Watch Ava Grow!!

Another month older??!! Slow down, time! This sweet baby brings us so much joy and laughter. This month she definitely has found her voice (a mini-Audrey maybe??), she smiles much more easily, and she has started beginning baby laughs. She is seriously the most easy-going baby EVER!! I used to think that Audrey was an easy baby, but not compared to Ava. As long as Ava has a full tummy, and it's not close to nap time, it's unlikely that you'll hear anything other than happy baby noises and squeals from this sweet girl.

Oops...I don't know any of her length, height, or head circumference. I'll find out at her 4 month appointment.

Sleep: So far, we've been doing well this week with 4 naps a day. The first 3 are her long ones which are each about 1.5-2 hours long. Her 4th nap is usually just 30ish minutes. Her night sleep is still rocking! She still doesn't sleep through the night every night, but she'll usually sleep 12 hours for 2-3 nights in a row, and then have a wake-up anywhere from 2:30-5 in the morning needing to eat. It's like she's just not quite ready to give up that middle of the night fully, but she doesn't need it all the time. She drinks down her bottle very quickly and is usually asleep, or very close to it, by the end of the bottle, so I'm only up with her in the middle of the night for 20-30 minutes a couple times a week. Nothing to complain about!!

Eating: If she's up in the night, she wants 6oz. If you don't make enough and have to put her down to make more, she'll let you know how displeased she is that she has to wait for more! If she didn't eat in the middle of the night, then her first morning bottle is 6oz. Usually the rest of her bottles are 4-6oz each.

Clothes: She still comfortably fits in a 0-3m size.

New Achievements of the Month:
1. She's found her voice! She loves singing (it's how I'm woken at 6:30-7 every morning, but it's so precious sounding that I don't even care that it's 6:30!), and she loves talking to the toys on the tray of her swing.
2. She smiles big gummy grins all the time! We took her to Parents' Night Out at church yesterday, and she was asleep when we went back to pick her up. I was buckling her in her car seat and she woke up, and just gave me the biggest, happiest smiles! Like she was saying, "Hi, Mommy!" Oh, she melts my heart!
3. Baby laughs!!! I've made her laugh a couple times, and Audrey has made her laugh a couple times. I love beginning baby laughter. It's not a fully belly laugh yet; but I know it's coming.
4. Securing her paci with her hand. She doesn't take a paci all the time, but it is my go-to when she's having a hard time settling herself for a nap, or if she wakes early from a nap and can't get herself back to sleep. As soon as I pop it in her mouth, she puts her hand right beside of it so that it won't roll away if it falls out.
5.

Things she likes:
1. The car - believe it or not! I used to dread car rides with her because she would just scream the whole time. Now, she falls asleep as soon as we pull out of the driveway!
2. Her big sister
3. The toys on her tray
4. The lights and music that are on her play mat
5. Taking a bath - another thing she used to hate and now loves
6. Singing/talking

Things she doesn't like:
1. Being hungry - but really, who does??

Other randomness:
1. We got her head checked out by a cranial specialist to make sure the bones in her skull weren't fusing together prematurely, and everything looked perfect. She just has a weird-shaped head (which she inherited from her mother - I can't wear hats because my head is narrow and long which is exactly what her head looks like. Poor girl)
2. She is in physical therapy once a week for having low tone (her head is still really wobbly and I have to carry her while supporting her head so it doesn't flail around). She's doing great with it, and we do exercises with her at home. The therapists love her because she's pretty cooperative. At worst, she'll fuss a few times if they're making her stretch or "work out" in a way that is hard/uncomfortable for her. Audrey LOVES going to physical therapy because the therapist gets special toys for Audrey to play with. I love physical therapy because they work Ava really hard and she's so exhausted from it that she naps the very best on physical therapy days.

I just love this sweet baby and can't wait to see what kind of firsts and new developments this next month brings us!

A video of her love of the giraffe on the swing....just to make you smile!