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6.23.2009

This is going to hurt me more than you...

In my most parental moment yet, I found myself whispering those words to little Ava yesterday, right before she got her dreaded first shots.  It was a sad, sad moment for all three of us :) I held her little hands while the nurse gave her 3 shots and watched as her face processed what was happening.  By the time it was all over (which was about 10 seconds later), she was screaming, I was crying and Travis was choking the tears back.  But, as quickly as she started crying she stopped too.  I scooped her up immediately and she only cried for about a minute, but I can't even tell you how choked up I was!  It KILLED me to watch her be in pain, especially because she was so unsuspecting and happy before the nurse gave her the shots.  But, we wanted her vaccinated because we believe it will protect her from the many, many people that she will be around.  Especially those germy junior highers :) So for now, the first round is over.
Okay, moving on to happier things :) Here are the 2 month stats:  Ava weighs 9lbs. 14oz now!  She is 22 inches long and in the 20th percentile for weight, height, and head size.  She's still a little peanut, but consistent in all her measurements, so thus no worries.   
Developmentally, she is doing all the right things and was declared "just perfect" by her doctor.  We couldn't agree more :) She's eating about every 2 hours during the day, except for when she naps, then she'll go 3-4 hours.  She's taking a long morning nap for me and a long afternoon or early evening nap almost everyday.  The best news however, is that she is sleeping 8 hours at night!!  For this last month, she was sleeping at least 6 hours every night (sometimes more) but for the last 5 nights we've tried to keep a consistant bedtime for her with a little routine and she's responded great by going 8 straight hours.  We put her down around 10:30 and she wakes up at 6:30.  As she gets a little older, we'll be putting her down a little earlier, 30 minutes at a time, hoping we can eventually get to the coveted 12 hour sleep schedule.  It's kind of like a carrot dangling in front of us :) But, we are thrilled with 8 hours.  It feels amazing to get that additional sleep and it makes me feel like a good parent to watch her get consistent sleep.  
Look at that little peanut :) I'm sure you can see that huge belly button!  It's an umbilical hernia, but totally normal and expected to go down on its' own.  It makes us laugh though because it gets bigger when she cries and when she stands up.  She was quite happy to see her Daddy when He got there!
The calm before the storm.  I got as many cuddles in as I could, before the nurse came back in.  
Thankfully, Ava did great last night when we got home.  I gave her tylenol and she was pretty good.  She did scream a couple times when we irritated her thighs I think, but Travis took her for a long walk and we held her a lot, until she fell asleep.  I was worried that she might not sleep very well last night, but she went right down and we didn't hear a noise from her all night.
Look at those band-aids on those little thighs :) I am hoping to get them off in her bath so it doesn't hurt.  She doesn't look too upset here, does she?  I was pleasantly surprised at how well she did. Makes me feel a little better!
We've also moved this little girl out of the pack and play in our room and into her crib in her room.  She didn't seem to notice the change at all and is always happily cooing when she wakes up in there.  
Here she is this morning.  This picture is a little grainy because I took it in the dark, but she's so stinkin cute anyway!  Love those early morning smiles :) 

I didn't get a chance to post on Father's Day, but we had a great day together.  I also didn't get any pictures, which I feel bad about, but it was kind of a funny day.  We met Trav in the service at Church, but we had to scoot out when Ava decided she wanted to be noisy.  After church, Travis had a make-up soccer game to coach, so we met him there and Ava slept through the whole thing!  After we got home, we ate lunch, I gave Trav our gifts and cards and he took a nap while I got some work done.  My cousin Jenny offered to baby-sit for us that night, so we dropped Ava off with the Lowe's and got to go out for dinner and a movie!  It was wonderful and a fun way to get some time together.  We had a yummy dinner at Maggiano's and then saw the movie, The Proposal, with Sandra Bullock.  It was really funny, we loved it!  But we laughed because Travis really didn't see Ava much all day between her naps and all our activities.  Regardless, it was a fun first Father's Day for him and I think it goes without saying that I think he's an amazing Daddy already!  He is so sweet with Ava and so taken with her.  However, what makes him a great Dad is his love for the Lord and his obedience to Him.  Out of that obedience Ava and I are blessed with his love for us, his patience, his faithfulness, his wisdom and his time.  I couldn't ask for a better Daddy for my baby!  

7 comments:

Toni :O) said...

She's adorable...glad she's sleeping so good for you. My daughter took a year to sleep through the night...ugh! She'll be six next week....time just evaporates quickly but at least she sleeps much better at night. Hah! Glad Ava is healthy and happy, you both seem to be doing a great job!

Rebecca Jo said...

I dont think you even needed the doctors opinion of "She's perfect" - you already knew that :)

She is just adorable!

And yeah, those hernias usually just go away... isnt it funny how they poke out!

I love how expressive she is!

Rebecca Jo said...

Hey Steph.. you need to stop by my blog... this post inspired my post for the day :)

Matt and Jen said...

so sorry you had to go through that, but unfortunately it doesn't get better as they're older (matt has agreed to take Noah to his long overdue 4 year old...5 shots...check up). I guess it would be weird if we got ok with it, wouldn't it?? LOVE the pictures, so what about the week we're in chicago? i've put pics on our blog by the way. love you!!

Jesse and Stacie said...

Her expressions are too cute! I love the one where she's standing at the Dr.'s and staring right at Travis :)

Amanda Hoyt said...

Sounds like you guys had a great first shots experience and we already knew that Ava was perfect :)
Happy (Late) Father's Day to Travis!!
Hugs,
Amanda

Anonymous said...

Ava is so precious! I'm thrilled for you that she sleeps eight hours at night...it really helps you enjoy the little peanut that much more. Our Claire also was a good sleeper pretty early on, but don't fret if Ava doesn't reach the 12 hour stretch at night...our average has been 10 hours since she was about 9 months old. Every baby is different.

Angie G.