I can’t believe how quickly she’s growing. Her legs which were once long and lanky, have now grown into these beautiful chubby, juicy thighs that I just want to kiss all day long. Oh, baby rolls are just the best! Of course, time is flying by. I know it’s felt like this since she was born – actually since I got pregnant – but it feels even more so lately because she’s changing so much each day. A new expression, sound, or movement. She looks at things with more curiosity or understanding. It’s incredibly exciting, yet nostalgic all at once. Can you have nostalgia for things that are happening in real time? I certainly do. I give her so many kisses and snuggles each day because I know this time is fleeting.
Knowing how fast time is flying by has helped me cope with this rough patch we’re going through. The 4 month sleep regression is no joke…nooooo joke. If your baby somehow skips it, thank your lucky stars. Our sleep has been worse lately than it was when she was 2 weeks old. Crazy, right? You just learn to cope somehow. I’m on auto-pilot. When we snuggle in the morning and Adriana is all smiles and giggles, everything is right in the world again; I just move on with my day and push the bad night of sleep out of my mind. The surprising thing is my body has adjusted to the broken up sleep better than expected. For the most part, I can function fairly well (although fuzzy mommy brain is still going strong!), and I have a lot to keep me busy during the day with my blog and cookbook work. But I’m still looking forward to things improving. That first night of solid sleep is going to feel like HEAVEN. I might cry when it happens. Tears of joy, hah.
Still putting her down for regular naps in the bassinet, but she hasn’t been napping for long stretches lately. She needs to nap about every two hours at this age. Anything longer, and she “goes loopy” hah. I am wondering if the sleep regression is to blame for her short naps. I think it might throw everything off. I’m trying not to worry about it too much because from what I’ve read everything is kind of up in the air right now. I’m just trying to be consistent with things and give her lots of love, reassurance, and snuggles.
I mentioned last week that Adriana made an obvious shift from being able to sleep anywhere and in anything (months 0-3) to needing a quiet, dark room to sleep now. The exception is sleeping in the car…that will usually put her out. When she was a newborn she could sleep almost anywhere…now that’s definitely not the case. She’s too aware of her environment now. We made the mistake of going to a family visit during her nap time this past weekend and oh boy did we pay for it. When we arrived she was groggy from a short 15 min. sleep in the car, and she quickly became overtired as our family obviously wanted to visit with her. I tried to nurse her and she screamed bloody murder. We tried to put her to sleep in one of the kid’s rooms and she screamed even more. We bounced her, rocked her, sang to her…we tried everything and she screamed and screamed for over an hour straight. I think her gums were bothering her too. My sister in law and brother in law were like, “Oh how I remember those days!!!” hah. Of course, I forgot my Solly baby wrap which would have been so nice to put her in. It became obvious that she wasn’t going to settle until she slept so we ended up having to leave early. Bummer. After she finally napped, she was all smiles. It’s amazing how babies can go from meltdown territory to perfectly content once they’ve had their beloved nap. Anyway, it was a tough day, but we learned a lesson: make sure she naps before we leave the house. Rookie mistake, probably. Figuring out baby sleep has to be one of the most challenging aspects of parenting…don’t you think?
Is anyone else starting to feel cabin fever coming on strong this month? January is always a tough one. I feel it even more so this year, although I have to say I feel much better now than I did last winter during the first trimester! I’m daydreaming about us getting away for a vacation to AZ in Feb or March with my parents. It’s keeping me going right now just thinking about all of that glorious warm sunshine! I can’t wait until spring and summer though…it’s going to be so much fun to be able to get out of the house more with Adriana and to have longer daylight in the evenings! Plus, summer fruit and veggies!!! Give me all the summer produce!
I’m happy to say exercise has been going a bit better this week! I’ve been back at the treadmill workouts – doing about 1/2 hour of hill walking almost every day. It makes such a difference in my mood and I swear it even helps with the sleep deprivation. I’m doing the Madonna arms and Pilates butt workout videos (linked in previous posts) occasionally. It’s far from a consistent workout routine, but I’m not putting a lot of pressure on myself right now, especially during this sleep regression. I’m just grateful when I have some kind of movement each day.
This week’s milestones: Adriana now loves to grab her feet. It’s super cute. She’s also started to roll from her back to her side (but not fully over to her belly yet) while playing on the activity mat (she kicks off the sides for leverage, hah). I can’t believe how strong this girl is. When she wakes up in the morning or after a nap she loves to coo and baby talk to herself for a little while (not to be confused with middle of the night wake ups when she cries!) It’s so nice to see her entertaining herself a bit more these days!
I had hoped to get my favourite baby products post up last week, but it’s taking longer than planned. I hope to have it up by next week. It’s going to be a good one!
How are things going in your neck of the woods? Any advice on navigating baby naps while going out?