Lauren at 4 months

Lauren had her 4 month doctors appointment yesterday. Her stats: 16 pounds, 14 ounces and 24.5 inches long. She is in the 95% for weight and the 50% for height. The doctor said she'd lean out later and since she is exclusively breastfed, we don't need to worry about her weight. She also received her DTaP shot (2nd round) and did just fine. So far she has gotten the following vaccinations:

2 months: DTaP
3 months: Hib, Pc
4 months: DTaP

She'll go in again at 5 months for the 2nd round of Hib and Pc. Spreading out the vaccines like this is working well so far. The 3 months, 5 months and 7 months visits are nurse only where she just goes in for the shots.

Lauren smiles a lot, but you wont see many in pictures because I have a camera that shines a bright red light when taking a picture. As soon as Lauren sees that light she stops everything. We need to look into getting a more discrete camera to capture her personality. Till then here are some of the blank stares she gives the camera:








Trying to communicate:

Does not like the Ave Maria played on the cello by daddy:

Playing with her toys in her bumbo chair:

Lauren at 3 months

Lauren sucking her thumb... mommy helped her find it since she usually likes to suck thumb and first finger but that doesn't work as well as just the thumb.

Lauren with her toys:


Lauren about to go on a walk:

Lauren is a joy to us. She is now over 3 months old and we are having so much fun spending time with her and watching her grow. I have been learning so much about her and how to keep her happy and healthy. Our daily routine goes something like this:

7am... Lauren wakes up, eats, plays with mommy (toys, books, jungle mat)
8:30am... Lauren is yawning and ready to take her first nap (45 minute nap)
mid morning walk... 30 minute walk around the neighborhood
11:30am... afternoon meal and nap (nap usually includes a mid-nap nursing and comforting in order for her to sleep for longer than 1 hour)
afternoon play time (books, toys, dancing with mommy, walking outside in the baby bjorn)
4pm... early evening nap (around 45 min and usually in conjunction with nursing)
5:45pm... evening stroll around the neighborhood (30 minutes or less)
6:30pm... bedtime bath
6:45pm-7:45pm nursing/comforting to sleep
8:15pm... more nursing/comforting
1am... 1st evening meal
5am... 2nd evening meal
(or just one meal at 3am sometimes)
7am - starts all over again!

My top priorities are taking care of Lauren, playing with Lauren, enjoying Lauren, and making sure I am getting enough rest to continue staying healthy and being able to nurse her well... and trying to be a good wife to my husband. I feel pretty tired because even though Lauren wakes up once or twice at night to eat, I wake up at least 4 times to go check to see if she is grunting because she is hungry or because of some other reason. I flip the covers off, walk to her room, assess the situation, place a hand on her belly... and then wait till she settles to return to bed or to nurse her and then return to bed. I've started trying to go to bed as soon as she goes to bed so I can get a longer stretch of sleep (4 or 5 hours instead of 2 or 3). House duties are second priorities compared to all listed above... my friends with babies all say that dishes can wait and cleaning can wait, but babies grow up super fast so enjoy each moment with them. My husband knows I'm doing the best I can at this time. What would life be like with 2 children or more? I don't know yet, but right now I only have one baby and I'm going to enjoy her as much as I can.

Cute things she is doing:
* smiling at us
* chuckling and laughing when we nibble on her thighs or tickle her belly
* she loves when we change her diaper
* she smiles at the ceiling a lot which leads me to believe she likes our light fixtures
* she likes to chew on her toys
* she makes the cutest noises... especially after she eats a good meal
* she kicks and splashes during her bath
* she looooves her daddy and smiles at him a lot
* when she is unhappy, her upper lip disappears and her lower lip sticks out in a pout
* cooing & laughing
* her cries when she is fighting sleep... very cute little cries

Now, Lauren is a big baby. Rest assured, I've done lots of research on google and also in books and it is 100% normal for a breastfed baby to be chubby. You can't overfeed a breastfed baby... if they are hungry, they will eat. If the are not hungry, they wont eat. It's that easy! In the book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, this topic is addressed in a section called "The Baby Who is Pleasingly Plump". In this section, the author states that a totally breastfed baby who is "overweight" is not necessarily overfat or obese. "Still, in a weight-conscious world, even baby fat is suspect, and the mother of a plump, fully breastfed baby may be told that her child should be put on a diet." The author goes on to say that heredity plays a definite role in determining a child's growth pattern. Another interesting quote: "It must be remembered here that fat accumulated in the relatively inactive pre-toddler state is preparatory for the highly active time when the busy toddler hardly has time to eat... We have found that by age two or three, the heavyweights among the tiny tots usually slim down beautifully." (from the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding)

There! See! ANDShe's not 'fat'... she is pleasingly plump and we LOOOOVE kissing her cheeks. Oh, and did I mention that she is now wearing her 6 months outfits and a size 2 diaper?

Sucking her thumb:

Playing on her jungle mat:

Reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear:

Talking to daddy about her day: