4 months old!

(warning: lengthy post with many pictures ahead...)

Amelia is 4 months old! (and I'm back to work and really behind on the blog...) :)

(updated weekly pictures are on the Watch Me Grow page!)

So much has happened in the last month! We have had many ups and downs (mostly ups). I have now been back to work for a little over a month and its going pretty well. Amelia is doing great at Grandma's Daycare. She loves being around the other children and for the most part is a great napper and super happy baby during the day. I have been super fortunate to be able to go to my moms to nurse her at lunch on most days which is great for lots of reasons. One, its breaks up the day and the amount of time I am away from her and two, it helps my supply to nurse her more often than pump. Speaking of pumping...its sucks (no pun intended!) and I'm already really really tired of it! I wont go into details but its been a hard process. Nursing is going so well but I have a hard time pumping enough to give her at daycare so its a constant struggle! She is really discovering the world these days and can get a little distracted during nursing; if she hears a familiar voice or a strange new sound she wants to turn her head and see whats going on and I have to get her back on track! My mom has been great about sending me texts and pics throughout the day which has been really nice.

Mommy's first day back to work and I'm doing fine!

Naughty Elle...

Sleep has been back and forth but overall its going really well. The first week I was back at work Amelia woke up once a night to nurse after 6-7 hours and then slept until I work her around 7:15 to nurse her right before we left for the day. Then things changed of course. Now she seems to think that 6:30 is a good time to start the day! Whether she sleeps entirely through the night or wakes up once to nurse, she is wide eyed and talking at 6:30 every day! It makes getting a ready a little more difficult but I just bring her bouncer seat into the bathroom and we talk and she plays while I get ready. I do have concerns that this wont really work once she gets a little more mobile and is no longer content sitting in the bouncer seat but maybe she will extend her sleep a little by that time as well...a girl can hope! You may have read the words...sleeping through the night above...Amelia has made it all the way up to 10 hours in the last month. She still gets up to nurse once most nights but there have been several times in the last month that she slept right through! I really don't mind getting up with her once a night to nurse and its possible that could go on for a long time as breast fed babies tend to need to eat more often than formula babies because breast milk digests so much more quickly. Currently we are doing her last feeding at 8 and she is usually down sometime between 8:30 and 8:45 but I think she is almost ready for an earlier bedtime as she typically starts falling apart around 7:30 almost every night!

Other than her nighttime fussyness Amelia is a very happy smiley baby! She is laughing and cooing on a regular basis. She has even started to repeat some of the sounds that we make. (needless to say we have started saying dadadadada and mamamama non stop!) She has officially discovered her thumb (which helps with the self soothing at night) and sticks it in her mouth when she is ready to nap or go to sleep. She has also gotten great at grasping toys with purpose and bringing them to her mouth.  She still loves her sophie and her bunny rattle toy. She is becoming much more independent and can entertain herself for short periods of time. She still loves her playmat and can reach each toy and even bring some to her mouth. If you haven't noticed a pattern yet we are apparently to the stage in life where EVERYTHING goes in her mouth! We got her a excersaucer/jumper at Switcheroo's but she isn't quite ready for it. Although she can hold her head up like a champ she isn't in control of her body just yet and kind of falls forward or leans back if you sit her in it. She does think its neat though! I think she will be sitting up pretty soon and then she will really enjoy it!

We had a HUGE milestone on 3/24/12 ... she rolled from back to tummy! She has been trying so hard for the last month to get over that shoulder and she finally did it. She was so cute and confused looking when she made it over. I clapped and cheered so she would know it was a good thing! She hasn't quite mastered it just yet but we are getting there!

Grandma Wagner is visiting for a week and Amelia is loving spending time with her. They are going on regular walks (which Elle really enjoys too!) and getting in lots of good quality time!

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