Home with the family

Sorry we havent updated the blog in awhile. I know many of you are anxiously awaiting more pictures and updates. Our little Ava is 6 days old today and doing so well. It was a week ago today that my contractions started and we knew she was on her way! Time has flown by and I know it will only continue to do so. I am trying to soak up every minute with her, even if that means holding her longer and prolonging those already long feedings! Nursing is going good. Ava is latching on well and seems to be getting plenty of milk. I am so sore but the doctor said that will soon go away. Thank God! I didn't realize how much torture a woman's body goes through after having a child. It's all worth it though to have this amazing little person in your life. The first few nights in the hospital and the first night home were a little rough but things are getting better. Ava sleeps wonderfully during the day but not so much at night. She tends to get more gassy after her evening/middle of the night feedings and it is hard to settle her down. We have tried all different burping positions but she just cant seem to burp that gas out. Hmmm, kind of like her mommy! We have started giving her Mylicon drops after her late feedings and they seem to work sometimes. Mikey and I have really had to rely on teamwork to make it through the night and get some sleep. I feed Ava and then lay her down in the pack n play beside our bed in hopes that she will stay asleep till the next feeding. If she wakes up, which is usually in crying fits because she has gas, then Mikey gets up with her and tries to burp her and calm her down. He does a great job and is so patient. When my alarm goes off for my next feeding then I go and relieve him if he is still up with her. We are working on trying to keep her more awake and active during the day so that she will sleep better at night even though I know the majority of the problem is that she is having gas pains. Those cries and body positions are very different from the norm! It breaks my heart to see her in so much pain. Macy has been so sweet to her new little sister. She is very gentle with her and likes to look at her and sniff her. It is so cute!

Yesterday we went to the pediatrician for Ava's first visit. The doctor said that she is a very healthy baby and doing great. She is starting to gain her birth weight back and has already grown an inch in length. That seems a bit much but maybe her intial length measurement was a little off. The doctor also watched me nurse Ava and she said that we were both doing great. She actually called us "superstars" and said that she normally doesn't see many mothers and babies get the nursing thing down this quickly. That made me feel so good because I have been having my doubts as to whether we were actually doing it correctly. It is such a foreign thing and very complicated at first! My friends and doctors weren't lying! We still have a few kinks to work out but now I know we are on the right track.

I am trying to get a slideshow together of a lot of the pictures we have taken since her birth. I havent had much success in the past with these slideshows but maybe I can recruit Mikey to help. More pictures will be coming soon! There are a ton!

Thank you to all of you for your prayers and well wishes! We have been reminded over the past week just how blessed we are with such caring and thoughtful friends and family. We cannot wait for all of you to meet the new love of our life!