Ava's first night in her new bed

Ava is not happy about her bath

Snug in a towel after her first bath at home

Sleeping soundly at home

Ava has had two pretty good nights. Adam and I are finally figuring out what sounds are just "baby" sounds and what sounds mean I need my mommy and daddy. Even though the lack of sleep is something to get used to, it is all worth it to have Ava in her little crib beside me! Today was a great 32nd birthday!!

AVA IS HOME!!!!

Ava in her cradle at home!

Our family together, the last night at the NICU

Ava in her going away outfit, Grammy made the dress!

Grammy came to help us get home!

WHOOOO HOOO!! Ava is home in her little crib as I type right now!!! Adam and I got home with Ava at about 1:00 pm this afternoon! We spent the night last night at the hospital with Ava in the room with us. It is so nice to have her home with us.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your prayers, thoughts, kindness, cards, meals, emails, hugs, and the list could go on and on. There is so much that God has taught me through this experience that I have not stopped crying since I have had Ava at home, in her little cradle beside my bed!! I am so overwhelmed that God gave me such a precious little girl to be my daughter. I could not have gotten through this experience with out my relationship with the Lord, a strong family and amazing friendships! Thank you!!

What is missing??

"Hey, I am eating like a big girl!" 2 ounces!

"I love my Daddy!"

New cute socks and hat!

Mommy and Ava taking a nap together

Fingers Crossed!

After last weeks drama I have just been holding my breath as I watched Ava progress. She is now 4.8 pounds and she has taken all her feedings by a bottle for the last two days. So good news is that she may be able to come home some time next week! She as a couple of doctors appointments on Monday and one on Tuesday. If all of that goes well we will get the green light to bring her home! YEAH!! There are still alot of ifs so I am trying to stay calm and just let life happen the next few days. Which is not my strong suit since I am a Type A planner. So please pray that all continues to go well and I can have my baby home by my birthday on Thursday!

Ava and her "Faux Hock"

Holding on to baby bear

Hopefully our next family picture will be at our house!!

With my hands lifted high!

"With my hands lifted high, when the world wonders why, I'll just tell them I'm loving my KING!"

I am praisng God today for taking care of my little girl. She had to have a test the other day because the doctor saw that Ava had some signs that pointed to her possibley having Cystic Fibrosis. I was so worried and scared for my little girl. I sent out a text to my prayer partners to pray and asked many others to pray for Ava. This afternoon we got the results of the test and Ava DOES NOT have Cystic Fibrosis. YEAH!! Praise the LORD!! Thank you to all of my friends and family for praying for my precious little Ava!!

PS: Ava ate on the bottle three feedings in a row!! She is coming along!

Ava is eating better!

Our Family on Sunday Afternoon!

Adam feeds Ava a bottle

This picture made me laugh...Ava chillin

Ava drank her whole bottle last night. Today the nurse called and said she was doing much better with the bottle. So hopefully she will be on her way home sooner then later!

Happy Valentine's Day

The two pink princesses!

Ava sleeping!

Hey Mom, stop squishing me!

Ava's bed decorated for Valentine's day!

Thanks Grammy for my stylin Valentines outfit!

Ava had a great Valentine's Day! She got cards from both sets of grandparents, a little pink bear from Grandmommy and Poppy Joe, a very cute Valentine's outfit from Grammy and Doc and her first horse from Mommy and Daddy! Ava continues to gain weight, but she is still having some stomach issues. She had an eye exam this week and the test went great and Ava's eyes are just fine. She is still having an issue with eating all of her feedings from a bottle or nursing. Please pray that she masters this and gets over her stomach issues. We have to do this before she can go home.

AVA IS FOUR POUNDS!!!

My big girl is now 4 lbs!!

Lots of sleep helps Ava grow big and strong

Ava is praising the Lord for gaining weight!

YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! Ava is now up to four pounds!! She can maintain her own body temp and is now four pounds. Now all she has to do is learn how to eat all of her feedings without the feeding tube and then she will be on her way home. She has started to eat better from a bottle and is trying to nurse. So far so good with her tummy! Thank you for all of the prayers and love you have given to us. Our family is blessed, blessed, blessed! Thank you!

Putting on my Big Girl Britches!

Ava sleeping, holding mommy's hand

As a mom have you ever had to put on your "big girl britches"?? Well, yesterday was one of those days for me. Ava again was having some stomach problems and the doctor ordered another x-ray that was more invasive and would give them a better idea of what was going on with her. The doctor told me that the reason that she was having some stomach problems was possibly because of a defect in her large intestine and if the x-ray showed that, then Ava would have to have surgery. So after I took a deep breathe and let just about four or five tears out, I told the doctor to go ahead. The nurses had to restart an IV for Ava before taking down for the test and asked if I wanted to leave the room. Are you kidding me!! I stayed in the room and held her little hand as they restarted the IV. Ava let out a little cry that just about ripped out my heart. The nurse said she was ready to take Ava down to x-ray and wondered if I wanted to go. Again, I thought are you kidding, of course I will go with her. Ava had her x-ray, and everything turned out fine...she just needed to poop. A side bar to this, is that a few weeks ago Ava got and upset stomach because she was given a "supplement". Then just on Monday she was given the "supplement" again. I know I am not a doctor but I did do cause and effect in elementary school english! So the doctors have now decided not to give Ava anymore supplement. Surprise today, since they stopped the supplement for 48 hours, Ava is eating and pooping just fine...hmmmm interesting.

As I was going through this challenge yesterday, I just stopped and put my hands on my daughter and just prayed and asked God to heal her. Also, as I was waiting for the nurse to come in and roll Ava to the xray, I just openned my Bible to psalms and started reading about how God is my ROCK, REDEEMER, SHEILD, PROTECTOR! God was all of those things to me yesterday. I have had people ask me "how are you getting through this". All I can say is through God's amazing grace. God has showned me throughout my almost 32 years of life that He is faithful and good through both the wonderful times and the really hard times. God doesn't change, it is our job for our focus and faith in HIM not to change. Do I have bad days, when I am mad at God and frustrated, yes. But, I know that "all things work together for good for those who love the Lord." Ava's middle name Elizabeth means "consecrated to God". When I was pregnant with her I prayed that she would bring glory to God through her life. I believe she is doing that even as she lays in her crib at the NICU!

**Ava is up to 3 lbs and 15 ounces...we are almost to 4 pounds. No date has been given for when she can come home, but hopefully it will be soon**

My little princess

Ava is getting cuter and cuter each day. I was able to let her wear another one of her very cute preemie outfits (thank you Erin!). She is also making great progress in her eating. I was able to feed her with a bottle today and she ate the entire thing. She is up to eating one ounce with the bottle. It was so very fun to feed her today and her little burp made me laugh!

Its bottle time!

I have been waiting for this day!!

Ava drank 15cc (1/2 of an ounce)

Tonight was a great night!! I was able to feed Ava with a bottle tonight. We were up at the hospital about 5:00 pm and the nurse asked if I had fed her with a bottle yet and would I like to at her 6:00 feeding. Of course I did. Well, Miss Priss got hungry about 5:45 so I was able to get started early. She did a great job and ate half of her feeding with the bottle and she ate the rest through her feeding tube. But even better news came via a phone call from the nurse later tonight. Ava ate her entire 9:00 feeding from her bottle. YEAH! More practice will come in the next few days. Hopefully Ava is on her way to her homecoming!!

Fashionista!

YEAH! Ava does not have to have anymore IV's! The only thing she has on her now is her feeding tube in her nose and then the moniters on her. I think I will miss the moniters when we finally get to take her home. Because she does not have anymore IV's she is now able to wear clothes. She is wearing one of her own little outfits in these pictures, doesn't she look cute! Also, when she was weighed last night she was 3 lbs 15 oz. So she only needs to gain one more ounce and then she will be 4 lbs!! The nurses said that they would start trying to introduce a bottle to Ava this week. I will pump and then they will but the milk in a bottle for her. They want to see what she feeds better on either the bottle or nursing. Either way is fine with me, I am not an "earth mother". Whatever helps her gain weight the fastest and get big and strong is fine with me!