Monday, April 23, 2012

Almost time for the benefit!

Hey there!  I can't believe May is just around the corner and Ava will soon be 9months!  Where did my snuggly little 6 pounder go???  She isn't mobile yet so I know I should treasure these days too...just the other day, I dreamt that she creeped up the stairs and met me in her room!  Maybe that's a sign that her sit-and-contently-play days are almost over!
This past week has been a busy one, complete with 4 days of doctor/specialist appointments and surgery to repair her old gtube site.  Whew.  Thankfully, each appointment went well and she tolerated her surgery great!  The procedure was done because after we had her gtube removed, the "tunnel" from where the tube was, wouldn't close therefore causing her stomach contents to leak.  The surgeon carved out this tunnel and stitched up the layers from inside-out.  The bandages remain in place for a couple weeks, so I won't be able to see Dr. Saltzman's handiwork until then.  I'm hoping to find a very small scar left behind!  I was elated to hear that she didn't need to be intubated for the procedure and we were only required to hang out in recovery until she woke up an hour later.  Like the rockstar she is, you wouldn't know by watching her, that she had a considerably major procedure only days ago! 
What she's up to now...Let's see, about 3 weeks ago, I caught her blurt out "dada" while I was voice recording a babble session she was having!  It's the cutest sound and gives me a little insight into what her tiny voice will sound like someday soon.  Of course, Dj's face lit up enormously when I played it back for him!  She continues to improve her length of tolerance for tummy time and rolls both front to back & back to front almost completely independently.  Crawling may not happen for Ava...she loves to be upright in her play-station thingy and truly hates being put on all fours in an attempt to crawl.  Oh well.  :)  Her head molding is slowly improving.  I remain more highly concerned about this than her chiropractor or pediatrician, which is a good sign.  She's started eating more baby food and one fewer bottle each day (thank God!), so hopefully weight gain will continue to improve!  Her favorite meal is the yogurt feeding! 
As I look to the month ahead, her benefit on the 2nd of May is rapidly approching.  I can't believe the amount of support we've already received and I just know that the night will bring many tears of disbelief in the generousity to come.  Ava will not be making an appearance that night due to the great potential for her to catch a germ or two.  This will be hard considering she's the star of the evening, but Dj & I know it's best for her.  Shout out to Grandma Mary who will be watching & taking great care of Miss Ava while we are all at the benefit.  THANK YOU!!!  The arragement of the event has been quite overwhelming and I can't imagine heading this up on our own.  Without family support, this likely wouldn't have happened!  Thank you to everyone who has been involved up to this point...there isn't any way for us to repay you!  Dj & I can't wait to see everybody who is able to attend the benefit! 
~Kate