Rolling Over

As you can see, Ava is rolling over now! She did it once like 3 or 4 weeks ago but now it's multiple times every day. She goes from tummy to back left and right and is growing stronger each day. Holy cow, I love this little girl!

6 Weeks

Well Ava will be 6 weeks old tomorrow... I can't believe it! Time is flying! She is really alert when she's awake and is definitely focusing on faces and objects now. Right now she's in her swing just looking all around. :) We are able to video chat with Richard most days, which is very nice. He is still doing well over there and will be coming home for R&R sometime in March. Before he comes I (and Ava and the pups) will be making a trip to Georgia!!! I'm excited about being there but wishing I could teleport rather than drive, hehe. I'm going to stop in Alabama on my way to GA to see some more of Richard's family too.

Anyway, not much else to report... here are a couple recent pictures! :) looking at a ceiling fan

little Alabama fan already :)

Growing & Changing

Ava is doing awesome! She is nursing well, getting stronger, and is starting to focus more on objects and faces. She is so much fun (except for when she's up for hours at a time in the middle of the night, hehe)! We're still waiting to hear when Richard will be coming home for R&R. Right now it's still sounding like February or March. In the meantime I email him pictures every day and have mailed him some printed pictures as well. Ava is changing so fast - I want Richard to be able to "see" her through the changes. We've been able to video chat with the webcam a couple times too. It's nice to see him and hear him at the same time.

I'm planning on making a trip to Georgia as soon as I can. Right now I'm just waiting for Richard to find out exactly when he's coming home for R&R so I can decide on exactly when I can drive out. It's going to be a long trip (bringing BB and Pancake too) but I know I can do it. I can't wait for you all to meet little Ava!

2 Week Check-Up

Well Ava had her 2 week check-up with the pediatrician today. She is looking great! She weighs 8 lbs 7.6 oz and measures 20.5 inches long. She is just a thriving beautiful little girl already! We're so proud! :) She is changing so fast - every day she looks a little different to me. Anyway, here's another picture and her next appointment with the pediatrician is when she's 2 months old.

First Check-up

Well we just got home a little bit ago from Ava's first check-up with the pediatrician. She looks and sounds great. When she was born, her weight was 7 lbs 10.4 oz. When we were discharged from the hospital, she weighed 7 lbs 3 oz. Today, she was 7 lbs 15 oz! So she is definitely eating well and gaining healthily. And she is sleeping really well too... During the day she nurses about every 3 hours or so and at night it's about every 5-6 hours. So I really only have one middle of the night feeding, which is very nice. She's such a content baby... she pretty much only cries when she's hungry (and SCREAMS if I change her diaper before feeding her when she's already crying, hehe). Well Mom, Ava, the pups, and I are about to take an air mattress nap in the living room. :) More updates to come...

SHE IS HERE!!!!!!

Well she ended up being fashionably late but she is here! At 3:14am on Monday, December 22nd, Ava Renee Ezell was born weighing 7 lbs 10.4 oz and measuring 19 inches long. For a little while it was looking like c-section was a possibility as her head was tilted just slightly, not allowing her to decend down the birth canal. I spent 4-5 hours at 9+ centimeters dilated and was given pitocin to help bring the contractions to bring her out. Finally I reached 10 centimeters and she was out in 4 contractions worth of pushing. I cannot even begin to describe how incredibly amazing the whole process was, early pregnancy through delivery. I wouldn't trade the worst day of morning sickness or strongest, longest contraction for this amazing baby girl. Richard called me around 7:30pm Sunday while I was in serious labor... not even sure what we said to each other but I was very emotional for sure... and then he was able to call again later in the afternoon on Monday and hear all about his daughter. Tuesday night he called and I put the phone on speaker between Ava and me. She got to hear his voice and he got to hear her cry. I cannot wait to see him see her for the first time... wow. Well here are a few pictures. Thank you all for your love and support throughout this amazing journey to Ava's new life. :)

Last Post Until Baby is Here

Well I think this will be my last post while I am still pregnant with this little girl... Pretty much all day yesterday I was having contractions 10-12 minutes apart. They were not at all painful but I could feel my uterus tightening and relaxing. Around 6:oo this morning, however, I was awakened by a contraction that actually was painful and lasted longer than the others had. I took a bath and got a few things more ready to go and then got back in bed and slept on and off between the contractions that were more intense. Now I'm completely ready to go to the hospital and the contractions are increasing in intensity and frequency (6-8 minutes apart now). I plan on staying home until they are more like 3-4 minutes apart or until they become really, really severe.
I thought for sure Baby was going to come early but now today is her due date and it looks like she might be right on time. I guess she has already learned good planning and timing from her mom. :)
Well that's all for now. Next post will include baby pictures!!!