She has grown drastically this month, both physically and mentally. This past month has been by far my favorite month with Ava.

Ava is 19 1/2lbs and 29 1/2 inches long! (she is in 98th percentile for length) I am still pulling for a basketball player or a rockette.

New Things for Ava

• Ava is now WALKING… she is getting more brave and stronger each day. It started out with 1 step, then 2, then 8, then 10. Pretty soon she will be running
• She loves pancakes, eggs, apples, pineapple, squash, sweet potatoes, meatballs, chicken, green beans, etc

• Her absolute favorite fruit is a banana, the girl can already eat 1/2 of it in one sitting. Her appetite is just like mine.
• You can give her cheerios any time of day and she will eat them
• She likes her sippy cup. We only give her water right now.
• Ava can clap her hands, usually she claps on her own terms but sometimes she will clap with us when it is appropriate
• Waving bye bye! This one is hit or miss.
• Dancing with her arms up over her head (hands down my favorite!)
• Playing on the playground, in particular the swing and the slide

• She has 4 top teeth and 2 bottom ones, those top teeth caused her a lot of pain and made us sleep a little less these past 2 weeks
• New words.. gaga, nenene which is her version of no.  She looks at Cooper when he steals her toys and says nenene (she primarily says mama, baba and dada) yesterday she said buh-bye for the first time!
• When the gate is up on the stairs, Ava is not happy! She will basically let out a fake cry and she needs someone to move it so she can make her way up the stairs.
• She loves Elmo, I’m not going to lie Elmo’s laugh makes me giggle too. SO if you need to smile click on this Elmo YOUTUBE Video

• Ava loves balloons and when we are in the store she laughs at them.

Ava does NOT like….

• Socks! She pulls at least one of them off within a minute of putting them on.. and if she isn’t fast enough Cooper will. He loves her feet.
• She doesn’t really like when we feed her, she wants to do it herself. Mrs. Independent
• Being left in a room by herself.
• Crazy, scary halloween stuffed animals and decorations at CVS.
• Begin stuck in the car seat for too long, she needs to be on the move.
• She hates diaper changes, and is Houdini on the changing table.
• The word no, she laughs instead… NOT FUNNY.

Well I am sure these 2 lists could go on forever but those were all I could whip together right now.

My update! 

A while ago I said I was going to stop these status updates, but my body and my goals are still changing so I want to share my progress with you.

• My weight is the same.. and probably will stay within a 2-3lb range.
• I have gained upper body strength, I increased my weights with all my exercises!! I am SO proud of that accomplishment!
• I did not reach my pull-up goal, I am not going to lie… I never practiced.
• My Core is a lot tighter, thanks to Paleo-ish clean eating and lifting more weights

MY GOALS for the next 2 months before we hit the 1 year postpartum mark is to keep getting stronger and to work on my pull-ups. It has been difficult to get some extra time to focus on them, but I am going to make a conscious effort too. I might need to invest in a Pull-up Bar!

What are some of your accomplishments this month? 

Did you have a goal that you reached?

What new changes would you like to see with your body, and how will you make it happen?

Ava is weighing in at roughly 18 lbs and is 29.5 inches long.

WHAT IS NEW?

Ava is now actively crawling ALL over the place. I thought I was fast, but man, she can move!! Sometimes I think to myself as she is crawling “I have plenty of time before I have to chase her” but then she surprises me at how quickly she can get into things… especially when she crawls so fast towards Coopers water bowl where she dumps it all over the place.

She tries to pull herself up on everything…..clearly she will be walking before we know it!

Oh yeah, and Ava also has 2 bottom teeth.

AVA LOVES:

• Crawling towards Cooper’s food & water bowl and thinks its funny to bang his bowl on the ground.
• Pulling herself up on the dishwasher or any cabinet.
• Her eating from her squeeze pouches and she likes little puff cereal
• the mirrors and looking at herself
• Pulling Cooper’s tail and touching his paws or face.
• Peek-a-boo… it never gets old to her
• obstacles.. and will crawl over pillows, Cooper, or whatever is in her way.
• sesame street.. whenever she hears elmo’s voice it excites her
• music
• being outside and being in her pool

EAT, SLEEP, & PLAY:

As long as her teeth are not bothering her she sleeps really well. Generally around 8pm-6:15am. Her naps are usually around the same time each day now. She either takes 2 good naps or 3 small ones. I am fine with either

It seems like she’s getting sick of a lot of the toys she has. She prefers to explore the cabinets (the ones that are childproof), she likes to hold spatulas, drop her toys from her high-chair to hear them bang on the floor, and likes to pull herself up and look out the front door to people watch.

This past week has been fun for me as Ava explores her VOICE. Yesterday she was clearly making mmmmmm sounds all day and I swear I am not making this up you can ask Marc, but she said Mom. She definitely doesn’t associate the “mom”  word with me, but she got me fired up when I heard her say it!! Bababa and dadada had been her lingo for the past few weeks, so clearly I was excited for the MMMMMM break through!!

POSTPARTUM UPDATE

I am pleased with the strength progress I have seen my upper body this month. I have been focusing on my arms, chest, and back a lot lately and I can tell that some exercises are getting easier. I have also been able to increase my weight in Group Power on the triceps, biceps, and back tracks.  My cardio strength is on point. When I did a cardio workout over the weekend, I was surprised at my speed and energy compared to Month 2 postpartum where I was incapable of completing a lot of the exercises.

I look forward to challenging my body in new ways in the next few months and learning new exercises to teach you all!!

AVA’S 5 MONTH UPDATE

Ava is now about 15lbs and 26 ¾ inches long!

EAT

About 2 weeks ago we tried solids. Ava had been staring at the food on my plate and reaching for it, so we knew it was time. Plus she has been taking so much formula and waking up starving in the middle of the night.

First we tried Rice cereal and to no surprise Ava was not a fan! I don’t blame her. I’m not into rice at all but I will eat it. We tried the rice cereal for a few days to see if those taste buds would change and if she would accept the texture but that didn’t happen. So on to  Squash we went, and it was a huge hit. Ava was literally grabbing the spoon out of my hand and sticking it into her mouth. WIN! She’s just like me and enjoys her veggies.  We started oatmeal 2 days ago and she seems more accepting of it. This is great because she needs something that will keep her full for a longer period of time.

This morning she tried green beans, and again she liked them! Do you think it is possible to skip the rice and oatmeal??

I can’t wait to try more veggies & soon fruits. We have sweet potatoes next on the list, I hope she likes them as much as I do

SLEEP

Ava is a great sleeper. The other night she slept for 12 straight hours waking up only 1 time to have a bottle. I am SO impressed.  Over the last week or two we have had some sleep disturbances due to Ava coughing. It doesn’t wake her up but Marc and I wake up! We didn’t know what to do so we took her to the Doctor. The Dr said she looks healthy besides the cough but maybe we should see an allergist or a GI doctor to see if she has Reflux or allergies. After analyzing her cough and symptoms, we think it is reflux! I guess we need to schedule an appointment to see what we can do.

Besides us waking up in the middle of the night for an hour straight, she really is easy in the sleep department. Her naps are pretty consistent. She takes 1 long nap (1 ½ – 2hrs) and 2 or 3 mini 30-45 min naps per day.

I do hope we get this cough under control so that Marc and I can sleep better! I don’t know about you but I need my sleep!!

PLAY

Of course play-time is the best. Who doesn’t want to see Ava laughing and giggling all day long. When we are playing everything else on my agenda and to-do list can wait. I get caught up with her fun personality. Ava uses her walker now. She doesn’t walk in it but plays and likes to be upright. She loves to make new noises now. She screams, chirps, oohs, & mmms, and has been testing out her voice a little bit more. Ava loves stuffed animals, especially her live stuffed animal Cooper. She reaches to pet him and when he licks her she smiles and laughs!

She can sit up on her own for short periods of time, and loves to play with her feet. Pretty soon she will be sticking them in her mouth.

She loves her cousin Natalie and Aunt Melanie

MY UPDATE

I am happy to say that I feel no pain or tightness in my shoulder and my strength is gradually improving.  I am keeping my fingers crossed it stays this way but I am sure I will run into some soreness here and there.

This past week I was able to lift a little bit heavier, and I am more comfortable doing pushups thanks to my Physical Therapist Melissa. She is the best! I love how she makes the tiniest tweak in my form to improve my shoulder mobility and strength. I learn a lot from her.

My weight is the same, but I am not trying to lose any more weight I am happy with where I am. I do notice that my arms are getting a little more toned thanks to being able to lift more weights! It is so nice not having to modify movements at this point. I don’t need to think about my injury with daily tasks and I am hoping I can put the injury behind me now! For the next month my goal is core strength and improving flexibility all over!!

This pic is a sneak peak at the Mommy & Me workout I am going to post this week that I did with Ava!

AVA

Ava’s current weight is 13lb 14oz we don’t have a length update because she hasn’t officially had her check up since she’s been sick, but she is very long and is in 6 month clothing!

This last month has been pretty crazy and Ava has officially been sick for a full month! It started off with a cold that turned into a bad cough. This cough lasted for weeks and we made several trips to the Doctor. It seemed like we had tried almost everything. A nebulizer, humidifier, steamed shower, fresh air, benadryl, and then finally…

the Doctor put her on antibiotics and within 48 hours the cough disappeared. As much as putting her on antibiotics was difficult it was the right choice and sometimes medicine is needed! At that point we were ready for anything to help her get better.

2 days after the cough went away, Ava broke out in a fever! The highest was 102.5 so back to the doctor it was. Poor little girl had a sore throat on top of everything. She must’ve caught a virus at daycare. Lots of rest and a little Tylenol were Ava’s plans over the weekend. Now she’s getting better each day but we have some teeth coming in, so I can sense some discomfort. Her hands are constantly in her mouth.

EAT 

Ava has been eating through her sickness, which is great. She might’ve taken a little less at some meals but she’s like her mama and can’t skip a meal.

SLEEP

Sleep has been interrupted this past month (mainly for Marc & I) we woke up to her coughing night after night and were more worried then anything. Ava would mostly sleep through the coughing in the middle of the night but sometimes they woke her up and then she would take a bottle and go back to sleep!

She has been napping more, which is fine because we needed her healthy!

PLAY

On to the fun part… play time! I love it and so does she. Ava learned to roll over at 3 ½ months! She has been reaching for toys and grabbing things left and right including my hair!

My ultimate favorite thing that has happened over the last month is hearing Ava giggle. It is hands down the cutest thing ever and I am pretty sure it will make you smile too.

ME

Now… on to my journey at 4 months postpartum. I have seen a lot of improvement in my shoulder strength since my last update. It was slow and steady for a while, but over the last 3 weeks I am feeling more and more like myself! I am gradually increasing the weights in my classes and each week I surprise myself with something new I can do.

When I started planks at Physical Therapy, I thought 20 seconds felt like an eternity and now 1 minute is a piece of cake! Seeing that type of progress in less then a weeks time keeps me motivated!

Eating..I am very proud of my food choices. I have been making very healthy dinners and choosing healthy snacks throughout the days. Sure I have the occasional ice cream night but for the most part I feel like I have eliminated most of the processed granola bars that I sometimes sneak in to my busy days.

My weight has stayed the same… and I’m still achieving my goal of increasing strength. Some areas I want to improve on this month are once again my shoulder strength, and I want to add in more cardio days!

Stay tuned for some more updates