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Monday, September 24, 2012

5 weeks




Little Ava sure is active these days. She looks at EVERYTHING and tracks things and everyone with her eyes. Sleeping patterns are still getting figured out. Some nights she wakes up once just to eat, others shes up to eat and party for a few hours. Justin is seriously the best DAD ever and the best support! There have been many nights where he has taken the late night/early morning feedings to help me get some rest. The only thing I have been dealing with is headaches and fighting off a cold other than that I am feeling almost 100% and back to my normal self.

While Justin is at work we have our own little daily routine.

Mornings:
  Justin and I wake up. I pump (Hopefully) before Ava wakes up.. while Justin gets ready
Justin takes Ava and spends some time with her and feeds her.
I make breakfast and pack Justins lunch and I get my coffee, water, and breakfast set up next to recliner. Justin tucks us into the recliner. We usually snooze from 8am-10am, watch price is right, I eat my breakfast, Ava then usually takes a nap and I TRY to get up and do laundry,, give Ava a bath, play on Ava's play mat,   think about dinner, do dishes, pump, and clean  the house..but sometimes I just sleep :)

Usually Ava and I are busy with play dates and going on adventures but our stay at home days are very relaxing.

I have decided to go back to work mid-October. I am sad that I will be missing all this time with Ava but it makes me enjoy every moment and soak it all up while I can.

This has been another great week.
This week I also played in my first softball game in OVER 11 months. I struggled in the beginning (struck out) but then battled back with three pretty awesome hits and made an awesome play at first ( didn't know I could still stretch like that). It was so fun to be on the field again and playing with Justin and my friends.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

My baby is a MONTH!



        


Its so cliché, but I feel like Ava has been a part of our little family forever. Oh, sure, I remember life before she was born, but it’s like remembering a movie I saw a “million” years ago. Ava is so completely integrated into our every day existence, it’s like she’s been here all along and she fits PERFECTLY. There isn’t anything in this world that could be better than having her in our life.
Ava is a very laid back baby, so that makes things just that much better. It doesn’t take much to make her happy. If she’s crying, just pick her up and she’s happy again. Even when she’s hungry, she knows that once she’s picked up, the food is coming soon. (Of course, if you try to take advantage of this and pick her up, then try to unload the dishwasher or do laundry one-handed, she reminds you that she needs to eat…and she will remind you LOUDLY).


At one month, Ava:
  • Wears mostly size 0-3 clothes. She still fits in all of her newborn outfits, but she is outgrowing some of her newborn jammies
  • Ava is still in newborn diapers…but sadly we are almost out and we have a TON of size ones so we are going to try to switch and see how she does…HOPEFULLY she wont have any escaping poo..Her poor butt and thighs aren’t that “Full” so poop tends to leak out more often than not.
  • Loves being swaddled at night and sleeps in the bassinet in our room. She usually sleeps a good stretch of 3-4 hours to start, then wakes up every 2-3 hours after that. If I could only learn to go to bed as soon as she falls asleep, I’d be golden.
  • Occasionally naps in the bassinet, but also sleeps in the car seat, swing, or while being held/worn (her favorite). We try to balance taking advantage of all the extra snuggles and getting her used to napping alone.
  • Has yet to sleep in her crib or her room… One day!

What’s life like:
Daily Routine:
Granted we are still learning and everyday is typically DIFFERENT then the days before these are ROUGH estimates:

·          8pm- 11 am: Sleep time with wakes about every 2-4 hours for diaper changes and feed... you are great about sticking with this routine at night!
        Usually will fall asleep by 10:30 pm after an hour of snuggles with mom and dad in bed…wakes up around 2am, sometimes 4am~( It’s an amazing feeling when she wakes up at 4am..I feel like I have slept for YEARS). She then wakes up around 7-8 when dad is getting ready for work. Ava and I get up, make dad lunch, eat breakfast and she sleeps until about 11am.
·         11am-8 pm: Oh boy. This is just walking around holding you and keeping you happy. Sometimes mommy is able to eat, sometimes not... but you my dear are ALWAYS a happy baby, because mommy never lets you cry. She gives in to you so easily! How could I not, have you seen your adorable little face?! I TRY to do laundry, clean the house, BLOG, catch up with friends, coffee dates, go on walks...there is never a dull moment during the day. Ava loves being active and going out, thank goodness she is so good!
·        
FEED: You continue to eat about every 2-4 hours at night and sometimes 1-2 hours during the day... definitely a growing baby!
·        
Weight: (no Official new weight to report, Dr. Appointment at 2 months) I was curious to see ROUGHLY how much she weighed so I weighed myself without her and then weighed myself holding her and the scale read 10.3 pounds J
·        
Length: (no new length to report) But I know that she is definitely getting longer and longer every day
·          
·         Diaper Size:
·         Newborns, and I thought I was going to go ahead and put you in size 1's after the newborns ran out, but I have a feeling we will be buying more newborns because of your small little bottom!
·         Clothes Size:
·         Newborns still, surprisingly. But 0-3 months fit great as well!
·         Hair Color:
·         At birth:  darkish
·         4 weeks: lightening and thinning out on the top! Still quite thick in back
·         Eye color:
·         At birth: Very blue
·         4 weeks: lightening but hard to say what they will change to. Justin says they may be getting more brownish.
·           
·         Funniest moment : Ava I swear everyday you make me and dad CRACK up for one reason or another. Its hard to PIN point the FUNNIEST moment but I will say one that tops the charts (though not funny at the moment) is when you taught us ALL a VERY IMPORTANT LESSON. 
*We were on a road trip when we decided to make a pit stop for people to use the restroom. You were sound asleep in your car seat and cute as could be..Grandpa Kautz decided it would be a good idea to Check you, he asked me if i smelt something a little off, I didn't think so but thought maybe I should lift your tush up just to see..well to my surprise your cute onsie was NOW a whole new shade..POOP EVERYWHERE and I mean EVERYWHERE. I immediately grabbed you and whisked you away and asked Nana to grab your bag and meet me in bathroom. I held you away from my body because you were soaked...people probably thought I was crazy. LUCKILY the bathroom had a nice changing table conveniently by the toilet so I could chuck all 70 wipes I used into toilet as I bathed you with wipes...I HATE that onsies have to go over your head..there was just so much poop..and what made everything wose was that A. You were screaming bloody murder...B. this wasn't a quick clean up, C. We didn't pack enough "extra clothes". Thank goodness there was a carters outlet across the street, Nana bought you three cute outfits
So lessons we learned:
*Always check a diaper, even if you do not smell something
*ALWAYS have 3 outfit changes...including socks, mittens
**Put a burp rag under tush of car seat for easy cleanup and an extra layer so you don't have to clean car seat and have it be damp for when she needs to sit in it right after.
*Pack extra clothes for mom and dad
*Always be near a CARTERS :) 
*Have a TON of wipes and a TON of diapers..we also now have emergency bags in both cars too, with outfits, diapers and wipes.
·         Milestone:  You are constantly staring at everything around you. The lights. The fans (WOW you love FANS). The walls. You name it; you are just taking it all in. You are more alert, throughout the whole day. Your head control is unbelievable; I can't wait for the day that you will be able to hold your own head. You babble all the time, it is so cute. You can tell mommy's and daddy's voices... sometimes at when you get fussy daddy and I start talking to you, and you become dead silent... as though you are just listening to us... it is adorable, I love it! You are able to sit better, supported obviously...
·        
Your favorite toy: Still the swing, you are great about it “most of the time”... however when I TRY to get stuff done, or I have something I HAVE TO do (like god forbid try to go to the bathroom, or shower). OH NO, the world is coming to an end and the waterworks begin! So yeah.... needless to say I enjoy it while I can.
·         Ava is also starting TUMMY time and beginning to LOVE her play mat (for VERY small increments of time)
·         Anyone need like a million pacifiers? Because we have tons! But Ava is only using ONE type...we had three and are down to two, and at this moment only have ONE, so we must keep a very close eye on it. She doesn’t LOVE the Paci but defiantly uses it for comfort when she is fighting sleep.

·         First Month Firsts:
·           First car ride/road trips
·         First well baby visit
·         First smile in your sleep
·         First photoshoot
·         First real bath
·         First coo and ahh
·         First explosion, one of many
·         First hotel stay
·         First play dates
·         First trip to the mall
And lots more…
---------------------------------------------------
Well this blog is WAY longer than I thought it would be…but she is sleeping so I thought I would take advantage of her nap and get this done while I can. I hope everyone enjoys reading about Ava. I am doing this blog for all our family and friends who cannot be here to see Ava everyday so they can feel like they can see each and every milestone of her life. Sadly, I am done doing Weekly posts; I will still do weekly pictures because I swear she changes every day. I will blog throughout the month but not do a FULL update until the month is up! Thanks for everyone who reads the blog. I would love to hear your thoughts/comments.








Friday, September 14, 2012

3 weeks old




Wow! Time has seriously gone so fast...three weeks when your pregnant seems to take FOREVER, three weeks with a newborn goes by in a heartbeat. Being a parent is one of the best experiences ever...all 21 days that I have experienced! There is no way to prepare yourself to become a parent and there is a lot to learn EVERY single day but it is the most rewarding and amazing experience ever.

Ava had another busy busy week. We spent more time on the road and went to Snoqualmie Falls, went to Lake Diablo, went on the Great Wheel in Seattle, Went to her first restaurant (Ixtapa), and had her first hotel stay. This week we enjoyed every second of our time with Grandma and Grandpa Kautz. Ava loved having her Grandparents stay with her for two weeks and will miss them a ton. Thank goodness for skype and picture messaging...though they live thousands of miles away, as well as a majority of my family...no one will miss a second of Ava's growing up....everyone who knows me knows I love pictures and I am not afraid to send one a day (or ten)

Ava is enjoying all aspects of life, Eating, sleeping, focusing on objects, bath time, cuddle time, and meeting new friends. Ava has  definitely  been a busy little girl and it looks like it will remain that way! Justin and I are soaking up every minute with Ava and loving it!

Justin and I also left Ava for the first time this week ( I only cried a little). It was hard to leave her, but she was in excellent hands. Ava and ALL the grandparents had a movie party and hung out at our house while Justin and I celebrated our ONE year wedding anniversary! I know Ava had a great time with her grandparents and Justin and I definitely enjoyed a nice dinner out and a fun trip to the casino ( I hadn't been in 10 months)









This next week Ava gets to spend some quality time with her Aunt Susan who came all the way from Vermont to meet Ava. We cannot wait for our many trips out to Vermont to meet Nana and all the other Great Aunts, Uncles and cousins.










Here are just a FEW pictures of our busy week!











This weeks must haves:
* SPARE CLOTHES...at first I thought maybe one extra onsie...NO!!!...Bring 2 or 3 of everything..including socks!
*Tommee Tipee bottle cooler bag! Keeps milk cold for a LONG TIME
*Bottle warmer...The cooler does a great job keeping it cool so you'll need to warm it up
*Car sunshade- Works amazing to keep the glaring sun out of her eyes
*Walmart grocery sacks- They are the only store I have found that have Mini bags..perfect for poopy diapers when out and about and for clothes that have had severe poop damage (YES, I am speaking from experince) I know they sell these at babies R Us,but these are FREE
*Spare clothes for mom and dad :) ..Again speaking from experience