Life with Lilly: 4 Months Old

Oshkosh Boys Button-front Bodysuit | Old Navy Baby Jeggings | Gymboree Striped Headband

Oh my goodness, you guys, where has the time gone?? I can’t believe it’s been (over) 4 months since Lilly entered our lives, and it’s amazing how much she has changed in that amount of time! She has always brought a smile to our faces, but this last month, her personality is really coming out, I mean, just look at that face in that picture! 😀

You know that 4-month sleep regression that people talk about? Wellll, it’s hit our house, and it hit HARD (more on that, below). Let’s just say that the last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride of teething, disappearing naps, and less and less sleep.

But it’s also been one of the most enjoyable months with Lilly so far!

She loves to explore things around her, and will put anything into her mouth that’s within reach.

She started laughing, like an actual belly laugh, a few weeks ago, and she thinks it hilarious when M. and I speak in weird voices. 😀

And her PERSONALITY has become so funny! She likes to play coy, where she will stare at you, and if you catch her looking, she’ll smile and quickly look away, but then turn back around and stare.

So let’s dive into life lately:

New Skills:
-Yelling/screeching: she has discovered this thing called Loud, and that she has it, and she LOVES it! She’s not upset when she yells, quite the opposite, in fact. It’s pretty funny when she does it; however, her new favorite thing is to wake up at 3am and screech. yay
-Grabbing her feet: first she grabbed her left foot, and now she (sometimes) will grab her right foot, at the same time.
-Rolling over: she has only done this a handful of times on her own, and it’s only been from her belly to her back. She can roll herself from her back onto her side, but then she’ll fall back onto her back.
-Turns pages in a book: this is something I discovered recently, but M. has been watching her do this during bedtime for a couple of weeks now!
-(Trying) to crawl on her belly: have you ever picked up a turtle and it “swims” in the air? That’s pretty much what Lilly looks like when she tries to move during tummy time. 😀

“Stop trying to crawl, you’re growing up too fast!!”

How she sleeps: Let’s just say that once Lilly hit three and a half months, napping well and sleeping at night were thrown out the window. Remember that 4-month sleep regression I mentioned earlier? Apparently, it can start before a baby turns 4 months old. It took me a few days, a lot of tears and coffee, and some internet research to figure out why the heck my baby was now only taking 20 minute cat-naps, and waking up every three hours…Which, she hadn’t done this since she was a month old.

The more research I did, I learned that a set schedule for naps, feedings, and bedtime would not only get us through the sleep regression, but also set her (and us) up for success in the future!

I had been following a schedule with Lilly, but it was more led by her cues than set times, and that got us into trouble—I would wait to put her down only when she started showing signs that she was tired, and by that time, it was too late. It would then be a fight to get her to settle down, taking anywhere from 15-20 minutes to get her to sleep for a nap that would only last about 20 minutes.

As you can imagine, this resulted in a very tired and cranky baby…and a very tired and cranky mama!

So after much research (this website helped quite a bit!), I took a few days to document her “typical” wake/sleep/nap times to really get a feel for her rhythm. I realized that although Lilly could physically stay awake for a long period of time, I was allowing her to stay awake too long.

After we started a consistent schedule, things started to smooth out more with naps (they went back to being an hour or longer), and that dreaded “witching hour” in the evenings began to disappear.

Bottle or breastfed: Still exclusively breastfed (that means no formula, baby foods, etc.), but we found bottle and nipple that she tolerates, so she’s been taking a bottle here and there more easily.

Likes:
-Looking in the mirror: not only does she think it’s funny to see Mama or Papa in the mirror (she cracks up every time!), but she’s quite curious about the mysterious baby staring back at her!
-Anything that makes noise
-Books
-Walks in her stroller
-CAR RIDES: I’m not sure exactly why or when this changed, but now she enjoys riding in the car and looking out the window…no more fussing once she’s placed in her carseat!
-Leaning and reaching towards objects: she’s been reaching to grab things for over a month, now, but recently she has started to lean her body towards a distant object that she wants to check out.

Dislikes:
-When I leave. She started having a bit of separation anxiety a couple of weeks ago,
-Getting dressed: she hates having sleeves pulled over her arms, and won’t stop fussing until her hands are completely through her sleeves.

Lilly’s Picks:

-This teething ring: as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, Baby Girl started teething a few weeks back, and almost constantly wants something to chew on. It’s easy to hold, and can be clipped onto just about anything, so no worrying about it being dropped on the ground!
–Soft baby doll: Lilly’s favorite thing to cuddle with, she holds onto it while she sleeps.
-These bows: so soft, and they don’t leave an indent in her forehead!
–Bath squirtees: she’s just now starting to play during bath-time, and she thinks it’s funny when Mama squirts her with water!

Mama’s Picks:

-The Wonder Weeks app: this has taken a lot of guessing out of what might be causing Lilly’s fussiness–it shows what mental developmental “leaps” I can expect to take place, as well as the new skills she is working on…Super helpful, and very interesting!
–French press: this month has been nearly impossible getting out of the house, but I need caffeine to ~~survive~~ function during the day. Super easy to clean, too. Also love this copper one.
-This book: I’ll be honest and tell you that I haven’t read this book in depth, but have just skimmed certain parts of it. Still helpful!

Some days are more exhausting than others–yesterday was an almost normal day, with Lilly taking three 2-hour naps and not being very fussy–today has been a rather trying day, both of us had interrupted sleep, and naps haven’t been easy.

But watching her discover the world around her has been such a wonderful blessing, and I am so amazed and how quickly she learns things! Any time I become frustrated from lack of sleep, or not being able to figure out what is bothering Lilly, watching (and snuggling with!) my baby girl makes it all worth it.

Motherhood is certainly not for the faint of heart, which I am starting to experience, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. <3

Stay Classy!