Alaina at 4 Months Old

Dear Sweet Lainey Girl,

Today you are 4 months old! Wow! I can't get over how fast time is flying by. You are sooo precious, and I just am so smitten with you. I am enjoying you so much these days that I'm not even sad about the fact that you're no longer a little newborn baby.

I would describe you as a sweet, fairly easy baby. I'm not sure many other people would agree with me on the easy part, though ;) You see, you're totally a Mama's girl. With me, you're happy and content and rarely inconsolable. However, with most other people, you're a bit fussy and hard to please. I've been paged several times lately when you're in the nursery at church because you're just screaming and they can't get you to stop. A few minutes with Mama usually does the trick. I think I've figured out that the problem is that other people don't recognize your early tired cues as quickly as I do. You are a child who is very dependent on your sleep in order to be happy. So, when I first see that you're starting to get tired, I get you to sleep and we avoid major meltdowns. Sometimes other people just don't realize you're getting tired or they're busy taking care of other children, and you just don't get to sleep in time. And then you're NOT pleased! ;)

Speaking of sleep, it isn't quite as perfect as it had been, but you're still a VERY good sleeper. The past couple of weeks, you've been waking up once a night most nights. You've gone back to sleep easily with your pacifier every time except once when I ended up feeding you. I know you'll have sleep regression and growth spurts, so I'm definitely ok with feeding you if you're hungry. I always try the pacifier first, though, and so far that's done the trick, like I said. You go to bed at around 8:30 and sleep until about 6 or 6:30. At that point, I get you up and feed you and then I put you in the bed with me until Aubrey or Jude wakes me up, and you go back to sleep for 2 or 3 more hours. I love that early morning time of snuggling with you. I did that same thing with Aubrey and Jude, and it's a nice way to buy myself a little more sleep and get some sweet time with my babies :) You stay up for about an hour and a half or so before you're ready for a nap. You take a decent morning nap, a good afternoon nap, and a catnap in the evenings. Getting you to sleep hasn't been as easy now that you're getting older and more aware of your surroundings. You don't always fall asleep when you're nursing anymore, but it isn't too difficult to get you to sleep if I hold you just right. You still transfer to your bed easily after you're asleep, and it would be SO nice if you would keep that up! :) At this point, you still sleep in your Miracle Blanket. We tried a sleep sack a few weeks ago, and it was a disaster. You woke up immediately and got very upset. We quickly realized you needed some more time in the swaddler ;) I think you're getting a little old to sleep swaddled, so I'm hoping to transition away from that in the next few weeks.

You are a great eater, and I'm so thankful that we haven't had any nursing issues! You are still eating every 3 hours during the day. Just like your sister and brother were, you're a super fast eater. You nurse for about 5-10 minutes, and you're done. Y'all have spoiled me with your speed eating. I wouldn't know what to do with a baby who needed to eat for a long time! ;) You haven't had any solids, and I'm planning on holding out on that for as long as you're content to exclusively nurse. I'm hoping you'll be fine to wait until you're 6 months old. You still do ok with a bottle. Not great, not terrible. You take a bottle well enough for me to feel ok leaving you for short periods of time, and that's good enough for me. 

You haven't rolled over at all yet. I'm not worried about it, though, because, to be honest, you haven't really had a chance to practice. If you're laying down, you're asleep. When you're awake, you're either in your bouncy seat, carseat, or (most of time time) you're being held. Yep, you're still a lap baby! :) So, that makes it a little hard to practice rolling, doesn't it? We probably need to work on that this month. (I can tell you're my third baby because I'm pretty laid back about milestones ;) You have great head control and enjoy spending short periods of time in the Bumbo. I think we need to break out the exersaucer soon! You have started reaching for things, and you chew on your hands all the time. You drool like CRAZY. You go through so many outfits a day just because you drool so much! I'm hoping this doesn't mean you're going to be an early teether! You follow objects with your eyes now, and when I walk around the room, you watch me like a hawk. You don't like being left in a room where you can't see anyone. You like company, sweet girl! :) You LOVE your baths. If you're fussy, you calm right down when I put you in the warm water. Sadly, you still don't love being in the car. I think you're getting better, though -- you don't scream the WHOLE time we're in the car anymore; usually you just scream part of every car ride these days. Baby steps :)

You are getting so big! I got to hold a little 6 pound newborn baby at church today, and it made me realize how much you've grown. In my mind, you're still a teeny tiny baby, but, in reality, you aren't. You seemed like a giant after holding that baby! ;) According to our scale at home (which probably isn't the most accurate), you weigh over 13 pounds. We'll get a more precise weight when we go for your 4 month checkup. You wear some 3 month clothes, some 3-6 months, and some 6 month things. You still wear a size 2 diaper.

Alaina, you are just such a joy. Your smile always makes me smile in return. We all love you so much. Aubrey adores you and tells me all the time that she thinks you're so cute. She has said on more than one occasion that she never wants you to grow up because she thinks you're so cute the way you are now. She also says that her favorite part of your body is your "little hands." Jude loves you so much too. He asks about "Baby" every morning when he gets up. I love seeing your siblings dote on you. We just couldn't be more thankful that you are a part of our family. Our family is better because you are in it.

We love you so much,
Mommy