4 months going on 4

Moving past the 3 month mark seemed to bring a huge change in Ava. While Chris happily enjoyed her cuddly "leisure-suit Larry" babyness, she's quickly become an independent free-thinking lady. Gone are the days of snuggles and sleepers. Now she would rather explore than be held. Not that Emily can complain much since this allows for more time to get things done around the house without Ava crying to be picked back up. As long as she can see you, she's fine. We purchased a bumbo (by suggestion of Tiff...thanks!) and she seems to like it. (Well, for about 15-20 minutes then she needs to move on to activities that allow her to move about.) Some milestones this month include rolling over from tummy to back, first bites of cereal (loves it...if only she could better control her tongue), and holding her head steady when pulled upright. She LOVES to talk. Thank God her squeals sound more like stridor at this point. (She hasn't figured out quite yet how to make them noisy.)

However happy we are for these milestones to be reached, there are other 'no no's' that we could do without. First, since Emily returned to work, Ava refuses to breast feed unless it's her 5 am feeding. So, Emily has been pumping 5-6 times per day to keep up with Ava's demand so we don't have to start formula. Emily figured out that she's pumping or feeding Ava for a total of 6 hours per day. In fact, she's pumping so much that the motor broke on her pump. (Thank goodness Medela sent a new one free of charge.) So, we're not sure how much longer we'll continue with breast milk.

Second, Houdini seems to visit Ava in the middle of the night and help her out of her swaddle. On Emily's last week of night shifts (hurray) she managed to break free nearly every night at least once and on one occasion every 2 hours. This wouldn't be a problem if she could fall back asleep on her own. But, she wakes us up, needs to be re-swaddles and then rocked back to sleep with the Binky. We luckily figured out the problem. It's been hot so since our only swaddles are fleece, we've been putting her in it in just her diaper. So, her slick little arms are able to work their way out of the velcro strapped sides. We've ordered some lighter weight ones that will hopefully arrive this week so that we can put her in a onesie when it's warm outside. For now, we're thankful this last weekend was cool.

Third, she's taken to hair pulling. It doesn't matter if it's head hair or chest hair, any will do. And once she's got a handful she'll then attempt to put it in her mouth. Needless to say it becomes a battle of strength vs tenacity. Ava usually wins. Maybe this is why Emily's hair has suddenly been falling out by the handfuls...

She's around 13 pounds and 25 inches long. (Yes, she's tall...Chris is just hoping she's more the volleyball playing tall vs. the shot put throwing tall.)

Goals for next month...getting rid of the binky during sleep and hopefully loving the boob again.

Loving the music

Every Iowa girl needs bibs