56 Days

Tomorrow, Ava will be exactly eight weeks old: that means she's been with us on the outside for exactly 56 days--sometimes it seems like it's gone by quickly and sometimes it feels like she's been with us forever. More often than not it's been a challenge (to put it mildly!) but I would not change it for anything in the world. Sometimes I miss the freedom that we had before and I definitely miss sleeping for ten hours a night on the weekends, but it's been worth it: especially in the past week or two, because she's been responding to her surroundings and to us more and more each day. A few times now I've been nursing her and she's stopped eating, and when I've looked down at her she's just been staring up at me and smiling. Sappy mommy that I have become, that totally melts me. When we talk to her, she "talks" back, making "ooooooohhh"-ing noises. We probably look like idiots, saying, "Hellooooo, Ava!" and cooing at her over and over again, but there's just nothing like seeing her smile and imitate the sounds we make. People told us that every stage of Ava's development would make some things easier and also present new challenges--right now, she's sleeping better but needs to be entertained more (not THAT big of a challenge, since right now she's satisfied to lay on her Baby Einstein mat and stare at the objects dangling from it, or to have us shake toys in front of her face).

ANYHOW--today was a good day for my sanity because I got a rather nice and unexpected break when Ava discovered her thumb! She woke a couple of times during her afternoon nap but soothed herself back to sleep by sucking her thumb...we're crossing our fingers that this becomes a nighttime thing as well...not that I'm complaining since she already does pretty well, but it couldn't hurt! So anyways, I got to read a good chunk of the new James Patterson book (maybe not that new, but I haven't done much reading for the past few months) and lounge around on the porch, enjoying the 70 degree weather we had today. (After I finished things around the house of course.) She slept from 12:30 until almost 4pm--her best nap yet.

Also--I don't feel too bad about putting Ava in day care anymore. There was some big thing on the news around here about a nanny mistreating the babies she was taking care of, and that kind of scared me. It also made me think: even if a baby-sitter didn't mistreat her, would she give her the attention and interaction she needs or just stick her in a play pen and ignore her? At least at a day care, there are parents coming and going and numerous teachers, all certified, and all accountable to one another. Not to mention, they have all the necessary baby crap: cribs, tummy time mats, swings, etc. and they follow a routine so the kids aren't just penned up and ignored. It'll give Ava a chance to interact with other people besides me and hopefully make her a more social and independent child.

Finally, here are a TON of pictures for your enjoyment! My parents stopped by for a few days on their way home from Florida and we all went a little camera crazy. :o)

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