6 Pounds!!!

We took Ava to the doctor on Tuesday and she weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. We were so excited! The doctor was very happy with her weight gain. He even allowed me to start nursing her full time!!! We still have to feed her every three hours and pump every other time, but no more bottles!!! I was hoping we could at least cut one thing out of our day. We now feel like we have a normal newborn.

I'm not sure if I posted it here before, but the neonatologist had told us we were not allowed to take Ava out of the house for two months. We were fine with that. Ava will be six weeks on Friday, so we thought we were getting close. At our appointment on Tuesday, her pediatrician said we cannot take her out of the house for another two months! He said we could start taking her places in May. We are so torn about this. We don't want to do anything to hurt Ava, but I am not sure I can stay in the house for another two months. Ava will be 3 1/2 months old by then. I do understand that it is flu and RSV season, but I would like to have a little bit of a normal life. We will definitely keep her in for another month, but I think we may have to make our own decisions after that. Any advice on this subject would be appreciated.

Ava is enjoying another first at the moment. She is taking a nap in her crib for the first time. I am a nervous wreck. I usually put her in the pack 'n play downstairs with me or carry her around in the moses basket. Needless to say I have an eye on her at all times. Right now I am in the room next to her nursery with the monitor on full blast and I keep running in there with every little sound she makes. I now know that I am definitely not ready to move her to her nursery at night. She may be in our room for several more months.

Last weekend my cousin, Melissa, her husband, Dan, and their daughter, Claire, came to see us. Claire and Ava were born exactly one week apart. It was my first time to see Claire in person. She is beautiful. Don't worry, I will post pictures at the end. It was so good to see them. I really wish they lived closer since Claire and Ava are so close in age. I can't wait to see them grow up together. Hopefully, Ava will catch up in size soon. I didn't realize how tiny Ava is until I saw Claire.

My grandmother also saw Ava for the first time last weekend. It was killing her that she wasn't able to see Ava sooner. My mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew were here too. Needless to say, we had a full house. We had a great time though. We really appreciate everyone coming to see us since we aren't allowed to travel with Ava. I should rephrase that. People don't come to see Kurt and I anymore. They are definitely here for Ava. We're lucky if we get a hello at the door before they grab Ava from us. That's okay though. We're glad Ava is so loved. I guess this is our first taste of being "Ava's parents" not Kurt and Kimberly for at least the next 18 years.

Okay, now for the pictures.

Ava and Claire

Left to Right: Melissa with Claire, Jennifer with Caleb, and me with Ava

Nana with Ava (her great-grandmother)

This is one of my favorite pictures. It looks like Ava is pulling Claire's hair and Claire is screaming.

Melissa with Ava

Ava and I

Ava

Caleb sitting in Ava's infant seat.

Thank You!

I was in such a rush to post my last entry that I realized I had forgotten to thank all of you for your prayers and sweet comments during Ava's first few weeks. I can't tell you all how much it means to Kurt and I that so many people were praying for our sweet baby. It's amazing that so many people we have never met in person were praying for all of us. I am printing all of the comments from this blog to put in Ava's baby book. I want her to know how many people were praying for her to get well. I feel like my words are very inadequate, but thank you again.

Update

Ava is now over 5 pounds! We went to the doctor on Tuesday and she weighed 5 lbs. 1 oz. She had gained 6 oz. in a week. She is doing great. We go back to the doctor two weeks from our last appointment. We are hoping Ava will be close to 6 lbs. by then. The doctor said that once we get to 6 lbs. we can reevaluate our feeding schedule. I really hope this means he will let me nurse her for full feedings. I can't wait to get to the point where I just have to pump occasionally!

We are starting to get a taste of what it is like to have a normal newborn. For the first three weeks or so, Ava slept almost all day and never cried. She is now starting to cry when she is hungry, gets her diaper changed, or is put down when she wants to be held. The last part is new. She wants to be held all the time. If you put her down, she will grunt until you pick her up again. I love to hold her, but when am I going to get things done??? The last two nights she has spent sleeping on either my chest or her grandmother's. I really hope this is just a phase. Again, I really can't complain too much. She really is a very good baby.

It's time to feed Ava again, but here are a few of her newest pictures.

Ava with Boompa (her great-grandfather)

Ava with Aunt Donna

Ava is Home!

I have tried to post three times since Ava came home last Friday, but blogger has erased my post before it published all three times. I don't have as much time to post all of the details this time, but I want to give a quick update.

Ava is doing great. She came home on Friday, February 2. That is actually the day I was supposed to start my maternity leave. I thought I would have a couple of weeks to get everything ready before our little one arrived. Of course, Ava had different plans. She has definitely let us know that she runs the show. Anyway, we took Ava for her first appointment with the pediatrician last Tuesday. She had gained one ounce making her 4 lbs. 11 oz. We go back on Tuesday, so we are hoping she has gained this week.

The pediatrician didn't like the feeding plan we were on from the NICU, so he changed it once again. He said that her breastfeeding for full feedings is like her running a marathon at this point. He is now only letting me nurse her for 20 minutes and then we give her a bottle of breastmilk supplemented with neosure. We also have to feed her every three hours. That makes nights very long. I have to get up, change her diaper, breastfeed her for 20 minutes, warm up a bottle, give her the bottle which usually takes her 30-45 minutes to finish, put her back in bed, and pump for 20 minutes. That usually gives me an hour to an hour and a half of sleep before it is time to do it all over again.

I really shouldn't complain though. Ava is a great baby. The only time she cries is when she is hungry and that isn't very often. She definitely warns us that she is hungry before she begins to cry. She loves to get a bath which makes our job very easy.

Well, it's almost time for her to eat again, so I better finish up. I will try to post more often now that we are getting into a routine. I will definitely try to post again after her appointment on Tuesday.

Everyone has been asking me for pictures, so here are just a few. These pictures are a little over a week old, so I will try to post more current pictures soon. She is changing every day.

Ava's original coming home outfit. Of course, it was huge on her.

Ava's new coming home outfit.

Ava and Daddy coming home from the hospital.

Ava with Poppa and Grandma (my parents)

Ava with Gigi (Kurt's mom), Uncle David (Kurt's uncle), Pops (Kurt's dad), and Aunt Olivette (Kurt's aunt is holding Ava)

Ava with Aunt Jennifer and Caleb

Another Update...as Requested

It's Jennifer again. Kimberly hasn't been near a computer lately and doesn't have time to breathe, let alone update her blog. So, she asked me to do it for her.

First, pictures of Ava I know you all want to see. These are preemie clothes that are swallowing her!



Doing what she does best...sleeping!:


Ava and her proud daddy:



(Kimberly and Kurt were staying at the hospital, but about a week ago there were a bunch of babies born at the hospital and they kicked Kimberly and Kurt out of their room. So now they are driving back and forth multiple times a day for feedings!)

Ava is doing SO well these days! She was able to regulate her own temperature in just a couple of days. They weaned her off the heated bed and now she's wearing her own clothes. They wre swaddling her with two blankets, but they had to take one off because she got too hot! That is good news. :-) She's still in the incubator bed because they didn't have any open-air cribs, but the top is lifted and the heater is not on.

They have started letting Kimberly breastfeed Ava for any feeding she can be at the hospital, and the nurses feed her at night. She still has the feeding tube, which is what they have been using to feed her, but as of last night, they are trying to go solo on breastfeeding during the day and bottle feeds at night. If Ava can gain weight over the next two days doing this, then she may be able to go home on Friday! Kimberly is excited about that possibility, but she is also very aware that things can change and doesn't want to get her hopes up. If the night went well, they will probably remove the feeding tube today!

Kimberly is exhausted! I wish there was something that we could do for her, but since she's the only one who can feed her baby, there's not much to do. Her schedule for the last week has been:

be at the hospital around 8am for feed
feed for 30-45 minutes
drive 15-20 minutes home
pump for 30 minutes
wash and sterilize pump supplies
take a shower, run errands, try to rest, etc.

be at the hospital around 11am for feed
feed for 30-45 minutes
drive 15-20 minutes home
pump for 30 minutes
wash and sterilize pump supplies
eat lunch

be at the hospital around 2pm for feed...you get the picture.

She's been doing the feedings at 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm. By the time she gets Ava to feed well, which last night took an hour because Miss Ava apparently can't multi-task (she needed to dirty her diaper and refused to feed until that happened!), she doesn't have much time before she has to be there for the next feed. She is looking forward to getting Ava home and not having to run back and forth to the hospital. Anyone who spends time with Kimberly feels like Kurt's parents did yesterday when they said, "After spending two days with you, we're exhausted!" That is the truth. Watching Kimberly juggle all of this is tiring and amazing. I wrote a letter to Kimberly on my blog because I am so proud of the job she's doing as a mom! (I know she hasn't read it since she doesn't have time to sit at a computer.)

Doing Better

Ava is doing GREAT! Her IV was removed last night, and they took her oxygen/room air off today. You can now see her little face, and it's absolutely beautiful! They expect to be able to take the light off tomorrow, so her sunglasses will go away, too. Kimberly said she feels like a "real" mom now since she's getting to change Ava's diapers! They are letting Kimberly nurse her two feedings a day and they will work up to all feedings eventually. No more bottles for Ava! The rest of her feedings will still be through the feeding tube. Now Kimberly is just concerned that Ava will never learn to breastfeed, but it will just take some time for her to learn.

Thank you all for your prayers! They have definitely been answered.

More Pictures

Here are some pictures of Ava from today.

Ava getting her feeding:


Wearing her cool sunglasses under the light:


Looking at her Aunt Jennifer suspiciously:


Relaxing:

Looking at her mommy:

The nurse let me (Jennifer) in to see her, even though only parents and grandparents are allowed; it was so good to see her! Kimberly got to hold her for about an hour and a half, and Ava did great the whole time. They have decreased her air flow and her last few feedings today were all breast milk. She's getting a little better each day.

Update on Ava

this is Jennifer again...

First, some pictures. :-)




Ok, Kimberly gave me lots of information to pass on to everyone, so here goes:

-Ava will have to remain in the NICU for 2-3 weeks, her size and regulating her own temperature will keep her in the hospital.
-Even though she was born at 36 weeks, they say she's a 34-week baby developmentally (lungs and all)
-Her lungs are still a little wet, so they are giving her antibiotics through her IV to prevent pneumonia
-If she does well tonight and tomorrow, finishes her antibiotics, and doesn't show signs of infection, they will take her off the IV tomorrow (YAY!!). Kurt is especially eager to get rid of the IV. They had to move her IV to her head (poor girl!).
-She is breathing a little better, and they hope to take her off the oxygen by the end of the week, as long as she doesn't get an infection. She still works hard to breathe, though.
-She still has the feeding tube in, and will continue to until her respirations slow down so she can bottle and/or breastfeed again. They think Kimberly can nurse her again in the middle of the week. I know Kimberly is looking forward to that.
-When they take out her IV, they expect her to lose a little weight.
-Her jaundice is better, but they are keeping the light on in order to get her levels down do a really good number, so that if she goes back up a little they won't have to put the light back on.
-In order to go home, Ava has to take all of her feedings by bottle (or breast, we're not sure how much she'll be able to nurse, but they are able to use Kimberly's milk) and regulate her own temperature in the crib.

Kimberly asked everyone to pray that Ava's breathing continues to get better and she will not get an infection so the IV and oxygen tubes can be removed soon. Pray also for Kimberly and Kurt as they deal with all the stress of being new parents and having Ava in NICU.

She's Here

this is Jennifer, Kimberly's sister...

I just wanted to let everyone know that Miss Ava Grace arrived early! She was born yesterday, January 19, at 3:14pm, 4 weeks early. She weighs 4 lbs. 6oz., and is 18.5 in. long. She has RED hair, long fingers, and long feet! Ava is TINY and BEAUTIFUL!!!

Ava is in NICU, and will be for at least a week. Kimberly went in for a routine doctor's appointment on Thursday and Ava's heart rate dropped (on top of an ultrasound that showed she was smaller than they wanted her to be), so the doctor induced her about 4am Friday morning.

Kimberly and Kurt are still getting used to the fact that they are parents (!) and have a baby in NICU. Kimberly is very tired, so we're hoping she'll get some good rest tonight. She will probably be discharged from the hospital tomorrow, but she can stay in her room while Ava is in the NICU so she doesn't have to go back and forth to the hospital every few hours.

Please pray that Ava's lungs will heal completely and that she will be able to hold fluids so she can gain the weight she needs.

Ava holding her Poppa's finger. She is SO small!

Ava and her Poppa:

All stretched out...

If you leave comments for Kimberly, I will print them out and take them to the hospital tomorrow when I go. I know she would love to hear from you all.

Sonogram

We ended up having to reschedule our sonogram, so we had it this morning. I must say that I was a little disappointed. The sonographer wouldn't tell us anything. The good news is that Ava is definitely a girl. Kurt was very relieved about that. :) The only other thing we found out is that she now weighs 4 lbs. 4 oz. which is apparently small for her age. I tried to ask tons of questions to get the lady to tell us something, but she would only say that she is a little small and the doctor will have to discuss that with us. I'm sure she is fine, but I really wanted someone to tell me that today. We go back to the doctor on the 17th, so we won't know anything until then. I may try to call the doctor next week for a little reassurance.

We were also told today that Ava's head is very very low and she is definitely ready to come out. We need her to stay in there and grow for a few more weeks. I really think I will be late, but we'll see. As long as she is healthy, I am excited about having a small baby. I was 6 lbs. 9 oz. when I was born. That sounds really good to me right now. Kurt was 9 lbs. 5 oz. Hopefully this child cannot gain five pounds in the last six weeks!

The lady also kept telling me that I am all baby. I was surprised at how big she is in there. She showed me her position which confirmed what I thought I was feeling with kicks, pushes, etc. It was so different than the ultrasound we had at 19 weeks. We could only see one part of her body at a time. We could only see a leg, belly, head, etc. She was so low we couldn't get a good shot of her face. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures to share. They offered us one of her face, but you could barely make her out.

I thought I would have a lot more news to share, but it looks like we will have to wait for a few more weeks.

34 Weeks

Tomorrow I will be 34 weeks. I can't believe Ava is due in 6 weeks! I still have so much to do before she arrives. Kurt is getting really anxious. I think he is getting tired of me having her all to myself. He keeps saying he can't wait for her to get here so he can see her and hold her and kiss her. He is going to be such a great dad. I can't wait to see them together.

I had a dr. appointment today. My blood pressure and Ava's heartbeat were really good, but I am still measuring small. My doctor was on vacation, so I saw the nurse practitioner. She was concerned about my size, so she is sending me for another sonogram next week. She just wants to make sure Ava is growing the way she should before I see the doctor next time. We are so excited that we get to see Ava again. I can't wait to see how much she has grown since we saw her last at 19 weeks. I hope they can check again to make sure she really is a girl. I really don't think they made a mistake, but it would be comforting since EVERYTHING she has is pink! They also confirmed today that Ava is head down and "in position". The nurse practitioner said it is unlikely that she would turn back around at this point. I will let everyone know what happens with the sonogram next week. Hopefully, I will have new sonogram pictures to post!

Bedding

We FINALLY received part of our bedding order today. I am so excited. We have been waiting on this for a very long time. Today we received the bumper, blanket, sheets, and diaper stacker. Hopefully, everything else will be in after the holidays. As promised, here are some pictures of the bedding. We are still missing the dust ruffle, but you should be able to get the general idea.

I can't wait to see it all put together! Now that we have part of it, we can finally start shopping for decorations for the walls.

Stairs + Pregnancy = Trouble

Well, it finally happened. I am not the most graceful person even when I am not pregnant, but I have tried very hard during pregnancy to watch where I walk, not run up and down the stairs, etc. I should have known I couldn't make it 40 weeks without an accident. I did make it to 31 weeks exactly.

Yesterday morning I was running late for work (surprise, surprise) and I had to run downstairs to let our dogs out. I only had about 5 steps left when my foot slipped off the edge and I tumbled down the rest of them. It's amazing how your first instinct is to protect your belly. I somehow managed to grab the rail and turn on my left side as I was going down. This was not as graceful as it may seem in writing. I came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and have to admit that I just laid there for a little while.

I finally got up and called my husband to tell him what had happened. Calling the doctor had not even entered my mind at this point. I just wanted to tell him how bad it hurt. :) Of course, he was more realistic about the situation, so I called the doctor. The doctor wanted to see me immediately, and I spent the majority of the day at the doctor's office getting myself and Ava checked out.

The doctor was very nice. I really thought I was going to get a lecture about how I need to be more careful. He checked me and then hooked me up to a fetal monitor to make sure Ava was okay and I wasn't having contractions. We were both doing well, so I was sent home to rest.

Today, Ava seems to be doing fine. She is moving around like a crazy woman this morning. I am just really, really sore. My body (especially the left side) is one gigantic muscle spasm. I feel like I fell down a flight of stairs yesterday. :)

I will try to be much more careful for the remainder of the pregnancy. I don't think Kurt's blood pressure can take any more of my accidents. Kurt and I are just very thankful it turned out the way it did.

Update...Finally

After being harassed all weekend, I am finally updating my blog. I have been very busy and have just not had time lately. I will try to post often during my last 10 weeks and keep everyone informed. Warning: this is going to be a very long post.

A lot has happened since I last posted. I am now 30 weeks and 5 days. Time was flying by during my second trimester, but things have slowed down significantly for Kurt and I. I am still feeling pretty good, but I do get tired a lot more easily these days. I really can't complain though. I've had a relatively uneventful pregnancy which is definitely a good thing.

Since I last posted our crib and dresser came in. I love them! They look great in her nursery. Here are a few pictures:

If I did this correctly, you should be able to click on the pictures and make them larger. The last picture is a close up of the drawer on the dresser.

After we got the furniture, we found the perfect chandelier.

I do think the chandelier looks prettier in person, but I hope that gives you a good idea of what it looks like. The middle picture is of my dad hanging the light.

Our bedding should arrive today. If so, I will post pictures as soon as I get it in the nursery.

This weekend my family hosted a baby shower for me in my hometown. It was very nice. We got a ton of much needed baby stuff. My mom is emailing me pictures from the shower, so I will post those soon also. It's amazing that someone so little can need so many things! My poor husband not only had to load everything into the car and unload it at our house, but I made him put almost everything together last night so I could look at it. He put his foot down when I asked him to put the travel system together at 10:30 last night. Maybe I can get that done tonight. :)

Finally, here are my 30 week pictures.

Getting Big...

As of yesterday, I am 26 weeks pregnant, so I wanted to give a quick update on Ava's growth. She is now 14 1/4 inches long from head to toe and weighs a little over two pounds. I can't believe she is getting so big! Her eyelids should open sometime this week and she will start blinking in the womb. Because of this last fact, I have to tell a story about my husband. And yes, he will kill me for telling this story on our blog.

When my sister, Jennifer, was pregnant with my nephew, Caleb, we were sitting around talking about Caleb's birth. I'm sure the conversation had something to do with how we were really ready for him to be born because it seemed like she was pregnant for 2 years. We were very ready for him to get here! Anyway, in the middle of the conversation, Kurt asks Jennifer how long it will be after Caleb is born before he can open his eyes. Everyone stopped talking and just stared at him. I couldn't believe he had just asked that question. Jennifer said, "He's not a puppy. He can open his eyes when he is born." Of course, we all almost fell out of our chairs from laughing so hard. I don't think he will ever live that down. I made sure to tell him last night that Ava should be opening her eyes any day now. :)

Nursery Pictures

Well, I am finally getting around to posting pictures of the nursery. We still do not have our furniture or bedding, but we are done painting. Hopefully, everything else will be in soon! I took a ton of pictures throughout the painting process for Ava's scrapbook, but I have chosen just a few to post here. I left out all of the ones of Kurt and I looking so cute in our painting clothes.

The top color in this picture is the original color of the room:

The next few pictures are of the final paint colors in her room. It is impossible to get the entire room in one shot, so these are just a few different angles.

During my last post, I mentioned visiting my cousin Melissa who is also pregnant. She is due exactly a month before me. Here is a picture of the two of us pregnant. Doesn't she look cute?

I can't wait for us to both have our babies. They are going to have so much fun growing up together.