It's so hard to believe Ava is 2 1/2 years old already. She is growing up and becoming quite the little lady. As I've been able to do less for her with being on bed rest, she has learned to become more independent. There are many things she can do for herself if she wants to including dressing herself, getting her own beverages from the fridge, and using the bathroom. She is also getting pretty good at following directions.
Sleep: Ava is typically sleeping from 8:30 pm to 7:00 am with a two to three hour nap in the afternoons. She is rising earlier these days which has been an adjustment.
Food/Eating: She continues to be a very good eater. She can be a little fussy about her veggies, but will still eat most of them. She loves sandwiches of any kind, chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, and several fruits. Of course, her true love is cookies or any sort of baked item. She will do almost anything to get her hands on something like this!
Communication: Ava seems to progressing very well in the speech category. She comes up with new phrases that never cease to amaze us. She is into referencing time right now. She often says "I go to the park later" or "I can ride my tricycle after nap". She has become quite a kidder. She will sometimes make up words and see if she can get one of us to repeat the strange word, and then she will laugh hysterically!
Favorite Pass Times: Ava's favorite things to do right now involve being outside. She loves to ride tricycle, play in the baby pool, and go to the park. She still loves to have books read to her and look at books herself. Her favorite toys are dolls and her little people house. I love to sit back and listen to her playing and all the things she is pretending. It can be quite a comical conversation! She also loves to watch "Baby Story" on tv. She almost likes it better than Mickey Mouse, but it's close!
Being unable to do all the fun mom stuff has been a little difficult for me. I miss doing things just the two of us like shopping and hitting the park, but Ava seems to be adjusting very well. We do more things as a family which has been good and Daddy can handle all the lifting and physical activity. We have lots of visitors and Ava still gets to do many fun things. She just knows now that it isn't ever just her and I for the day if Brad goes to work and always asks who is coming over. It's amazing how quickly children catch on to things!
21 weeks, 4 days
I am 21 weeks this week, so we have reached the halfway point. I have to admit, it feels like I have been pregnant for forever already. I don't know if it is the frequent doctor appointments or the lack of work to keep me busy, but it feels like I should be further along. I had another doctor visit this week. The SCH is a little smaller, although it doesn't seem that the perinatologist is all that concerned with it going away anymore. She said the SCH would not interfere with the baby's growth so it really didn't matter if it stayed there the whole pregnancy. It looks less and less threatening on ultrasound with each visit as the baby is growing larger. The comparison between the two really makes the SCH seem small now. Dr. Wahl thinks that is it is a very positive sign that things have stabilized and I'm not having any new symptoms. She still says regardless of what happens with the size of the SCH, I'm at increased risk of premature rupture of membranes due to this condition. She said with her experience, its about a 1 in 3 chance of this risk. She instructed me to keep doing what I've been doing (which isn't very much activity at all) because it seems to be working. She has cut me loose from seeing her until 28 weeks. I am still seeing my regular OB, Dr. Salama every 2 weeks for the time being. Overall, the appointment was very positive. The baby is growing right on target and looks good by all accounts on ultrasound. And for those of you who don't know, we are having a boy!
