I can't believe that 39 weeks ago today, my water broke in the living room. 39 weeks ago to the hour, I was getting out of the shower, packing up for a weekend in a hospital. Tomorrow, at 4:29pm, Ava will be 9 months old. The exact amount of time that I was pregnant with her, 39 weeks. In those long weeks of pregnancy, my little Ava went from a bundle of cells to a living, breathing baby. It is so amazing to think about how much my life (and Ava's life) changed that day.
And everyday after that day has been life-changing for me as a new mom and for my little boo bug as well. Everyday that has gone by, I find myself loving her more than the day before, even when I always think that will be impossible! In the past 39 weeks, I have watched her go from a helpless newborn, unable to see more than 12 inches away, unable to even lift her head, feed herself, express thoughts or even process her surroundings to a crawling, cruising, screeching, talking, signing, self-feeding, laughing, kissing, little ball of energy and happiness! Oh my goodness, how much I love her! And while tomorrow isn't as momentous as a first birthday, it will be a very momentous event for the Mama that carried her for 9 months. Thinking back on that day will always remind me of how 39 weeks can change the world.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Too Smart for Her Own Good!
So yesterday, Ava decided to show me her new trick!! I can't believe how fast she is growing up and how smart she is getting! What a cute little stinker!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Bedtime is Achanging?
I give up on the nightly ritual. The past week has been out of control. Monday night, Ava refused to go to sleep. Tuesday night, Roger woke Ava up when he came home at 1am, and she didn't go back to sleep until 4 in the morning! Then was woken up at 8am by the stupid dogs. Wednesday night, she woke up at 3 and refused to go back to sleep until 6:30 in the morning. And each bedtime was pre-empted by something I'd like to refer to as the "Sleep War of 2011".
I am talking about hitting, flailing, kicking, screaming, sobbing and occasionally the physical wrestling match is interrupted by a maniacal laughing fit. Last night, after getting hardly any sleep this week and wrestling with a tired baby from 8 to 10, I broke. I gave up. I put her down on the floor in the living room, snapped at Roger, and then took a shower. I am done trying to "make" Ava go to sleep, especially when I know that she'll most likely just wake up at 3am to play (smack me around for awhile). And apparently Roger doesn't appreciate the deep frustration of battling with an 8 month old, day after day and hour after hour, so of course, I had to take it out on him. Imagine that. (I apologized later)
Anyways, I think it worked. She was up with Roger until 11 or so, they practiced walking the whole time and she actually stood on her own for almost 10 seconds! It was amazing! Then, when I got out of the shower to put her to sleep, she was out like a light. Ahhhh...I thought to myself, this is more like it! I went to sleep thinking that tonight was going to be different. Only to have my sleep interrupted an hour later by shrill screaming.
I went into her room and could see that her eyes were closed but she was screaming like I had never heard her scream before. I picked her up and she went crazy in my arms, screaming, smacking me, then choking, like she was gasping for air. I freaked out! I said her name a few times really loudly, then I started to cry. I had never seen her like this and it scared the heck out of me. She was screaming so loudly I thought maybe she was hurting. I checked her little hands and toes, her diaper for poo, I scanned her whole body to make sure nothing had happened, but I didn't see a thing. Then, just as suddenly as she had started crying, she stopped. Just went completely silent, eyes closed, sleeping like...well, like a baby.
It was terrible for me! I went to bed, but was so sad for her. I kept checking in on her throughout the night. Poor baby! As bizarre as it sounds, I think last night was the first time she has ever had an actual nightmare:(
I am talking about hitting, flailing, kicking, screaming, sobbing and occasionally the physical wrestling match is interrupted by a maniacal laughing fit. Last night, after getting hardly any sleep this week and wrestling with a tired baby from 8 to 10, I broke. I gave up. I put her down on the floor in the living room, snapped at Roger, and then took a shower. I am done trying to "make" Ava go to sleep, especially when I know that she'll most likely just wake up at 3am to play (smack me around for awhile). And apparently Roger doesn't appreciate the deep frustration of battling with an 8 month old, day after day and hour after hour, so of course, I had to take it out on him. Imagine that. (I apologized later)
Anyways, I think it worked. She was up with Roger until 11 or so, they practiced walking the whole time and she actually stood on her own for almost 10 seconds! It was amazing! Then, when I got out of the shower to put her to sleep, she was out like a light. Ahhhh...I thought to myself, this is more like it! I went to sleep thinking that tonight was going to be different. Only to have my sleep interrupted an hour later by shrill screaming.
I went into her room and could see that her eyes were closed but she was screaming like I had never heard her scream before. I picked her up and she went crazy in my arms, screaming, smacking me, then choking, like she was gasping for air. I freaked out! I said her name a few times really loudly, then I started to cry. I had never seen her like this and it scared the heck out of me. She was screaming so loudly I thought maybe she was hurting. I checked her little hands and toes, her diaper for poo, I scanned her whole body to make sure nothing had happened, but I didn't see a thing. Then, just as suddenly as she had started crying, she stopped. Just went completely silent, eyes closed, sleeping like...well, like a baby.
It was terrible for me! I went to bed, but was so sad for her. I kept checking in on her throughout the night. Poor baby! As bizarre as it sounds, I think last night was the first time she has ever had an actual nightmare:(
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Last night was...the best and the worst!
Of all the things that I miss about being a non-mom, it would have to be the ability to sit down and watch a TV show. I know that sounds incredibly lame and selfish, but come on!
Last night was the BEST night for me as a mom. For almost three hours, Ava was the PERFECT angel during our dinner with Anj at Scotty's Brewhouse (it really was amazing)!` I should've known that couldn't last. Afterwards, Ava had a meltdown of catastrophic proportions. I gave her a bath, put on her jams, read her a story, rocked her to...kicking, screaming, poking me in the eye, laughing non-sleep. I had to give her a bottle, not once, but three times. I rocked and rocked and rocked her. I sang lullabies and rocked some more. 20 minutes pass. 40 minutes pass. Finally, I thought screw it, she's not going to sleep, we'll just both watch TV together. (Just so that the facts are straight here, we don't have cable or DVR anymore and I only have ONE show every week that I care about, so Mondays are a big deal!) So we did, kind of. She was entranced by the Bachelorette drama on the screen for about 5 minutes. At which point she crawled over to me, climbed up to the couch and did a little dance while chanting, "Mama, mama, mama, mama", like a little obsessed tribal creature. I picked her up and there we were, on the couch, her wiggling around and flopping herself to and fro like a wet noodle.
OOOOKKK! I got up and tried the ol' rock to sleep routine. No such luck. So I did what any bad mom would do if she were missing her shows...I put her in her crib and shut the door so that I couldn't hear her crying. Big mistake. My heart could only stand about 7 minutes of her raging, screeching sobs. I went back in and tried to calm the beast. She was out of control mad at me. I tried to lie her down on my chest and we rocked for what seemed like an eternity, her eyes fluttered then closed, her breathing slowed and she went limp in my arms. Finally, she was asleep...and my two hour long TV show was over:(
Last night was the BEST night for me as a mom. For almost three hours, Ava was the PERFECT angel during our dinner with Anj at Scotty's Brewhouse (it really was amazing)!` I should've known that couldn't last. Afterwards, Ava had a meltdown of catastrophic proportions. I gave her a bath, put on her jams, read her a story, rocked her to...kicking, screaming, poking me in the eye, laughing non-sleep. I had to give her a bottle, not once, but three times. I rocked and rocked and rocked her. I sang lullabies and rocked some more. 20 minutes pass. 40 minutes pass. Finally, I thought screw it, she's not going to sleep, we'll just both watch TV together. (Just so that the facts are straight here, we don't have cable or DVR anymore and I only have ONE show every week that I care about, so Mondays are a big deal!) So we did, kind of. She was entranced by the Bachelorette drama on the screen for about 5 minutes. At which point she crawled over to me, climbed up to the couch and did a little dance while chanting, "Mama, mama, mama, mama", like a little obsessed tribal creature. I picked her up and there we were, on the couch, her wiggling around and flopping herself to and fro like a wet noodle.
OOOOKKK! I got up and tried the ol' rock to sleep routine. No such luck. So I did what any bad mom would do if she were missing her shows...I put her in her crib and shut the door so that I couldn't hear her crying. Big mistake. My heart could only stand about 7 minutes of her raging, screeching sobs. I went back in and tried to calm the beast. She was out of control mad at me. I tried to lie her down on my chest and we rocked for what seemed like an eternity, her eyes fluttered then closed, her breathing slowed and she went limp in my arms. Finally, she was asleep...and my two hour long TV show was over:(
Monday, July 18, 2011
Walking anytime soon?
Finally got Ava down for a nap! Roger and I slacked off all morning since he didn't have to work until 1. We all played with Ava's new "Band in a Box" (LOVE) after breakfast followed by some practice walking and horsey riding. I swear any day now she's going to just stand up and walk and I can't wait!! It's so exciting to see your little one accomplish their milestones! It's like affirmation that yes, you are doing your job as a parent and yes, this is a just phase and something new and more exciting is just around the corner! She is only 8 1/2 months old, but has already been crawling for about 2 months, so any day now...any day:)
OK, now that she's napping, I need to get in the shower and get ready for our birthday dinner date with Anj! We are headed to Scotty's downtown, I hope Ava doesn't have a meltdown:? Oh well, what better example of mommy reality for Anj to see, right?
OK, now that she's napping, I need to get in the shower and get ready for our birthday dinner date with Anj! We are headed to Scotty's downtown, I hope Ava doesn't have a meltdown:? Oh well, what better example of mommy reality for Anj to see, right?
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Slacking Blogger-Mom
Seriously need to get on the blogging ball! I am such a slacker in the blogging department...it's not like I am busy or anything! Lol! Right now Ava is doing some major teething, which means that she is also sleeping a lot more than usual. About 16 hours a day if I let her. So that leaves me some time to clean (yeah, right) and pull off some extracurricular activities. Like yesterday, I rearranged the entire living room and cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms. Ava and I also went to the library and we picked up another "Baby Bunny Book Bag".
Right now I am listening to our newest electronic addition to the house, a Blu-ray player that has Pandora on it. I've been listening to the "Adele" station all afternoon...which is AWESOME! Ava loves music too:) Right now she is attempting to walk, so we take a few steps here and there together. Then we'll have a seat and try to clap to the music. Every now and then we'll have a musical morning and we'll both play around on the piano. So far I've taught myself to play "Twinkle, Twinkle"/"ABC song", "B-I-N-G-O", "Doe a Dear" and "Happy Birthday" on the piano. Just think in a few years, I might be able to actually play real music, lol! She loves our musical mornings. And if I were to think about her short life experience, I would say that mornings are probably filled with some of her happiest times.
But all in all, a typical day (as if this exists)in the life of Ava: She gets breakfast (oatmeal and fruits) and plays with the dogs while I drink coffee and eat. Then we practice our sign language, take some practice steps, play with toys, stomp out a few songs on the piano or on a bucket, and play ball...all in the span of two hours before she starts getting cranky for her nap. Then we eat lunch, check the mail, sit in the sun (for 5 minutes), get dressed for the day and run errands. She usually gets a good nap or two in while we are driving around. Once we get home, it's time to play or eat dinner (rice and veggies or whatever mama and dada are eating), then bathtime, jammies, stories, and off to bed by 8 (usually). Again, her days are variable, as they should be, but there is some sort of outline of a general schedule within the day to day.
She has been such an easy-going baby lately. For about a month there she was a screaming, fighting, little bug that wouldn't go to sleep and would just cry and cry for no reason. But now she's calmed a bit. She's had about three teeth break through in the past two weeks and so she has been sleeping a ton and eating very little...not that it's great for her, but it's a nice vaca for Mom, if you know what I mean! Last Monday she even had a tiny bit of a fever, 102.5, and did nothing but sleep all day. But when she was awake she was super happy and agreeable so I just figure she is having some teething issues, which is giving me lots of spare time...I love it!
I am already thinking about what to do for her first birthday:) I am so excited to celebrate her birthday, even though I know she will never remember it, I want it to be special! So far, I am thinking that we'll do a Pumpkin theme, maybe a Charlie Brown Pumpkin theme, I don't know? That will be the easiest for the time of year, ya know. I am picturing a pumpking cake, pumpkin pies, pumpkin cupcakes, a pumpkin pinata, Roger's chili...I don't know, but I can't wait to put it all together:)
It will most likely be in Fort Wayne since Roger's grandparent's are coming into town around that time. Maybe...just maybe, we'll get away with having two Birthday parties?? A Ft. Wayne one and an Indianapolis one on her ACTUAL birthday, which will be on a Sunday.
Alright, time to go get my babay! She's up from her nap!
Right now I am listening to our newest electronic addition to the house, a Blu-ray player that has Pandora on it. I've been listening to the "Adele" station all afternoon...which is AWESOME! Ava loves music too:) Right now she is attempting to walk, so we take a few steps here and there together. Then we'll have a seat and try to clap to the music. Every now and then we'll have a musical morning and we'll both play around on the piano. So far I've taught myself to play "Twinkle, Twinkle"/"ABC song", "B-I-N-G-O", "Doe a Dear" and "Happy Birthday" on the piano. Just think in a few years, I might be able to actually play real music, lol! She loves our musical mornings. And if I were to think about her short life experience, I would say that mornings are probably filled with some of her happiest times.
But all in all, a typical day (as if this exists)in the life of Ava: She gets breakfast (oatmeal and fruits) and plays with the dogs while I drink coffee and eat. Then we practice our sign language, take some practice steps, play with toys, stomp out a few songs on the piano or on a bucket, and play ball...all in the span of two hours before she starts getting cranky for her nap. Then we eat lunch, check the mail, sit in the sun (for 5 minutes), get dressed for the day and run errands. She usually gets a good nap or two in while we are driving around. Once we get home, it's time to play or eat dinner (rice and veggies or whatever mama and dada are eating), then bathtime, jammies, stories, and off to bed by 8 (usually). Again, her days are variable, as they should be, but there is some sort of outline of a general schedule within the day to day.
She has been such an easy-going baby lately. For about a month there she was a screaming, fighting, little bug that wouldn't go to sleep and would just cry and cry for no reason. But now she's calmed a bit. She's had about three teeth break through in the past two weeks and so she has been sleeping a ton and eating very little...not that it's great for her, but it's a nice vaca for Mom, if you know what I mean! Last Monday she even had a tiny bit of a fever, 102.5, and did nothing but sleep all day. But when she was awake she was super happy and agreeable so I just figure she is having some teething issues, which is giving me lots of spare time...I love it!
I am already thinking about what to do for her first birthday:) I am so excited to celebrate her birthday, even though I know she will never remember it, I want it to be special! So far, I am thinking that we'll do a Pumpkin theme, maybe a Charlie Brown Pumpkin theme, I don't know? That will be the easiest for the time of year, ya know. I am picturing a pumpking cake, pumpkin pies, pumpkin cupcakes, a pumpkin pinata, Roger's chili...I don't know, but I can't wait to put it all together:)
It will most likely be in Fort Wayne since Roger's grandparent's are coming into town around that time. Maybe...just maybe, we'll get away with having two Birthday parties?? A Ft. Wayne one and an Indianapolis one on her ACTUAL birthday, which will be on a Sunday.
Alright, time to go get my babay! She's up from her nap!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Family Picture
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