First things first

We have had alot of successful things happening recently. The first is that we have been trying really hard to get this nursing thing down. Both Ava and I were getting extremely frustrated so I went to see Linda at Peaceful Beginnings. In no time she figured out exactly what was going on (that for some reason the hospital lactation people couldn't figure out) and Ava was nursing. Yay!!! I cannot tell you how excited I was that we both finally got it! She has since been nursing for every feeding.

We also went to our first pediatrician appointment and Ava had gained 2 ounces. Again we were really excited that feedings seemed to be actually working. The pediatrician checked her all out and said she looked just perfect! Yay!

Below are some pictures from yesterday and today of Ava. I honestly keep my camera attached to my hip now because I cannot get enough pictures of her sweet little face.

Sleepy Days

If you can't tell I absolutely LOVE to take pictures of Ava when she is sleeping. Luckily for me she does alot of it these days. Given how cold and rainy the weather has been who can quite blame her.

We enjoyed a day of nice weather by going out and about in Greensboro. After being cooped up in the hospital for a couple of days and not seeing the sunlight and then adjusting to life at home we decided to spend a couple of hours outside.

Here is a picture of Ava all in her stroller ready to go walk around Friendly Center with her mommy, grandmother, and Lauren while daddy got a haircut.

Lots of mommy and daddy time! We cannot get enough of her!

Grandma has had alot of time with Ava this week too and we are loving all the time we are getting with her here. I don't know what we will do next week..

Ava's First Full Day at Home

Sunday was a rather relaxing day.. Ava slept good the night before and ended up spending almost the entire day sleeping. Literally she only woke up to eat!

First picture is of Ava right before her feeding. She wasn't happy because we had to wake her up! The second picture is of Gary and my mom with Ava before tthey headed back home to Wilmington.


Ava took her first outing to Babies R Us. Unfortunately she slept through the whole thing. Ava awaits another feeding and yawns while she waits. I LOVE her yawns! I want pictures of every one of them. :)


Some close ups of Ava!! Such faces she gives!

Ava is a "sleeping beauty" today. In the second picture we see a sleepy Ava and a sleepy daddy! In the last picture Bella was desperately trying to get some attention and wanted to be in the picture for daddy and Ava too!

Oh my gosh!

I forgot to write that the second picture of Ava is with Jacqueline, our doula! After 22 hours, Jacqueline held the energy and encouragement that Stephen and I needed to bring our precious gift into this world. I absolutely cannot imagine my labor and delivery without her as she made it the best experience anyone could have asked for.

Going home!

Friday night was a VERY long night filled with non stop crying from about 11pm until 3:30pm. What was the verdict: She was hungry! :( After watching her feed a couple of times and talking with some different people we found out that Ava likes to pull her bottom lip back and her tongue to the roof of her mouth when she feeds. So it seems like she is doing what she needs to however she isn't swallowing anything.. Needless to say we have been since doing everything we can to correct it and keep her fed and healthy. So far it seems to be working!

Saturday morning was VERY busy because we were GOING HOME!! We could not be more excited however before we could go we had alot of things to do first. Item #1- Ava needed to be assessed by the pediatrician. Despite a weight loss to 7lbs 3 ozs, she was doing absolutely perfect. We were thrilled to see and talk to the pediatrician that day and learn the results to everything that had been monitoring all weekend. Item #2- Be assessed and released by Dr. Ross.. Verdict: No reason at all to stay. Everything was going exactly, if not better, than it was supposed to. Item #4- Meet with the lactation consultant. We did and she gave us a great plan to work on to help Ava nurse better and keep her weight up. While I felt very defeated on Friday night I had a renewed sense of eagerness to succeed. Item #4- Gather our mass of stuff! One suitcase, one duffle bag, 2 pillows, and one carseat carrying one cute little baby! We actually got it all. Item #5- call Mimi's and order food to pick up on the way home. Yep! Blueberry stuffed french toast. Yum!! Item #6- Meet with the nurse to go over and sign out paper work. Check! Item #7- Go by the nursery with baby to remove security tag. We looked at all of the other babies in the nursery and there wasn't one even near as beautiful as ours. With snip of the security tag she was released into our care. We could not have been more excited to go home!

Dr. Ross with Ava! We absolutely adore Dr. Kendra Ross! She was amazing with our labor and delivery and she came in for us even though it wasn't her day to be there.




Ava all dressed up to go home and Ava all packed up in her carseat for the first time getting ready to leave the hospital and explore the outside world!!



At home trying out her bouncy seat. I would have to say it was a hit!

Ava's First Full Day

Ava had a very eventful first day into the world. From hearing test and PKU test to visits from many friends and family to having her pictures taken for the hospital to learning how to feed and getting acquainted with all of the sights and sounds of things going on around her. Lots of visits from nurses who were supposed to be checking on her and many who had something to do with her coming into the world that just wanted to come by and gaze at her for a while.

Here are some pictures from her first day..



The first picture of Ava exactly how she liks to be, bundled up tightly, warm, and asleep. The other is actually the outfit we are taking her home in but also what we put on her for her hospital pictures.

Stephen and I with Ava and absolutely in LOVE with our beautiful daughter, and another picture from my view point when I was holding her tonight. The face is just to cute to resist.