Ava: 9 Months

Eating: I nursed her morning and night right up until the nine month mark, when a stomach bug and cold really took its toll on me. I still nurse her occasionally in the morning but it's more for comfort. She's getting around 5 5-oz. bottles of formula per day. Plus three meals of solids and finger foods. This month we started stage 3 chunky purees and some chicken/turkey/pasta type dinners. We've tried hummus, cucumbers, diced pears and strawberries this month, and she liked them all. Girl loves her groceries. She's getting less and less interested in milk (I actually have to work to get her to finish a bottle, which is new for us). I think she's starting to slim down because of it, which the doctor said is totally normal at this age as they start moving more and are more distracted eaters.

Sleep: Doing good here. Still the occasional early morning wake-up, but mostly sleeping 7pm-6am. She doesn't nap well at daycare, which is frustrating. Too much going on, plus I've probably spoiled her by rocking her to sleep at home, which they don't have the luxury of doing at daycare. We can usually get two good 1.5 hr naps from her at home on the weekends, sometimes longer if she's not feeling well or is worn out from the pool or something.

Illness: This month was no bueno. She got a really bad (yeast) diaper rash, plus we were still dealing with some rash/eczema issues. Then she got a stomach bug (one evening of vomiting, followed by three days of diarrhea, which didn't help the diaper rash). Then on the heels of that was a nasty cold/virus that had her sounding like a purring kitty and barking seal all at once. Of course, that was just in time for our 9 month "well visit." I don't think we've ever been well for a well visit. Maybe one day. Thankfully, her cough is sounding a lot better and I think we've almost got the diaper rash kicked. Of course, I got the stomach bug and cough too, and they took a much worse toll on me than her (thankfully). I think we're finally on the other side now but it has been a ROUGH two weeks. So tired of being the house of sick!

Activity: She loves being out and about. Eating at restaurants, shopping, going to the pool or park. She gets bored and fussy if we stay at home too long (like her mama, much?). And I broke down and bought her some new toys at Target because we were SO OVER playing with the same old things. She likes stacking her stacking rings, shaking anything that will rattle, dumping things out, knocking things over and playing with her musical/talking toys.

Milestones: Here I am waiting for her to crawl, and she decides to pull up instead, which I had no idea she was close to. We have a storage ottoman/toy box in the living room and she decided she really needed to see what was in it. She's not pulling up regularly though because she can't crawl over to things to pull on, she has to happen to already be sitting in front of something to pull up on. And speaking of crawling, she's moving more, scooting more and will walk her hands out far enough reaching for something that she gets onto her belly, but then she gets mad because she hates being on her belly. I think she's getting closer to figuring out how to get up on all fours but still not there yet. But oh, the waving. She has learned to wave and is so proud of herself. Homegirl loves to wave. You walk into the room and she lights up and starts waving. So cute. And she's even started making "buh buh" sounds when waving bye to me at daycare in the mornings. And yes, I stand at the window for 10 minutes waving at her like an idiot.

She's really starting to get develop a little personality now and it's so much fun. Here are some pictures from her ninth month of life.

Mother's Day flowers, cards and crafts :)



No margaritas for you!



Always with the hands behind the head, even in the car seat:



A sweet daddy-daughter moment:



Just out for a little picnic:



Ava's very first Aurora Fossil Festival:



River napping is good napping:



Loves swinging at the river:



A day of fun in the sun:



Sugar and Lee sharing a towel:



Watermelon at the river:



Sick baby snuggles:



Happy girl:



Loooooves mama's glasses:



Got that hand propped up:



Her very first school picture:



Out to lunch in her watermelon outfit from Aunt Erin:



First time at the pool!

Ava: 8 Months

I didn't mean for this blog to turn into just Ava's monthly updates. I do have other things I want to talk to you about, so maybe I'll find the time one day!

Eating: She's still nursing in the morning and evening, but we had to start giving her formula at daycare. She's now eating three meals of solids a day, two at daycare and one in the evening at home. In the evening she also gets finger foods of some sort, like puffs, banana, or watermelon. And she figured out the sippy cup this month and has gotten pretty good at it (we've just been putting water in it for now).

Sleep: We went through a patch where she was waking up too early, and was waking up earlier and earlier every day. It started with 5:45, then 5:30 then 5:15. She was obviously not done sleeping because she'd either fall back to sleep nursing or be up for an hour and then be ready for a nap. Finally she woke up at 4:30 and we let her cry it out (not fun at 4am!). We had some inconsistent sleeping due to travel too, but after a few nights of letting her fuss I think we're back on track. This week she's slept straight through from 7pm until 6 or 6:30am. (fingers crossed, knock on wood, please don't jinx us)

Illness: Good news on the ears front (again, knock on wood). By the time we saw the ENT, her ears weren't infected any more, just a little bit of fluid. And she hasn't been sick lately, so hopefully they won't get reinfected. We have a recheck with the ENT in a few weeks and hopefully the fluid will be gone by then and we'll be in the clear. I did take her to the doc once for her eczema. When she started on formula it really flared up, so we're still trying to figure out which formula to use. We started out with a regular one (Similac Advance) but I suspected a cow's milk allergy because she broke out around her mouth and her eczema on her belly and under her chin got really bad. We switched to Nutramigen (non-cow's milk hypoallergenic formula) and used a steroid cream the doctor prescribed and it cleared right up. I'm still not sure if she really needs to be on Nutramigen (it's stinky and expensive, so I'd prefer her not to be) so I'm trying to experiment to see if that's what caused the eczema or if it was something else going on or just coincidence.

Activity: This month we went to the park and swung for the first time, which she loved. I finally bit the bullet and started bathing her in the big tub. (She was taking baths in the infant tub inside the big tub.) She loooooves it and loves playing with her bath toys. We've gotten good at taking her to restaurants now with her sitting in the high chair. For the most part she's content to watch people come and go, munch on crackers and drop her toys on the floor.

Milestones: She finally mastered rolling from back to belly, so now she can roll to get to where she wants to go. She got her first boo boo at daycare after rolling herself into the bookcase there. We've found her on her belly in her crib a few times in the morning, but she still much prefers to sleep on her back. When we took a little family vacation to the beach last weekend we had fun watching her scoot around on her belly, although she can only really go backwards. She backed herself halfway down the hall at one point. And she's finally growing some hair, even though it's hard to see in pics. It's fine and light (who would've ever thought I'd have a blonde haired, blue eyed baby?) but filling in all over. Also, she pooped in the tub for the first time. That's a milestone, right?

She really is the sweetest. I'm having a harder and harder time coming up with "dislikes" every month. On this, my first Mother's Day, I couldn't be any more thankful to be her mama.

Swinging for the first time:



Going for a stroll at school:



Think this baby is doted on?




Enjoying a pancake at IHOP:



First time in the big tub:



Can you find the baby? (also, what happens to your house after you have a baby):



Close up:



Lashes for days:



Tupperware cabinet = hours of entertainment:



First trip to the beach:



Beaufort waterfront:



Lunch in Morehead City:



Trying out Granny's wig:



Blanket full of toys, and she wants Daddy's shoe:



First watermelon!



And you know I love my readers (or maybe just my baby's laugh?) when I'm willing to post a video of myself singing:

Ava: 7 Months

I can't get over how grown Ava looks in this month's picture. Also, babies in shorts? Cutest thing ever.

Clothing: mostly 12m and either 6-12m or 12-18m. Still in size 3 diapers.

Eating: She's getting better and better at eating solids and is seeming to enjoy it more. We've started some "finger foods" or baby-led weaning foods like banana and avocado. She mostly mushes them around and makes a mess but she does manage to eat some too. She also loves cantaloupe in the silicone feeder. And we just started giving her crackers (well, baby rice cakes and mum mums) and she loves those as well. We've started to introduce a sippy cup (with water or juice mixed with water) but she hasn't quite got the hang of it yet. She's still nursing in the morning and evening and getting 3 bottles of breastmilk at daycare, but I think we'll need to start supplementing with formula soon as I'm having a harder and harder time pumping what she needs and the freezer stash is quickly dwindling.

Sleep: Finally sleeping through the night! Well, sort of. We had gotten into a really good rhythm where she was sleeping through the night pretty consistently, but hit a bump in the road with sickness/ear infections. I think (hope and pray) we're on the upswing again though. We do bathtime/bedtime routine at 7:00, she's asleep by 7:30 and usually wakes up around 6:00 or 6:30. Naps are still pretty inconsistent (especially at daycare) although she's now taking a longer hour to hour and a half nap most days with a shorter nap, instead of several short 30 or 45-minute naps.

Illness: She still can't shake this ear infection, so we're likely on the path to tubes. We tried our third oral antibiotic this month with no luck. We have a consult with an ENT next week, but in the meantime she's on a strong antibiotic called Rocephin to try and get her comfortable until we can get the tubes in and hopefully get her some relief. Rocephin is in shot form, and she had to get one shot a day for three days (yesterday was our last day) so that has not been fun. She still hasn't gotten her 6 month vaccinations because we haven't been able to get her well enough. Hopefully next week though.

Activity: This month she likes playing with blocks, filling and dumping out containers, and grabbing/crinkling/ripping/eating paper of any sort. And with the nice weather we've been spending a lot of time outside, which she loves. We had the sweetest Sunday afternoon just laying on a blanket in the yard playing and relaxing.

Milestones: She's really started talking and babbling this month. A few times we've sworn it sounds like she's saying her name: "a-VA!" And there have been some da-da's but I don't think they were in context (although Lee might tell you differently). She's getting better at bearing more weight on her legs and standing but still much prefers to sit, which she does like a champ. And she's finally figured out how to roll from tummy to back. She rolled for the first time months ago but it was more of an accident and she never really got the hang of it. Now she's rolling consistently from front to back and although she hasn't fully gone from back to front she's getting really close. She's nowhere near crawling (her short chunky legs won't even allow her to get on all fours yet) and our laid back baby seems pretty content right now to stay put.

And now for pictures!

Trying out her new sunnies:



Loves avocado as much as her mama:



Picking out shrubs at the farmer's market on a cold Saturday morning:



This flower is too ridiculous not to put on her head:



Meeting the Easter bunny:



Cousin love:



Helping daddy plant the garden:



Sugar wanted to join:



Fun outside:



Heading home from daycare:



We love this sweet, sweet girl so much. She's such a light in our lives and we're so thankful to have her!

Ava's First Easter

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. We were all (relatively) healthy, which is unheard of for us on a holiday. (Although I did come down with the stomach bug within hours of arriving back home Sunday night.)

There were family dinners, pedicures, an impromptu visit with the Easter Bunny at the local mall, a trip to the park, Easter sunrise service, and the cutest little girl in her smocked dress and ridiculously big bow who was thrilled with her Easter basket. Pretty much the perfect weekend.















This pic makes me laugh so hard. I don't think Ava was as mad as she looks. I think it was just sunny.





Ava's Granny (Lee's mom) is currently undergoing chemotherapy, so we wanted to be sure to get a picture of her and Ava before she lost her hair (it's since fallen out). I know this is one that we'll cherish forever. I just love it:





Hope your Easter was as wonderful as ours!