Sunday, June 17, 2007

Happy Father's Day, Daddy

Daddy,

I love you sooooo much. I love the way you make me laugh. I love it when you tickle me. I love it when you play with me and just spend time with me. I love it when we cuddle. I love to give you kisses! I am so glad that God chose you to be my Daddy. I LOVE YOU! Happy Father's Day!

Love,
Avery




Saturday, June 16, 2007

Beautiful

We had the privilege of attending Marsha and Tyler's wedding today! It was gorgeous! It rained during the ceremony, but that just made it more memorable. They had a butterfly release at the end of the ceremony.... Avery wasn't sure what to think about the butterflies! Avery did great even though we were out past her bedtime. She even danced with the bride! Marsha and I have been friends since 1st grade. She was my maid of honor. It was a special day! We are so happy for them and can't wait til they start making their own babies! Here are a couple pictures of Avery with Marsha's presents before the wedding!


Friday, June 08, 2007

First playdate with Thomas

Today Avery and Thomas had their first playdate! Thomas was born the day before Avery. His mom, Laura, and I went through our pregnancies together including all of the childbirth classes, etc. She was due one week before me. I was admitted on Tuesday (2 weeks early) and she called me Wednesday morning to tell me she was in labor. Thomas was born Wed., Avery was born Thurs.

We began the playdate by hanging out in Thomas' room. I think they really enjoyed "playing" together. Then we went to the pool. It was a great day! I can't believe it took 5 months for us to get them together for the first time! Here are some pictures from the day....enjoy!



Monday, June 04, 2007

5 Months


Avery is 5 months old now. She is such a joy! She is sitting independently for short stretches of time now. We are practicing every day! She loves to smile, laugh that cute little belly laugh, and squeal. She loves to be tickled and have raspberries blown on her belly! She still loves bath time. She's now eating every 4 hours during the day with a dreamfeed at 1030p. Our day starts at 730a. We're eating solids twice a day now. So far her favorite seems to be pears and avocado. I've been making my own babyfood as well. I've made sweet potatoes, avocado, pears, and green beans so far. I'll take a picture soon of my freezer full of baby food!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

G-ma and G-pa

This weekend G-ma and G-pa came to visit Avery! They hadn't seen her since February so she had changed a lot! She had a great time hanging out with them and I know they enjoyed their time with her as well! We wish they lived closer (they live in Illinois) so they could watch Avery grow. We were glad they came down for Mother's Day and for Avery's dedication at church.


G-ma, G-pa and Avery going on a walk



G-pa and Avery on the porch swing



Avery also tried sweet potatoes on Monday which she seemed to like a lot better than the peas! The peas made her gag!! She enjoys holding the spoon and "feeding herself". I try to keep her hands away from her mouth and the food so we work on grabbing the handle of the spoon and it seems to distract her! Plus, it's pretty cute!!

Monday, May 14, 2007

4 month stats

13 lbs 14.5 oz (50%)

23 1/4 inches (10%)

head circum. was 50% also



Avery and Mommy waiting on the doctor




Avery and Dr. Earle

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Mother's Day and Baby Dedication

Today was Mother's Day.....my first! We had Avery's dedication at church this morning. It was wonderful to have so many family and friends in attendance. Her life verse(s) was Jeremiah 29:11-13. After church we went to Hyatt Regency downtown for brunch. It was yummy! Avery got a tad bit fussy....okay maybe a more than a tad bit fussy.....but all in all it was a great time! Here are some pics from the day....enjoy!



Friday, May 04, 2007

4 months

Wow, time goes by so fast! April was a busy month for us! Avery enjoyed her first Easter. She looked precious in her dress and I loved playing the Easter Bunny! I can't wait for Christmas, now! We stayed home for Easter this year and went to our church. Avery stayed in the nursery for the first time on Easter. She did great! They said she was the only baby that didn't cry. That's my girl!
We switched Avery to a 4 hour eat/wake/sleep schedule on April 16th and she didn't even notice. She naps better and started sleeping through the night without feeding on April 21st. She would wake up around 5:30am wanting her paci but then she would go back to sleep. As of April 30th she is now sleeping without needing me at all until I wake her at 7:30am. Her schedule now is she eats at 7:30am, 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm and I do a dreamfeed at 10:30pm. I am hesitant to drop the dreamfeed yet b/c nights are going so well. It won't be long, though! She eats 6 oz bottles. We began giving her oatmeal cereal by spoon about a week ago. She only gets it after her first morning bottle and doesn't eat much at all....it's mainly just for practice. Louis and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary April 17th. Avery stayed with Grandma while Louis and I saw the Blue Man Group.


We took our first trip to Falls Park in downtown Greenville a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful day and we took some great pictures!


Avery loves her exersaucer and johnny jump-up now! She is laughing and squealing a lot these days! She is a very happy baby! She still only rolls tummy to back....she hates being on her tummy so I don't really expect her to willingly roll onto her tummy from her back for a while. We'll see.

Teething has officially begun. She is constantly drooling and chewing on her hands. Runs a low grade temp and gets cranky lately. I can see a white spot on her lower left gum. I have a feeling she will teethe on and off for a few months before it pops through. Luckily, she has a great personality and other than being a bit cranky she is handling it well. We still swaddle her, although for about the past month or so I've been leaving one arm out. I'm attempting to wean her from it. I leave both arms out for one of her naps right now and she does not nap well at that time.
Avery had her first dip in a pool last weekend. It was 90 degrees and sunny so we just couldn't resist! She looked SO cute in her bathing suit! She didn't really know what to think of the pool, but towards the end she started to splash a little. She certainly didn't mind being in it, just really didn't know what she was supposed to do I guess!

Probably the biggest change that occured in April was that I quit my job! My last day was April 27th. I just missed her too much and am so excited to stay home with her! It's helping with her sleeping as well b/c I'm being very consistent. (Yes, I do let her cry some)

She doesn't go for her 4 month well check until May 14th, but I'll post her stats at that time!

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

3 months


Avery is 1/4 of a year old! Changing so much every day. She is still on a 3 hour feed/wake/sleep schedule and doing great! Still gets up around 4:30am for a feeding, though! Had some trouble with her reflux again and switched her from Zantac to Prevacid. We're still waiting on an improvement so feeding time isn't much fun right now!
We went down to Charleston for the Cooper River Bridge Run and walked around 5.5 miles pushing Avery in the stroller. She did great! She's a very laid back adaptable baby.
Her head control is getting alot better. She is very strong just still bobbles her head a lot! We are still wearing 0-3 months clothes b/c she's so short! I call her my Chunky Monkey. I love this little girl SO much!

Friday, March 16, 2007

Rolling Over

Avery rolled over from her stomach to her back today! I didn't get to see it, but Louis was there! He had her propped up a little with a blanket under her chest for tummy time and he said she got mad (she's not a huge fan of tummy time) and just started rotating and she just rolled right on over! Of course, I'm sure it was just an accident because she was upset but still it's a first!! Too bad she can't seem to do it again b/c it's a great way to get out of having tummy time!! haha

Pictures

I added a few pics to the 2 previous posts....check them out!

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

What a big girl!

So I decided to try out the bumbo seat today. I figured Avery can support her head pretty well and I just wanted to see how she did even if only for a second or two. Well, turns out the my baby is so short that the back of the seat supports her head for her! It is really quite funny (and cute). At first she really didn't know what to think and looked a bit perplexed. But, then she started watching TV and just sat in it contently! We call it her "big girl seat" and I think she's going to love it!



The weather her today was wonderful! Almost 80 degrees! When I got home from work, Papa had put together her big girl stroller. (We've been using a Snap-n-Go stroller b/c her carseat is navy and all the Graco strollers were black/gray.....I'm weird about matching!) We borrowed her carseat from Louis' cousin since they only used it for 6 months and that's why we don't have a matching travel system. Anyway, when I got home I decided to take Avery out for a walk because the weather was so nice. She likes her big girl stroller so much better b/c the canopy can rotate so that the sun isn't in her eyes as bad.

My little baby is growing up too fast! We had a lot of "firsts" today!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

2 months




Avery is 2 months old. I can't believe how time is flying by and how much she is changing every day. Her personality is really starting to blossom. She has started to smile a lot, though it is hard to catch it on camera! She even let out her first laugh. She loves her play gym now. She will lay there and "talk" to her friends. Her favorites are Mr. Giraffe and Mr. Monkey. Occasionally she talks to her old friend Purple Elephant! Needless to say she is beginning to really interact with her environment.

She is still eating every 3 hours from 7:30a-10:30p with a night feed around 4:00a. Occasionally she will go all night. She's now on Enfamil Gentlease and that has helped her so much!

Avery has found her hands now as well. We call them "happy hands." She is constantly moving them and messing with them. She is very ticklish, also.

We are still swaddling her for sleep. Between her "happy hands" and startle reflex she just can't sleep well without her swaddle. I hope she doesn't go to prom in a swaddle! She is doing great with her sleep. She usually takes 2 long naps of 1.5-2 hours and 2 shorter naps of 1-1.5 hours a day. She loves her sleep but if she takes a long nap then the next nap tends to be shorter. But, she'll also have more wake time after her long naps. She goes to sleep on her own with very little fussing and rare crying now. What a blessing!

We are enjoying getting to know her and just watching her grow and learn! I can't wait for all the future holds! I love this little girl more than words can express!!

Sunday, February 25, 2007

There's a first time for everything

Warning: this is a long, detailed post!

Well, let me preface this post with some history. I ran a low grade temp Sunday and Monday with cold symptoms.

Last night while I was feeding Avery her 7:30pm bottle I noticed she felt warm. Now I've checked her temp often b/c she's hot natured and always seems to feel warm, but this was a different warm to me. So, I checked her temp and it wa 99.7 (rectally of course). No big deal, the nurse in me knew that was not considered a "fever" yet so we just finished eating. Avery had had some extra goopy eyes, extra boogers (sorry!) and hadn't been napping well yesterday but other than that she seemed fine.

Checked her temp again around 8:15pm and it was up to 100.3-still not considered a fever. We decided to go ahead and call the doc to see what we should do if it kept rising. Trying to avoid a late night call. We hadn't heard anything so I rechecked her temp at 8:45pm and it was 100.6-we made a 2nd call. Checked her temp again at 9:10pm and it was up to 101.0. Finally the on call nurse called back and we were sent to the Pediatric ER. Apparently they have a rule that is a baby is less than 8 weeks old with a temp over 100.4 they have to go in.

We checked her temp right before we left and it was up to 101.2--We got to the ER and it, of course, was packed! Having worked in the adult ER for 3 years I was not the least bit surprised. I was OK with waiting but the peds waiting room was tiny and crowded with lots of coughing and sick kids...that bothered me a bit b/c Avery is so young. But, having connections helps and we didn't have to wait but 30 minutes or so. In triage her temp was up to 102.4---my poor baby!

Because her fever had occured so suddenly and risen so quickly they had to do a full sepsis work-up. This included and IV with blood drawn, in and out cath for a urine sample, chest x-ray, and a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). My mom had gone with us and she left the room for the IV and cath but Louis and I stayed. Avery cried of course but she recovered very quickly and looked like such a big girl with her hospital gown and IV in! I took her to radiology for her chest x-ray and she didn't cry at all. Then, they took her for the LP. They take her to a different room without the parents for this b/c it is such a horrible looking procedure!

We waited for the results and everything came back pointing to a virus. YAY! They sent us home with instructions to give Tylenol for her fever. We'll follow up at the pediatrician's office Monday. A lot of my former co-workers came by to visit and meet Avery while we were in the ER so that was fun.

Avery is doing better today. The highest her temp has been was 100.9 when she woke up this morning. Still not napping the greatest but that's ok. She's such a good baby! Well, just wanted to let everyone know the detailed story of her first sickness and ER visit. It could have been worse so we are thankful for being home and for it just being a virus. I'm fairly certain she caught whatever I had.....

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Going back to work

Well, today I went back to work. So hard to believe that my little baby is old enough for me to now go back to work. I'm only working Tues-Fri from 2pm-5pm and my dad (Avery's Papa) is watching her. It is nice to get out of the house and keep my nursing skills up, but hard to leave her too.

Avery's doing great! She's growing so much and just gets more fun everyday. She's starting to enjoy hanging out on her playmat "talking" to her friends hanging down. She's not a big fan of tummy time, though....we're working on that! Her personality is really starting to show. She often welcomes me with smiles now when I get her up from her crib. It is so sweet!

Well, that's about all to report from the Garmendia household. We're all doing great!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

1 month well baby visit

Today I took Avery for her 1 month well baby check. She is 5 weeks old today. She weighed 8 lbs 13.5 oz (40%) and measured 20 1/4 inches (25%)....looks like she's gonna be short like me!

Still struggling with some constipation but the new plan is to use a glycerin suppository to clean things out and then start with some diluted pear juice twice a day. Not really thrilled about giving her juice, or any extra sugar for that matter, but I know she's uncomfortable and ya gotta do what ya gotta do! We've tried light Karo and dark Karo with no effect....I guess the juice is atleast a little more natural than the sugar Karo. I hope I don't end up with a baby that is addicted to sugar! Please pray that she becomes more regular and that her stools are softer...I'm hoping we can get things going and then stop using the juice or Karo.

Otherwise, Dr. Earle said she looks great and is very healthy! He did say that since she is so easy going and not demanding that I still need to wake her to eat every 3 hours during the day and still let her sleep as long as she will at night. He said that we can push the feedings further apart after her 2 month visit but for now we still need to feed her every 3 hours during the day.

Just for my records:

* she is currently taking 2-4 ounces of soy formula at 7:30am, 10:30am, 1:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm, 10:30pm, and then somewhere between 3-3:30am

* She is able to lift her head and rotate it from side to side during tummy time

* She is able to track and object held in front of her

* She still like her Nuk pacis but she does not have to have them to sleep

* We are laying her down while she is still awake and she will occasionally cry but usually just grunts and whines and then she goes to sleep

* She is beginning to smile in response to either my smile or just when we're talking to her

* She is now on Zantac for reflux

* She likes her bath time, especially when I use the sink sprayer and run it over her head and body. We call it her baby spa time!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Avery's 1st road trip

We spent last weekend in Mt. Pleasant with Louis' family. Avery did wonderful on the way down....slept most of the way! She had a little trouble sleeping at night while we were there but we made it! She mostly just wanted to stay awake...she wasn't really fussy she just whined a lot! On Saturday we had a drop-in for everyone to come and meet Avery. Avery got lots of nice gifts and she didn't seem to mind being passed around from person to person. She is such an easy going baby!

Sunday we went to church and then Louis, Avery and I went out to dinner with one of my friends from college, Anna Clar, and her husband Jeremy. It was great to be able to catch up with an old friend and show off Avery! Then, of course, Avery and I donned our Peyton Manning jerseys and watched the Colts WIN the Super Bowl!

My grandparents from Illinois are in town this week to meet Avery for the first time. They are spending a lot of time with her and she is enjoying all the attention. So far we haven't had an real issues with all the excitement over the past week....she's taking it all in stride!

Monday, January 22, 2007

Saturday, January 20, 2007

She's here!!


Avery Elizabeth Garmendia was born on January 4, 2007 at 2:17pm. She weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and measured 19 inches long. I was placed in the hospital for preeclampsia (basically high blood pressure) on January 2nd and they had planned to induce labor at 6am on the 4th. However, Miss Avery had a plan of her own and decided to just go ahead and start things around midnight. My labor was great.....I got my epidural really before I had any true pain and that was wonderful! I really was able to enjoy the experience. We had a few scares....the epidural meds made my blood pressure drop way too low so they had to give me a med to counteract that. Then, at around 4:40am I had a contraction that lasted over 3 minutes and Avery's heartrate dropped and they had to give me a shot in the arm to relax my uterus. But once my uterus relaxed, Avery's heartrate went back up and things were ok. That was probably one of the scariest moments of my life...to hear how slow her heartrate was and to have 2 nurses and the doctor rolling me around and scrambling to get her heartrate back up and having no control to do anything myself to help her. But, thankfully, things turned out just fine. I only pushed for 40 minutes and she was here! It was an absolutely amazing experience to see her and finally be able to hold her! I love her more than I ever thought possible.

She is a wonderful baby. She is so content and just has a great temperament. And, of course, she's absolutely beautiful! Louis and I are enjoying being parents and can't wait to watch her grow! She's 16 days old now and she's already changed so much! We took her to church last week and she did great. I'll try to update the blog as much as I can so keep checking back!