Isn't it amazing that one little person can create so much ...

I wrote on my facebook page a couple of days ago: "Isn't it amazing that one little person can create so much...?"

I asked people to fill in the blank, and was given the following answers:

...love...poop...laughter...havoc...chaos...laundry...fatigue... joy...frustration...noise...gas...tenderness...gray hair

My best fill-in-the-blank response is 'pride'.  After one week of having Ava, I'm shining and smiling and so excited still that everything went so well with the birth, and that she is safe and healthy and well.  Rachel is doing very well and is a very empathetic and supportive big sister.  Jason and I feel very supported by having had Nana here, and then having generous friends help out with meals this week.

Kate (friend) holds Ava at 1 day old

Cousin Kelsey holds Ava at 1 day old

Events from the first week:

Visitors: A handful of friends have come to visit, and then Friday we had an open house.  Friends, coworkers, and extended family came by to visit and meet Rachel's new little sister and many of them dropped off food that we can freeze for meals to come.

Frankie and husband Jim cuddle with Ava at open house

Ava's weight: Ava was weighed Monday and was down to 8lbs even, which is 8% loss in weight and was reasonably yellow/jaundice.  Losing more than 10% is a concern.  By Wednesday, she was weighed in at 8 lbs, 6 oz.  We will go in again Monday and get some more checks done but all seems to be going just fine now.

100F degree weather makes clothing optional for Rachel

Nursing / Sleep arrangements: Although it's not pain free, I am WAY more comfortable than I was when learning to nurse Rachel.  Ava is becoming a more efficient feeder and doesn't need to be fed 24/7 like she did the first two days.  I am enjoying our special time together.  I am not totally comfortable nursing while lying on my side, but I can do it a little to get some extra rest.  After trying to have Ava in our room for the first two nights, I gave up and decided having her in her crib in her own room was the better way to go for us.  The recliner that we have in that room is really quite comfortable and between the chair and a Boppy pillow I'm pretty comfortable to have Ava fall asleep on me in the chair.  So I've spent hours sleeping in the recliner with her if she won't let me leave her in the crib, or if either of us falls asleep nursing in the chair.  This gives Jason more sleep to deal with Rachel, the whole process has not disturbed Rachel's night or sleep in any way, and I didn't feel comfortable if Ava fell asleep in our bed with us.  We have a little travel crib next to me in my room, but getting up to put her into this felt like more work to me than from the recliner to the crib.  So that's all working out very well.  We will have the next few weeks to experiment more with the travel crib.

Train at gymnastics

Rachel has fun at gymnastics

Sleep: Each night has gotten a little better.  Although I am not exactly sure, Ava sleeps a lot more than I remember Rachel sleeping, and is generally a pretty chill baby.  I think the first night in the hospital I got 2 hours of sleep when we asked the nurse to take her to the nursery so we could rest.  The first night at home I maybe got a total of 3 hours sleep.  But we are starting to develop a little bit better routine of eat, poop, change, eat, sleep.  Ava has slept for up to 4 hours straight, and often sleeps 2.5 hours now in between more efficient feeds.  I think on average I'm getting a total of 6 hours sleep, and feel like I have much more energy than I did during the last month or so of my pregnancy.  Because Jason is off from school for the summer, we can divide and conquer nicely: he is in charge of Rachel and I am in charge of Ava, and we have had some chances for short naps during the day.

3 tired girls

Nana made this sign for my door so Rachel won't wake me up if I'm napping!

Paperwork: We are working hard to get Ava's birth certificate, passport pictures, and passport paperwork all done.  We succeeded in getting a passport picture this morning with some work, and as soon as her SSN comes in the mail, we can mail off her passport application.  Perhaps then I can book tickets to come to Canada at the end of August to see all of our BC friends and family.



All in all, life is fantastic.  We feel very blessed and thankful for all that we have.  This evening our friend Karen comes to visit for a few days from Terrace, BC and we are very excited to have her.  Jason will run in the mountains Sunday.  Tuesday we start our road trip East!

Since the 'purple crying' phase of infants is supposed to be weeks 2-4, it seems like a great time to strap kids into car seats, drive hundreds of miles in the heat, and land at some of your houses to take over and impose and scream and snuggle together.