10 weeks

Sleeps through the night *All week this week*

Sleeps in bassinet...not with Mommy and Daddy (Mommy doesn't like that)

Lots and lots of drool, started wearing bibs

Very observant, loves sports with daddy

Loves to smile

Eating 4-5 ounces every feeding

Loves to take a bath and when she gets out to lay FREELY (No diaper) on her play mat

Best Surprise this week- Grandpa Kautz Came to visit on her 10 week bday :)

9 weeks old and SHOTS..YIKES

The dreaded 2 month appointment was yesterday :( and my baby girl is 9 weeks old today!

The appointment started out GREAT. Ava is growing at a great rate.Ava is in 50%ile and weights 11lbs 9 ounces
 Our tall and skinny baby is 23 inches long which is 78%ile

 As Justin calls her, our Tall skinny smart red head has a 15inch circumference head is in the 87%ile

Mom and Ava anxiously/nervously waiting for Dr. to arrive to administer the shots.

  We decided just to go with the DR. recommendations and have all of her shots yesterday. Three in the leg and one oral. The oral one she did wonderful for. The shots she actually did fantastic too. They stuck her leg with the first one, her eyes POPPED wide open and she turned bright red and began to scream. The dr. did the other two and she was so out of breath from the first one that she couldn't cry, just gasp for air. Daddy held Ava as I clenched my fists on the side watching. I teared up and got hives..I was a bigger baby then her.

 She calmed right down in Daddys arms
*Look at those cute chubby thighs*Only part of her body w/ Chunk! I love it:)

On a SAD note *Made me feel like a horrible mother* Ava was diagnosed with THRUSH. So sad I did not notice it. What I thought was milk build up on her tongue (really white) was actually part of the thrush. The Dr. pointed out that inside her mouth on her cheeks was completely white and splotchy (the thrush). I felt so bad but honestly I had never seen inside her mouth, so how was I to know? Also Ava hasn't shown the typical symptoms...so maybe we caught it early?? Every day 4x a day we apply medicine to a cotton ball and apply to inside of her mouth. She doesn't even fuss *again, she is AMAZING*

I think we caught it early because already almost all her white spots are gone and her tongue looks like a normal tongue again :) 

Ava did amazing the first 24+ hours after her shot. We did give her Tylenol to sleep though the night (and she did). She is one tired but happy girl, hopefully on the way to being THRUSH free.

 
And because Mommy is a worry wart I boiled all bottles, pump parts, and paci's. NOW THAT IS A PROCESS!!!

Ava had to go to GRANDPA daycare Friday and she did wonderful. Slept all day and was a good girl for Grandpa to give her medicine

Hoping that next week everyone is HEALTHY and HAPPY!

2 Months old

    

Oh me oh my oh pumpkin pie ?!? Where is the time going? I feel like just yesterday we were trying to figure out how to share the good news of our pregnancy, now Ava is here and I am back at work.

  A Few days ago baby girl turned 8 weeks old. I must have blinked ... It has been such an exciting journey learning new things about this beautiful baby every day.

·              Funniest moment :  * At the moment I did not think it was too funny*  Earlier this month I went to the doctor and got cleared to work out J I was more than excited, Zumba, Cycling, water aerobics, running, and walking Ava in the stroller. Well about two days after I was cleared I decided to super clean the house during Ava’s nap and thought I should rearrange some of her toys around the house. I got everything cleaned and she was still sleeping so decided it was a perfect time to pump. Pumping was over and I got 10 ounces (AMAZING). I heard Justin get home from a long day at work so I hurried out to the living room to great him (hands full with bottles of breastmilk), I turned the corner, caught my foot on her bouncer and FLEW across the room right on my face. I immediately started crying A. Because I thought I spilled the milk I just pumped and B because I hurt my foot more than EVER BEFORE. I noticed I didn’t spill the milk thank god, but continued to be in A TON of pain. My foot instantly bruised and I could hardly put pressure on it. The rest of the night I put ice on my foot and tried to stay off of it. The next day still embarrassed that I had tripped I decided I would wait it out and not go to DR. ( I hate going to doctor and nothing be wrong). The next day I could not walk on the left side of my foot *and having a baby and being home alone and not able to walk is IMPOSSIBLE, so I called my dad and we went to my DR. The doctor immediately did an XRAY and to my surprise I had fractured my toe and my joint in FIVE PLACES! I now have to wear a boot and cannot workout for 6 more weeks. The story itself is funny, but I really need to get back into a workout groove. I know I could do small things at home, like crunches and weights but nothing compares to getting an intense workout in at the gym. I cannot wait to set foot in there. It doesn’t help that breastfeeding has made me hungrier then I ever was during pregnancy. I could eat EVERYTHING and ANYTHING..oh the joys J

·         Her smile melts my heart and her cries have become easier to decode.

·         She loves to smile, our ceiling fan and cuddling.

·         She loves bath time but bloody murder when it's time to get out.

·         She despises tummy time and sleeping flat on her back.

·         She enjoys eating and poop right when she gets buckled in to her car seat or when she gets a fresh diaper.

·         She loves to grab her daddy in the middle of the night and prefers to sleep smack dab in the middle of us (yes we are co sleeping, because we get 4-6 solid hours of sleep VS 2-3).

·         She sleeps like a champion at night and only feeds once around 2 am. She loves to grunt instead of coo.

·         I love seeing her discover things, her hands, her voice, people around her, and her surroundings.

·         She doesn’t seem to be “fragile” anymore, she is a little person now.

·         Milestone:

Her first full night of sleep. She still has not mastered sleeping through every night but having at least one was a very big deal. She is better about laying down alone, even if she is awake without FREAKING OUT. She is mostly sleeping in our bed with us but we always start her in her co-sleeper bassinet.

Favorite toy:  This month we would have to say her Gentle Giraffe. It plays music and most importantly White noise for when she is about to fall asleep, it really calms her down and also cancel out noises that may startle her.*Like me pumping in the middle of the night.

·         Second Month Firsts:

* First full nights sleep

*First time at Grandpa day care

*First over night stay at Grandma and Grandpas *mom and dad slept there too but not until late at night

*First time to Great Grandma Mary-Kays

*First Fart

*First time sitting in Bumbo

*First Giggle (still not often)

!HAPPY FALL!

FIRST day back to work!! I survived!

Today was a big step, I returned back to work. I am still working at Evergreen Academy but decided not to return as a full time teacher. I am still teaching but not fully responsible for one class, I am more of an aide and help first grade. This makes it VERY nice and flexible. I can be flexible with my hours and I can leave work at work and come home to my sweet baby girl. Justin and I are very lucky to live around my parents because they have graciously opened up their home for Ava during the day so Justin and I can both return to work.

  I thought I would be very emotional but I was surprised. Only cried once and just a teeny bit, it helps to know Ava is in good hands. It also helps that my parents sent texts, pictures and videos throughout the day. Justin also helped by bringing me flowers to work. I miss Ava so much but seeing her when I get home is such a great feeling. Maybe one day I will be a stay at home mom, but for now this will work.

I will say one of the hardest things about sending your baby to daycare (besides the emotions) is making sure you are prepared. I had(am still havin) a hard time figuring out what Ava would need on a daily basis away from home and away from me.
                                                    * What I packed *
  * 4 cases of diapers. Wanted them to have a stock

*wipes

* bottle warmer

* blankets 

*bouncer, play mat, swing

*bottles and milk

I will say it is so hard to know how much breastmilk to leave, the biggest mistake would be for  Ava to not have enough. It's hard to tell just yet how much she is eating every feeding.  She has days where she isn't that hungry and others where she just can't get enough. Growth spurt???

 I have researched and researched and its hard to say, very baby is different. I want Ava to be on breastmilk for as long as possible. I just hope that I can keep my supply up and be able to supply "daycare" with the appropriate amount of milk while being able to maintain a good stock in the freezer.

I did see this and thought it was interesting

It is crazy the difference in stomach capacity just in ONE MONTH. This will explain the spit up and poop when she over feeds. 

7 weeks

What a week! I don't even know where this week went, could I have it back?











* As I type this at 11:00pm Justin and Ava are sound asleep next to me and it may just be the cutest thing ever!

This week was EXTRA special because we celebrated Justin's 27th Birthday!

Ava sat in Boppy for 1st time. For about 15 seconds, that was enough she thought. 

This week I have noticed the most growth in Ava. Every morning we wake up and say "you are even cuter than you were yesterday" and it is so true. She changes right before our eyes every single day. This has proven true because we are starting to think about moving out of newborn clothes and diapers :(

Next week I start work. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! We will see how it goes, I am nervous, anxious, excited, sad all mixed into one ball of emotion. Ava is VERY excited to be hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma Brancheau during the day while we are at work.

This week:

*Out of newborn diapers

*Reds are in playoffs, Ava is learning to LOVE to watch baseball

*Eating a lot, has days where she eats 24/7

*Had a record day of 8 poopy diapers, we are going through A TON of diapers.

* Loves her playmat more and more

*Ava had her first babysitting jobs this week

*Ava's FIRST official fart with NO POOP <----- Many people wouldnt think this is a big deal, but when you change as many poopy diapers as we do you would celebrate...and we did!

*Outgrowing most onsies...Ava is VERY tall!

Six weeks old

*Awake during day

* Working on smiles

*Grandpa Brancheau changed first poopy diaper

*Loves play mat

*Very Observant

*Loves Play Dates

*Holding head up

*Mom feels 100%

*Eating a lot, a lot more often

6 weeks old! These weekly posts are SO HARD to get done on time, especially now.  Ava is becoming more and more alert and fun to play with when she's my "happy baby." However, more awake time also means more fussy times :( and with this makes me A LOT more busy so not to often do I get time to blog. She has had a few nights where she has slept for a 5 hour stretch! The first night it happened, I was convinced something was wrong! And I was up every hour on the hour just waiting for her to wake up. What a cruel joke! This week the worst thing happened ...mommy got sick....nothing worse than a sick mom, I felt so bad (but VERY thankful) for Justin, He woke up every feeding to feed her/change her, and play with her when she was wide awake at 2 am, what I loved most was that he didnt complain once. 

This was a relaxing week, a lot of snuggling and napping while mommy got feeling better. Ava started to smile some (not a ton) and not only when shes pooping :) 

Funniest moment this week: I thought it was weird that Ava hadn't "done her "DOO-DY"(poop) in quite a while(Which if you know Ava is NOT NORMAL). I decided a nice warm bath would help relieve stomach pain...well I was right and NOT PREPARED for what was going to happen. Ava enjoyed her bath like she always does, as I drained the water and got her towel ready I noticed she started grunting, which was followed by a huge POOPSPLOSION! YIKES...so I had to yell for Justin he held her while I cleaned the bath and re-filled the tub for bath #2! So Mom tip of the week, if your baby is constipated and has a stomach ache, try a nice warm bath :)