I am not real good at the whole "this is what my child is doing now" thing, but I will give it a whirl. Up until this point, there has not been much to speak of, but now it seems like Sierra is changing daily. She is so strong and yet still pretty lazy at the same time! :) She LOVES to talk and will babble for minutes at a time (non-stop!). She is very good at sitting on her own now, with just a little bit of help from either mommy or daddy holding her up. Sometimes I think she might sit up before she rolls, is that even developmentally possible??? She is now learning how to grab things that she wants and pulls them straight towards her mouth with no hesitation! She still loves to smile and we can get her to giggle (only a little) when we tickle her or blow raspberries on her neck. I just love all her chub and spend hours kissing on her chubby cheeks! She just recently started kicking herself over to her side, especially if she is leaning to get a toy, but still is not rolling over.
She is still sleeping like a champ, she is taking 2 - 2 hour naps a day, and goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 pm and sleeps till about 9 am, so about 12 hours at night (with normal wake times). I am so thankful that we implemented good sleeping habits early on. I talk to many mommies that are so frustrated and so exhausted as they are still getting up with their children (who are much older than Sierra) several times a night. I do understand attachment parenting and some of the women who I know have decided that this parenting theory is best for them, and thus are also choosing this lack of sleep; but others are trying so hard to put an end to their sleepless nights. Sierra just loves her sleep and she knows that her room and her crib equal exactly that - SLEEP TIME! Lately she has started waking early in the morning and she talks to herself or her "friends" (that is what I call the birds and giraffes on her mobile - her "friends") and then she will fall back to sleep. A mother friend was over here the other day and she heard Sierra over the monitor doing this during nap time, putting herself to sleep, and she was absolutely amazed by it. Sierra and I have a good little pattern down and I understand that it doesn't work for everyone, but it works for us. Sleep begets sleep, and in Sierra's case this is absolutely true! The more she sleeps the more sleep she wants, it is good for her developmentally, it is good for me mentally and emotionally, and it is wonderful for our marriage.
She is still exclusively breastfed, nursing about 4-5 times a day, and still not taking a bottle from me or Brian. We have tried several times and still nothing. O'well. I am possibly deciding that this is a battle that is better left alone. I have talked with many moms in my Christian moms group and they too have had bottle struggles with their nursling. Eventually life was good and
they still left their children for adult obligations and the children have survived. These women have been extremely encouraging to me in that aspect. I go back to school in 3 weeks, we will see how she does then. I feel as though complaining is not the right place for me to be though. I would never complain about my nursing relationship over the past 4 months. Honestly, I could have just written this whole "4 months post" all about nursing and how passionate I am about breastfeeding. Some people say "it is not for me" but truthfully, it should be for everyone! It is exactly the right nutrition that God himself created so I can help my baby thrive. It just makes me love her chub that much more because I know my body was created in God's perfect image and I have been able to provide Sierra with 100% whole, natural, nutritional milk. The concept is amazingly perfect! Breastfeeding was so hard for me in the first 8 weeks and it hurt so badly, I would cringe and nearly cry with every latch-on; but just as everyone told me, it would get better, and it did. If there is anything I am most proud of over these past 4 months, it is definitely the choice that Brian and I both made to exclusively breastfeed our little one.
Aside from all the physical and developmental things going on, we are continually blessed by this little precious person. We thank God daily for allowing us to be her parents and helping to guide us as we raise her to always love Him first and foremost!
Sierra has her 4 month check-up this coming Friday, the 15th. I will be sure to update you all with the latest stats at that time.
2 comments:
Happy 4-month birthday, Sierra! She's so beautiful and I miss her. Can't wait to see you guys again soon.
Love you!
Katie
Happy Birthday baby girl! Karen, I am SO with you on the breastfeeding thing! I have NEVER regretted my decision to breast feed my babies. AND, once Sierra hits the 6 month mark and is taking solids, you can also introduce a cup to her (we use the straw cup)... then she can have water with her food (Mia LOVES it). SO, when she's with others, she can have her water and her food, and when she's with you, she can get her milk feedings. Mia isn't a bottle drinker AT ALL (and in the end, you'll be so glad that you do not have to break that habit)... Mia loves her water straw cup and she loves eating. BUT, she'd much rather nurse, and actually gets excited to see me when I've been away for a few hours. It's SO cute how excited she gets when I walk in the room. I'm so proud of you for your decision. I wish all moms would do it... but you know, some just can not get past the issue of breasts being for sexual pleasure... sad though, because that wasn't their sole purpose! They will miss out on that particular bond with their child, but they will bond in other wonderful ways. And it is awesome that you have a supportive husband. It certainly helps! ((hugs))
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