ava mae: 10 months

well, this is only a couple of weeks late.  oops.  its going to be short and sweet....i debated just waiting until her 11 month blog and doing a 2 for 1 deal, but i know i would regret it later.

so.


ava is 10 (and a half) months old!  her little personality is coming out more and more every day.  she is testing boundaries, both literally and figuratively, and she's challenging us and entertaining us on the regular.

ava is still breast-feeding, nursing in the mornings, typically once a night, and then taking half pumped half formula bottles to daycare.   i am so proud that we made it this far, but i am happy to see the end in sight.  when she's over-tired and i try to nurse her, she bites me on purpose and then laughs when i react....so thats not fun.  she made it 9 months with breastmilk as her primary source of nutrition so these last two months mixing in formula doesn't bother me.

she is eating most everything we eat, with the exception of sweets.  i cut everything up pretty small because she does tend to shove everything in her mouth, but this girl EATS.  tonight she had meatballs, ravioli, carrots, and apples.  she also likes hummus and mexican rice and beans.  we still do baby food at daycare, just because i worry about them cutting up her food, but i am going to make that switch soon and let them give her real food there too.  she drinks (and LOVES) water from a sippy cup, straw, water bottle....really anything that has water in it, she wants a drink from it.  she can also suck the baby food out of baby food pouches, which makes it handy when we are on the go.

she's officially pulling up and cruising, and walking with the assistance of a walker.  she hates to be confined, and loves to go go go!  we have only one real baby friendly area at our house, so its been tough to get things done with her being so active.  i don't know if we will "baby proof" or just wait this time out.  we will see.

ava got tubes in her ears a couple of weeks ago, and since then she has been sleeping better (about 7:30PM-7AM, with one wakeup to nurse), and i am so glad we did the surgery.  it was super easy, quick, and the hospital and doctor were both great.

she's wearing a size 12M in clothes and 3 diapers, but we really need to move her to size 4 diapers.  and i think she will be in size 18M by her first birthday.  if i had to guess at her weight....i would say around 22-25 lbs?  i just got her a convertible car seat so we don't have to switch carseats back and forth from mine and olivers car, although her infant seat is good up to 35 lbs.  she will stay rear-facing in the new seat to the weight restrictions, which is 40lbs.

she's very opinionated, and for that i call her the diva.  her other nickname is "bunny"....and we are basing her first birthday around that!  i can't believe i am planning a first birthday party for this sweet girl.  its been a whirlwind 10 months.

she loves baths, daddy, harley, FOOD, singing songs, and being outside.  she's not a fan of momma walking away, being confined, or new faces.

we love our big 10 month old girl!

ava mae: 9 months

our booger bear is 9 months old! only 3 months away from being a big ONE YEAR OLD!  as always, its hard to believe.  this has been the fastest 9 months of my life.  as my mom said the other day, she has been outside the womb for as long as she was in it.  that is crazy to think of!

ava is 19lbs5oz (70%), 28 3/4 inches long (88%), and her head is 18 inches around (92%).  she is still rocking that big noggin!  she is wearing a size 12M in clothes and a size 3 diaper.

she is now getting three solid meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  she typically gets pureed fruits and veggies, sometimes with oatmeal thrown in, and i also give her yogurt melts after she eats.  lately i have been trying to give her some type of table food at each meal too--cut up pasta, bananas, green beans, etc.  i don't think she gets a ton in her mouth, but she likes to try and feed herself.  she gets water from a sippy cup with her dinner too.  she still is breastfeeding, taking about 16-20 oz with her in bottles to school each day, and nursing once before and once after school.  some days if i don't pump enough, we do supplement her bottles with an ounce of formula, but 90% of what she is getting is still breast milk.

sleep is getting better, finally.  she has added a third nap in to her schedule right at the time we pick her up from school, so her bedtime has been pushed back to 8-8:30ish.  once she's in bed, she can sleep until about 4-5AM when she wants to nurse, and goes right back to sleep until about 7am.  then she naps at about 9AM and 1PM, each for an hour or so.  one night this week she slept from 8:30PM-7AM!  which was amazing.  i finally let her have two lovies in the crib with her, a dog and a duck, and she sleeps between them.  i think she likes feeling secure with them in here with her.

we officially have a mobile baby in the house, as ava is now CRAWLING!  well, really, she scoots, but she is able to get to her destinations pretty quickly.  she can go from sitting to crawling down on her belly and back to sitting quite easily.  she makes the cutest grunting sounds when she is trying to crawl around--i can tell when she is trying to escape her play area in the living room by the sounds she makes.

she still only has two teeth, but they are getting bigger.  i don't see any others trying to come through, but those two bottom ones came in so quickly, i don't know what to expect with any future teeth!

the biggest hurdle we are facing right now is her 6th consecutive ear infection.  we are finally giving in and taking her to an ENT in the next week or so.  i am fairly certain they will do tubes for her ears. i am bummed and worried about doing the tubes, but also i hate the fact that she's on antibiotics just about every month.

she also had a bad cough this past week which turned into some wheezing and trouble breathing.  i took her to the doctor yesterday and they agreed that she was wheezing, so we did a breathing treatment there in the office. luckily her oxygen levels were good, so not an emergency, but we did bring home a nebulizer for continued treatments as needed here at the house.  the doctor thinks its just seasonal allergies and reactions to all the pollen.

i know i say this every time--but we just love this baby. she is so sweet and funny, and her reactions and faces she makes are priceless.  she charms everyone she meets and is so good natured.  she is IN LOVE with her daddy, and looks more like him everyday.  she also loves her teacher ms. kristy at school, harley, strawberry yogurt puffs, baths, swinging, and being outside.  she even laughs at the sweedish snot sucker!  she gets fussy when she's hungry or overtired, and thats really about it.

thank you sweet ava mae for making me a momma. i am glad you chose me!  happy mothers day everyone!