I cannot believe my almost seven week old has her first cold already! It's human nature to compare and contrast the differences between your children, but I never took into account that winter babies and summer babies are completely different in so many ways. That being said, so is the weather.. the environment... and the season for sickness. Olivia was born in the perfect season for rsv, bronchitis, etc. As careful as we've tried to be, it's obvious that the inevitable has occurred. I was a bit worried at first because the first time Ava bug got sick was when she was five months old... but as it turns out, six weeks old is not too young to get a cold. I have gone to PEDS twice in the last week for reassurance and I do feel so much better about my sweet little baby going through her first cold so soon. To top off Olivia's first cold, big sister Ava has also come down with something.

Justin was sick last week, so I guess when the girls didn't show immediate signs, it was just wishful thinking on my part. I know this week is going to be long, but that's okay. We are cocooning ourselves into homebody mode until both of my babies are feeling tip top. On the plus side, this will give me time to play with my birthday gift from Justin. That's right folks, this mama got her full frame camera! The Canon 6D is my newest camera. I plan on taking pictures of Ava and Olivia this week while they're going through their colds... Even though they don't feel good, they've both been smiling up a storm. Olivia is such a social smile bean. She smiles so much and her blue eyes just beam back at you.. It truly is a sight to see. Ava gets so happy when her baby sissy smiles at her. We all just gush over her. 

In other news, we got our first family of four photos done last weekend. Can I just saw I am in love? I have only seen one preview, but it was so beautiful. I know our photographer did an amazing job and I can't wait to print BIG photos of my beautiful family and put them up all over our home. Justin even mentioned how great of a time he had getting our photos done. I'll be sure to post a few once we get them all back. 


♥- Leilani

Trigger day! (late post)

I went in for my second follicle scan Wednesday morning, and everything looked great. My main follicle on my left ovary measured at 19.2mm (ish) and the follicle growing on my right ovary measured at 14mm. My doctor was pleased with where the follicle growth was, and didn't require me to get a blood test (not mad about that at all) to measure my estradiol levels. We also got the okay to take our HCG trigger shot Thursday night and we were over the moon, crazy excited about it. Wednesday night was my last time taking follistim shots for this cycle and that brought on some bitter sweet feelings. These last two weeks have been emotional, exciting, and I'm just ready for March to come around so we can see if we've conceived or not.

* That was initially written on Wednesday, prior to me getting the stomach bug* Thursday morning I woke up with terrible stomach pain and I was completely nauseated and weak. I could barely get out of bed let alone take care of Ava bug, safely. I'm not really sure what has hit me, but it's been a long three days you guys. Thankfully, Justin got off early enough that day to care for me and take care of Ava. I spent most of Thursday, asleep. The rest definitely helped, and I did take my trigger shot Thursday night. It burned a little.. and to be honest, getting a shot was the last thing I wanted to do while feeling so sick.. but I am determined to make this cycle count. I woke up Friday morning around 5:30 a.m. and I could definitely tell I was feeling far better than the day before. I was able to drink and move without serious stomach pain, but I was definitely weak and groggy from not eating at all on Thursday. I tried to drink and eat a little bit at a time and that really seemed to work. A word to the wise, pepto bismol is not your friend.. I know, I know.. this may be effective for some people, but definitely not for me.

Not only are my stools black and gross, but so is my tongue. The chalky, bitter taste is most definitely not worth it. I normally tried to mend things naturally, but I have been utilizing tums quite a bit. I called one of the nurses at the fertility clinic and they informed me that this will not impact our cycle in a negative way. She reminded to stay hydrated, eat bland foods, and to take it easy for the next few days. I tried to eat the dinner Justin cooked Friday night.. that was such a no go! I immediately started having stomach pains again. I could not believe it. Friday and today are our baby dancing days.. you could image how that's been going... To top it off, Ava bug woke up at three in the morning... throwing up! She threw up at least a couple different times in less than two hours. She was burning up and that was my "mama instinct" telling me to take her to the E.R. All the while her demeanor never changed, but when we got there, we were informed that her temperature was 100.6. Definitely in fever range! The good news is, she seems to be doing fine. They gave us zofran for her vomiting spell and instructed us to give tylenol.

**UPDATE** She went over 24 hours with zero puking and now we are convinced she also has the stomach bug like her mama.





♥- Leilani

Good, Bad, and Good Again

As of today, I am no longer sick! I'm pretty sure Justin and Miss Ava are in the clear too. We all managed to catch some brief stomach bug, but I'm glad it's behind us now. I really do hate when my babies are sick. The day I posted about my illness, Ava threw up that very same night. Looks like we won't be making it through her first year with only three sick episodes, but four is still just as low, and I'll take it! Speaking of her first year, can you believe that in just ten short days, my sweet and beautiful bug will be ONE year old?! I am so excited, especially because I just booked her first cake smash photo session for next week.

Cake smash session? Yes. Here goes the bad news. Victoria (our GA. photographer) that originally planned on heading out to Washington tomorrow, had to cancel her travel plans. Her little girl is not feeling all that well, and she has to undergo some medical testing. As sad as I am that she won't be making it out to the Pacific Northwest, I am glad that she is getting the answers she needs for her little girl Adalin. This left me to find a new photographer for Ava's birthday, family photos, and mommy and me sessions. I was pretty frantic, but I have to say, I stumbled upon a diamond in the rough. I am really pleased (so far) with the professionalism of our new found photographer and her work. She has done multiple sessions with infants, babies, and cake smashes. I was instantly impressed with her photos, and If all goes well with the cake smash, I cannot wait to book future sessions.

I'm beyond excited that we decided to photograph Ava and her cake rather than Ava at her birthday. I wish you all could have seen me earlier. I was seriously on the verge of renting a camera and lens that I had never seen before, let alone use. A lot of people don't see the "big deal" about photos, but I do. I love having beautiful portraits hanging in my home. I love having scrapbooks for Ava, ready for her to see and love when she's older. Pictures are truly the only things that last forever when our memories and time on earth fade. I know that last part was a bit heavy, but it's very true. My love of photos (of me and my growing family), began when I fell pregnant with Ava. I can't tell you how many times I go back and look at my maternity photos.

I am so relieved that I found a photographer in our location. If you didn't guess already, this would be the second good part of this blog. Today was a beautiful day, and I'm hoping this trend lasts these next couple weeks! It would be amazing to have nothing but shine on Ava's big day. Still can't believe Justin and I are closing in on this first year of parenting. Make sure to check back on the blog for my very first cloth diapering 101 blog/video post, toddler meals, and Ava's first year in review!

Happy Wednesday all! Hug and kiss your loved ones!

♥- Leilani

Sick

Yep, you read that right. Mrs. "I never get sick" Howland has come down with some type of stomach bug. I have been persistently upchucking the last two days, and haven't moved from my bed or couch enough to say so. I know there's a bug going around our area, and allegedly I "should" be back in good health in the next couple days. I really hope that's true because I can't bare to be bedridden much longer. Especially with Ava. I feel so bad for my bug. I don't know if she's feeding off of mama's energy or what, but all day today, all she wants is for mama to hold her. She hasn't been like this since she was like six or seven months old. She doesn't want to play with her toys, she doesn't want to pull her brother's whiskers, something is definitely up.

She did spend pretty much all day with her daddy yesterday, and I'm wondering if that has something to do with it. Each time she saw me, she'd reach for me, but I was running to the bathroom to throw up. Even though we were still in our house, Ava has never spent that much time away from me before. I definitely didn't like it, and I'm guessing she didn't either. Justin was pretty great with her though. He's never had to take on full responsibility of baby by himself. He's also never had a reason to, until this weekend. I obviously still nursed Ava when she needed it, but other than that, she was with her dad.

I was so sick yesterday I contemplated going to the E.R. to seek some answers. That really is my biggest fear right now. Not only would I be leaving Ava alone (without being able to nurse), I'm in fear that they'd end up giving me some type of "fix all" medicine that wasn't breastfeeding safe. Aside from wanting Ava to wean herself, I definitely don't want to give her cow's milk early, or worse, resort to formula. I don't know what that would do to her digestive system, and I'm praying we never have to find out. I could be completely blowing this out of proportion, but I'm still going to stick it out these next couple days to see if there is any improvement.

From what I've collected the digestive issues that I have cannot be passed through breast milk, so it looks like I'm just going to have to suck it up until I get better. I'm really thankful for Justin being here and helping out. Not a single complaint out of him, and he's even gone as far to do the dishes and laundry (the way I like). That is seriously a miracle! I felt so bad that Justin spent his birthday weekend taking care of me. I know he doesn't mind, but that wasn't the exact idea of relaxation I had in mind for him his birthday weekend. We also (most likely) still have guests coming out to visit. Ironically, they have a sick baby on their hands right now. I hope baby Adalin and myself start to feeling better soon!

I'm off guys. Ava is waking up from her afternoon nap, and I'm sure she's ready to snuggle mama.

Happy Monday All!

♥- Leilani

Bug is nine months old

I seriously repeated the title of this blog out loud, several times. I do this every month, and each month that Ava gets older, feels like it came quicker than the last. So many other parents have expressed to Justin and I how quickly this goes. They express how these times, right now, are the best times of our lives with our little girl. This past month Ava has been advancing like crazy. She can stand (for a few seconds) by herself without holding onto anything, she can wave (a backwards wave), and she can feed herself finger foods. Her favorite word is "Da Da" and she loves when her daddy sings "The lion sleeps tonight" from the Lion King. Ava understands the word no, and playing tea party with daddy seems to be her favorite past time. It's been a couple months now that we find that Bug can entertain herself really well. She received a lot of toys for Christmas, and she plays with all of them. As always, I have compiled a list of items that we now use with our baby girl.

The inflatable safety duck from munchkin has become a regular thing in our household. I'm not quite ready for Ava to be in the bathtub with zero support, so this is definitely a fun way to ensure her safety. There is an indicator for when the water temperature is too hot, and I love how easy the assembly was. The age on this safety duck is six months to twenty four months, I'm hoping that once Ava reaches a year, we can put this away for the next Howl baby.

We have also introduced finger foods to Miss Ava. I was a little uneasy about opting not to make Ava's snack foods, but after seeing how much she loves these finger foods, I feel great about it. The puffs and other finger foods come in so many different flavors and styles. It's been fun watching Ava throw, smash, and eat her little snacks. Speaking of snacks, because the containers they come in are so huge and so not diaper bag friendly, I started using the planet wise snack bags. I purchased a gray chevron one while we were still in Georgia, and I absolutely love it. Super easy for Ava to take her own snack out and feed them to herself.

These bags are super easy to wash, and definitely baby friendly. I've watched Ava put her snack bags in her mouth, and I have zero worries that something is going to snag her gums, or irritate her. I like the fact that there isn't any plastic and that you can wash these when need be.
We are all about reusable in this family, so these definitely work great.

The last (and most recent) thing we have introduced to our sweet love bug is unflavored pedialyte. Ava got her first stomach bug late last night, and we actually took her into the emergency room. One of our main concerns off the bat was possible dehydration. Although dehydration actually wasn't the case for her, bug still wasn't able to hold down breast milk. As a safety precaution we gave Ava some clear liquids in hopes that she'd be able to keep it down. Thankfully, she was and she is doing much better now. I was completely against using products like this with our girl, but when push comes to shove, I'd do anything to make sure she's well taken care of.

Aside from the stomach bug, Ava has been thriving so very much. She remains healthy, happy, and so very comical. Justin taught her how to do this cute little laugh that I plan on sharing with all of my readers. I've taken about a million videos of those two mimicking each other, I just need to upload it. Speaking of upload, I am doing a "what's in my diaper bag" for a nine month old cloth diapered baby, per the request of a few other mama's on facebook. It's long overdue, so look out for that post this week!

Alright all, I'm off! Enjoy your Monday and if you are a Washingtonian, stay dry!

♥- Leilani