That's my girl!

I am proud to announce that Ava slept last night from 9pm until 730am.  Alleluia!  Mike, Darrell and I got some much needed uninterrupted sleep.  Although, I kept waking up, thinking, "Have I gotten up tonight?  Is she still sleeping?"  I also got paranoid, thinking maybe something was wrong because she was sleeping so long.  But the little chunk just needed to snooze. 

Sleep

Not getting much sleep around here these days.  Since Friday night, I've probably gotten around 12 hours of sleep.  Ava was doing great with sleeping through the night until last Friday.  Now she is getting up at least every hour and a half.  It's exhausting.  I was reading about "sleep regression" that occurs around 3 months.  I was feeling optimistic and empowered because I was learning about what sleep regression is... until I read that it usually lasts around 3 weeks.  What?!?!  I cannot keep up with this schedule for 3 weeks.  I will freak.  Mike got up with her once last night, but I usually don't make him because he has to work in the morning.  I've tried to sleep in the recliner but it hurts my neck too bad and I wake up about every 5 minutes.  During the day, Ava does great.  She eats about every 3-3.5 hours and naps regularly (even if it's only for 30 minutes).  I usually try to lay down when she naps, but truthfully a 20 minute nap isn't really worth it.  And... I've been having trouble falling asleep.  Last night I put her to bed around 10 and laid awake until 11:30.  I am at the end of my rope.  I'm starting to think that infancy is mother nature's cruel experiment to see how far mothers can be stretched before they snap.  Last week I was just thinking that I'm finally starting to get the hang of things.  Life with a baby was really getting enjoyable.  I pray for the end of sleepless nights around here!

Ava is 3 months old!

Ava is three months old today!  The time has gone by so fast and so slow in so many ways.  I have learned so much as a mom since we brought her home from the hospital.  I continue to learn something new everyday.  It makes me laugh to think how clueless we were just three months ago. 

Leah came last weekend to take Ava's three month pics.  They turned out fabulous as usual.  I know Leah will be famous for her photography someday, and I hope Ava can be her model so we can be rich also. 

It's amazing to see how fast Ava is growing.  A week ago I went to put her in a dress for my cousins wedding and it was too snug!  I got some outfits out of her six month box and they fit her perfectly.  (Yes, she already has a huge Tupperware box full of six and nine month clothes).  She is almost too big for her 3-6 month clothes.  It's sad to think that she will never wear her cute little summer rompers again.  Boo hoo. 

We are celebrating today in the following ways:  Ava is currently kicking her legs to Sesame Street, trip to toy store to pick out a present, supper as a family. 

Where have I been?

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately.  Truthfully, I feel like I can't blog anymore because my readers would try to commit me to a mental institution.  People keep telling me that "It will get better."  And it is... slowly, but it's still not good.  I am so sleep deprived.  Ava was sleeping through the night for about two weeks but the last two nights she has been up every hour and a half.  Not necessarily wanting to eat, just needing to burp, be rocked, look around, etc.  I'm so exhausted.  To make matters worse, she only takes 30 minute naps throughout the day.  By the time I get her laid down I have 20 minutes or less to fall asleep before she wakes up again.  And I can usually count on Darrell waking me up after about 5 minutes.  I'm back to work, which makes the situation worse.  It's scary that I'm responsible for taking care of critically ill patients when I'm a wack-a-doodle myself.  Mike helps as much as he can - he is having trouble detoxing from his active social life.  I understand that he wants to go places and do things, but it's really hard being here by myself.  I need to move closer to my family.  It was a horrible idea to have a child and live so far away.  I have no one to help me.  Anyway, before I start crying again, here is a recent pic of Ava:

Soon...

I will blog again.  Soon...  I hope...  I think a new laptop is in my near future.  Right now I am too busy with the baby to find time to sit down and type.  I supposed I could type one handed, but the posts would be short.  I will leave now with a recent pic of the peanut:

A baby story

Ava Brooke McGinn

June 28

4:32pm

8 pounds  11 ounces

21 inches

Wow, time does fly!  Ava has been here for three weeks now.  I've been meaning to blog about it... but there's always something baby-related that needs to be done!  So better late than never, here's the story of how Ava arrived:

Sunday, June 27:  Awoke at 5am with contractions.  Mild, nothing major.  Got up and started doing some last minute house cleaning.  Went to church at 9:30 and the contractions were pretty regular but still not very painful. Went to the hospital around noon.  I was dilated 2-3 cm, same as the week before.  They told me to go home and rest and return if the contractions got worse, otherwise to go to my OB appointment at 2:30pm on Monday.  I was bummed!  Contractions continued throughout the day - got really bad around 9pm.  I was contracting every 10 minutes, each one lasting about 50 seconds.  The pain was getting intense!  At around 3am I couldn't take it anymore.  There was no way I could endure this until my appointment at 2:30.  So back to the hospital we went.  This time I was dilated to 5cm.  Yeah!  I got to stay.  In went my IV and epidural (piece of cake).  My OB came in around 10:30am to break my water.  Contractions continued about every 2 minutes until 3:30pm when it was time to start pushing.  Unfortunately, I pushed for 2 hours.  After about one hour of pushing I started to feel the contractions.  Not sure if they turned down my epidural or what.... but it was painful!  I went into the experience thinking that an epidural = no pain.  Boy was I wrong.  Finally at 4:32pm on June 28 Ava made her grand entrance into the world!  Seeing her chubby cheeks made it all worth it!  We've been snuggling her at home for about 3 weeks now.  Time flies!  Most days are good, all are exhausting.  More blogging to come!

Not much longer...

Everything turned out good at the doctor today.  Good as in bad because that means the baby probably isn't coming today.  The ultrasound showed that my amniotic fluid level was 20 (normal is 10-20).  This explains why I haven't had any contractions, there is just too much fluid for my uterus to get some good squeezes in.  I wish I could spring a slight leak...  Baby's weight is estimated at 8.5 pounds.  She has hair!  Thank God because she has lots of bows.  She is still a she - thank God again.  People were always asking me, "Are you sure it's a girl?  I would buy some boy clothes just in case."  This isn't the 1970's people.  Like the ultrasound tech said today - "If we can see all the chambers of the heart, I'm sure we can see if it's a boy or a girl."  I love technology.  She passed the non-stress test with flying colors.  Again - yea!/boo!  Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy that I was able to cook this baby to full term.  I'm glad that she will be a normal sized baby.  I'm just getting so bored.  I can't imagine keeping ourselves occupied for another long weekend...  If I'm still pregnant on Monday I go back to the doctor to pick a birth date!