We had a little mishap during the photo shoot. . .
Weight:
By our home scale Clara is now 14 -14.5ish pounds. She was 12 pounds 15 oz at her 4 month well check so I'm assuming this home measurement is accurate? Not sure.
Other info:
Still on her reflux meds. There were a few nights we accidentally forgot to give her the meds and she definitely made it clear that she was in pain. (At least that was the only association we could make to the return of some serious screaming.) Poor baby!
Eating:
She is on a 3.5 or 4 hour eating schedule these days, but more often than not 4 hours. Anything less and she is SO not interested in eating. She will take about 4.5-5oz per bottle. We have tried solids a few times and she is showing a bit more interest but we are still working at it a little each day. We try to give her rice cereal after her morning bottle and then some veggies after her evening bottle (but before her bedtime bottle). She is getting the hang of the spoon and learning what to do when I stick it in front of her mouth. Half of it lands somewhere on her face though. It's pretty funny.
Schedule:
Goes a little something like this although if she wakes up earlier things get shifted for the day.
- 7am - wake time
- eat & playtime
- 8:30 or 9am - nap (usually lasts 1.5 - 2 hours)
- eat & playtime
- 12:30 or 1pm - nap (usually lasts 1.5 - 2 hours)
- eat & playtime
- 5pm - nap - this is a short cat nap, maybe one hour at longest, to get us to bedtime
- eat & playtime
- 7:30 - start getting ready for bedtime (bath, book, bottle,)
- 8pm - bedtime
- one night feeding - recently it's been between 1-3am
Sleeping:
Oh the sleeping. . . where do I even begin? Some nights are great and some nights are not so great. I'm sure all you experienced mommas out there are saying "duh, this is normal." Ha! We decided to put the sleep training on hold until after all our travels are over. Once we are home for a long stretch we will reassess how to move forward, where to make changes, or if we are Ok with how things are going for now and thus keep on keeping on. It was just too much to leave on a trip, not be consistent while we were gone, and then expect her to jump right back in when we returned.
Recently she has been waking only after 1-2 hours into her night time sleep. Then she gets fussy for a few hours. On a good night she will fuss but eventually fall asleep, and then sleep until 7am (in our bed w/ us. . . yes she usually ends up back in our bed. Yes, I said I wasn't going backwards. Oh well, I'm no longer going to beat myself up about this). On a bad night the fussing lasts several hours (lasted until 1:00am this past Tues night, and then she woke for the day at 4:50am!) but then eventually she will pass out and (usually) sleep a good while. Not sure what the waking shortly after bedtime is all about.
She continues to nap like a champ (in her crib). No issues there. She is able to self soothe during a nap and put herself back to sleep. Not sure how naps are so different from night sleep but again, I'm choosing to celebrate our napping success and keep praying that nights will resolve itself soon.
We will get there. . . eventually!!
Side note - the last two nights (Wed & Thurs) she only fussed for about an hour after going to bed at 8pm, and then slept until 7:15am, waking only briefly for one feeding but she didn't even fully wake up. Yay! Thank you, God!!
Recently she has been waking only after 1-2 hours into her night time sleep. Then she gets fussy for a few hours. On a good night she will fuss but eventually fall asleep, and then sleep until 7am (in our bed w/ us. . . yes she usually ends up back in our bed. Yes, I said I wasn't going backwards. Oh well, I'm no longer going to beat myself up about this). On a bad night the fussing lasts several hours (lasted until 1:00am this past Tues night, and then she woke for the day at 4:50am!) but then eventually she will pass out and (usually) sleep a good while. Not sure what the waking shortly after bedtime is all about.
She continues to nap like a champ (in her crib). No issues there. She is able to self soothe during a nap and put herself back to sleep. Not sure how naps are so different from night sleep but again, I'm choosing to celebrate our napping success and keep praying that nights will resolve itself soon.
We will get there. . . eventually!!
Side note - the last two nights (Wed & Thurs) she only fussed for about an hour after going to bed at 8pm, and then slept until 7:15am, waking only briefly for one feeding but she didn't even fully wake up. Yay! Thank you, God!!
Development:
Smiling a lot more!
Rolling over both ways - all day long.
Hands in the mouth ALL the time and thus drooling ALL the time.
She is able to grasp her pacifier and take it out of her mouth but hasn't quite figured out how to get it back in. She also loves grasping her chain link toys and somehow always manages to get one stuck around her wrist.
Hands in the mouth ALL the time and thus drooling ALL the time.
She is able to grasp her pacifier and take it out of her mouth but hasn't quite figured out how to get it back in. She also loves grasping her chain link toys and somehow always manages to get one stuck around her wrist.
She laughed for the first time! It has only happened once but it was the cutest thing ever!
She can still wear some 3 month clothes but mostly now in 3-6 months.
Size 2 diapers
Size 2 diapers
Adventures:
We traveled to. . .
Dallas to visit some of our college friends.
Dallas to visit some of our college friends.
Little Rock, Arkansas for Brandon's cousins wedding. This was flight number 5 & 6 for Clara and she was a rock star! She did so well. No fussing at all on the plane!
We have a few more trips coming up which we are very excited about!
Our church is having a baby dedication, for all the recent babies born, in early November. We are really looking forward to this celebration and important dedication for Clara.
We have a few more trips coming up which we are very excited about!
Our church is having a baby dedication, for all the recent babies born, in early November. We are really looking forward to this celebration and important dedication for Clara.
Congrats, it sounds like things are going great!! She is SO cute in her pics!!
ReplyDeleteI think the night sleeping will improve as she gets the hang of longer waketimes. She has a long time between nap #2 and bedtime, with only a short nap in between. She's probably just a bit overstimulated when she goes to bed.
For us, we found the catnap needed to be closer to bedtime, sort of as a "prelude" to bedtime, sometimes with only 1-1.5 hours afterwards before she was in bed for the night. We also had nights like you describe - waking 1-2 hours after bed, then being awake or fussing for 1-2 hours. We did let her CIO for these, as my husband was adamant that she was bathed, fed, and fine. It went away within a few weeks as she adjusted to "bedtime is really bedtime, goodnight." Not saying you have to do it like that - that's what worked for us, and just wanted to reassure you that the phase of waking after bedtime and being weird is normal! They are just learning that bedtime means "down for a long time" and that can take a few weeks. We also had an earlier bedtime - although I wanted 7:30, it turned out that Kirsa just did way better with a bedtime between 6:30 and 7. You could always experiment with a slightly earlier bedtime if you wanted.
But it sounds like your sleep is going awesome, which is wonderful!!
Aww, happy 5 months Clara! Her cheeks have really filled out. So squishy and cute! Don't beat yourself up about the sleep training. Whatever you guys do will be what is needed for you. No one else can figure out what works for you guys! I meet my son in 10 days!
ReplyDeleteYou are getting so close to meeting your son! Are you feeling ready? :)
DeleteHappy 5 months Clara! She's sooo cute!! And I'm so proud of YOU for not beating yourself up over sleep or eating or whatever. You are doing an amazing job... you can see it in those cheeks!!
ReplyDeleteAlso... I didn't realize Clara was on reflux meds. Cam was on a variety of them, and after some research and inquiry, I found out that a lot of the meds can cause insomnia and/or sleep disturbances. It is possible that this is why Clara is having some trouble at night, and perhaps when you stop her meds all will be fixed. Just another thought to add! :)
DeleteThat is a so good to know. Thanks for this piece of info! Our pediatrician recommended that we up Clara's dose of reflux meds as now she weighs almost double what she did when we started the meds a while back. The last two nights she has taken a full pill (vs. her prior dose of 1/2 a pill) and so far so good. .. no intense crying before bedtime. I'm praying this is the answer for our sweet girl but we will see. Thanks again, Gillian. I really appreciate your thoughtful input.
DeleteHer facial expressions are adorable!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteI LOVE that big smile in the first pic!!
ReplyDeleteK
Happy 5 months, sweet little girl!! And congrats to you, mommy, for making it this far! :)
ReplyDeleteSomeone's getting chubby. I mean that in the best possible way as I LOVE chubby babies. All mine were chubby and I couldn't get enough!
ReplyDeleteI know I absolutely LOVE her cubby cheeks and thighs! :)
DeleteAfter being soo focused on getting our son "sleep trained" because he was waking up frequently at night I've found that it is just easier on all of us to just go with the flow. I was sooo serious about having a routine, getting his naps in at certain times, etc. that it was stressing me out and I think him too! At night time I would start to get nervous and anxious. No good! I've found that just being relaxed and not worrying so much about what we do or don't do, it is just much easier and things are actually going smoother. So if he ends up in our bed, so be it if we all sleep a little better. And some nights he sleeps all night in his crib. He will figure it out eventually and there is only so much time that we can snuggle with them being a small baby!
ReplyDeleteShe is a doll though and it sounds like ya'll are doing great!
Thanks for the reminders. I am working hard at having a more "go with the flow" attitude. Realizing that maybe I am trying to fit Clara into a mold that she's not quite ready for, you know? Anyways, I'm trying to embrace these sweet moments at night when she is cuddled next to me, instead of being upset and frustrated. :)
Delete