Its official, Avery is growing up. Duh, that’s what babies do, right? Sure, but as a first time parent, every single change is new. With her latest feat of rolling over both ways, she’s now sleeping on her stomach (like her mom) and no longer requires being swaddled.

We are proud of our girl, but as most parents know, it’s bittersweet. But still, I really want to play and do more with her, so I’m okay with a little more growing up!

Monday was nothing out of the ordinary, Going Mom went (to work) and Avery and I did the usual as of late. “The usual” is now her staying up longer and hanging out with me as I get my workout of the day in and then taking her morning nap. She used to be ready to go back to sleep after an hour and a half of being awake in the morning, but now it’s more like 3 hours.

Fine with me, she seems to enjoy watching Daddy work out, and really loves it when I have to get on the ground for pushups or bear crawl. She’ll just crack a big grin and let out a semi-laugh. Her laughs are still a work in progress.

The Manhattan Toy Company sent us one of their new toys, Skwish Stix, to review and we got right to it before bath time. Right out of the box and Avery was ready to grab at it and apparently eat it.

I’d say she’s going to enjoy this toy better when she can sit up on her own. In the meantime, Mom and Dad can give her a hand. I’ll be posting a review on the Skwish Stix after Avery logs some good play time, so be on the look out. They are currently out of stock, so that must say something.

After our usual nightly routine, Kelley and I will sit in the living room where Kelley eventually falls asleep and I eat for almost 2 hours. It’s the only time where I actually sit down for a meal, so not like I’m going over my daily energy intake; if you cared.

Since it has been warmer lately, Avery has some heat rash around her body, so we decided to move the fan in our living room to her room. The problem is, that fan provided noise to help drown out the noise from me constantly getting up and down for more food while Kelley slept.

Solution? I used a white noise app on my iPad to help Kelley go and stay asleep as I frequented the kitchen. As a side note, we have the most expensive white noise machine in Avery’s nursery; Kelley’s iPad. Yep, that’s all it’s used for, but if it helps a baby sleep, isn’t it worth it?

Speaking of sleep, Avery is doing better in her own crib than when she’s in our bed. Usually, around 3 to 5 in the morning, I’ll bring her to our bed to feed and then she falls back asleep. Not so on Tuesday morning!

That girl was just kicking and rolling around between us. She found a good position with her feet kicking my stomach and hands slapping Kelley and kept attacking us both. Being one to make the best of situations, I simply turned around for a nice semi-massage on my back compliments of her kicking feet. Kelley, on the other hand, continued to get slapped.

Avery eventually started to get fussy and refused to fall back asleep, so I brought her to her room thinking I’d just have to sit up with her and roll around or maybe play peek-a-boo pushups.

First, I went to change her diaper and Oops!, she was a little dirty. Well crap (pun intended, I like those), I thought, I’d kick my parents too! After changing her, I set her in her crib to wash my hands and start a load of laundry as she rolled around and cooed to herself.

With the washer started, it seemed a little quiet in the nursery, and when I walked in, I found this…

Well okay then! And she slept for over an hour with no white noise or swaddle of any kind. What’s with this girl?! She even greeted us with smiles when we woke her up.

All day Tuesday, Avery was rather pleasant and didn’t fuss as much as usual. It helps that she wasn’t actually bitten by a snake! She did, however, turn into a grump as the day was coming to an end. Teething, heat rash, tired? Maybe all of the above, but one thing’s for sure, baby.

Our girl is getting older, as we all are, and we are proud of every new thing she accomplishes. Next up, crawling!

How did you find out your baby is able to sleep easier on their own?

Babies growing up; exciting, sad, or in between?