It's true...babies really do grow too fast. I already miss her super snuggly little newborn self so much. I still get little moments of it, and those are the best.
Being a mom gets better and better. Some days I am truly overwhelmed with love for her and gratitude for my sweet perfect little daughter. Other days I'm just overwhelmed. The difference seems to be directly correlated to the amount of sleep I got the night before.
Speaking of sleep. Forget everything I said last month about Mariah sleeping for long stretches and only getting up to eat once. That has become a distant memory. I feel like we are back at square one. She usually stays somewhat asleep from about 8 pm to 7 am but she gets up to nurse or play every 2-3 hours around the clock. So tired. I felt like sleep training was a non issue before since I was really fine with the previous arrangement. Not anymore. Something's gotta give. Words of advice are welcome.
At four months, Mariah likes:
Blowing spit bubbles
Smiling and chuckling
Shrieking, squealing, and grunting
Bouncing
Drooling
Sucking and munching on anything near her face
When we sing her songs (current fave is horsey horsey, but she also laughed really hard when I sang her destiny's child)
When we snort at her (thanks mom for figuring that one out ;)
Playing with her feet
Practicing rolling over. This is her newest trick!
Little kids. It's so funny how responsive she is to toddlers and little kids. She loves watching Madeleine play around her
Her Bumbo seat
Mariah really does like playing with her cousin, sometimes she just gets a little overwhelmed by all the love and affection.
Mariah does not like:
If I set her down and leave the room
When she pulls her hair bow over her eyes
When she gets stuck on her side trying to roll over
When she falls out of her swing...my bad!
More phone pics from the last month:
I was loving Matt and Mariah's Superbowl get ups. So many cute pictures of the two of them.
As of a few days ago, Mariah is just starting to get interested in some toys. She played with these keys for a little bit until she kept hitting herself in the face with them. She's still working on that limb control thing.
Being a mom gets better and better. Some days I am truly overwhelmed with love for her and gratitude for my sweet perfect little daughter. Other days I'm just overwhelmed. The difference seems to be directly correlated to the amount of sleep I got the night before.
Speaking of sleep. Forget everything I said last month about Mariah sleeping for long stretches and only getting up to eat once. That has become a distant memory. I feel like we are back at square one. She usually stays somewhat asleep from about 8 pm to 7 am but she gets up to nurse or play every 2-3 hours around the clock. So tired. I felt like sleep training was a non issue before since I was really fine with the previous arrangement. Not anymore. Something's gotta give. Words of advice are welcome.
At four months, Mariah likes:
Blowing spit bubbles
Smiling and chuckling
Shrieking, squealing, and grunting
Bouncing
Drooling
Sucking and munching on anything near her face
When we sing her songs (current fave is horsey horsey, but she also laughed really hard when I sang her destiny's child)
When we snort at her (thanks mom for figuring that one out ;)
Playing with her feet
Practicing rolling over. This is her newest trick!
Little kids. It's so funny how responsive she is to toddlers and little kids. She loves watching Madeleine play around her
Her Bumbo seat
Mariah really does like playing with her cousin, sometimes she just gets a little overwhelmed by all the love and affection.
Mariah does not like:
If I set her down and leave the room
When she pulls her hair bow over her eyes
When she gets stuck on her side trying to roll over
When she falls out of her swing...my bad!
More phone pics from the last month:
Hands on hips
These two cousins get lots of quality time.
I was loving Matt and Mariah's Superbowl get ups. So many cute pictures of the two of them.
As of a few days ago, Mariah is just starting to get interested in some toys. She played with these keys for a little bit until she kept hitting herself in the face with them. She's still working on that limb control thing.
We comment often on how "life-like" and "human-like" she's becoming. Yes we know she is actually a human but I still can't get over the fact that a real live person came out of me.
She is so cute. And yes it is so bitter sweet to watch them grow. With Max I was so excited when he started to actually play with those baby rings, its a big step :).
ReplyDeleteShe is adorable. Love the cousin hugs!
ReplyDeleteI love new pictures and commentary!! She is one beautiful baby for sure. About the sleep thing- I don't know what the current advice for feeding baby cereal is but I always found that between 4-5 months mine suddenly needed a little more to get them through the night. Talk to her doctor about it.
ReplyDeleteIt's very common for babies to start waking at 4 months. Here's a blog post that talks about it. http://www.mannlymama.com/2012/12/wonder-week-19-aka-4-month-sleep-regression/ There's a lot of ideas out there. This one promotes teaching them to sleep (but like it says it's not for everyone) I do let mine cry it out and teach them to go back to sleep as long as they are dry, feed, and alright. It's hard but like you said- what kind of mom you are the next day depends on your sleep at night. Plus it makes for great sleepers. With more kids it has become increasingly important for me to get quality sleep at night so I can be a good mom the next day. It doesn't last long (1-2 months) but it is difficult for that month or so. Good luck. You're a great mom!
ReplyDeleteThanks Niki!! That is really helpful. I liked that article a lot.
DeleteI feel like you and I have the same life right now. Sounds super corny, but for real. Always overwhelmed with emotions - depending on the amount of sleep I got. Henley (who was once a great sleeper) has turned into a waker every 2-3 hours. Not sure what to do about that. If you figure out a method that works please let me know. Love little Mariah's face. Could just squeeze her.
ReplyDeleteI feel ya!!! Glad I'm not alone in this :)
DeleteGreat pics. I wish meg had some cousins to play with. The sleeping is so hard. I usually give up and do the crying method but its awful. It works though
ReplyDeletehttp://kellymom.com/parenting/nighttime/4mo-sleep/
ReplyDeletehttp://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/4-month-old-sleep-regression/
This just caught me by surprise too. You'd think I'd have things down a little better by the third kid. Anyway, both of these sites made me feel a little less crazy and were helpful. There was some other one but I can't find it now. The first one talks about how they may actually be hungry because they might be distracted more while eating during the day (that rang a bell with Marian) and the second one talks about the sleep cycles that a baby goes through. (It also seemed familiar, i.e. waking up not long after going down.)
Thanks Sarah, those links were really helpful and also frighteningly accurate. The distracted eating is definitely an issue. Also nice to read some validation that she may actually be eating at night because she really is hungry! That's what it seems like to me.
Delete