ANYWAY...
Ava is 6 months old! Last time I wrote a post, she was 4 months old and my oh my, she has come a long way since then!
She sits up like a champ now. She doesn't fall over ever except for when she tries to look around behind her or up in the air, then she will sometimes lose her balance. Otherwise I can just plop her on the floor, go get a drink, not worry that she's going to fall over and come back and she's still happy as can be!
She has been making movements lately from the sitting position to what appears might be a crawling position but so far she just flops right to her tummy instead of staying up on her hands and knees.
Ava is still toothless, even after I thought we were going to have an early teether given all the drool she has been making the last 3 months. I am so thankful that no teeth seem to be cutting through though!
We started Ava on some solids this past week and so far, she seems to be enjoying them much more than Jayden did at this stage. She seems to be swallowing some of the food whereas Jayden would just spit it right out. I tried rice cereal a couple of times because I got a "lecture" from the nurse practitioner at her 6 month appointment.
That's a story in itself...
First the NP gave me a **look** when I told her we hadn't started solids yet (kind of a mix between sympathy for my ignorance and disappointment that she had to explain something so obvious to a grown woman, bleh, never mind that the American Academy of Pediatrics says no solids till 6 months...) and then told me that it was important to start rice cereal as soon as possible. When I told her that I never did rice cereal with Jayden and I was just going to start her with sweet potatoes the way I did with Jayden, she then gave me another "lecture" about the importance of rice cereal and how breastfed babies don't get enough iron, blah blah blah. I would try to be respectful of this doctor's office's opinions but they always shoot me down and make me feel like I'm some sort of delinquent mother when it comes to the decisions that I've made. It's so annoying but we just have to deal with it for now. I do plenty of research and could probably teach that office a thing or two but unfortunately I just don't have the eloquence to do any justice to the information and so I just sit there and remind myself to keep my mouth shut next time and not ask too many questions!
So Ava has now tried rice cereal and sweet potatoes...and Jayden finishes her leftovers! Ha! Breastmilk will continue to be Ava's main source of nourishment though until at least a year. I have been pumping pretty consistently this time around and Ava takes a bottle very well so that continues to be a big sanity saver sometimes when someone watches her for me while I work or am gone for more than a couple of hours.
At her 5 month appointment, which was a sick visit because my poor girl had her first ear infection, Ava was about 17 pounds. At her 6 month appointment, which happen to also be a sick visit because she had a horrible cough, Ava had gained another 3 pounds and is now about 20 pounds! Interestingly enough, everyone thinks she is bigger than Jayden was at this stage but we looked at his records and Jayden was a couple inches taller and heavier at each stage so far! I LOVE my chunky babies!!
Ava is currently in size 3 diapers but we are having a heck of a time finding diapers that contain "stuff" very well. We had her in Pampers which were not containing the poo and pretty much every day, you could expect a giant blow-out. Proof of that is the fact that Jayden now asks if Ava has had a blow out when we change her diapers..."blow out Mama??" So we decided to switch brands and I got a box of Huggies but those have actually been worse because now they have started leaking the pee in addition to still having frequent blow outs. I think I need to get my cloth diapers back in working order. I have been putting it off and putting it off because I just don't feel like I have the time to do MORE laundry but we never had blow outs with Jayden. Another nice thing about the cloth diapers is they are better at keeping the bum dry and my little Ava's skin is so sensitive; she is always red it seems although thankfully, we have not had any really bad rashes. I'm sure the redness is still indicative of some soreness though so perhaps that will be my goal next weekend. Get the cloth diapers out!!
Ava is a little chatterbox, constantly making noises and over the past month or so has started saying "mama" and "dada". We know she doesn't know what she is saying really but my heart doesn't know that and it melts every time I hear her babbling about mama.
Ava's personality could not be contained inside of the Grand Canyon - it is HUGE. She is always smiling and grinning at anyone who will smile at her first. She saves her best smiles for her big brother and Jayden will often elicit big belly laughs out of her. He knows exactly what to do to make her laugh and is usually pretty willing to get her a toy or jump up and down to get a laugh out of her, often without me even asking him to do those things. Ava is always wiggling and grabbing things to put in her mouth. If you lay her down on the floor, she will roll clear to the other side of the room in a matter of minutes. She also makes the best expressions and sounds. She has started laughing to herself, or maybe at herself...she is her mother's daughter you know...That has to be my favorite thing at the moment. She will just be playing with something while I am busy cooking or cleaning and I will hear her make these little laughing sounds like something is just cracking her up to no end. It is hilarious and I laugh every time! I'm really not sure what to expect from this little girl, but I can tell she is going to be tons of fun as she keeps learning and growing!
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