1/3rd of your first year is complete- crazy! This month was a complete joy for us. You really did grow out of the newborn stage and into a baby with personality and interest in everything around you. Towards the end of the month it was astonishing at how fast some of the changes were occurring- suddenly you were a rolling, squealing, laughing bundle of joy. You seem to be growing out of a lot of your reflux/fussy problems (for the most part). You're also able to entertain yourself for longer periods of time now, though you still favor being held and carried around (particularly when Mom and Dad are eating dinner).
Sleeping: Daycare wears you out! You come home and sometimes want to nap before bedtime. Bedtime is currently around 8:30pm and it's one of the best parts of my day- we read stories and snuggle while you drink your last bottle, with the lights dim. It is such a sweet feeling. You sleep from 8:30pm to 5:30am, so 9 hours straight- you go baby Nora! Then you go back to bed for another 2 hours. Daytime sleep is much more difficult particularly at daycare- you are not one of those babies that will just sleep through anything. Usually you get maybe 2 hours of sleep at daycare (and usually not all at once but in 1/2 hour increments). But since you're sleeping through the night, I certainly don't mind too much!
Oh, and we made the big transition from the Rock-n-Play to the crib- it went great! We propped the crib up at first so it still had an incline like the RnP, but after a week of that I removed it and now you're sleeping fine in there flat. But.... we still haven't de-swaddled. I'm scared. As soon as we let your arms go they're all up in your face, going crazy, in your mouth, in your eyes- yikes! I think you might be able to fall asleep without the swaddle at night but I'm worried you'll be waking up every hour. But we have to do it pretty soon because you're rolling now and you can often get out of the swaddle.
Miss Crazy Arms:
Eating: Breastfeeding took a major hit this month- namely, you developed a strong bottle preference. :( I can't really blame you- the flow is apparently much faster (even though we switched to "preemie flow" nipples). It's been quite the struggle because you're constantly latching on, latching off, latching on- and my supply was dropping. I started supplementing about halfway through the month with formula and it definitely has been helping both of us. I can still pump enough for the milk you drink at daycare, but I'm frustrated enough that I might be slowly dropping nursing sessions in the next month until my supply is low enough to not be worth it. I've come to actually really like our bottle sessions though because we can read stories together and it goes much smoother than nursing lately. I'm so proud that I've made it to 4 months breastfeeding though with all the time I spend pumping and nursing! I know most people won't understand it, but it means a lot to me to be able to do this for you as long as possible. I wish I could do it longer.
Weight: At your 3 month appointment, you only weighed 10 lbs, which is less than the 5th percentile, so I got a little worried even though the pediatrician said it was fine. That led to my decision to start supplementing a little because your rate of growth according to my calculations had declined from the previous month. And at your 4 month appointment? You weighed 12 lbs 9 oz! Holy weight gain! I think you were playing catch up from the month before. Now you're in the 25th percentile for weight and height (23.5" long).
Diaper Size: Size one, but they're definitely starting to get tight. We have one more giant box of them though, so I'm hoping they last for a little longer, then we'll move up to size two.
Clothes Size: Mostly still 0-3 months, but you've started to outgrow them. You fit Carters 3M size pretty much perfectly right now, but I'm sure in a couple of weeks they'll start to be too small. You have lots of cute 3-6 month clothes though and they're more appropriate for colder weather, so it's probably good that you're getting big enough for them.
Milestones/Firsts: You made your first outloud laughter. I love those little happy shrieks and squeals! You also got your first sickness. You got very good at grabbing for toys- you love your playmat right now and the monkey and the elephant that hang down. You started doing "baby
crunches"- pulling your chest and head up while lying down- I think in preparation for sitting. When we pull you up now your head doesn't flop back but stays inline with your body. There was lots of "talking"- trying out different octaves and different vowel sounds. And you learned to roll! (see the youtube sensation here).
Oh, and we made the big transition from the Rock-n-Play to the crib- it went great! We propped the crib up at first so it still had an incline like the RnP, but after a week of that I removed it and now you're sleeping fine in there flat. But.... we still haven't de-swaddled. I'm scared. As soon as we let your arms go they're all up in your face, going crazy, in your mouth, in your eyes- yikes! I think you might be able to fall asleep without the swaddle at night but I'm worried you'll be waking up every hour. But we have to do it pretty soon because you're rolling now and you can often get out of the swaddle.
Miss Crazy Arms:
Eating: Breastfeeding took a major hit this month- namely, you developed a strong bottle preference. :( I can't really blame you- the flow is apparently much faster (even though we switched to "preemie flow" nipples). It's been quite the struggle because you're constantly latching on, latching off, latching on- and my supply was dropping. I started supplementing about halfway through the month with formula and it definitely has been helping both of us. I can still pump enough for the milk you drink at daycare, but I'm frustrated enough that I might be slowly dropping nursing sessions in the next month until my supply is low enough to not be worth it. I've come to actually really like our bottle sessions though because we can read stories together and it goes much smoother than nursing lately. I'm so proud that I've made it to 4 months breastfeeding though with all the time I spend pumping and nursing! I know most people won't understand it, but it means a lot to me to be able to do this for you as long as possible. I wish I could do it longer.
Weight: At your 3 month appointment, you only weighed 10 lbs, which is less than the 5th percentile, so I got a little worried even though the pediatrician said it was fine. That led to my decision to start supplementing a little because your rate of growth according to my calculations had declined from the previous month. And at your 4 month appointment? You weighed 12 lbs 9 oz! Holy weight gain! I think you were playing catch up from the month before. Now you're in the 25th percentile for weight and height (23.5" long).
Diaper Size: Size one, but they're definitely starting to get tight. We have one more giant box of them though, so I'm hoping they last for a little longer, then we'll move up to size two.
Clothes Size: Mostly still 0-3 months, but you've started to outgrow them. You fit Carters 3M size pretty much perfectly right now, but I'm sure in a couple of weeks they'll start to be too small. You have lots of cute 3-6 month clothes though and they're more appropriate for colder weather, so it's probably good that you're getting big enough for them.
Milestones/Firsts: You made your first outloud laughter. I love those little happy shrieks and squeals! You also got your first sickness. You got very good at grabbing for toys- you love your playmat right now and the monkey and the elephant that hang down. You started doing "baby
crunches"- pulling your chest and head up while lying down- I think in preparation for sitting. When we pull you up now your head doesn't flop back but stays inline with your body. There was lots of "talking"- trying out different octaves and different vowel sounds. And you learned to roll! (see the youtube sensation here).Likes/Dislikes: You really hate the carseat and riding in the car. I think I've seen marginal improvement at the end of this month when I turn the radio up louder, but you usually cry the entire time I'm driving. Thank god daycare is so close. You still hate the swing. You love your playmat and like the bumbo (see picture below) for at least a short period of time. You love baths now- yay! Also, you started to get really interested in our cats. They better watch out once you start getting mobile!
It's also clear that you know who certain people are now- like you definitely know mommy and daddy! You also know who your main teachers are- because when a different teacher comes in I've heard you are not a fan. Luckily I don't think you've scared away too many of our babysitters... yet. :) You find the mirror more interesting than ever before- we can definitely see your growing awareness of other people (or in the case of the mirror, that awfully cute baby looking back at you).
Sweetpea, you amaze us each and every day, and since we don't get to spend 24 hours a day with you, we try to make each hour we do get worthwhile. I love that each day might hold a new surprise of what you might do. We're looking forward to all the fun that month five is going to hold!
Wow, so crazy that Nora's 4 months! But then again, Evan's 2 months old now, and even crazier he's already outgrowing some of his 0-3 month clothes! Carter's still can fit, but other brands have gotten too short in torso for him. For example, we had to upgrade to the 3-6 month size for gerber onesies already and even those I'm worried won't last much longer. Overall, not very impressed with the gerber sizing. Anyway, really enjoyed your summary. Amazing how much of a growth spurt she had between 3-4 months!
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