Four Months Old!

Four months old

I'm posting her four month update when Greta is now almost seven months old.  I started drafting this post when she was four months old, but somehow never got around to posting it.  Her five and six month updates have also been drafted, and I'm hoping to post them this week so there is a (small) chance her seven month update will be posted on time!  Posting blogs is not my forte.  

I can't tell you how much we love this girl.  She is an absolute joy to have in our lives!  Every day she gets cuter and more fun!

Hair and eye update: eyes are staying pretty blue and are absolutely gorgeous.  She gets comments on how pretty her eyes are whenever we are out.  Her hair is still light brown, longer and beginning to have a little wave at the ends (especially when it is wet... or sweaty).  She still gets LOTS of comments on her hair (since she was born).  She has rubbed off a small patch on the back of her head, as most babies her age do as they turn their head from side to side while they lie on their backs.  However, the rest of her hair is long enough that the bald spot is covered up by the mop on the top of her head, kind of like a comb over.  It's pretty hilarious.

Eating: still a great eater!  She eats every 3-4 hours, 4-5 times per day.

Sleeping: still sleeping great all night, from about 8 or 8:30pm to 6:30am.  She always wakes up so happy!  Since we have been sharing a room it is so fun to wake up to her making little gurgling noises at the back of her throat and Cody and I sometimes argue about who gets to go get her up.  

Cody snapped this picture one morning to try to capture the sheer joy on her face when she wakes up every morning.

Then she eats and has about an hour of awake time snuggling in my bed with me before taking a 2-3 hour nap.  I love this so much.  It is one of her happiest times of day and I will miss the snuggles when she outgrows this stage.  The rest of the day she takes cat naps every couple of hours for about 30-45 mins wherever she is (car, stroller, bjorn).  

Putting her to bed has become a struggle.  We developed a bedtime routine of story, swaddle, songs/rocking.  We were rocking and singing to her until she was out cold, then as soon as her little cheek touched the mattress, she would cry.  We would pick her up, rock and sing to her until she was totally out, put her in her bed and she would cry.  We were repeating this every night, taking turns, until it started to take longer and longer to get her to sleep.  It finally reached between one and two hours to get her to be asleep for the night, which exhausted and frustrated all of us.  This was happening right when Greta and I were scheduled to take a trip to Utah to visit the fam, and Cody was going to come meet us in Utah a week later.  I was dreading facing the bedtime routine alone for a week without Cody to take a turn.  I was telling my sisters about how bad it was when I got to Utah, so with their support I decided to let her cry it out to see how it went.  We started the first night I was there and she only cried solidly for about 6 minutes before she had a period of quiet that lasted about 2 minutes.  Then it was 6 more minutes of crying and... asleep!  The whole ordeal (although excruciating to have to listen to her cry) only lasted 15 minutes and I was sold.  The next night was much worse, but still took less time than the rocking method Cody and I had been trying.  She (and I) cried on and off for an hour, but never had more than about 5 minutes of solid crying.  We kept trying this for the whole trip and ultimately I think it was a success.  She seemed to need about 20 minutes in her bed, sometimes with a little crying, before she fell asleep.  We continued when we got home and had a few rough nights at the start.  So far, she hasn't gone to bed very often with no crying, but I still think it is better for all of us than the 2 hours of rocking, singing and crying.  When is the last time you had to sing for 2 hours, by the way?  I was surprised to learn that I know all of the lyrics to almost no songs.

She also outgrew the little white bed (bassinet) that she has been sleeping in next to my bed and is now in her big girl crib in her own room!  So now that room is finally being used for more than just a closet.

Check out those gorgeous eyes!  She's going to be a heart breaker.

Greta learned a lot this month.  She rolled over from her back to her tummy and then just a few minutes later, she rolled right back over onto her back!  K-ma was even there to witness!  She gets put in her bed on her back to sleep each night.  One morning when we went in her room she had wriggled out of her swaddle and flipped over onto her tummy.  I decided that it was too dangerous to swaddle her now that she can roll over in case she rolled onto her tummy and couldn't get back, so the swaddle is gone!

Greta also laughed for the first time this month.  There is nothing sweeter in the world than hearing this girl's laugh!  She is stingy with her laughs, though.  She doesn't just hand them out to anyone.  We have tried duplicating the exact thing that made her laugh in the first place and it hasn't worked.  She just looks at us like  she's thinking, "You guys look ridiculous".  

New likes:
Being more generous with smiles
Her toes
Putting her hands in her diaper area when you are trying to change her (not my favorite)
Toys!
Staying awake in the car, even if it's moving
Sucking on her first and middle fingers together
Grabbing my face when I sing to her and rock her before bed

New dislikes:
Going to sleep in her bed                                                                                    

Nicknames: baby, baby girl, little miss, girlie, Greta girl, silly goose and goose 

Stats:  Four months:  14 lbs 10 oz (70%), 24 inches long (30%), 42.3 cm head (90%)