One Month

Stats:  
Weight - 8 lbs. 13.5 oz (39th percentile)
Head - 14 in (88th percentile)
Height - 21.25 in (55th percentile)

Strengths:  Ava is so strong and can hold up her head for quite a long time when placed on her tummy.  Similarly, she is very curious and loves to look around at the world whenever she can.  Ava is also starting to follow objects and sounds with her eyes.  The other day, I walked in a circle around her play mat, talking to her the entire time, and she followed me with her eyes and her head the whole way!  She's also beginning to make some sounds (besides screaming) and smile every once in a while!  Yay!!  We've begun giving her a breast milk bottle every few days, and I was so worried it was going to be a battle.  However, she took it like a champ and sucks down a bottle in no time whenever Brent gives her one.

Struggles:  Ava is sleeping pretty well at night, but she can't seem to get past the 4 hour mark.  She consistently sleeps for 2.5, 3, or 4 hours at night.  Some things I've read say they should be able to do 5 or 6 hours by now.  I'm hoping this will just happen naturally!  The evening time is still our biggest struggle.  Ava's fussy time is typically from around 7 pm - 10 pm, which is hard since it's the end of the day, and it's nearly impossible for us to make and/or eat dinner when trying to calm her.  She gets into what we call a "death spiral" where she works herself into a frenzy and sleep is just not gonna happen.  We try our hardest to intercept death spirals before they happen!

Loves:  Ava loves the car seat and falls asleep within a few minutes of driving anywhere.  This is really nice for Mama who can have lunch with friends pretty easily.  I just pop the car seat out of the car, bring it in the restaurant, and keep the cover on while we eat and chat.  She loves the white noise of a restaurant and usually stays asleep the entire time!  Ava also loves bath time - she sits quietly and looks around while she enjoys the feel of the warm water.  She doesn't like getting out, though... just like her Mama!  Finally, finally... Ava likes the swing!  We were so bummed that she hated it at first.  But, we kept working on it, and now it's one of the only ways we can get her to calm down and sleep during the day.  We even put her in there awake, and she puts herself to sleep!  Ava also loves her Vitamin D supplement drops.  It's so funny... she smiles and licks her lips every time I give them to her!  We call it her "candy", and it's her once daily treat.  If she's really crying and she hasn't had them yet that day, we can give her "candy", and it quiets her immediately.  Ava loves her play mat!  Every morning, she spends at least 15 minutes happily kicking and looking at the animals hanging down.  She spends some happy tummy time on her play mat, too.  Finally, Ava is a lover of white noise!  If she's screaming, a loud white noise will almost always stop her immediately.  We have a "white noise" app on our phones, and lets just say we have to charge our phones 2-3 times per day to keep up with baby girl's white noise habit.

Dislikes:  Ava screams and cries for every diaper change.  We try our hardest to make it cuddly and fun, but she is not a fan.  It is a surefire way to wake her up, though!  Ava is not super cuddly yet.  I am really looking forward to the day when she will respond better to cuddling, hugging, rocking, and kissing, but she does not yet.  Brent says we have to resort to "party tricks" like white noise, swaddling, and jiggling to get her to sleep.  I hope someday that rocking and cuddling will do the trick, but for now, it often makes her angry and she stiffens up and resists us.  We'll keep cuddling, though!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures taken lately!

{headband modeling}

{buddies.}

{pacifier skills}

{Blazer hearts Ava}

{mama & me}

{smiles!}

Ava, we love you so much and love seeing you grow and change every day!