Ava Rose at 1 month

 Nugget is a full month old, for real, we made it four full weeks y'all! Being a mommy is indescribable - tiring and thrilling all at the same time.  We are completely smitten with this tiny human being. Some facts about our sweet girl:

• will take a paci about 50% of the time one is offered, and only wants the Advent Soothies brand
• looks like mommy with daddy's nose and eye color
• loves going for rides in the car
• likes to take walks around the neighborhood and stays completely alert for them
• prefers to do tummy time and activity time in the morning
• mostly fussy in the late evenings and night
• doesn't care for swaddling, we use a halo sleepsack and keep her arms free

April 2015

Weight: 5 lbs, 11.5 oz at the 2 week visit; she had gained all the weight she had lost.  In the days following her birth she dropped to 5lbs 2oz and we had to feed her every 2 hours.  She was such a sleepy baby we had to strip her to her pamper to encourage her to eat.  At two weeks we were told we could feed every 3 to 4 hours.  

Length:  19.5 inches

Hair: light brown / blonde and wispy.  Our darling girl was born with plenty of hair in the back and sides but it was very thin on top.  Four weeks in she has lost most of the hair on top and it has been replaced by new growth that is so blonde it's barely noticeable.

Eyes: brown

Clothes:  Newborn, I think we have few more weeks left in them.  Honestly, they swallowed her whole for the first three weeks and only recently look like they fit correctly.  We mostly dress her in footed sleepers and I prefer to keep her hands covered.

Diapers:  Newborn, I think we will be in them for a few more weeks.

Sleeping:  Every night is different.  Some nights she will go down in her bassinet and sleep for 3-4 hour stretches.  She either wakes us up to nurse or I set my alarm to wake her, but usually it is pretty close to 3 hour stretches.  Sometimes she goes back to sleep and sometimes she is super fussy.  Our girl struggles with gas pains and, like most babies, she fights sleep.  Other nights we are up begging, pleading, rocking, and bouncing. Oh and we have co-slept with her because sometimes you will do anything to get sleep.

Likes: Only wants to be held and will fuss if she is put down.  The song, "You are my sunshine", I sing it every morning while I change her and get ready for our morning feed.  I've also noticed that "Old MacDonald" will get her attention if she starts whining.  She likes to get real baths and she loves to nurse.  

Dislikes:  Sponge baths, diaper changes, quiet rooms, not being held.

Feeding:  Breast milk all day every day.  She received her first bottle a few days after the 4 week mark and will have to continue using a bottle every now and then to get her used to it.  I plan to nurse when I'm with her but she will be on the bottle in daycare.

Ava's favorites:  Little Me sleepers from Belk (they are a bit smaller than other brands and fit her petite frame well), Bright Starts Owl rattle, Advent Soothies pacifiers, the Piano Guys station on Pandora, Halo sleepsacks, the hairdryer sound on the Whitenoise app - a total lifesaver.

Milestones:  First bath, first car ride, first Easter, first bottle, first outing...a whole month of firsts!  We also started tummy time and we got our first shot.  

Our first Easter, Ava Rose was only 4 days old and such a bitty baby.  She woke up with a chin rash that improved by afternoon.  We had her newborn photo shoot in the evening.

Loves to be held while she sleeps.

 She enjoys her carseat and will usually sleep during a car ride and sometimes in her stroller.

 Early morning picture of her yoga stretches before breakfast.

 Playtime on her activity mat, she doesn't realize yet that the piano plays when she kicks it but she loves that purple rattle toy.

 Bright eyed after breakfast, she likes to play in the mid to late morning.  She adores staring at you when you talk or sing to her.

 Ava Rose's first bottle.

Grandma comes to visit a few times a week.

Lady Belle loves the baby and looks for her first thing every morning.

She usually falls asleep on her daddy's chest in the evenings...

or on her mama after a feeding.

The doctor cleared us for tummy time at our two week check up.

First bath!  She whined a bit at first, but in the end she loved it and it calmed her down enough to sleep mostly through the night.

Family picture with our 1 month old!

It's been a whirlwind month and we are getting more confident as parents.  Our girl is so strong, especially her legs (I'm convinced she will crawl early) and she is developing her own daily routine.  She is awake for longer stretches now and has her own opinion of bedtime.  Ava keeps us on our toes and we have enjoyed watching her grow...she has changed so much in four short weeks and we can't wait to see what May will bring!