ava mae: 4 months

little miss mae is 4 months old!  (actually, she was 4 months on the 5th, but i wanted to wait until her check up so i could update stats accordingly. )

ava weighs 15 lbs 3 oz (68%), is 26 inches long (95%), and her head is still in the 92%.  she is wearing a size 3 diaper, and i can kind of squeeze her into a size 3M for clothes, but a size 3-6M fits much better.

she is still strictly getting breast milk, both pumped bottles and nursing.  i am actually pretty proud of making it this far with breastfeeding, and my pediatrician is happy too.  we won't start any solids until after her 6 month appointment.  i am hoping to make it to 6 months with breastfeeding and then reevaluate.  if we can do the whole first year, that would be ideal, but it is hard with pumping at work.  apparently your supply starts to drop around 6 months also...so we will see.  she's a great eater though, and i send about 20 oz a day for her to eat at school and she nurses once before that and at least twice after.  so i think she's getting over 30 oz a day.  chunkers!

sleep is wishy-washy.  we still do our nighttime routine (bath, lotion, bottle/nurse, swaddle, down in the crib) and she has pushed her bedtime up to about 7PM.  (i say she because baby girl WANTS to go to bed around then. no joke...easiest baby to put to bed ever.)  some nights she will sleep from 7PM-7AM, but more often than not, she will sleep from 7PM-1AM, then from 1:30AM-about 5AM.  i can usually get her back down after the 5AM feeding for another hour or two, until i get her up to get ready for the day.

she is a super happy, smiley baby.  she is starting to figure things out, including who IS and ISNT momma.  she's started to show signs of being afraid of people and crying when new people hold her.  she does warm up though; it just takes time and patience.

she has had her 2nd overnight away from us on thanksgiving when oliver and i went to the aTM game, and she did great. my parents have a crib just like the one we have at home at their house, and my mom, sister, dad, and niece all tag teamed her and babysat while we were at the game.  we had a great time and i am so appreciative to have their help!

ava does great at daycare too.  she smiles at her (my) favorite teacher every morning when i drop her off, so its not so bad leaving her anymore.  i know they do tummy time with her and read books and sing songs, so i am happy that she's getting a lot of interaction there with them and with the other babies.

we love our girl and could not ask for a sweeter, easier baby!