Well now that I am THREE weeks late with this post and Ava is already 7 weeks old ( where on earth has the time gone? it sounds cliche but seriously- wasn't I just pregnant yesterday? ) I better do her one month update!
My sweet sweet baby girl has already grown SO much in such a short time! She had her one month check up and is already weighing in at 12 lbs and is 22 1/2 inches long! She was in newborn clothes for the first 5 weeks of her life and I swear I woke up the other morning and nothing fit her! Size 3 months clothes fits her perfect now but I'm sure not for long ;). This morning I actually went through everything and folded all her newborn clothes and put them away :( a sad moment for mama!! Although, I must admit I am loving all of her newly acquired baby rolls! Seriously chubby baby legs and cheeks are the cutest ever.
sleep:
Ava is currently sleeping for about 3-4 hour stretches at night. It really depends. sometimes she wakes up much more and other times ( like last night) she sleeps for 5 hours straight! I couldn't believe it. She really is a good baby and it isn't difficult to soothe her and get her to sleep if she is fussy ( If I'm there...aka she refuses a pacifier and would rather use me as one..) which can be difficult at times, especially during those extremely fussy nights when she'd just like to sleep attached to me all.night.long. I know we need to work on getting her to self soothe because soon mama will be heading back to work ( don't remind me :'( ) and not able to calm her myself. She loves to be rocked, but you have to be standing/walking around. Oh, and she is smart too, you can't sit in bed at night and sit up really really straight and pretend your "standing" up. Doesn't work. During those fussy nights I have my path I walk that goes like this...down the hall into the living room around coffee table into kitchen back down hallway into Ava's room, back into hallway into living room around coffee table... again and again. haha!
eating:
Ava is currently eating about every 3 hours...depending. If she is sleeping, I don't wake her up to feed her. Doctor said she is gaining weight perfectly so no need to wake a sleeping baby ( which is a-ok on my end! ) and trust me, she will let you know when she is hungry..she doesn't miss a meal. She loves to nurse and can go back and forth between a bottle and me with no problem. If she takes a bottle it is usually 4 oz of pumped milk. She really is pretty chill, as long as your giving her food! I mean she does come from a long line of italian women who love to eat so I can't blame her!
new milestones/achievements:
She is starting to find her voice ..I am absolutely loving all of her new coos and babbles! so adorable. I love when she does something new.. I try to get her to do it over and over again and get it on video, but it never works. hah! She is also getting pretty strong and is able to hold her head up! Only for a few seconds though. My most favorite new thing she does is smile/giggle. I don't care if you say its gas, I LOVE it! she is so smiley all the time and I am in love with that toothless grin! It is so awesome watching her grow and achieve new things. I can't help but look forward to each new milestone, yet I want her to stay this tiny forever!
likes:
I would have to say her favorite thing is eating.. hands down! she is so small that this category is difficult right now but she is quickly becoming more aware of her surroundings and becoming her own little person. She loves the sound of mommy and daddys voice ( she will turn her head to find us) , she loves bright lights/television and will stare at them forever, she also loves those baby einstein videos with the high contrast shapes and the music. We had her in bed watching on the laptop the other night and girlfriend was hooked! it was so cute watching her ! ( I keep saying everything is cute, sorry! I swear she pooped in the tub the other day and it was so loud. I thought that was cute too. what is wrong with me?! ) She loves to be held and rocked/swayed when she is upset and if that doesn't work..a car ride is the most fool proof method to calm her down and get her to sleep. Girl loves the car! She also loves a good foot rub! Thank YOU Aunt Nicki for discovering that! We went to Maryland a few weeks ago ( that is a whole different post I have to make! we had the best time!) and while I was showering/getting ready for the day, Aunt Nicki gave Ava a foot rub and she passed right out! Now we've been giving her them all the time! She spreads her toes and curls them around your hand, I just love it.
So there you have it, a little bit of our one, soon to be TWO month old baby girl :) Can't wait to see how much has changed in the next post, as so much already has in these few short weeks.
