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| Isn't this hilarious! My friend Crystal made it |
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| She held on to that ring for a good 15 minutes |
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| Daddy and Baby having some one on one time |
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| 3 month old Big Girl! Peace, Man! |
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| She hates bows. It's fine. |
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| At the pedi's office... she's so big! |
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| Loves riding in the car/carseat. Falls asleep right away |
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| 1st time napping in her crib |
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| Very docile at night : ) |
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| My mom and hubby had fun posing her while I slept |
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| Love my sleepy baby |
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| This is where she hangs out while Mommy and Daddy eat dinner |
Hi everyone! So sorry I haven't posted in awhile... life has been hectic here! But we are all good. Many, many new and exciting changes in our house. So I'll jump right in...
Avery has officially switched completely to formula. This was met with much resistance by moi, but after she started scream crying every time we put a half formula/half thawed milk bottle in her mouth, I knew her breastmilk days were numbered. I had such high, grandiose hopes of giving her my milk for a full year, and if I didn't have that DANG excess of lipase in it, we would probably have enough stored milk to last her to that date. But, she is my daughter, after all.... so a Picky Vicky she turned out to be. We only feed her Similac Neosure now (holy cow, formula is way expensive!!) and will keep her on that until she is at least 6 months. I am currently signed up on Similac's website to receive coupons and samples in the hopes of making feeding her a little less stressful, and also coupon trading online with other moms! So if any family or friends happen to start receiving coupons/samples/checks in the mail from Similac, I may or may not have signed you up, and you can just forward them along to Avery : ) She appreciates you greatly! I promise, she told me!
She is having some issues already in the switch, which truly break my heart. With breastmilk babies, they tend to poop at almost every diaper. Avery was doing that, if not every other diaper. Now with the formula, she's lucky to go once a day. My poor already gassy baby is miserable I'm fairly certain, most of the time she's awake. She just squirms around and looks so uncomfortable. Hopefully her tummy gets used to this soon and she can start enjoying her bottles more. I honestly dread feeding her at the moment b/c its such an ordeal... it takes her close to 30+ minutes to get a bottle down, and she never finishes the whole thing. She squirms, spits up, bears down, etc. almost the entire time she's drinking. I really think she has a bit of reflux, and I'm so hesitant to put her on medication (which is what the pediatrician will want to do) so I'm trying to ride it out to see if her system will adapt before we try anything else. So right now, she is taking 3.5-4 oz bottles every 3 hours during the day. During the night though.....
She's sleeping almost 5-8 hour stretches!!! That's right, it wasn't a typo. Our babe is getting the hang of this! Thank you Jesus!! This began about 2 weeks ago, I'd say. She'll fall asleep after her 8 or 11 PM bottles and not wake up for anywhere between 5-7 hours... one time she actually went 8 hours! Since her weight is more than healthy now (more on that in a minute), the doctor said not to wake her up at night to eat. Hey, you don't have to tell these sleep deprived parents twice! A couple of nights, she has woken up at her normal 3 hour mark, but has taken a bottle and fallen straight back to sleep. We are so enjoying this stage, let me tell you. She's still most comfortable sleeping on our chests on the couch, so we sometimes take turns with her out there. Or my current favorite thing in the world: SLUMBER PARTY. Avery, CJ and I all sleep on the couch and we just take turns getting up with her if she awakes. I love having my little family all together, all night. Sometimes we stay up talking and its really just such a neat bonding time for us. With me going back to work next Monday, I think our Slumber Party days will have to be permanently relagated to the weekends, but that's okay. She's been able to sleep for a few hours in her bouncy seat and her carseat in the stroller as well lately. Baby steps! I think I'm going to purchase a Rock n Play for her (like we have room for any more baby gear), but I have been reading that since it's elevated near the head portion of the bassinet, babies with reflux do excellent in it. Avery HATES sleeping flat on her back (yet another reason I think she has a mild case of reflux). We are so proud of her progress in this area.
When we went to the pedi's office last Monday (the 16th), AG weighed in at 10 pounds, 1 oz! That's over 3 lbs in a month! The doctor was more than pleased with her weight gain obviously : ) She actually told us to cut her Neosure mixing in half, but that was when we were still doing half an half with the breastmilk. I hope that her weight gain doesn't stall or regress now that she's off the milk... she has another appt in Feb., so we won't really know until then. She is almost 22 inches long. The doctor put her on her tummy to see if she had any neck control, and not only did Avery hold herself up on her forearms for about 30 seconds, she then promptly rolled over. That's right. I have the smartest, most advanced baby in the universe. We thought of course this was a fluke, but praised her anyway. However, I brought her home and put her on her stomach and she rolled over again! Babies aren't really expected to do that until they are 4 months or older. Since all the milestones will be going by Avery's adjusted age (just over a month old at this point), she is largely ahead of the game. I just got my first packet of stuff from the developmental people that came and evaluated her, so I need to go through that and let them know what she is doing now. The pedi was overall extremely happy with Avery and how's shes doing.
She's also cooing and making the funniest noises lately... it almost sounds like she is trying to talk! She is also smiling big and it is not gas related! I DIED the 1st time I saw her do it. Now when I clap and sing to her, that seems to illicit a big gummy smile. Her personality is really starting to shine through, and that excites me to no end. She is WAY fun to play with now! We also had her 3rd RSV shot this month (here's praying she doesn't contract this, as the pedi said everyone has been getting it lately) and also her LAST appointment with the eye doc. Gracie is free and clear, with eyeballs that are so blue and completely and perfectly formed. She has no ROP. Thank you Lord! The pediatrician also said that her 2 follow up ultrasounds came back unchanged. She still has the small calcification in her brain, but it is so tiny, and hasn't grown at all, so they are not concerned with it. Also, she did still have some fluid in her left kidney, BUT she peed during the scan and thus, the fluid went away. So no more ultrasounds for our babe! She was deemed healthy and normal! Woohooooo!!!
Great news on the homefront: I GOT THE JOB AT CORPORATE! I am so excited, it's silly. I'll be the Executive Assistant to the President of the company, along with 4 other execs whose job titles momentarily elude me. I was offered the position the day after we found out that CJ would no longer be receiving unemployment. That was a HUGE chunk of our monthly living, and at that point we were both freaking out and having to talk very seriously about him going back into active duty while Aves and I stayed here, or him getting a night job that would have him leaving as soon as I got home from work. We were severely depressed at these options for about a week, but me being hired on @ Corporate along with a very generous pay raise, softened the blow for us a little. However a week later, we figured out that he can continue receiving benefits, and has since done so. Thank you Lord for this! We were going to have to make some very tough choices as a family, and now we have a little more time to do so. I start work this coming Monday, the 30th, and I can't wait. I had to go and buy some Big Girl clothes and hope that everything works out well. I am thrilled to be in this position. Although more and more, the thought of leaving Avery every day makes me so sad! I have to email CJ at least every 2-3 hours to check on her while I'm working at a clinic. We are going to look into joining a small group @ church as well, so some very positive things are looming on our horizon.
We did have one scary episode, which I won't go into graphic detail about, but has made us so much more aware and appreciative of Avery's life. One night a few weeks ago, I was in bed fast asleep and I hear CJ say, "OH CRAP!" very loudly. Normally I would have stayed in bed. I was exhausted and knew I had to get up to work in a few short hours. After all, my husband is a fantastic father and very capable of cleaning up whatever mess him and Avery had gotten into out in the living room. But for some reason, I popped out of bed and ran in to see what was wrong. Call it Mother's Instinct. He was furiously wiping down the couch and carpet. "Avery threw up everywhere, she's in her crib", he said when I asked what happened. I ran into her room and saw her in her crib, eyes as big as saucers, milk/formula all over her, coming out of her nose, and her mouth, and she was white as a sheet. She was choking. I grabbed her, turned her over, and beat on her back for what seemed like years. CJ came in and I flipped her over and saw she still wasn't breathing. He quickly took her and beat her on the back harder until she started to whimper. I held her for the next 4 hours, just to make sure she was okay. Her breathing was shallow and her color was off, but she was alive. To let myself think that if I hadn't gone in to check on her, if I hadn't gotten out of bed, Avery would have choked to death.... I can't even begin to explain it. Everytime I let myself think it, I have to squeeze her until she cries. I love my daughter with an intensity that I never thought possible... we've been through more than most people experience in a life time. And because of that, I think her and I have a connection that is unexplainable. Like the one I have with my own mother. CJ and I have since had the conversation that you can NEVER lay down a choking baby flat OR on her stomach unattended, and I think he understands the severity of it now. He felt horrible, as did I. It was far more scary than anything we even went through in the NICU, which is saying something.
All is well in the land of the Whitmires... thank you for keeping up with Avery and her Amazing Journey! I have a feeling this kid is going to wow us all in the coming months and years. She is so much more alert and awake during the day now, making eye contact almost all the time. She definitely knows what is going on around her. She's our deepest joy, our truest love, our brightest accomplishment. Thank you Jesus for blessing us with her, for allowing us to keep her, to raise her, to enjoy her and witness all the wonderful things she does every day. The Lord has been so good to our family. We praise Him every day for all He's done and continues to do. I feel Him, I see Him, working in our lives, in our family, in our daughter. How lucky we are to have His grace pour out on us. There's nothing we can't overcome with Him on our side!
Hoping everyone is doing great and is blessed! We love you!
xo,
Avery Grace & her Mama
Great news on the homefront: I GOT THE JOB AT CORPORATE! I am so excited, it's silly. I'll be the Executive Assistant to the President of the company, along with 4 other execs whose job titles momentarily elude me. I was offered the position the day after we found out that CJ would no longer be receiving unemployment. That was a HUGE chunk of our monthly living, and at that point we were both freaking out and having to talk very seriously about him going back into active duty while Aves and I stayed here, or him getting a night job that would have him leaving as soon as I got home from work. We were severely depressed at these options for about a week, but me being hired on @ Corporate along with a very generous pay raise, softened the blow for us a little. However a week later, we figured out that he can continue receiving benefits, and has since done so. Thank you Lord for this! We were going to have to make some very tough choices as a family, and now we have a little more time to do so. I start work this coming Monday, the 30th, and I can't wait. I had to go and buy some Big Girl clothes and hope that everything works out well. I am thrilled to be in this position. Although more and more, the thought of leaving Avery every day makes me so sad! I have to email CJ at least every 2-3 hours to check on her while I'm working at a clinic. We are going to look into joining a small group @ church as well, so some very positive things are looming on our horizon.
We did have one scary episode, which I won't go into graphic detail about, but has made us so much more aware and appreciative of Avery's life. One night a few weeks ago, I was in bed fast asleep and I hear CJ say, "OH CRAP!" very loudly. Normally I would have stayed in bed. I was exhausted and knew I had to get up to work in a few short hours. After all, my husband is a fantastic father and very capable of cleaning up whatever mess him and Avery had gotten into out in the living room. But for some reason, I popped out of bed and ran in to see what was wrong. Call it Mother's Instinct. He was furiously wiping down the couch and carpet. "Avery threw up everywhere, she's in her crib", he said when I asked what happened. I ran into her room and saw her in her crib, eyes as big as saucers, milk/formula all over her, coming out of her nose, and her mouth, and she was white as a sheet. She was choking. I grabbed her, turned her over, and beat on her back for what seemed like years. CJ came in and I flipped her over and saw she still wasn't breathing. He quickly took her and beat her on the back harder until she started to whimper. I held her for the next 4 hours, just to make sure she was okay. Her breathing was shallow and her color was off, but she was alive. To let myself think that if I hadn't gone in to check on her, if I hadn't gotten out of bed, Avery would have choked to death.... I can't even begin to explain it. Everytime I let myself think it, I have to squeeze her until she cries. I love my daughter with an intensity that I never thought possible... we've been through more than most people experience in a life time. And because of that, I think her and I have a connection that is unexplainable. Like the one I have with my own mother. CJ and I have since had the conversation that you can NEVER lay down a choking baby flat OR on her stomach unattended, and I think he understands the severity of it now. He felt horrible, as did I. It was far more scary than anything we even went through in the NICU, which is saying something.
All is well in the land of the Whitmires... thank you for keeping up with Avery and her Amazing Journey! I have a feeling this kid is going to wow us all in the coming months and years. She is so much more alert and awake during the day now, making eye contact almost all the time. She definitely knows what is going on around her. She's our deepest joy, our truest love, our brightest accomplishment. Thank you Jesus for blessing us with her, for allowing us to keep her, to raise her, to enjoy her and witness all the wonderful things she does every day. The Lord has been so good to our family. We praise Him every day for all He's done and continues to do. I feel Him, I see Him, working in our lives, in our family, in our daughter. How lucky we are to have His grace pour out on us. There's nothing we can't overcome with Him on our side!
Hoping everyone is doing great and is blessed! We love you!
xo,
Avery Grace & her Mama
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