One Month!

Weight & Height: 10 lbs 7 oz and 21.5" long!  Wow!

Clothes & Diapers:  Newborn clothes at first, but transitioning to 0-3 month outfits since some of the newborn outfits (mainly PJs and onesies) were getting snug or too short.  Was in newborn diapers, but we started Size 1 yesterday after finishing off a newborn pack.  They were getting to be a little tight and she had some leakage several times.

Eating & Sleeping: She eats every 3 hours during the day and has a little bit of wake time each time after her diaper change.  Sometimes we just snuggle and talk, sometimes we play in the jungle gym, sometimes we go for walks, sometimes she just cries when she gets too tired (but that's happening less and less thank goodness).  Then she sleeps until her next feeding.  She nurses from both sides for about 15 minutes each, and then I pump briefly after the 7 am, 10 am, and 1 pm feedings.  At 10 pm, I nurse her and put her down for the night and she sleeps until 2/2:30 am.  Parker changes her diapers at night and then I nurse her and she goes back down until about 7 am.  I am loving the schedule she's on!

Mood:  Sometimes super happy and content, sometimes gassy/cranky... but without the dairy, she's getting better.  She's super sweet and content in the mornings, but in the evenings, she definitely goes through the "bewitching" hour around 6 - 9 pm.  Overall, huge improvement from the first week and a half.

Likes: Sleeping on Mommy's chest, swinging in the swing, bath time, looking at my jungle gym, snuggling with Mommy & Daddy

Dislikes: Tummy time, when Mommy has ice cream, cheese, or yogurt, reading books (she cries or falls asleep, but we're working on changing that!)

Milestones:  First smile, first bath, first walk in the neighborhood, first bottle, first trip to the beach (for cousin Ryan's wedding), first trip to the river (for Ms. Maxine's funeral), and first time at church

Sentimental Things Mommy Wants to Remember: cuddles on the couch and in the bed, sweet smiles and faces while she sleeps, her intense gazes at her daddy (especially during bath time)

Practical Things Mommy Wants to Remember: Ava Kate sleeps best when she's swaddled, even though she went about a week where she hated being swaddled, she sleeps on her side, it took 3 weeks for her umbilical cord to fall off and it bled before and after falling off, I started pumping at week 3 and only got about an ounce at first, but it's slowly increasing... if I just pump and we feed her a bottle, I get between 3.5-4 oz in about 5 minutes.

Parenting Stories: Parker got pooped on when he was changing Ava Kate on the changing pad.  Poop went everywhere!  The dresser, the door, the floor, his hand, the clean diaper, the changing pad.  As I was telling my cousin Rebecca about it while I was doing a diaper change, AK pooped on me!  Fortunately, it wasn't nearly as bad!  Then, she had a blow out her first Sunday at church and when Parker picked her up to put her on the changing table, he got poop on his shirt.  Fun times!  :)  There have been several times that Parker and I have looked at each other and shrugged and said, "I dunno," but we've been able to laugh at ourselves!

Just for fun...