Oh Welcome Back! (UPDATE)

Welcome Back!

My goodness what a long time it has been!
Let me update all of you and then quickly explain why I decided to start blogging again. :)
Since the last time I was here, I was going over my second pregnancy and I was around twenty weeks. Since then I have delivered my sweet tiny little squish. Her name is Chloe and she is currently SIX months old. It is crazy how quickly time flies, isn't it? The remainder of my pregnancy was not terrible, but it also was not a walk in the park. It was full of lots of heartburn, aches and pains, hormone shots, and gestational diabetes. Brian made it home from his deployment in time for me to deliver. I was induced at 40.1 weeks due to the diabetes. My labor was not long, but boy was it hard. It did not go nearly as planned, but by the time it was over I had this beautiful 7 pound, 11 ounce squishy baby in my arms. Postpartum was interesting and I am still trying to adjust to being a family of four.
This passed February our family relocated from North Carolina back home to our roots in Northern Illinois. Brian finished his active enlistment contract with the Marine Corps, so it was time for us to end that chapter of our lives and transition into civilian life and begin our new journey; which has been really interesting to say the least.
What makes it so interesting? Because I mean, really? Families do this all of the time. Well, about a month prior to our move, I discovered I was pregnant. WHAAAAAAAT?? Yup, I said pregnant. Before Chloe was born and before Brian returned home from Japan we both decided that we were going to be done expanding our family. We were happy with our two girls, despite really wanting to have our boy. That conversation led to the decision of permanent birth control between one of us. If I were going to need a cesarean, then I was going to look into having my tubes tied and if not, he was going to have a vasectomy (much less invasive, especially for me). I delivered Chloe vaginally, so he began the process of scheduling his procedure. I was so full of mixed emotions the day "surgery" day arrived. I was essentially devastated at the thought of never being able to experience pregnancy again. It wasn't that I couldn't physically have children, I just knew I would never have children again with anyone else other than my husband. The procedure was done in less than fifteen minutes, he was SIQ (that is "sick in quarters" for you non-military folks ;) ) for eight days and then ten days of light duty. During this time I remained pretty emotional. Then the emotional feelings lead to extreme fatigue. Then it lead to extreme nausea. And then, well it lead to me thinking two things. Either my thyroid medication needed to be adjusted or I was pregnant. And of course there was no way I could be pregnant because one, I was on the Depo shot and two, we weren't even able to have relations after Brian's surgery. But something told me to take a test to rule that out (since I knew it would be negative) and then contact my doctor.
To our surprise, that test came out positive. And it wasn't just a faint little line positive. It was a BAM YOU ARE SO INCREDIBLY PREGNANT line positive. I was home alone with the girls when this happened. I was in the middle of making Chloe a bottle. I nearly passed out. I mean, wouldn't you??? Not even two months postpartum and learning you are pregnant again. A little over a month passed your husband's vasectomy and you are pregnant. Pregnant while on the Depo shot. I'm not going to lie, I was a little devastated and terrified to tell my husband who was gone at work. I ended up telling him through a text message (which sounds terribly shady...I wasn't planning on it happening that way!), he called, I cried, he came home early, and I went straight to the doctor.
So, needless to say this entire transition from military life to civilian life has been VERY interesting.
Now that we are in our new rental home, we are slowly settling in and trying to fall into a new lifestyle routine. It has been pretty stressful and difficult particularly because Brian's new job requires him to work third shift and because my pregnancy has been pretty complicated already (we are only 18 weeks in). In my spare time (what spare time, right?) I have still been going to school part-time and working towards that Bachelor's degree and I just recently became a wellness advocate through DoTerra essential oils. I had zero intentions of making oils a business thing, but I fell in love with this company and decided that I wanted to give it a try. Every day I get more and more excited to share this company and their product with people. Not to mention that I am a part of a wonderful team who has done nothing but lift me up and make me feel that I made the right decision.
I have decided that I wanted to share this journey and how it has changed mine and my family's lives so far. I also hope to help other people by teaching them about more natural ways to heal their bodies.
So stay tuned for all of my personal experiences with the oils, updates on my expanding family, and of course life in general.

Welcome Home, Daddy!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

Twenty Weeks (and up) w/ Baby #2

Hello friends!
Well I have made it to my twenty-second week of pregnancy and the nerves have been high since we are now in the "danger zone". Until I make it passed twenty-eight weeks, I will be hoping and hoping that my body will maintain this pregnancy.
I did get some bad news this morning at my cervix check. Today was supposed to be my last one, but it appears that I will be going back in about a week to have things checked out again. My cervix has started to shorten and my placenta is approximately two centimeters from my cervix.
It appears history is repeating itself.
The only difference is this time I've got a toddler here at home and my husband is deployed. So you can only imagine how scared I am to go through everything again. The doctor was very blunt with me, stating that there is not anything that can be done if I happen to deliver before the next appointment because the baby is not viable. If delivery were to occur, I fear this baby will not survive.
So, when I go in on May 21st, we will know what the next step will be. I will either be prepared for a cerclage or I will start preparing for a premature delivery; complete with steroid shots, antibiotics, etc. etc. Just like before...
I have taken all of the necessary steps that I can in order to let Brian know what is going on. The battalion has been informed and we shall see where that takes us. Unfortunately nothing can be done until I know the results of this next appointment.
So we wait...

But bad news aside, everything has been great. I have been feeling little baby move and kick and I have been feeling great aside from the sore rear from the weekly Makena shots. I have been experiencing the usual pregnancy woes, but nothing out of the ordinary. So of course you can imagine the shock I experienced with the news from today.

How far along? 22 weeks, 5 days.

Total weight gain: 20 pounds.

Maternity clothes?  Yes.

Stretch marks? Yes. 

Sleep: Still tossing and turning.

Best moment of this week? It's been a tough week...

Miss anything? Missing Brian (every day!)

Movement: Lots of little kicks and bumps. 

Food cravings? None really.

Anything making you queasy or sick? When I don't drink enough water I get really nauseated.

Labor signs: Shortening cervix.

Symptoms: Basic aches and pains, nothing unusual. 

Belly button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? Still wearing them.

Happy or moody most of the time? Very worried.

Looking forward to: Finding out what is going on...anxiously awaiting this next appointment.

We found out baby's gender and I am happy to announce that baby is a girl and that she has a name.

Sixteen Weeks w/Baby #2

I have made it another three weeks of being pregnant! 

I am probably going to be more and more excited as each week passes and I am almost promising you all that it will get rather annoying. But this time around, every day that passes that I remain pregnant is a milestone. My goal is to stay pregnant long enough for Brian to return home from deployment and kiss my preggo belly! 

I had my most recent cervix check and I was a little bummed that the doctors would not let me see baby. But my cervix is still nice and long and is showing no signs of opening prematurely. So that made me feel a little less bitter about not getting to see baby. Baby's heart beat was good, but I forgot to ask what the range was. I may try to find the heart beat sometime later on my own with our fetal doppler. Doctor showed no signs of concern, but is still keeping me as a high risk pregnancy. So that means I'm still going in every two weeks to have my cervix checked. 

On top of the every two weeks, I am now going to have to start going in every week for a hormone shot called Makena. I started this shot today and it was not as bad as I thought it would be, but holy moly does my arm hurt now! Today I got it in my arm, next week who knows where it will go...hoping not the same arm! But from what I have learned, Makena is a prescription hormone (progesterone) shot that helps lower the risk of premature birth in women who are currently pregnant with only one baby and have a history of premature labor/birth. So since I fall under that category, I get this shot in hopes that it will help keep me pregnant up to at least 37 weeks. I believe I will get the shot every week until roughly 36 weeks. 

I also had to have blood drawn for the second half of my down syndrome test. But other than all of that, all is well! I have been feeling baby a little more each week and it feels so surreal. If I wouldn't look in the mirror daily, I would forget I was even pregnant until I felt the baby move. 

Me at 17 weeks pregnant with Avalyn.

Me at 16 weeks pregnant with Baby #2

How far along? 16 weeks, 2 day.

Total weight gain: still only 11 pounds.

Maternity clothes?  Yes.

Stretch marks? Yes. 

Sleep: Still tossing and turning.

Best moment of this week? Finally getting to Skype Brian after a week without seeing/talking to him.

Miss anything? Missing Brian (every day!)

Movement: The occasional little kick. 

Food cravings? Dr. Pepper and juice. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Any weird/strange smell in general...deep fryer, burnt popcorn, etc. 

Labor signs: None.

Symptoms: Occasional itchy stomach, food cravings are starting to calm down, but I am beginning to experience the aches in my hips. 

Belly button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? Still wearing them.

Happy or moody most of the time? Very content. 

Looking forward to: Skype with Brian, girl's night out tomorrow night, Ghost Adventures (thank goodness for my DVR!), and finishing up the next care package. 

Pregnancy aside, things have been going pretty well here in the Felda household. Avalyn and I are still adjusting to life without our Marine, but I feel that we have been handling the transition very well. I have noticed some behavioral changes in Ava, so I am working together with Brian on how to make this deployment process a little easier on her. I have been keeping busy with being a full-time student, volunteering/helping with the battalion, and keeping up our social group. I have something to do almost every day of the week and that, my friends, is how I have been surviving this deployment so far. 

Staying busy and planning the next care package/s has been what keeps me from falling into a deep depression. Of course, I still attend therapy every two weeks and I am still on anti-anxiety/anti-depressants, but I feel that soon I will be able to wean myself off of those medications. My goal this pregnancy is not to turn to medication if I don't absolutely need to. So, aside from my anti-meds, I am only taking my thyroid medication and a prenatal. No Tylenol, no Benedryl, etc. I am learning to deal with things like headaches and allergies (and soon to be anxiety/depression) by using natural or homeopathic remedies. I have also been doing it with Avalyn and have so far been able to eliminate her prescribed allergy medication! 

Avalyn has turned nineteen months old in the passed few weeks and is doing extremely well. She had her developmental delay screening done and we were told that she will not be needing any physical therapy! The two women doing the screening were extremely impressed with her and told me to keep socializing her and keep working with her. Hearing that was such a compliment because it makes me feel like I'm doing a great job as her mother.

She also had her eyes examined again and we learned that her vision has improved significantly that she won't be needing any glasses at this point in time and does not have to go back until she is three years old! 

So this week was full of great milestones for us! 

Not to mention that she is saying a new weird almost every day! Today it was cold. Yesterday it was cookie. 

She is no doubt, a very smart and beautiful little girl. 

Thirteen Weeks w/ Baby #2

I have made it to my thirteenth week!

As usual, I am amazed with how quickly time is flying by. Brian has been gone on deployment for almost a month and I couldn't be happier that we have almost reached our first month. I have had good days and bad days, but for the most part, this deployment has not been as awful as I had anticipated. Of course, it completely sucks being left behind and Brian missing out on Ava's milestones and this pregnancy, but I can feel our relationship growing stronger and stronger with every passing day. I am extremely thankful that we are able to communicate almost daily (Facebook messages, email, and Skype) and it makes him being gone that much easier. 

I had my two week cervical check today and although the doctors gave me a little scare, all went well. Apparently the sonogram machine that was being used was not working properly and the doctor was afraid she was seeing cysts on my ovaries. So a second doctor was called in and even she thought she was seeing something strange too. I was taken into another exam room so another sonogram machine could be used and well, it turns out there was absolutely nothing wrong with me and that the first machine was causing weird shadows to show up on the screen. My cervix is still looking great, my placenta is sitting a little low (so that will be monitored), my blood pressure is great, and baby is looking great! Baby has doubled in size since the last time I saw him/her! It really shocked me, although I'm not sure why since I know how quickly these nuggets grow. I also saw baby's heart beating, although not sure what the heart rate was this time since that wasn't our main focus.

I am scheduled to have an anatomy scan at the end of April and to continue my cervical checks every two weeks. 

So in the mean time, I will continue to take it easy while I keep busy. I am currently in school full time, working towards my BA in Health Promotions, in the process of becoming a volunteer through Brian's battalion, staying active in his battalion's social group, and keeping up with most of the activities going on in town for Ava and I. (We love attending the events at our local library!). 

I also plan to keep checking on baby every now and then between doctor's visits using our fetal doppler. Brian and I purchased one so he would be able to hear baby while he was deployed. I was able to find baby's heart beat yesterday, although it did take awhile because this little one is still nestled deep in there. Heart rate was between 140 and 150. 

14 weeks pregnant with Avalyn.

12 weeks pregnant with Baby #2.

And as you could probably tell, I am slowly starting to show. I am showing at least two weeks sooner than I was with Avalyn. Crazy how quickly you show the second time around! 

How far along? 13 weeks, 1 day.

Total weight gain: 11 pounds.

Maternity clothes?  Mostly leggings...

Stretch marks? Yes. 

Sleep: Still tossing and turning.

Best moment of this week? Being able to find baby's heart beat with our fetal doppler and then getting a FB message from Brian saying that he was able to see/hear it too on the video I posted.

Miss anything? Missing Brian (every day!) my jeans that no longer fit. :(

Movement: A little flutter every once in awhile.  

Food cravings? Dr. Pepper and still craving those dang french fries.  

Anything making you queasy or sick? Prenatals are making me more nauseous than they usually have. 

Labor signs: None.

Symptoms: Still have an itchy belly button, nausea is very minimal, food cravings, and a little bit of dizziness/headaches when I stand up too quickly. 

Belly button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? Still wearing them.

Happy or moody most of the time? Very content. 

Looking forward to: My Skype date with Brian, watching Ghost Adventures on Saturday night and finishing Brian's Easter care package. 

Eighteen Months Old.

Age: eighteen months, one day (pictured). 

Weight: 19 pounds, 12 ounces.

Height:  31 inches.

Favorite food: All foods, except green beans.

Loves: to drag all of her toys out and leave them around the house, bath time or any time spent in the water, and Minnie Mouse aka "Mimi". 

Dislikes: having her diaper changed and not getting her way.

How many teeth: I now have TWELVE teeth! 

Why, hello there friends!

It has indeed been awhile since my last update; six months if I do believe!? Well I can say this, it has been an amazing six months and those months have been full of both good and not so good moments. We enjoyed the good moments and got through the not so good ones. The Felda Family is doing wonderfully and I am extremely thankful for that. 

So what is new in the household?

Well, we are currently going through our first deployment. We had a trial run with a six week training cycle that consisted of Brian being away in California. It was tough, but we all survived. After he made it home in mid-November, we made sure to enjoy every little minute we had together with the impending deployment.

D-day has come and gone and so far all three of us are adjusting well. We have almost made it a week without Brian here and I am very proud of not only how well Ava has adjusted, but how well I have adjusted. I am feeling confident that this deployment will fly by and that before we know it Ava and I will have our "man of the house" back. We miss him so very much already, but thanks to modern technology we are able to talk to him and see him very often. I plan to keep everyone updated through blog posts as far as how Brian is doing and what new things he is getting to see. 

That aside, our little Avalyn is EIGHTEEN months old. She is six months away from being TWO YEARS OLD! I can not believe how quickly time is going by...I really wish time would slow down a little bit so I can enjoy my little baby being a baby a little longer. 

At her recent well visit we learned that Ava officially hates all of the doctors and nurses; she screams and thrashes around like a crazy baby when she has to be examined or have her weight checked. I am not going to lie, I was kind of embarrassed with how she had acted considering she has never acted out that way during doctor visits before. She is just so independent now and apparently hates being restrained. We were able to determine her weight and height and she is doing extremely well for being a premature baby. Thankfully she did not have to have any vaccinations at this appointment! I hate seeing her in pain during those darn shots. It just breaks my heart. But regardless, she is a very healthy little girl! We have her six month check up on her eyes next month and I am curious to see if she will need glasses like her daddy and I.

This little girl has changed so much in the passed six months...she is talking, walking, playing, running, etc. It amazes me everyday how far she has come since her birth. I just know she is going to be a great big sister!

What's that you say?! BIG SISTER?!

Photo credit: Jessica Clark Photography

That is what I said!!!

This September Avalyn will become a big sister! We are currently expecting our second baby! Brian and I found out I was pregnant a few days after Christmas. I had the pregnancy confirmed on the 30th of December and my first doctor appointment was February 3rd. We got to hear baby's heartbeat and see baby via an ultrasound. It was at that appointment that I was told I would be paired with an actual doctor instead of a midwife. 

I had my first appointment with my doctor on the 20th and am extremely impressed with how she plans to handle my pregnancy. She has declared me as high risk, so I am not allowed to do any strenuous work or exercise. I am scheduled to come in every two weeks to have my cervix measured. If my cervix begins to dilate at all, I will be scheduled to have a cerclage. A cerclage is the placement of stitches in the cervix to keep it closed. The procedure will have to be done in the operating room and will be removed at 36 weeks. I am hoping that I will not have to have that procedure done, but I am preparing for it regardless. 

At 16 weeks I will start getting a shot called Makena; which is a hormone shot that is used to prevent preterm labor. This is another preventative measure that will be taken to keep me from going into preterm labor. 

I will also have my thyroid levels checked every 13 weeks (every trimester) to make sure that my levels are staying balanced. 

Aside from all of that I will have all of the usual pregnancy procedures done...the glucose test, the Rhogam shot (because I am A-), the anatomy scan, the genetics tests, etc. etc. Overall I am very excited and feeling extremely confident that I will have a full term pregnancy! I love my doctor and how well those at the naval hospital are treating me already considering my previous pregnancy. 

Baby Felda at 8 weeks. 

Baby Felda at 11 weeks.

How far along? 11 weeks, 2 days.

Total weight gain: 8 pounds; I am allowed to gain up to 8 pounds per trimester so I am doing pretty well so far. 

Maternity clothes?  50% maternity, 50% pre-pregnancy clothes 

Stretch marks? Yes. 

Sleep: Tossing and turning at night, but mostly because I can't get comfortable.

Best moment of this week? Seeing baby via surprise ultrasound.

Miss anything? Missing the hubby.

Movement: Not yet. 

Food cravings? McDonald's french fries. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Morning sickness has subsided for the most part, I got a whiff of a hot dog today while at the store and I thought I was going to hurl. Still can't really drink coffee like I used to.  

Gender: To be determined.

Labor signs: None.

Symptoms: Still some nausea, fatigue, cravings have been off and on, and my belly and belly button have been itching and driving my nuts. 

Belly button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? Still wearing them.

Happy or moody most of the time? Very happy for the most part!

Looking forward to: Skype dates with Brian over this weekend and my next doctor's appointment (hoping to see baby again!). 

Me at 10 1/2 weeks pregnant with Avalyn.

Me at 9 weeks with Baby Felda.

Twelve Months Old.

I officially have a TODDLER!!

Age: twelve months, five days (pictured). 

Weight: 16 lbs and 12 oz. 

Height:  28 inches.

Favorite food: cheerios.

Loves: playing with her blocks, banging the dog's food bowl on the floor, and riding in her car.

Dislikes: getting in trouble and vegetables.

How many teeth: I now have SEVEN teeth! 

Avalyn turned one on August 16th. 

I can't believe that we have made it through her first year; it was a tough year full of months in the NICU, a trip to Illinois, a PCS move, and numerous doctor's appointments. There were several moments when I didn't think that we would make it through the week, but we made it and here we are! 

So what is life like with a one year old? 

Well, it is still pretty much the same as life with a eleven month old, except I feel like now I am doing more chasing Ava around. She is so quick! And so very curious! Her curiosity continues to grow and she is constantly finding something new to get into; something that I never would have expected her to find. Her new favorite thing to do is hunt down the dog's food bowl and bang it on the floor. It really is pretty cute and the dog never seems to mind. 

Ava had her twelve month well visit on her birthday and it was definitely an interesting appointment. I learned that she had Impetigo and the beginning stages of strep throat. I felt like the world's worst parent when I heard this news because I had no idea Ava was even sick! She did not have a fever and I associated her behavior with teething; the only thing that I noticed were the blister like sores that began popping up on her face. They showed up two days before the appointment and I had thought that they were an allergic reaction to something Ava had eaten. I called the doctor's office the morning of the appointment and told them and they told me that as long as she did not have a fever, the doctor would be able to check it out during her visit (we were at the well clinic and I was worried she may be contagious...turns out I was right!). I asked the doctor how Ava could have gotten this and I was informed that this is one of the most common infections among children and that she could have picked it up from another child or from just being out in public. Someone could have sneezed near her or coughed near her and well, we all know how this works. Needless to say, I blame those trips to the store when I had forgotten the cart cover. I was very upset about learning that Ava had something contagious because her first birthday party was the next day and I couldn't cancel. The whole situation really bummed me out. 

That aside, Avalyn is 16 pounds, 12 ounces and 28 inches long! Adjusted, she is exactly where she needs to be. Her lead test came back good, but her hemoglobin levels were low again; because the doctor was not sure if the finger prick had produced a bad read, Ava had to go and have her blood drawn to make sure she is not anemic again. I am still waiting on those test results, so I am hoping she is not anemic again. 

This particular well visit required shots and as always, I was not enthused. I hate vaccinations and if it were left up to me I would not vaccinate. But because Brian and I couldn't come up with an agreement, I settled for allowing Ava to be vaccinated. I can't stand having to watch someone inflict pain on my child while I just sit there or in this case, hold her. I wanted to slap the nurse for asking me to hold my child's arms down so she could inject her with the chicken pox and MMR vaccines. It was pure torture.

We were given antibiotics for the Impetigo and strep and then sent home for a night of low grade fevers and extreme irritability from the shots. Can I just say again how much I hate shots?!

We were also told that Ava needs to stay on her formula for another three months, just because adjusted she is only nine months and she still needs all of those calories. 

I am okay with this because I feel that she is not ready to make the big switch to cow's milk. And to be honest, Brian and I don't really want her to have cow's milk. We made the decision to ditch the milk about three months ago and switched to rice milk and almond milk. Why rice and almond? It really is only because of taste preference. Between Brian and I we just couldn't drink the milk quick enough before it spoiled, so we just decided to switch. So it only makes sense to us that she would drink what we drink. But we are going to deal with all of that at a later date, until then, it is formula for preemie babies until she is at least fifteen months old. 

Ava had a Frenulectomy and Lingual Frenulectomy on the 29th of August.

 What the heck is that, you ask? A Frenulectomy is a procedure of removing a fibrous tissue between the upper and two front teeth aka an upper lip tie. A Lingual Frenulectomy is removing the tissue attached under the tongue. She had both done so as to make it much easier for her to eat and help her gain a little more weight. Of course I was beyond nervous about it, especially since it was done in the operating room, due to the risk of bleeding with the upper lip tie. Ava was given an anesthesia in the form of a gas and was under for no more than 10 minutes, but that didn't make me any less worried over the idea. The entire procedure itself only took about 12 minutes and the recovery time was 30-40 minutes. We arrived at the surgery center at 6:30 am, we were back in the pre-op area around 6:45 am, we met with all of the O.R staff and Anesthesiologist and spoke with her doctor around 7:10 am, and they took her back at roughly 7:25 am. The nurse (who was so sweet btw!) took Ava and as they were walking away to the O.R Ava looked over her shoulder and I waved "bye-bye" to her and she gave me the biggest and most adorable smile ever. It broke my heart watching her leave and I cried despite telling myself not to. 

Brian and I were in the waiting room for an entire 12 minutes when the doctor came back out and told us she did great and was in recovery. I was beyond impressed! Everything went as they said it would, but Ava did have more bleeding than they had expected so we did have to wait a little longer than usual in the recovery room to ensure the bleeding would stay under control. 

Within minutes of having the surgery we noticed a significant change! She was drinking out of a sippy cup without any issues! Usually she has such a difficult time drinking out of them that she loses interest in them and tosses them aside. But she was drinking from it with no problem. 

Ava Bug while in recovery after her surgery!

UPDATE: After about two weeks post-op, Avalyn has gained an entire pound! This is amazing news because it usually takes her some time to gain that much. She no longer wears half of her bottle on her face and chest and she is drinking from a sippy cup several times a day! Also, when she smiles you can see her top teeth a lot better! 

We still have an eye exam scheduled and aside from that we are winding down on all of our appointments. It is about time! I have never seen so many doctors in my life! But I can't complain because all of the visits and meeting new doctors has helped Ava tremendously. I am very thankful that she doesn't have any problems that we know of due to her prematurity. 

So, all of that aside, who is ready to hear about some new milestones?!

Ava has mastered crawling and pulling herself up and is now cruising furniture and standing on her own every now and then. She has even started doing this strange half crawl, half walk sort of thing. It truly does resemble a crab walk! She is also getting more and more brave with standing up all on her own. Every now and then I will catch her standing up without holding on to anything. 

I keep waiting for the day that she decides to take her first step because I have this feeling it is going to be happening VERY soon. 

She now knows what "Dada" means (we are working on "Mama"), understands and tries to say dog and cat. Knows that saying "Ba Ba" gets her a bottle or sippie and that "Na Na" is night-night. She can wave "bye-bye" and is starting to wave "hello" if she is coaxed into doing it. She shakes her head no if she hears the word "no" and we are working on shaking our head yes. She has also started signing for "more" and we have been working on the sign for "all done".  Her finally understanding the signs that we have been practicing with her since she started eating is a huge accomplishment! I wasn't sure if she would ever understand it and I am so glad we have stuck with it. I hope to teach her more! I think sign language is an awesome way of communicating with a toddler; especially since Toddlernese is a complicated language to learn. 

Because Ava has so many teeth, we have been working on brushing her teeth. She loves it! She will let us brush her little toofers and then when we let her take over she does her best to brush them as well. I mean, she pretty much just gnaws on the brush, but I think she gets the idea. If anyone is looking for a good toothpaste, I would highly recommend Earth's Best tooth paste because it is Fluoride free and safe if swallowed! 

Brusha, brusha, brusha!

Now that Ava is one years old, I look forward to all of the new adventures to come. I still can not believe that Infancy is gone and we are working our way into Toddlerhood. 

I sure do miss my itty bitty baby, but every day Ava learns something new and being able to watch her grow is the best thing I have ever experienced. 

Eleven Months Old.

Well I am little behind, but HELLO ELEVEN MONTHS!!

Age: eleven months, 12 days (pictured). 

Weight: 16 lbs and 9 oz. 

Height:  27 inches.

Favorite food: love her baby puffs, fruit, and sweet peas.

Loves: exploring, chasing the animals, and her stuffed panda bear.

Dislikes: being told "no", green beans, and having anything put on her head. 

Avalyn turned eleven months old on the 16th and boy has it been a new adventure!
She has started crawling; I wish I knew when exactly she started doing it, but it happened so fast I didn't even realize what had happened! I remember putting her in our hallway as I cleaned the guest bathroom, so I could keep an eye on her, and as I was scrubbing the toilet (ICK!) I looked over and there little miss was! I went back to scrubbing and then I thought to myself, "How the hell did she get over here?!". It wasn't until a few hours later when I actually saw her crawl that it dawned on me.
So what is life like with a mobile baby?
Interesting, to say the least.
I thought life would get easier now that she can move herself. I remember thinking, "This will be great! I won't have to stop what I'm doing every five minutes to help her up into a sitting position.". Well, I was wrong. Yes, it is so great seeing her move around on her own, but I am still having to stop what I'm doing to coax her out from underneath things and convince her to stay out of the cabinets and drawers. Having to do all of that is definitely tiring some days.
Her curiosity amazes me though.
She is just so fascinated by cat toys, books on a shelf, picture frames on a shelf, door stops, dresser drawer handles, etc. Everything is so new to her and to sit and watch her crawl over to things, look at them, reach for them, pick them up, and make her "Oh?" noises is such a great experience. The looks on her face are priceless as she tries to decipher what each new object is.
She insists on pulling all of the books off of the lower shelves.
She attempts to terrorize the cats with her little hissing sounds. She must have seen or heard the two going at it as they usually do when they rough house and now every time she sees one of them she does her best to mimic their hissing. It is quite hilarious.
She will follow you everywhere and she is really quick with doing so! That little girl can scale our entire living room in about thirty seconds, I swear!
We are also experiencing her newest ability of pulling herself up. Her favorite thing to use at this moment is her car seat; which of course makes me extremely nervous! I am so afraid she is going to lose her balance because the seat rocks when it is just sitting on the floor. We keep it by the front door so when it is time to go somewhere it is right there, ready to go. I'm not sure about everyone else, but because we don't have a garage and live in such a hot and humid area, so we keep her car seat inside so as to avoid the possibility of burning her on the buckles if they have been sitting in the car.
We have had to start baby proofing the house as well. I never would have thought she could get into some of the things that she does! So we have bumpers on our coffee table and outlet plugs in all of the outlets for now and are gradually working on everything else. I need to find cabinet and drawer locks that don't require us to actually install anything (we are renting and not staying at this house permanently).
We are back on board with the solid foods again. For a couple of weeks Ava decided she didn't want to eat anymore so that made things kind of crazy because she wasn't wanting to drink eight ounces of formula either. We have learned that any time she is teething/cutting teeth that we should be ready for her appetite to change. Which is really frustrating since I feel like she is constantly cutting teeth!
She has three teeth and has just recently cut two top teeth; so as of right now she has FIVE.
FIVE TEETH?!
Is this for real???!?!
I really can't believe how fast everything is going by. I swear it is one milestone after the other and it just blows my mind how quickly it all happens. I mean I was told it goes by fast, but geez! This is too fast!!
I mean the other day she took a few steps using her little toy walker!
I almost cried.
Actually, no, I did cry.

(My apologies for the sideways video!)

Last week we had a doctor's appointment.
It was our first time at the "sick" clinic. I was kind of afraid to take her into this office because she wasn't sick, she just had a bad rash that I wanted to get checked out. She had had this rash for a good three weeks now and it just wasn't getting better. If you all know me, you know how difficult it is for us to get out and about, so I do my best to avoid doctor's visits at all costs. Unless of course she has a fever, questionable cough, etc. This rash wasn't showing her any signs of discomfort until the week of the appointment. By that point in time I knew I had to take her in so we could get things sorted out. Brian and I thought it was a yeast infection, but to our surprise it turns out that it was just a really bad skin sensitivity. The doctor (who would hardly let me get a word in, by the way) took a look at her bum and said, "Nope, not yeast. She is allergic to something." I was completely baffled. So she prescribed us a steroid cream to use and told us to keep diaper rash cream on her bum daily. Something like A & D. First off, YUCK! I HATE A & D!!! It smells disgusting and it is just gross. Also, it is not cloth diaper safe! The doc tried pinning the rash on our cloth diapers but I reassured her this is the first time she has ever had a rash like this and we have been cloth diapering her for nine months! I haven't changed soaps and I use the same wash routine I always have. The doctor suggested I just add an extra rinse and see how that helps. Basically I have to play around with it...oh that shall be fun...
Anyways, because the creams weren't safe for our diapers I made some fleece liners to lay against her skin while wearing the diaper creams. We have almost gotten everything cleared up with using a steroid cream called Desonine and by using Lanolin in between. Tried the A & D and I just couldn't stand the way it smelled.
Diaper rash aside, Ava had her hemoglobin checked and she is no longer anemic and no longer needs the iron supplements! Yay!! Thank goodness because those supplements did not help her as far as her tummy issues; we are back to having daily bowel movements! WOOHOO! Isn't it funny how poo gets a mommy excited?? Ha!
The only concerns we had was that the doctor told us that Ava was a little on the underweight side. She said she wasn't worried about it, but it still posed a concern to me. I mean you don't just tell a mom that her baby is underweight and then act like it is no big deal. I really did not like this doctor, btw. She was in and out so fast I felt like I couldn't even explain to her what had been going on. I don't know if she used Ava's adjusted age or her actual age when determining she was underweight. UGH! I will just make a note of it and ask her pediatrician when we go in for our twelve month well visit.
TWELVE MONTHS?!
Insane isn't it?!
This time last year I was being hospitalized for preterm labor. I never thought I would make it through this year without losing all of my hair! I may have gained a few more gray hairs (yes, this momma has some gray)...

What fun things did we do this month??


Avalyn celebrated her first 4th of July!

We were so thankful to be able to spend the day with Brian! Doesn't Avalyn look adorable?! She is wearing a tutu that I made for her and her Daddy's USMC cover.

Daddy, Ava, and Bandit had fun playing after our little photo shoot. If you listen closely you can hear Ava laughing.  

                                   

She also got to see and witness fireworks for the first time! 

                                   

(Don't worry, we made sure to practice fire safety and even though some of the sparklers appear really close to Ava, they actually were not.)

Her reaction was priceless! We had absolutely no idea what her reaction was going to be so I was really nervous at first, but as you can tell, she was so excited she didn't know what to do or think. 

Avalyn tried a few new foods this month as well!

                               

She loves Avocado! 

                               

She loves greek yogurt with pureed blueberries as well!

We discovered:

                               

Cookie cutters!

They are one of her favorite things to play with when we are in the kitchen. 

That just about wraps up eleven months! 

Every day is a new adventure and I already have so many new adventures to share with you for next month. 

We are still counting down until Avalyn turns one and we are officially TEN DAYS AWAY!! 

My how time flies!!