FINALLY!!!!

Since we did the big girl bed move, Averie has been sleeping SO much less.  Too little.  From day one, that girl has loved her sleep more than life itself and she has always required more than most kids I know.  For as long as I can remember, Averie has slept 9 PM to 8:30-9 AM and then taken a 2 (sometimes up to 3) hour nap mid-day.  But since Saturday, the latest she's slept was 7 AM and we were only getting 1 hour naps -- on the floor, to boot! 

I'll admit -- I was ready to give up.  Maybe we should just put the crib rail back on.  We'll try again in a few months.  She's not herself anymore.  She cries or whines ALL. The. Time.  Her binky, that she used to happily surrender when she woke up, was a permanent fixture in her mouth.  Her appetite was nearly nonexistent.  I was at the end of my rope.  

Then yesterday, a spot of hope -- she stayed in the bed for her nap!  Still only slept for an hour, but it was something.

And then this morning, as I type this post, I'm just seeing her start to stir and it's past 9 AM.  Halle-freakin'-lujah!!!!  I'm sure I've jinxed it and tonight, she'll cry for an hour, wake us up every 15 minutes and only sleep until 7, but now that I know that she CAN sleep until a normal time (for her) in the bed, I have renewed energy to keep this up! 

Day 5

This afternoon is a momentous occasion.

It marks the first time since Saturday that Averie went down for her nap with pretty much zero fight and stayed in her bed!  Less than 10 seconds of half-hearted crying from her bed; no wailing or gnashing of teeth at the door.  The floor, while carpeted, is not very comfy, and since that's where she's been napping since Sunday, her naps have only been 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  I hope she takes one of her marathon naps today! 

A Big Girl and Her Bed

Chris and I have been meaning to move Averie to her toddler bed since the move.  The new baby won't be using her crib (we'll be getting a smaller one), but she's been tall enough to climb out of it for awhile now and it's a safety issue.

We got the room emptied of all miscellaneous clutter that might entice a big-girl-bed escapee and Friday, removed the crib rail right before bedtime, with the idea that similar surroundings would remind her that she's been in the same place as always and she should just go right to sleep as always :-).

Chris followed her normal routine -- brushed her teeth, read her night-night book, cuddled for a few minutes -- and put her down.  To say we were surprised when there was NO fight is an understatement.  We spied on her with the video monitor (best purchase EVER) and saw her looking around the room, noticing the lack of crib rail but she rolled over and went right to sleep.  *cue angels singing*

Of course we didn't think we were out of the woods yet.  We were prepared for multiple night wakings, but they never came.  She slept her usual 11 hours without a peep.  Hallelujah! 

Naptime on Saturday was another story.  There's not much of a routine to speak of for naptime -- since she learned to put herself to sleep many, many moons ago, we just lay her down and leave the room.  When we tried doing that this time, hysterics ensued.  Crying, screaming, gasping for breath, critical mass tantrum.  We put a gate in the doorway to keep her in, Chris tried holding the door, we put her back in bed multiple times.  After 45 minutes, we gave up.  

You can imagine we were more than a wee bit frustrated when Averie tried to doze off in the car later that afternoon.  It was a "See! We knew you were tired! Why didn't you sleep earlier?!" moment.  Hey -- I didn't say it was a proud moment :P.  

We resolved to maintain a stiff upper lip next time.  Saturday bedtime was another drama-free event.  Slept another 11 hours, no complaints.  

And here we are at Sunday naptime.  The gate plan had failed miserably so that was out.  We decided to turn her doorknob around so we could lock it from the outside.  I felt bad about locking her in, but I figured we had done the same thing the day before by holding the door; this was just a mechanical lock doing the job for us now.  

After 30 minutes, and a lot of crying (thankfully it didn't last the whole time or her softie parents would have given in!), Averie fell asleep.  In front of the door.  

I'm sure she'll stay in the bed once she realizes it's more comfortable, but for now?  It's progress.

Pregnancy Post: It's Complicated

This post contains some TMI so feel free to skip if that makes you squeamish.

At about 2 AM Sunday morning, on one of my routine trips to the bathroom, I noticed some significant red spotting.  I woke Chris up and we went to the ER, where I had an ultrasound.  The ultrasound showed the baby was fine -- and kicking up a storm! -- but I had placenta previa.  This is a condition in which the placenta partially or completely covers the cervix, and it can cause the spotting.  Presumably, it’s been there the whole time and not caused any problems yet, so I don’t know what I did to aggravate it, but here we are.

So how does this change the pregnancy?  Primarily, it means I’ve been put on modified bedrest until further notice. No heavy lifting -- that includes Averie :-( -- and as little walking as possible.  Thank goodness it does NOT mean lying flat on my back all day long.  I at least get to sit on the couch :P.  It is another blessing in disguise that we are at my parents’ house at this time because Mom will be able to help me take care of Averie while Chris is at work. 

Where we go from here -- I have my 20-week ultrasound already scheduled for the last day of the month.  At that time, we will check the location of the placenta and if it has moved and the spotting has stopped, I will get to come off of bedrest and resume pregnancy as normal.  If not, we will continue with follow-up ultrasounds every few weeks to check its progress.  Worst-case scenario will be it doesn’t move, in which case, I will have an amniocentesis at 36 weeks to check the baby’s lung development and then we will schedule a C-section. 

Of course that’s not my ideal outcome but I know that this, and everything else in life, is in the Lord’s hands and I trust that He will bring me and this baby to the end safely, one way or the other :-).  

To end on a happier note: I'm down another 2 pounds for a total net LOSS of 8 pounds in 17 weeks.  Apparently, pregnancy is the best diet I've ever been on! :-D 

Then and Now -- In Pictures

You KNOW I had to do a photo post!

Minutes old - November 3, 2009

1 Day Old

3 Months -- and STILL too cute to eat her veggies!

4 Months - Our little glamour girl

6 Months

8 Months -- Our Angel

8 Months -- What would a picture post be without THE bully face?!

10 Months -- Still with a trace of that "I love sweet potatoes so much, my nose is orange" look

11 1/2 Months -- Walking!

1 Year

1 Year -- Frosting goatee

1 Year

15 Months -- I see a repeat of this face in the future, probably around 15 years old

18 Months

20 Months

Two years (well, almost) -- Announcing she'll be a big sister!

Happy Birthday, Averie!

My baby little girl is two years old today!  I can't believe how the time has flown.  I still remember when I finally saw her for the first time and how happy Chris and I were to have her with us, safe and sound.

Looking back on these still gets me a little choked up

Averie is a true joy in our lives.  Of course, like every toddler in the universe, she has her exasperating moments but she always knows when one of us needs a hug or a goofy smile to brighten the day.


She is a running, jumping, climbing machine.  Every piece of furniture is an obstacle to be conquered, or a stepladder to get to something just out of reach.


Even though Averie doesn't speak (at least not with intelligible words), she loves to sing and "la-la-las" in time with the radio or the TV or a toy playing a song.  Chris hopes that she's a budding musical genius like himself -- she certainly didn't get any musical talents from her mommy!  :D 


She likes to help around the house, even if it's just putting away the toys that she so kindly strewed across the room.  


Averie's favorite toy is her new keyboard (see above musical interests) and her baby doll.  She loves feeding her baby, hugging it and laying it down to sleep.  Sometimes the baby gets put on its head or face down in the corner of its crib, but I hope that she loves her new baby brother or sister as much as she does her other "baby." 


At her 2-year well-child-visit yesterday, she weighed in at 27 lbs (55th percentile) and she is 36 inches tall (95th percentile)!  We hit the 3-feet mark!  (Her mommy thinks she might even be a teeny bit taller than that, because Averie refused to un-scrunch her neck when she was measured).  It is becoming increasingly difficult to find pants that stay up around her waist while not looking like high-waters!  Adjustable-waist pants are a lifesaver in this house!           


We feel so blessed to have our little princess in our family and we just couldn't imagine our lives without her.

Happy birthday, Averie!

Happy Halloween!

Yeah, yeah, I'm a couple days late :P


This is Averie's second Halloween but her first year trick-or-treating.  We took her to our church's trunk-or-treat last year, but at not quite a year old, she didn't really get the point and we only let her have one or two pieces of candy -- we're terrible parents, I know ;-).  


We went with a skeleton costume for her after I found this shirt for myself and a similar one (without the baby :P) for Chris, so we were a little skeleton family.  


This year, we're living with my parents and their ward does not do a trunk-or-treat.  We took her to StorageCraft where Chris works for some T-o-Ting around the office.  


She got the idea pretty quickly and ran from bowl to bowl grabbing candy to throw in her pumpkin bucket.  


A few times, she got a little overzealous and dug in with both hands!  She wasn't afraid of "Death", AKA Chris' coworker Aaron, until he got down at her level and then she just ran away. 


After some candy-gathering for Mommy and Daddy herself, we went home and rested for a little bit until it was time for a little jaunt around the neighborhood.  We only ended up hitting 7 houses -- the houses in my parents' neighborhood are large houses on even-larger lots so it's still a lot of walking.  Averie started off walking down the street with her bouncy little walk and by the end was holding out her arms to be carried.  

Obviously she couldn't say "trick or treat" but we did teach her to sign "thank you."  She pats her mouth when she does it, so it actually looks like blowing kisses, which is equally cute :). 


When we got home, she promptly dumped out her candy on the floor and gave us this winner of an expression...

Ahhh, caaandyyyy....

Averie got enough to keep her happy for a few weeks, although we told her she needs to step up the candy-gathering next year so there's more for us her :D.