Running Partner

I love running, need to get in shape, & want to spend time with Ava in the evenings after work. So I decided to take her along on my run. We only went about 1.5 miles because I wanted to give it a trial run with her. I wasn’t too sure how she would react, but she enjoyed it. We went about half a mile then she feel asleep.

We should have a couple more weeks of nice weather. I dont plan to take her out when it gets too hot & humid.

Bumbo

We figured it was a good time to try the bumbo seat since Ava is trying to raise up from her bouncer & car seat. It was pretty funny when we 1st put her in it. She didn’t know what to do & just looked at us. Once I put some toys on her tray, she got the hang of it.

On a sad note - I started packing away all her New Born clothes. Some still have tags & some she only wore once. Makes me sad that she isn't a new born anymore & already an infant. Maybe one day she will have a sister to pass all her cute outfits on to.

3 months

I can not believe our baby is 3 months. Time is starting to fly by and Ava is changing every day.

This past weekend Ava went to another birthday party. My BF's daughter, Katelyn, turned 1. She was such a good girl at the party. She just watched all the action & snoozed. She must have been worn out from the party because I put her down by 8:30pm & she didn’t wake up until @ 5:30am for feeding then up for good at 8:30am. She also had her 1st visit to the plant nursery. I think she was bored looking at all the plants. Haha! She feel asleep in the baby sling with in 5 minutes of being there.

Happy Baby

Morning after shoots = Happy Baby

Doctor Appointmet @ 12 weeks

Ava had her 2nd round of shots yesterday....and boy was she mad. Can you tell in the picture? ha! Poor little baby turned red and was screaming. Her "Villa frown" was even showing. The evening & night went as expected. She wanted to be held and snooze on our shoulder. She had a mild fever so we gave her Tylenol. She still went to sleep about 8:30, woke up once at @3, then up for the day @ 7.

12 weeks (might be Too.Much.Information but this blog is also for us to remember our time with Ava. i.e.: look back on & compare siblings and keepsake for our family when I print blog to book at new year)

Stats -
Weight 14.1 lbs (90.12% weight for age)
Height 1'11.25" (50.98% height for age)
Head 15.75 (55.35% circumference for age)
Wears - 3months & still fits into some 0-3 months
Diapers - Wears size 2 pampers brand diapers (she could wear size 1, but since she is still wearing the hip brace at night we buy size 2 to allow plenty of room for comfort)
We use pampers sensitive wipes
Has not had a diaper rash
Formula - Enfamil Newborn with nipple size 0 (will move up to size 1 once 3 months on 27th)
working on increasing oz per feeding and decreasing feedings per day
For now:
4oz every 3 hours @ 28 oz
1 @ 6:30am at home
3 or 4 @ daycare
1 or 2 @ home in the evening
1 @ 2:30am feeding
Health -
Since staring daycare has been congested. Is much better.
For about a week her left eye has had heavy eye sleep in the morning & leaking through out the day. Doctor said she has a clogged tear duct. We will check for allergies at 6 months due to family history.
Wakes up - @ 6:30 in a good mood
I wake her up by unzipping the halo & rubbing her little feet/legs or head
She will stretch for a few minutes giving me time to take off her brace
Once she is completely awake I will pick her up & hold her a few minutes
Change her diaper, wipe her face, arms, & legs with a warm cloth
Feed 2 oz then burp
Last 2oz then burp
Dress her for the day
Tell daddy bye-bye
Load her up in the car seat & we are off to daycare @ 7am
See always falls back to sleep on the drive to daycare & will wake up @ 8/8:30
After daycare
we chat @ her day
get diaper bag ready for daycare the next day
tummy time, play time on mat, or time in rocker
feed 1 or 2 times depending on how day care feeding schedule went
lately hanging out on the patio with dad & grill, watch him work on the yard, or chat with neighbors
takes a little nap for @ 30mins
love, love, love on her
Bedtime routine - starts @ 8pm
start humidifier in her room
bath
massage
if needed, saline mist & clean nose with aspirator
dressed
put on brace
put on Halo Swaddle ( but don’t swaddle arms yet)
if she is not eager for a feeding, then quite time while I rock her in the glider (lights off, night light & cd player on)
if she is fussy & ready for bottle, straight to feeding while I rock her on the glider (lights off, night light & cd player on)
feed 2oz then burp
if needed, 3ml of tummy gas drops
feed 2oz…sometimes 3oz then burp
rock her for awhile & love on my sweet baby :)
once she is out swaddle her arms in halo & place her in positioner in her crib
turn on video monitor
ahh…..and she is out until @ 2:30
@ Ava - Ava the Grouch has been gone for sometime now…haha. Now Ava is so much fun & attentive.
She loves for you to talk to her. She will babble back to you, make raspberries, or suck on her hands.
Gives big gummy smiles
Will follow you or objects from side to side
Will grab for objects. Her hands are more relaxed now & not in a fist.
Loves music or noise
Still can only last a few minutes on tummy for tummy time. Last longer on boppy pillow for tummy time.
Loves to be held & carried around to explore her surroundings (and I love to hold her)
I swear she knows she is about to be fed (familiar with the feeding position). If you take too long she gets feisty until you put that bottle in her mouth.


I cant believe my baby will be 3 months this Sunday.

We can't live without

We can't live without:

Bouncer - sits in it daily while we are in the kitchen.
Rocker - great for when she takes naps through out the day or to put her in to talk/play with her (picture insert)
Glider - used nightly to rock my angel to sleep
Sleeping Halo Sack - perfect fit for her little brace & keeps her snug through out the night (picture insert)
Wedge positioner - used nightly to keep her in place & positions her tilted up since she hates sleeping flat on her back
CD Player - used nightly on repeat playing baby lullaby renditions of Nirvana
Night Light - used nightly to see Ava
Angel Care Monitor - just ordered Summer Infant Visual Monitor…can't wait to get it!
Dr. Brown bottles - 2nd bottle we tried & only bottle Ava likes
Dr. Brown pacifiers - 3rd pacifier we tried and only brand Ava will take
Cloth diapers - used daily while feeding
Formula dispenser - perfect for home & travel
Rectal Thermometer - only way to go! Gives me most accurate reading
Little tummies gas drops - used when I hear a toot or she starts to get fussy
Little noses saline mist - used when she sounds stuffy
Nose Aspirator - I'm obsessed with this!
Dell Inspiron Mini - used daily at work to see Ava at daycare

Daycare Cam

Ahhhh…we are up & running. I was pretty darn close to giving up on the whole daycare cam. I have been back at work for 2 weeks 2 days & IT finally has me set up. I did have to buy a new dell laptop (inspiron mini) to use at work because I could never log on through my work due to super strict firewall. IT had to set me up as an outside vendor & provide me with user name & password. The extra money & time it took was definitely worth it! I love the fact that I can peak in on Ava through out the day.

:) one happy mommy!

Girl Talk

Ava is starting to develop her own little personality. She is so much fun in the evenings, that is if she is not exhausted from daycare. I pick her up from daycare & once home put her in her bouncer. We will talk about how her day was at daycare. I talk & she makes sounds, raspberries with her drool, & bounces in the bouncer.

I love her to pieces!!!

.....here is Ava talking to her grandpa Ricky when he was in town.

Work of Art

This is Ava's work of art. It was supposed to be a tulip but Ava would not open her fist. So her teacher had to be creative & used her little fist to make the flower (yellow is her fist).

On our fridge :). Her 1st master piece (a butterfly) is on my parents fridge.

Fun filled weekend

We had a busy weekend. Grandpa Ricky was in town Wednesday - Monday. Ryan & Ricky had plenty of father-son time. They went to see Sam Houston play in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament. SAM beat SFA & lost to UTSA. They also played a round of golf. Ava got in lots of grandpa time too. She also had a birthday party Saturday. She fell asleep on the way there & slept through the whole party. Ha-ha! Then Sunday she had a play date with her future BF's Katelyn & Bryce. Ava (11 weeks) & Bryce (7 weeks) just looked around/snoozed while Katelyn (will be 1 this month) was happily playing while us mommies had our big girl drinks.


What a wonderful weekend!

Ava's routine this weekend (daycare is really helping put her on a
schedule) & whats new:

Sleeps until @ 8
Takes 4 naps a day
4 oz @ every 3 hours (sometimes 5 oz)
Out by 9
Up twice a night (@ 2ish & 5ish)
Starting to observe everything
Baby talks a whole lot more & tries to mimic our sounds/pitchs (fav is when Ryans tells her "Hello" or "Hola")
Taking the pacifier more
Lasting longer in the bouncer & play mat
Neck is getting stronger while having tummy time on her boppy pillow (we didn’t do too much tummy time when she was in her brace. Didn’t want the brace to rub against the back of her neck)
Loves bath time (just better have bottle ready when it is over. She is figuring out routine: bath, massage, bottle, quite time, then bed)

Great News

Yesterday Ava had her 3 week check up with the Orthopedic Specialist. We figured he was going to adjust her little brace and give her a quick look over. Well, when we got there we went straight into x-rays. Ryan & I were a little surprised. Once we met with the doctor we heard the BEST news! Ava's hip is 100% better. Both are measuring where they should & she doesn’t have to wear the brace 24/7. He would like her to wear it at only at night for 6 more weeks & come in for a check up at that time. We were so shocked & excited! I swear I could have cried tears of happiness…ha-ha! What great news to hear 3 weeks earlier then expected. I couldn't wait to give Ava a good bath that night. Better yet, dress her in all her cute clothes she couldn’t wear because the brace. Ah….I feel so relieved. I swear she even looks & feels smaller.

WOW Chunks!

Ava slept from 9:30 - 4:15 last night! She was even still a little congested & slept with the humidifier. I'm almost positive the trick was the swaddle sack.
I swaddled her all the way up until she started wearing the brace. The Orthopedic Specialist said we could not do anything that would cause her legs to come together. That ment no swaddle with the receiveing blaket, no long trips in the car seat, no swing, limited bouncer use…poor baby.
Well after a couple of restless nights for mom, dad, & Ava I decided to try the swaddle sack & only use the arm part. What do you know?! It worked!!!!! She slept so good, which made Ryan & I both happy. But…..I still woke up about 4 times to check on her. I can't help it. I get so worried when I don’t hear anything for a couple hours. SIDS scares the crap out of me. Ryan says I'll still be checking in on Ava sleeping until she leaves for college.

What a week

Ryan & I are still working on our morning & evening routine with Ava. She pretty much runs the show. We are doing our best to get her on a set schedule. It still has been a little difficult. I care for Ava (bath, feeding, diaper) and get everything ready for daycare the next day (wash bottles, pack bag, get clothes ready for next day). Her nights vary. She will go to sleep no later then 10, 10:30 and either gets up once @ 3:30 or twice @ 1:30 & @ 5:30. Ryan cooks dinner, cleans up the kitchen, & anything dog related. If we "can" get to any other chores around the house we will try.
Our mornings are still a hectic. It just depends on when Ava gets up/or we wake her up & if she is in a good or bad mood. Ava the Grouch is pretty hard please, so I do my best to get us ready and out the door. Ava is always feed, has a dry diaper, & dressed cute for the day. I, on the other hand, have left the house with minimal make up on, forgot to brush my teeth (how does that happen? - well I like to drink my coffee in the am before I brush my teeth. Then got consumed with Ava & forgot. Good thing I keep a tooth brush & tooth paste at my desk), & made it half way to work before I realized my shirt was on backwards. Geez! Ryan cares for the dogs & loads up my truck (I swear I have too many bags: purse, Ava diaper bag, work lab top, & lunch). We are also trying to figure out the drop off & pick up schedule.
I'm hoping with time & patients we will get everything figured out soon. Wish us luck!

Daycare update:

I still have NO access to daycare cam from work. BOO…..still waiting on IT (it’s for personal use so I guess I'm on the back burner)
Ava has already done art work at daycare. She made a little butterfly. Her hands were the wings. Too cute!!!!
Reassurance - today I took Ava the Grouch in & once her caretaker started talking to her, she gave her a big gummy smile.
However, Ava already sounds a little congested. I guess she is already catching the daycare bug. Hopefully this weekend we can get rid of it.

I can't wait for the weekend. TGIF!!! I'm looking forward to loving Ava all weekend long…..oh and Ryan too. Ha!!

Pictures

We made it through the 1st day....no tears

Day 2 & still no access to Daycare cam at work. Waiting on IT support :(.

Anyhow, yesterday flew by at work. Thank god because I couldn't wait to see my little chunk. I picked her up at daycare (Ryan still isn't dropping off or picking up. I want to do both for awhile) and squeezed her when I saw her. They gave me her little report for the day & we went home. Once home she took a little nap. I was able to do a couple things around the house & Ryan started dinner. The rest of the evening went better then expected. She had a sponge bath about 9 then bottle. I watch a little T.V. while she slept on me, then I laid her in her crib at 10. I was worried how she would sleep & if I would be up in a couple hours, but NOPE. Ava was knocked out. I actually went to check on her about 1:30 because I didn’t hear a peep from the monitor. She only woke up once last night about 3:30 for a feeding & diaper change, then went right back to bed. I woke her up at 7am to feed her, change diaper, & get some loving in before work. I hope she continues to have good nights like last night. Ryan & I were both shocked.

1st Day at Daycare

I figured I needed a practice run with daycare, so I dropped Ava off yesterday for about 3 hours in the afternoon while I ran some errands. We both did great. She was there long enough to get a feeding, diaper change, & a little nap.

Then today rolled around & my 1st day back at work. We had a good night. She was out by 10pm, up at @ 3:30 for feeding/diaper change, then I woke her up at 7am for feeding, diaper change, & some loving. We were out the door by 8am. I surprisingly was okay dropping her off. It might have been because she was sleeping & one of the infant room care givers was there to greet us. I told her the last feeding & diaper change time, gave my sweet baby a kiss, & was out the door. But the closer I got to work the more I started to think about her and how long the day was going to be. Once at work & interacting with my co workers I felt a little guilty for not being more sad about the day. I was actually excited about getting back to work. THEN I tried to long onto the daycare camera & I couldn't. So I'm sitting here at lunch waiting for the IT support to help me. I have already called and checked on Ava. The daycare said she is doing fine & that she already had a feeding, 2 diaper changes, & is now napping. This is going to be the longest day ever if I cant get a peak at my baby :(.

To Be Continued………..