Late (Late!) Night Dates with Daughter, and a Prayer

Lila has been experiencing what I am hopeful is a classic 4 month sleep regression...that I am hoping will pass soon (actually the last two nights weren't bad). After a nice long stint of either sleeping through the night (like 9-12 hours!) or waking just once to eat then straight back to sleep, she has changed gears on us. Lila has been waking us between 1-4am with the gentle sounds of cooing and laughing. It is a sad thing when you wake to such sweet noises and cringe. Because you see, if she wakes crying, this means hunger, nurse, back to sleep, 20 minutes tops. If she wakes in this delightful mood, it means at least 1.5 hours, as many as 2.5 hours attempting to get the little bug back to sleep so we can squeeze out a little nap before getting up for work. We have tried to not reinforce this behavior. We let her play in her bed (which is still the travel pack and play inches from my side of the bed) until she gets bored, and therefore fussy, and eventually crying. Then, we do the usual middle of the night routine - Joe changes her diaper, and I nurse. And nurse, and nurse, in hopes that she will fall asleep. But, alas, on these nights, she looks at me with wide eyed smiles when she is done eating, and continues with the cooing and laughing. So Joe and I take turns bouncing on the yoga ball, trying not to fall asleep/fall off, and attempting to lull Lila back to lullabye land. We try the rocking chair (so we can "almost" sleep). Lila is not soothed by this, gets bored, and cries. We try bouncing her back to seep in her bouncy chair which we set in the pack and play, so that we can lay down, barely moving one hand at 2:30am. This worked only once. We try having her face her fish tank so that the lights and fishies mesmorize her back into dreamland. This apparently gets boring. So we bounce. And eventually, she does fall back asleep. Usually at around 6am, exactly 30 minutes before the alarm goes off and we start the long busy day again.
It would be easy to get frustrated. It would be easy to get sad, mad, or delusional. Sometimes this 2 hour middle of the night playtime happens twice in one night. It makes the mornings seem impossible, the workdays seem eternal, and the following evenings disastrous, as Lila is also exhausted (and this girl is not a napper). It would be easy.
However, I have both the misfortune and the blessing to know there are other families out there who are not as lucky as Joe and I are. As I hold smiley Lila, bouncing precariously on the yoga ball at 4:30am, I am more aware lately that her lungs are strong and efficient, her heart is regular and beats with ease. Her brain is growing and quick, her arms and legs quick around and her eyes and ears take in the world. All I have to do is think about the little babies and kids out there who spend weeks in the hospital, weeks on a ventilator, who have not been home yet since they have been born. And I snuggle Lila a little closer. I bounce a little longer. I say continuous prayers. Knowing so many families with sick babies is very sad and disheartening sometimes. However, it has shown me strength, and God's graces in the strength that surrounds these families. it has made me so grateful and aware of my blessings. So, I am embracing my late (late) night date nights with Lila, and know they will not go on forever, and that every day, every wakeful middle of the night moment, is a blessing. And God Bless little Caleb, little Chaia, little Grant and their mommies, daddies, families, friends, and the doctors and nurses who are caring for them. Amen.

Doctor Visit - 4months, 2weeks

We are a little behind. However, we had the official 4 month appointment with Lila's pediatrician this week (who I love!). Lila tolerated her shots much better this time around. She was smiling and cooing at the nurse right up until the needles went in her little thighs, and the howling started. She calmed down right after I picked her up, sniffled like a big girl, and recovered enough to manage a little smile at the nurse before she left. Such a brave girl.
The stats: 13lbs 8oz - 37th percentile. 24.5 inches - 45th percentile. Head 16 inches - 40th percentile. I would have sworn she was going to score off the charts in length - she seems so long to me, and if there were a percentile for feet, I am sure she would set a record. They did a footprint art project at school, and her feet are at least as big as the 7month old babies'.
Getting so big! In no time, we'll be eating cereal and sitting up!


So chatty these days, Lila talks all the time!



Lila found her feet, her new favorite toy!



Loving bathtime as always!

Daddy Daughter Time

This is such a busy semester for Joe. Sadly, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, he does not get home from his day until after Lila is long gone to bed. He also has had to work most weekends one if not both days. Not to mention having to do homework during any spare time he has. So quality time with Lila is very precious to him.
Therefore, Joe gets Lila ready for school every morning. I, of course, feed her. Otherwise, Joe gets her diapered and dressed and ready for the day. He picks out her outfits every day, including socks, jackets, and sometimes hairbows. I sometimes get jealous of this and lay out an outfit for her. But most days, it is all Joe. The other big Daddy Daughter Time is on Tuesdays after school. Joe gets done at 4:30 on these days, and picks her up from school while I go to the gym and sometimes run some errands. He takes her home, they hang out, usually take Sage on a walk, and he often feeds her a bottle and puts her to bed before I make it home. They always have a great time together. This past Tuesday, Joe took Lila to Krepps Park, and they did a photo shoot in the leaves! I know this time is special to Joe, and that they will always have special time carved out for the two of them! Nice for Mama to have a little time to myself, too!

Dear Lila,

You are 4 months old! I cannot believe that you came into this world 4 whole months ago. This last month has been so much fun! You have learned to play! You have discovered your hands, learned to grab things with one hand, then two hands, you love looking at yourself in the mirror, flirting with people by gurgling and actually batting your eyes...and your newest trick - blowing raspberries, which I think you learned from the "big" boys at school. You have become a bib baby due to this spitting. It cracks you up. You have also started drooling like crazy in the last week, and chewing on your fingers, leaving slobber everywhere. You are truly a happy baby...unless you are tired. Then you become what we call a "hot mess". This is typically every evening by about 6pm. While you sleep great at night, typically only waking once, or sleeping through the night, you are NOT a napper. Sometimes, you go 9 whole hours at school and sleep only about an hour total. Your teachers say that you are just so interested in what is going on around you that you refuse to sleep. I still come see you most days at lunchtime, and you are hardly ever fussy then or when I pick you up. You are just playing and looking around. Your favorite things are the exersaucer, and the bouncy seat with the overhang toy that lights up when you bop at the toys. Earlier this week, you fell asleep in the exersaucer! Only for about 15 minutes though. You seem to really love school and your teachers. You have done multiple art projects already, and we are really excited for your Halloween parade. Grandma and Grandpa came to visit this month, and they had fun watching you play, and take a bath. You love the big bath tub, kicking and splashing. You are taking bottles great, and eat about 4-4.5 oz every 3 hours. I tried to increase it to 5oz a couple of weeks ago, but you couldn't finish it at once, then you wouldn't eat for me at lunch time, so we dropped it back down, and you seem satisfied. We made our first trip to the "sick" doctor this month, when you had 102 fever and you threw up. It was pretty sad, especially because Daddy was out of town, and I was all alone with you. We took our first (probably of many) sick day from work/school. You still love riding in the baby carrier (I got a Beco to replace the Baby Bjorn) outward facing. We go to the Farmer's Market most weekends, and walk Sage after work/school. This has been a busy, busy month for you, and I can't wait to see what the next month brings! Finally, I am so grateful for your health and beautiful smiles!