8 Months

Grow Bear

Ava's big accomplishment this month was clapping. I was playing Pat-a-Cake with her one evening and afterward, she decided to try it out herself. It was so incredible to watch her little mind working to figure it out. She stared at her hands for quite a while and then brought them together a few times. Then she sped it up and all of a sudden she was clapping! She was so proud of herself (I'm sure the praise from mama helped too)! 

Ava is still completely content sitting up and playing. No interest in crawling yet. When I lay her on her belly, she just stays there and lets me know when she wants to sit again. Forget rolling over too. She did that a few times one day and called it good! 

I'm so thrilled to say that Ava's sleeping has improved! One night while Ava was crying it out, I Googled how to stop swaddling because it was clear Ava was uncomfortable in her swaddle, but she just plain couldn't sleep without it. That's when I found our saving grace: the Zippadee-Zip! This thing is a miracle worker. It's designed with babies exactly like Ava in mind. Although she's not technically swaddled, there is still a bit of restraint and her hands are enclosed. The day I got it, I put her in it and she rolled onto her side and slept through the night for 11 hours! Naps immediately went from 30-40 minutes to 1 1/2-2 hours! This thing has been a game changer!

Ava is a great eater. She chows down on anything I offer her. This month I started giving her Mum-Mums and she loves them. She uses her two bottom teeth to take little bites. It's so cute to watch!