces!

Our next appointment is on Tuesday, May 27 and we will have another ultrasound at that appointment to see if the doctor can tell more. We will also make a decision for the amniocentesis on that date as well. Kevin and I ask that you would keep Avery in your prayers and continue to pray for her health throughout the rest of the pregnancy and birth.

God Bless each of you! All our love,

~Kevin & Julie Young

The Journey of a "Young" Baby

Welcome. We hope you enjoy being a part of our firstborn by reading along. We will periodically send out updates when new posts have been made.

Many of you know the beginning of our amazing story, but just in case there are a few that do not have all the details...Once upon a time...

On January 31, 2008 Kevin & I found out through a home test that we were in fact pregnant! WHAT?! We had somewhat planned this, but just didn't think it was going to happen right now. What I mean is that we decided we would try, but I got cold feet and wanted to wait. Well, God was ready for it to happen now. Immediately, we told our parents. Both sets of parents (or should I say Grandparents) were thrilled. This will be the first grandchild on my side and the fourth on Kevin's side.

We received confirmation of the pregnancy on Febrauary 12. This was the most amazing doctor's visit I have ever had! Since I was only 6 weeks along, there wasn't much to see on the ultrasound, but we did get to see the small peanut. Kevin asked about hearing the heartbeat and as Dr. P. was explaining how tough it would be to find the heartbeat at such an early stage...there it was! Our baby's heartbeat! That feeling of knowing that this is real. We are having a baby. A baby is growing inside of me. WOW! There are just not words to describe. I had a smile form ear to ear. It was as if our baby was saying hi to us for the first time. So, here is a picture of Baby Young at 6 weeks.

From that point, we started making the phone calls to family and friends to share our great news. And, Kevin and I started talking baby...names, gender, nursery, money, etc.

Almost 4 weeks later, we had our second appointment with Dr. P. This time the appointment went much quicker. We heard the heartbeat again and we both were still in awe of the sound. And, we had another ultrasound and to our surprise Baby Young had changed dramatically. We think we might have a dancer on our hands as much as the baby was movin' and shakin'. If this ultrasound is any indication of how active our baby is going to be, we definitely better stock up on the energy drinks to keep up! In the ultrasound photo at 9.5 weeks, you will see the little nubs for arms and legs. Isn't Baby Young so adorable!? (And, oh yeah, I have gained 2 pounds.)

So, that in a nutshell catches everyone up to date. We have our next doctor's appointment on April 3. More news to come from that visit. We ask that you would keep us in your prayers as we continue growing this amazing gift from God.