Ava's WORST Night

Last night was Ava's absolute worst night since she was born. Before we went to Colorado last week, Ava was sleeping about 7-10 hours in her long stretch, then waking to eat, then going back to sleep for an hour or two. While in Colorado, Ava did fairly well with her sleeping routine, but the high altitude really made it tough for her to breathe (so she would wake up several times in the night gasping for air trying to breathe).

Well, ever since we returned from Colorado, Ava's sleeping routine has been a bit rough. The first night she did pretty well (her long stretch was a little over 7 hours), but the past few nights have been hard--with last night being the worst. Ava Bear woke up screaming just about every hour last night. It seemed like just when Matt and I would get back to sleep, she would wake up again screaming. Sometimes she'll cry in her sleep with her eyes closed, but last night she had full blown tears with her eyes wide open--all while screaming bloody murder. The only thing that would calm her down was nursing her. We tried bouncing her, putting in a pacifier, rocking her, talking to her, and everything else imaginable during the wee hours of the day but nothing would work except for nursing her. The best part of the story is that yesterday I somehow gave myself a crick in my neck and back (I turned my head really quickly and ever since it's been painful), so it's been difficult to turn my head right or left. Just imagine getting up every 45 minutes to an hour to attend to a screaming child all while not being able to move your head! It was fun!

So, today I'm drinking fully caffeinated coffee (I've been drinking half caf since Ava was born) and trying to function on negative sleep. Ava's smile keeps me going, although there haven't been as many of them as usual today. Neither Matt nor I could remember a night quite like last night. Even when Ava was a newborn, she slept pretty well for her 2-4 hour spurts and never woke us up every single hour. The only thing that we can figure is that she wasn't feeling well. She didn't poo all day yesterday (which is odd for her), so her tummy was quite taut and her gums have been really bothering her. It's been an off day for Ava, especially since she didn't want to play in bed with me this morning (she's never refused that before) and she cried the whole time I un-swaddled her (she usually laughs and smiles and starts to play when we unwrap her). She hasn't even wanted to play with her toys, play in her jumperoo, or lay on her playmat either. Hopefully she'll be back to her normal self soon. Even when she doesn't feel well, she's still a darling little girl. I'm sure the unusually persistent windging she's been doing today is like most peoples' normal day with their baby(or babies). We've just been so lucky to have such a happy baby who rarely ever cries--so when she does, it catches us off guard.

Here's Ava not wanting to play in her jumperoo.

Here are a few pictures I took of her this morning while she was attempting to try to play. I was able to catch a few smiles--despite her lack of sleep, her sour tummy, and her aching gums. Even when she doesn't feel her best, she's still so precious and cute!

I put Ava on her tummy this morning to play hoping it would help it feel better. These pictures were taken right after I layed her down, as her face quickly turned sour moments later!