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:

My Little Sweetie is Growing Up!

Cute sleepy face & extra chubby cheeks:

At the Bridgeport pool when my mom was visiting:
Daddy loves me so much and he is so fun to play with:
I can grab my giraffe's leg and put his foot in my mouth!



My baby's precious 'sleepy' hand:

Asleep in my crib. Hello chubby cheeks!

My whale bath tub... lots of fun.


My daddy is the best:
Carla, Veronica and Lauren:
With mom at the park:
First time sitting 'big-girl' style in my stroller. I laughed the whole time mommy strolled me up and down Riverside Drive.

I've spent the last week alone at home with my little girl while my husband is working long hours in Switzerland. Hopefully the volcanic ash from Iceland won't postpone his trip home. My mother-in-law came over 3 days this week to help me and I'm so thankful for that.

My focus this week was to learn more about my little girl's sleep patterns, what she needs (sleep-wise), and how to best prepare her for bedtime. We have made improvements since the beginning of the week. Tonight, although she woke up 2 times after I put her down (hopefully that was the last of the wake ups), there was really no crying or fussiness. This was our routine tonight:

*Last nap ended at around 4pm (I've been putting her in her crib at the first signs of sleepiness (usually yawns) and a few minutes later she sleeps... I also use nursing sometimes to help her fall asleep to nap)
*Nap/nurse at around 5:30pm (she rests and takes a long time nursing)
*Bath at around 7:20pm
*Nursing to sleep and in crib by 8:15pm
*Wake up #1 8:30pm (nursed back to sleep)
*Wake up #2 8:45pm (nursed back to sleep)

I don't mind nursing her back to sleep at night as long as she doesn't wake up too many times to do it - for her sake - I want her to get some good sleep! She usually only wakes up one time in the middle of the night (around 3am) to eat and she has been going right back to sleep.

I'm having bad dreams as usual... a plane crash and a car crash are the most recent dreams. I'm copying down scripture to help me battle my anxious mind. Here is one:

"I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." from Psalm 16

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me... Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Sleep... for me and baby.

Here are pictures from my mom's visit, from Lauren's first drs appointment, a bath, and a walk (Lauren at 2 months old):
My sweet mom. By the way, my mother is from Bolivia, South America so Lauren is 1/4 Bolivian. My mom has a sweet nick name for Lauren... Laurenita (sounds like Lorenita).





Lauren's 2 month doctors appointment. At this visit, Lauren was 9 weeks old and weighed in at 13 pounds, 8 ounces and 23 inches long. This put her in the 90% for weight and 90% for height for her age. The pediatrician said it is normal for breastfed babies to be chubby until they hit around 9 months of age. At 9 months they are supposed to lean out more.
Our pediatrician had a cold so she wore a mask during the visit. Lauren did great during the exam.
After the 'diaper area' exam, I got her diapered back up.
A bath in the sink before we finally bought a baby bath tub. The baby bath tub makes baths so much easier!! Lauren loves her bath tub (picture of that coming soon).
On a walk around the neighborhood across the street from my condo. California Street.

Um, chubby cheeks. Well, the car seat accentuates her chubby cheeks.

My mom was here to witness Lauren's first successful attempt at sucking her thumb. She usually sucks on her hand but this time she got her thumb and sucked it in.
Sunday dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Briasco's... well, actually it is Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Briasco's to Lauren.
Cousin Danielle, my mom and Great Grandma with Lauren.
The Grandma's: L to R: Grandma Bonnie, Grandma Checha, Great Grandma and Lauren.



After keeping a log of Lauren's daily naps, awake time, poops, pees, feeding and walks with me, I see a pattern developing. I also started reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Weissbluth and I learned what to be more aware of Lauren's sleepy signals so that she does not become overtired. I've seen Lauren in an overtired-wired state and I don't want her to get to that point anymore. Sleep-topics of interest to me:

naps
sleepy signals (yawns, staring off into space)
duration of naps
timing of naps
bed-times
how long baby should sleep at night
feeding at night
soothing techniques

more to come... baby woke up...
OK, I'm back.

I really like the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book. For young babies, the author does not recommend crying it out, but offers many 'soothing' techniques. My hubby is good at night soothing so he usually gets this job with Lauren. Lauren seems to hate her crib at night (not during day time naps). Unless she is in a deep sleep before we put her in there at night, she gets so upset. I think when she is an older baby (which I think is around 4 or 5 months of age) we can start doing more sleep training where we let her cry a little.

Personally, my favorite way to lull Lauren to sleep is to nurse her until she is really sleeping. I get to look at her face, stroke her hair, hold her little body close to me (I use my brestfriend breastfeeding pillow and I hold her close). Sometimes she can stay on for 45 minutes... she keeps sucking in a 'pacifying' state at the end (not much milk towards the end). This really relaxes me too. Then I try to put her in her crib and if this doesn't work, I can pass her on to my hubby. He usually holds her in the football hold or on his chest and walks her around the condo... and if that doesn't work, we put her in her swing till she falls asleep and then he transfers her carefully to her crib! I know eventually we won't be able to use the swing, but for now, it works great to sooth her and calm her if she gets upset because we tried to put her down in her crib.

What is her schedule now? It varies, but on average it is this:

Bedtime sleep at around 9:30 or 10pm (much later on a bad day where she fights it)
Night feeding 3am
Wake time at around 8am
Morning nap at around 2 hours after wake time, lasting for about 1 hour
Afternoon nap varies a lot, but I'm trying for 2-4pm

I would like to get her into bed earlier, between 7-8pm for her own sake. She stays up more hours in a row after her afternoon nap and gets to the point of being overtired if she doesn't go to bed by 9pm or earlier.

Dr. Weissbluth lays out the following example schedule (I like this one, although I know lots of people do not like set schedules... I feel like I can use it flexibly):

*Wake 7am
*Morning nap 9-10am
*Afternoon nap 12-2pm
*3rd nap - optional and depends on bed time. He recommends an earlier bedtime versus a 3rd nap for older babies
*Bed between 6-8pm
*1st night feeding
*2nd night feeding

Lauren's Laugh

She's been much more vocal lately and also giving smiles and even laughs:


Lauren with mommy:

Lauren with her new Peacock toy:
Lauren with her suped-up lamb chair (I added extra dangly toys to it):


Lauren smiling in her sleep in her crib:
A corner of our living room. Lauren likes her rain forest toys mat and also bouncing on the the exercise ball while listening to music. Notice the cute little baby sock on the coffee table.
Lauren taking a nap at the park near our house.
Lauren's hand:
Lauren's feet:

I finally cleaned the breast pump equipment but I'm kind of reluctant to use it because I like having Lauren with me all the time and I like nursing her:
Hanging out at the park: