Project "Sleep Thru the Night"

The time has finally come to get Ava to sleep thru the night. I am so exhausted that I knew we couldn't go on like this anymore. The other night she woke up 4 times! We had our 3 month post adoption interview on Sunday and the social worker encouraged me to start right away.

So, Sunday night we put her to bed and she woke up at 9:30 and 11:30, but I didn't go in to her room. After lots of crying, she was able to put herself back to sleep. Those minutes seemed like hours to me as I lay and listened to her pathetic little cry. I kept wondering what was going thru her mind. I think it makes it even harder since she is adopted because I have worked so hard to establish that bond with her and I didn't want her to think I had abandoned her and left her to cry all night. She woke again at 2:30 and I gave her a bottle.....I could tell her cry that time was because she was hungry. She drank her bottle and slept until morning.

Monday night we put her to bed and she didn't wake or cry until 4:00! Although, I woke several time during the night.......she had me in the habit of waking up and I have to get myself back in a sleeping routine too!

Now we know she is able to sleep 9 hours straight! I hope the next few nights are as successful as Monday night was.

Ava is 10 Months Old

Ava is 10 months old today. She is sitting up all by herself and has 2 bottom teeth. She is growing like crazy........28 1/2 inches long and 22 1/2 lbs!!!!!! So, in the 10 weeks she has been home she has gained 4 pounds.

The photo above shows her in her "bumbo" (the greatest invention for babies) watching her favorite show. I just love to watch her while she watches it.......she is mesmerized by it.

If we could just get her to sleep thru the night, things would be perfect!

9 Months Old!!!!

Ava turned 9 months old yesterday. We can't believe how quickly the time is passing. I would have posted something yesterday, but we were experiencing lots of "illness" at our house. Olivia and I had the stomach flu and Claire is on her second round of antibiotics for a bad throat infection. To top it all off, we had a snow day!

I just wanted to post some of the things Ava is doing, so we'll remember her little achievements. This past week was a big one for Ava:

- Her first tooth came in

- She learned how to wave Hello

- She is sitting up for several minutes on her own

- She is almost able to push herself up into a crawling position

- She has a favorite TV show.....Yo Gabba Gabba (interesting for a baby, but not so much for me)

- She definitely is attached to us. She doesn't let strangers hold her anymore and is always making sure that I am nearby.

It's getting hard to remember what life was like before Ava arrived. She has fit into our family so easily and we are thankful for that. She is just a joy!

4 Weeks Home!

Ava is doing great! Her bloodwork had to be done again and everything came back fine. She had a developmental assessement and is a bit behind, but nothing to be concerned about. We had expected that to be the case and we can see she is progessing everyday. She is a happy baby!

3 Weeks Home!

Ava is doing great! Next week we have an appointment to have her development assessed. This week she has started sitting up on her own........it's only for a few seconds at a time, but we can see her growing stronger everyday. She is really liking her baby food now. Carrots and squash are her favorites at the moment.

Each day when the girls come home from school, I stand at the window with Ava and we watch for the bus. She gets so excited when each girl walks thru the door. The girls are such a big help!

A Very Special Cake!

Check out this beautiful cake our friend, Nancy, made for Ava! She has a cake making business and we are so thankful for her generous gift! It looks too good to eat, but eventually the girls had to cut into it........and it's delicious!!!! What a special welcome gift........we are going to put a few crumbs in Ava's mouth so she can enjoy it too.

2 Weeks Home

I used to wonder why the families that get back from Ethiopia didn't update their blogs often to let us know how things were going. Now, I know why.........there isn't a spare minute to gather your thoughts and find time to type a blog post!

It's hard to believe we have been home with Ava for 2 weeks! That first week was somewhat of a blur. She wasn't on our time zone and as a result, she was waking up every 2-3 hours throughout the night. She also was very congested, but still she was happy and babbly.

This week we have made great progress! I took her to the international adoption doctor on Monday and he did a physical evaluation. She weighs 19 lbs!!!!! Tuesday, she had to have blood drawn. That was not a pleasant experience.....they couldn't find her vein in her left arm and after several tries, they switched to her right arm. They explained that her vein was about the size of a thread and it was really difficult, but they finally found the vein! For the past 3 days, I have been collecting "specimens" from her diaper and driving it over to the lab so they can check for parasites, etc. That too, was not a pleasant experience (for me!).

Everyday we see improvement in her development. We have been giving her small amounts of baby food and she is slowly coming around to that. She is not able to sit up yet, but we are working on that, along with developing her leg strength. Although, the weather is sooooo cold, we have had a few outings to the mall and Costco.

Thank you to everyone who has called, emailed and sent beautiful gifts! Your generosity is overwhelming and Ava is one loved little girl!!!!!!! We are loving every minute with her and are so happy to have her home with us. She is a true gift to our family!