Rolling Rolling Rolling

Ava is Rolling both ways as of yesterday!!!! She's now 5 1/2 months old-she was rolling front to back at 3 weeks but just yesterday she rolled back to front :) So proud of my little girl

Also, today was Davis and Ava's first swimming lessons-with lauren berger!!! It went really well, Ava LOVES the water and Davis put his whole head in for the first time!!! I have the best kids ever!

I've been a bad girl

So much has happened in the last month and a half and I haven't written anything! I'm soo bad, then a started another blog to make it easier than signing into my old email address every single time but then I realized that I really need to just stick with this one. I can't keep up with one-why am I even considering two?!?!

So here was my one blog entry to Ava...and a couple recent pictures :)

Dear Precious Little Ava,

A couple weeks ago we moved into our new house and so far you love it! (At least I think you do) I set up your jumperoo and although you seemed a bit confused at first, you're now hopping and playing away! It's really cute because you're still a little small for it-it's supposed to be for 6 months and you're only 5-anyways, you use your big toe on your left foot to help bounce you since it's the only thing that can touch the ground! You now have your own room too-it is full of a cute ladybug theme because you're my little bug. Lately I can't help calling you Buggy-I think it comes from my parents always calling me Bug.

You get more beautiful with everyday. Your face has really rounded out and your getting so big!!! We went to see Caitlin's niece Anna who is 4 weeks old and you looked like a total kid next to her-it scared me a little bit because it's flown by so quickly. You were an adorable newborn but it was hard because you didn't smile and talk and giggle like you do now-now you're really my buddy! I just love the sound of your voice and all the talking you've been doing lately. It's the cutest little coos...at the most appropriate times! Just this week you started talking to strangers a little bit-like the receptionist at the doctors office yesterday-it was so precious to watch you have your own little conversation with her.

You're also a great little sleeper-more so in the new house. Every night we have a routine...we feed you dinner (so far you like carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, bananas, and apples-I'm starting to make everything homemade) then you get a bath then we give you a bottle and put you to sleep. Your Daddy wakes up and goes to work around 530 and then you wake up at 6 and I bring you into bed with me to cuddle...we end up sleeping til like 8 which is amazing!!

Blowing raspberries on your tummy and your thighs is what makes you giggle most. If I just smile your way you whole face lights up which is priceless. I was looking at our hands today-yours is about half the length of mine now....with your long pretty fingers :) I just love everything about you baby, I'll write again soon.

Mommy

So anyways, the new house is awesome!! I thought I would be running home to the valley everyday but just the other day I was driving down and as soon as I got to Kanan I realized I really just wanted to be HOME! We have the most amazing Target here-I don't know why I'm even writing that-but it's just that awesome!

Today was a really long day for buggy, we went to mygym class than went and saw Babies with Elissa and Landon. I LOVED the movie! I couldn't believe the way animals were just all over the babies the whole movie and how interesting other cultures are. One baby was born then right away they swaddles him up and put him on a motorcycle with his mom, dad, and sister---THE WHOLE FAMILY ON A DINKY LITTLE MOTORCYCLE! The movie just made me realize how much we really do spoil our kids here, which is really fine by me but it's also good to keep in mind that a lot of this stuff is sooo unnecessary. Especially that stupid $20 dog toy "sophie" that I just had to buy! But it was such a cute little giraffe :)

I don't know how much of this I put into the letter but Ava is now sitting while supported, she's eating from her highchair, I make all her food. She still isn't rolling from back to stomach but is rolling stomach to back both ways. I think since I never put her on her back it might take her some extra time but we'll see. We went to the zoo 2 weekends ago-pointless for a 5 month old but Davis enjoyed it. Santa Barbara zoo is beautiful!!!

John is going to Indy this weekend so I'm really sad he's leaving but really happy I get to spend time with Caitlin and go see Sex in the City and go to Elissa's for a Memorial Day BBQ. She's heating the pool up so we can take the babies in :)

On the torticollis issue: I hate to bring this up because it makes me sad and I feel like it already takes over a lot of time spent with my daughter. Just writing about it now has brought tears to my eyes...anyways, I feel like I have to write so that I remember well enough to help others in my situation in the future. I've looked all over the internet for something real about the condition and I've found is medical bullshit-nobody tells you about the voice inside your head yelling at you to turn your babies head or how you should probably put them on there tummy to bed sooner then later. Anyways, today I met another mom who told me her son has torticollis. She's in our mygym class and her son is Rocco. Rocco has many problems she began to tell me about like his lungs not developing properly but she said torticollis is also on the list...he doesn't qualify for a helmet because his head is already so big and they think it's done growing for the most part. Anyways, this is the 4th baby including Ava that I know has been diagnosed. What I hate to hear most is that a lot of the times the doctors miss it at the beginning. In a way I consider myself lucky that Ava's was severe enough that we caught it early.

Anyways, the craniofacial specialist had to cancel our appointment today and rescheduled it for two weeks. After talking to Roccos mom she said it would be best to go straight to Cranial Technology first instead of wasting time with Dr Graham. I've already been waiting over a month so another two weeks really does seem like eternity anyways. I read on the internet that Cranial Tech is only in California so I consider myself very lucky to be close by. I'm really upset because the PT said last time that she's not getting much better so I've been working with her a lot at home on the strengthening exercises but I haven't gone back because A It's a long drive and B I really don't like people telling me that my daughter isn't getting better. I feel like all day everyday I tell myself LEFT, LEFT LEFT-Lisa, she has to look to her left!!! I have even caught myself yelling at John to do the same-it's a horrible way to be, not a fun way to live having a voice in my head yelling LEFT at me ALL DAY LONG. I also get really sad when I look at Ava's reflection. The assymetry to her face is a lot more obvious when I look at her in the mirror-again this brings tears on. The good thing is that all I see is her perfect little face when I look at her...It's the reflection that gets me. Anyways, last night I had another panic attack about the whole thing-thinking, what if she doesn't get better? I already want to look into getting her ear pinned back and the helmet but John tells me I'm just being impatient and that it's a process-that it's not going to happen overnight. Inside I do know that but I feel like it's been many nights with no improvement. I feel guilty too for not going to PT which is probably making things even worse for me. It just seems like now that she's been sleeping on her tummy for a month, now that I got the boppy nest pillow for her carseat, now that I'm doing the exercises ALL the time, I would hope to notice some improvement myself. But then there it is, her reflection, and it just makes me sooo sad. The feeling of helplessness when it comes to your child is the WORST feeling in the world. I've seriously never felt so sick to my stomach. So that's my update for now, it's not a very happy note to end on but it's the way things are right now.

4 month appointment

Ava,

We got to see Dr Bromberg today who said you are doing perfectly! He also told me I look super skinny so we're both huge fans of his today! As for measurements, you're now 24" long which is the 50th percentile-you moved up! Your weight is 12 lbs 6 oz which was still in the 25th percentile...so you're tall and thin, which you'll be happy about when you grow up :)

Dr Bromberg also gave you your 4 month shots today while I stood outside-I can't stand to watch you in pain! Apparently you didn't even feel the first shot but after the 2nd one I ran in and comforted you-you only cried for a second, you're such a good sport. Dr. Bromberg also noticed how sweet you are....You're my sweet little baby! Sometime when you smile you hide your face like you're a little shy, it's the cutest thing in the world!

So after the appointment we stopped and said hi to Daddy then went shopping with Greatgrandma Marilyn. Grandma bought you a cute new outfit and a few toys from Target. At Target we had a blast letting you pick out your favorites which were a little cell phone and a cute little vibrating froggy that made you giggle. Grandma LOVED hearing you giggle :)

4 months old

4 months old already! Wow time flies. I feel like Ava has really grown up the last couple weeks too. First of all, we have giggles! She giggled for me once on the changing table a couple weeks ago, then last week she thought the word "poop" was really funny, then this Monday she giggled a bunch for Elissa. I'm a little bit jealous that Elissa was so good at making her laugh but I'm really happy I was able to catch it on video. Also Ava has gotten really good at grabbing things-especially my hair and her o ball! My hair has really started falling out now, it she's not helping matters.

We went to our first My Gym class yesterday in Thousand Oaks, it was hilarious! They have a warm up session to stretch and dance and sing then they do activities like flying and tumbling and swings. We're definitely going to continue with the class-next time I'll take some more pictures but Elissa was able to get this one of the kids while they were getting a ride from Yukov-I think.

We also went to our mothers gathering class today where the topic was sleep. Jill said that now is the time where we should be putting them down to sleep while they are awake-we've been rocking ava to sleep while swaddled in her miracle blanket. So tonight I thought I would just give it a shot so I put her down drowsy without being swaddled at all...and it worked!!!! She's went to sleep at 8, then I did a dream feed at 10 and it's now midnight and she's still sleeping :) Now my only problem is that I can't get to sleep because I'm feeling really sick :(

Physical Therapy is going well, this week they said she went down from 8mm to 6 mm so that's a nice improvement. I'm working on taking Ava to a cranial specialist to have her measured more accurately so we'll see how that goes. I'm going to do everything possible to make sure she gets the best care possible. Our 4 month appointment is next Friday so I'll probably ask Bromberg more about it then. I also weighed Ava today and she was 12 pounds 5 ounces-my little peanut is growing!!!! By her 4 month maybe she'll be 13 pounds???

3 months 1 week 1 day old!

Wow-I'm a horrible blogger! It's been like an entire month-Good thing I'm the only one looking.

Anyways, milestones for Ava....she rolled over again, twice this time! It was just one day last week when she was doing tummy time on the couch-hasn't done it again since. She's getting so good at holding up her head though and she's starting to enjoy tummy time-at least the first 5 minutes of it. I'm finally realizing that she needs to be swaddled to take naps, OH and the biggest news!!! She's sleeping in her crib!!!! It started about 2 weeks ago and was an extremely easy transition for everybody-I think she's much better off in the crib to because her neck doesn't have as much pressure from being on an angle like the bassinet.

She had her 3 month appointment last Thursday-Bromberg said she's perfect! She's a little girl but perfectly proportionate and he gave me the name of a new PT that I'm taking her to on Wednesday.

Oh and the biggest news is that we decided to move to Newbury Park in May! I rented out the condo this weekend to a lady named Ava (CRAZY!!!!) and my new full time job has been getting everything set to go. I booked movers, plan on buying all Phil's furniture, rented storage, and I'm sending over the lease to Ava today. Things are going smoothly and I'm so excited to be moving to a house!!! We're all going to be so much happier!

2 months 1 week 3 days old :)

So Ava hit her two month mark and is full of smiles!!! She started smiling weeks and weeks ago but now she is really smiling at us, not at the sky or the wall. I was playing peek a boo with her at Molly's last weekend and she thought it was just the funniest thing! It's so nice to finally get a reaction to all my sillyness :)

On a sad note, Ava did have her shots last week. She had two shot vaccines and one oral. I had to excuse myself but John stayed with her and gave her a bottle immediately to settle her down. The doctor said Ava is doing great-he said her head looks nice and round and the torticullis is getting better. As for her weight, she's still in the 25th percentile...so she's growing, just at the exact same rate! We're lucky if she drinks 3 ounces in one feeding! Who would have thought that John and I would have a small baby?!?!? She was 9 pounds 10 ounces.

Ava is sleeping about 5 hours straight each night-so that's getting better. The problem now has been getting her to nap during the day! Poor girl get sooo tired but she doesn't seem to want to miss anything. She is so curious about everything and keeps herself awake ALL day! Today she seriously only napped twice for fifteen minutes each time.

I finally ordered a new stroller, it's the new 2010 baby jogger city select. I'm going to a store tomorrow to check it out before our mommy and me class. I hope I love it, I probably should have tried it out BEFORE ordering it but of course I chose to do it backwards :)

7 1/2 weeks old!

I can't believe how time is just flying by! Starting this week Ava has actually been smiling back at us which has been amazing. It's great to finally get a good reaction to all my silly faces (before she would just give me her serious zoolander face) She has been cooing much more too which has been so fun to listen to. Also this week, actually today, we started physical therapy for her torticollis. Ava didn't like therapy but she was just more complaining about it, not exactly crying so that was good. They said it usually takes 4-6 weeks if you go twice a week for half an hour.

For the past 2 1/2 weeks they've been working on our kitchen floor and finally today everything is done! It's been so hard trying to get on a routine since we've had to be out and about so often. This next week I plan on really keeping better track of her activity and I would like to get on a routine by the end of February. I think I FINALLY found a bottle that agrees with Ava. After getting a whole pack of Dr Browns I decided to try Born Free since Elissa and Jen love them so I bought a huge pack of those too the other day. Ava still wouldn't eat more than an ounce. So today I tried an Avent bottle and she drank 3 oz in like ten minutes! Could it have really been the bottle??? I guess we'll soon find out!

Last weekend we took Davis skiing for his first time! Ava slept at Grandma and Grandpas, I missed her terribly!!! But it was great for us to spend some quality time with just Davis and he was adorable and really appreciated it. We called it "Davis Day" and thankfully he LOVES skiing!!! He was awesome! At the end of the day he said "Thanks for Davis Day Lisa, It was the best day of my life!" Definitely made it worth parting with Ava for a few hours :)

Beauty Sleep :)

Thank you Dr. McClaren!! Thanks to his advise we've all been sleeping much better, and in our own beds!!! It was really hard the first day but now Ava is very comfortable sleeping by herself in the bassinet or taking naps on her tummy or in the swing :) It's been great because before she hated when we put her down even for a moment-so that made car rides miserable, especially with Davis cause the poor kid had to plug his ears the whole time! Now Ava seems to enjoy car rides and is overall just a more content and happy baby...which makes me a happy Momma :)

I really couldn't ask for things with Ava to be going any better...she's an absolute joy and makes our life so much brighter. We love her more than words and think she's perfect in every way. I feel so blessed that she's not a fussy baby, not so much that I would mind the crying but I think it would be really hard if I didn't know why she was in pain. I'm just so happy that she's happy! So, we had our first mommy and me class last Thursday which was great...It seems like this is a great time to meet some new friends! I'm taking Ava to Balboa Lake tomorrow morning to go on a walk with some other mommas-hope they're like the ladies in our class. Also, tomorrow we're going to Pennys to go take some newborn pictures! I can't wait to post them soon :)

One Month Appointment

So this morning we went to Ava's one month appointment. The good news is she gained 6 ounces in the past week! She's now up to 8 pounds 6 ounces. She also has grown to 20.5 inches long and her head circumference is 35...overall she's in the 25th percentile for her age.

The bad news is that Dr. McClaren says we have to modify our sleep routine. We've been co-sleeping (I know god forbid!) and it's been going really well for us...but the doctor says no more. He said that even during the day I need to be putting her down each time to sleep. So I just did exactly that and now my poor little baby has been screaming her head off for the past 4 minutes :( It's going to be a long day!

Happy 1 Month Birthday!

Dear Ava,

Happy 1 month birthday! You have been such a wonderful addition to our family and I'm so happy you're finally here with us. I love you so much more than I ever thought possible. Even though I'm completely sleep deprived because you refuse to sleep without being right next to me, I'm still so grateful you've come into our lives and I can't even remember how we ever lived without you.

So far you've been a pretty good baby...especially compared to these babies I read about on other Mommy blogs. You don't seem to have colic (knock on wood) and you're generally a very happy kid...as long as somebody is holding you! You're our little cuddle bug and I'm loving every moment! You do have a few quirks....You are a breastmilk snob! You seriously won't take formula from me! After tasting the bottle, you give me a disgusted look and spit it out. I just tried mixing the formula with breastmilk today for the first time...It's seems to have worked! LOL-tricked ya! Also, what's up with your nighttime routine??? Why must you snack from 9-12...that's 3 hours straight?!?!? just drink already! Also, feel free to start accepting the fact that babies sleep by themselves! I love snuggling with you but everytime I end up waking up in a HUGE panick..."Did I suffocate my baby?!?!?" Thankfully every time I look down you're safely tucked right into my belly :)

You're really starting to become you're own little person...you love bath time and love when your Daddy gets home from work! You've only smiled for Daddy, with exception to a lollipop I let you lick on Monday. That's alright though, I know we'll share many smiles and laughs in the future....for now I'll just enjoy my little cuddly ladybug :)

I love you always,

Mommy