I found my thumb again!

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4 weeks

Ava turned a month old yesterday! I can't believe she's already been in our lives for a full month. She has already changed so much in just a month. She's obviously not on a schedule yet but she is feeding pretty regularly now and takes about 2 naps a day. She'll sleep for one 3 hour stretch per night and then every 1.3 hours until she's up again at 5 a.m. to play. We usually go in her nursery and play until Steve gets up then we get back in bed and watch the news until she's back asleep at 6 a.m. She'll then sleep for another couple of hours with a feeding break in between until we get up for the day. From there it's just a crapshoot on when she'll nap during the day.

We've been having a bit of an issue with the dogs stealing her things and either destroying them or burying them in the back yard. Biscuit likes to eat anything she's spit up on or destroy any of her toys and Magnum likes to steal her binkies and whatever else he can get his paws on and then bury it in the back yard. He also likes to dig in the trashcan in her room and chew up anything that looks interesting. They are really testing my patience! On a cuter note though Magnum LOVES Ava. He can sniff out a dirty diaper from a mile away and will let us know when she needs to be changed. It's so funny!

3 Weeks

Ava turned 3 weeks old on Saturday and is already growing too fast. Although she just reached her birthweight again last week she's already looking like a different baby. She's also even more alert than before in that she is noticing her surroundings. Friday she was eating and Steve was out mowing the grass, when he came back in he was talking and when she heard his voice she stopped eating, turned head toward him and stared at him for a few minutes, then she turned her head back to me and continued eating. It was so amazing to see her recognize him like that! She also loves to look at a birthday bear we have in her bassinet, the polka dots in her crib, the ceiling fan, and for some crazy reason the headboard on our bed (we think she likes the contrast between the headboard and the wall) She still prefers mommy over anyone (even daddy) but I'm sure as long as I am her food supply she will prefer me :) I'm not complaining! We are going to attempt to let Steve feed her with a bottle again tonight and see if she'll take it. Update: She took the bottle!

We gave her another full bath today and she loved it. It really calmed her down and she was so calm for the next two hours. Last week when we gave her a bath she screamed her head off. We've learned that her fussy time or as my friends like to call it "witching hour" is in the evenings between 7-10pm and it's just not wise to try and introduce new things to her at that time. She is definitely a morning baby.

2 weeks

I found my thumb!

Me & Mommy
One of my favorite places to sleep

Me & Memaw

Ava's 2nd week got us getting into the groove a little more. Steve went back to work and I had family members come by and help out around the house and with Av, what life savers they are! Also thank you to everyone who has come by with food! It has been such a help since I hardly have time to eat much less cook! Steve is pretty helpless in the kitchen so if it were up to him we'd be eating tuna helper or pasta roni every night.


Ava has been sleeping pretty good at nights only getting up to eat a few times. To me this is great considering the first few nights she didn't sleep a wink! She eats really well and now Steve is able to give her one bottle a day. The first night she was having nothing to do with the bottle and only wanted mommy. She is a total mommies girl right now! I am enjoying every minute of it. During the day when she's up she enjoys sitting in her bouncy chair and her swing. She also loves going on walks. We've been putting her in the stroller and taking her on walks with the dogs in the evenings. We have so enjoyed just watching her and all of the cute little expressions she makes. Sometimes I just watch her while she sleeps in amazement.


Yesterday we went and visited her memaw and papa at my moms house and she got to love on her Memaw for a while. Then when we got home her grandad and grandmother Hendrickson stopped by to visit for a while. We are so excited because Grandmother Hendrickson is going to watch her when I go back to work! We don't have to worry about finding a nanny or leaving her at daycare. We are so relieved and glad she'll be at home with someone who loves her.

Daddy's sweet girl

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Ava's first week at home

Well we made it through our first week at home with a newborn! Every day and every night has been different. The first night home Ava wanted to be up all night long. We were literally awake until the sun came up. Once Gigi got here she took over for a little bit so Steve and I could get some sleep. The next night we quickly learned that we could catch a few hours of sleep if she slept in the bed with us cuddled right up next to me (and her food source). She will sleep so well like that and wake up for feedings. It makes it easier on me as well because I can just feed her right there in bed and off to sleep we both go. We'll transition her to her crib as she gets a little older. Today her Nana (my aunt Bonnie) came over and swaddled her up. She immediately went to sleep and Nana was actually able to get her to sleep in her bassinet for her nap! We were so proud of her. Like I said every day brings new surprises with her. Yesterday she was fussy all day and didn't want to be anywhere but with me and/or eating. Today she has been sleeping most of the time and when she's up she's happy as can be.

Last week her Gigi (Steve's mom) stayed with us and helped us out so much. She cooked, cleaned and helped take care of Ava. I was so sad when she left that I cried about it for a few days beforehand. She left us with a weeks worth of food, a clean house, and a sad daughter in law. Saturday Ava's Grandad and Grandmother came over to visit her. She slept all day while they were here and was a little angel. They brought her two cute little outfits and her first hunting rifle (okay it's a wooden gun with pink camo that has a little popper at the end and it's too cute). We took pictures of the 3 generations of Hendricksons. See any resemblances?

Right now she is napping with daddy waiting on the storm to come in. We are pretty worried about this storm and hoping it doesn't leave us without electricity or a tree through our roof.