Ava Smiles, First Cold & Clint's Birthday

Ava has mastered smiling this week. Her smile is the sweetest thing I have ever seen.

Ava had her first cold this week........it was pretty pitiful.

Clint turns 34 today.....Happy Birthday!!! Clint is such a good daddy to Ava. He wasn't so sure about how to handle a baby girl, but in the last few weeks he has gotten super attached to Ava and seems to think she is pretty sweet. I am so thankful to have such a loving and supportive husband that is so gentle with our baby girl, willing to feed Ava in the middle of the night and encourage me as we experience being parents for the first time.

Week of Rest, Healing & Love

We have spent the last week resting, healing & loving our sweet Ava. She is adjusting to bottle feeding quite well........and I love being able to feed her on demand and in public and letting Clint take some of the feedings. It is so freeing! I know the five weeks I breastfed were good for Ava, but some women are not made to breastfeed........according to my doctors I am one of those women.....and I am okay with that. I think our society puts too much pressure on first time moms and we put too much pressure on ourselves to do everything right........including breastfeeding. Mommy hood has been a challenging and healing experience for me. Challenging in that I am seeing my many imperfections and weaknesses. #1 is my drive to be the perfect mom. I had read 10 books or more on babies prior to Ava's birth and was trying to implement EVERY tip in the books. The ironic thing is that trying to implement EVERY tip means that you miss out on just enjoying your baby. SO, I have decided to stop reading books about babies and just roll with the punches. Ava is her own person and she is not going to reach every milestone at the exact time the books say. She will reach them in the time God has planned for her. Clint trying to make Ava smile

Ava stretching as she wakes up

This means Ava is ready for the photo shoot to be over!

Thankful to be home...

Thank you for all of your kind emails, facebook comments, blog comments, phone calls, and words of encouragement. It will be a while before I get back with everyone, but I have read your words and am thankful. I am out of the hospital.....and happy to be back with Ava and Clint.

I am going to take a little blog & facebook vacation to focus on resting and enjoying my family.

Counting Our Blessings

The doctor saw me yesterday and after reviewing my labs and cultures, determined the mastitis is a staph infection and have found the right antibiotics to kill it. He said the earliest I would go home is Thursday. At first I was depressed, because that is 10 nights that I will have spent away from my baby girl........and she is only one month old. I am trying to focus on our blessings.

Blessings:

1. I was able to get in with an excellent infectious disease doctor. He changed up all of my iv antibiotics to what Clint calls "the big bazooka" (Daptomycin)

2. Because the antibiotics are strong and small veins don't tolerate them well, they put in a PICC line. It is basically a catheter in my arm so they give me all of my antibiotics directly to larger veins and draw blood from it. It was a little surgical procedure and is painful today, but makes receiving IV drugs so much easier.

3. We had some great support yesterday, which was critical on such a hard day. My verse for the day that I repeated was "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13)
4. My mom flew in to be with me and my Aunt Mary spent the day with us.

5. I got moved to this much larger private suite......Thank you to friends and family for brightening up my room with flowers.
6. Clint is such a good husband and dad.

After reading all those answered prayers and blessings, 4 days in this room doesn't sound so bad.

Please pray for:
1. Wisdom for the doctors
2. Patience and understanding for the nurses
3. Sleep, Rest and Peace

4. Clint & Ava

Ava's Mommy is Sick

I am on day 3 in Texas Women's hospital with severe mastitis. This is my third bout with mastitis in the short month since Ava was born. Mastitis is an infection in the breast caused by breastfeeding. I am left with no choice but to give up breastfeeding, but am still very ill. My OBGYN said I am in the top 4 worst cases that she has ever seen. So a 24 hour hospital stay has now turned into what they are expecting to be a one week hospital stay.

Clint & Ava come to visit everyday, which is wonderful, but I cry when they leave. It is so hard to say goodbye to my month old baby girl and husband that I adore.

Please pray for wisdom for my doctors, for good nurses, and for God's healing of my body, for Ava & Clint to take good care of each other......and sleep for me. It is hard to sleep with this much pain and an iv and nurses coming in to change iv antibiotics every two hours. THANK YOU in advance for your prayers!

Update: Clint & Ava are staying with Grandma Polly and Papa Wayne in Nederland, so they are being cared for and fed. Thank you for the offers of food and babysitting, but Grandma is covering both.

Ava meets her 3 Jones Uncles!!!

This weekend was a very special weekend. Ava got to meet her other two uncles. I have three brothers, Jeremy, Mike, and Alan. Mike was in Spain on vacation when Ava was born and Alan was in Germany doing study abroad for one year. It was so wonderful to have our entire family together. Ava's uncles think she is a keeper...........and I have a feeling she is going to love her uncles!

Uncle Mike holding Ava.

Uncle Mike giving Ava a bottle.......he is teaching her about his love for good food & beverage.

Uncle Jeremy seems to approve

Jeremy with is wife, Aunt Carie, and her two children, Caroline & Conor. The kids seemed to think Ava was a pretty cute little cousin.

Aunt Carie was a natural with Ava!

Ava had met her Uncle Alan last week, when he flew home form Germany. They are turning out to be big buddies. Here are hilarious pictures of Alan teaching her to make a monkey face. She really was copying him.Look at those monkey faces.Miss Ava is one loved little girl!!!

Gina's Family showers us with love & gifts

We were showered with love and gifts by my family this weekend. My family waited until after Ava's arrival to have a shower, because everyone was traveling in, so they wanted to meet the guest of honor. It was so wonderful to have so much family around!

Ava wore a party dress to the shower

This is the Jones Family........Mom, Alan, Clint, Gina, Ava, Jeremy, Carrie, Connor, Caroline, Mike & Dad. The family is growing!!!
The four siblings........with 2 spouses & kids.My Aunt Mary was the wonderful hostess. Opening cards & giftsAva got some adorable outfitsJeremy, Carrie, Mike & Alan got her a Svan high chair. It is a very cool and futuristic high chair

My uncle (Ava's great uncle) Vic & Aunt Judy came from Dallas for the shower

Three of my mom's five siblings with their spouses. My mom's brother Vic & his wife Judy, my mom's sister Mary & her husband, David, my mom & dad. Her other two brothers live in Alaska and Seattle, so they were not able to make it.I think mom & dad are going to enjoy being Grandma & Paw Paw

Ava's features......and comparison baby pictures of Gina & Clint

It is so amazing to look at baby Ava and see a little bit of me and a little bit of Clint. We've heard many comments on what features she got from whom. The most frequent observation is that she got her mommy's lips........and her daddy's blue eyes.

Ava with me a few days after she was born

Gina with my mom on the day I was born

Clint with his mom