~ Four Months ~

Yesterday, Lola turned 4 months old! 

With every week that passes I keep thinking to myself, this is the best age. This month that has been especially true as Lola has become so engaged with the world. She's related, she's aware, and she'd developing so quickly in both those areas.

I remember thinking when she first started smiling how nice it would be when her smiles were even more social than they were already becoming. When she first started doing it, it was definitely connected to looking at someone or being pleased in some way (i.e. not just a reflexive gas smile) but it was very hard to coax a smile out of her. It was like an elusive event that came and went at random times. But now, oh boy has that changed. Lola loves when we make faces at her, when we make funny noises, when we talk using her words. Her entire face lights up. Its so incredible. Right now shes still silent when she smiles like that. Sometimes she will squeal in delight and sometimes she will babble before and after her smile but she still has yet to giggle or truly laugh. Ahhh I can't wait for that to happen!!

Lola has also become so much more sturdy this past month. Her back strength has increased by leaps and bounds and shes much less of a bobble head with each passing day. Now she prefers to be carried in a way that allows her to hold herself upright, sort of like she's sitting rather than being cradled. And when we put her on her stomach oh boy can she lift that head of hers! Great news because now she has  enough muscle strength to hang out in her bumbo chair. ...Although she kind of hates it.

      

                          

Another bit of news- Lola rolled over for the first time! Full disclosure, I have been totally and completely negligent when it comes to tummy time. I think I had done it a total of 3 times since she was born...well, that did not seem to impact our little Lola one bit. The third time I remembered to do it - about two weeks ago - Lola immediately turned right over on to her back! Next stop crawling (right Sean?). 

A great thing about Lola now being 4 months is that she is becoming increasingly more independent. She loves her playmat and will gladly lay there on her own, kicking her legs and babbling away to the toys around her. She loves when we get down on her level and play with her too but now when I need to do some cooking or anything else that requires two hands, its almost doable! Everyday life has certainly become much more manageable lately. 

Thankfully, amazingly, Lola is still doing great on the sleep front. This month she has started to go to bed earlier, between 7 and 7:30pm. We have also started initiating her bedtime routine on our own schedule rather than waiting for her to start crying signaling it was time to get moving. For the vast majority of this month, shes done very little complaining when we put her in her bassinet - she tends to just roll onto her side, stick her hand in her mouth, and thats that. In the last week and a half or so she's been having a bit more trouble but nothing popping her binky in her mouth can't solve.

Oh thats the other thing thats new - Lola takes a binky. Actually more accurately I should say: Lola loves her binky. I sometimes worry that she's going to become too dependent on it but with all teething pains she's been having lately, its sometimes all she wants. And I suppose if the constant sucking is helping ease the pressure and pain of her swollen gums, then its worth it. I was really, really trying not to have her use it at nighttime and especially not at bedtime but... Well, first, she woke up a few times in the middle of the night. I didn't get the feeling she was growing through a growth spurt and since she's shown that she can make it through the night without feeding, I didn't think a meal was necessary (nor did I want to start getting into the habit of that again!). And smell-wise, she didn't seem to need a diaper change. All I could think of that could be wrong was that she was uncomfortable. So, I upped the heat, mover her bassinet farther from the window, and just in case stuck the binky in her mouth. Worked like a charm. Within 15minutes she was back asleep. And then a handful of times Lola was having trouble settling off to sleep and was desperately trying to stick her hands in her mouth but it just didn't seem to be working as effectively as she likes. It also was happening after particularly bad teething days where drool and red cheeks were the story. So, again, I gave in and stuck in binky. The first two times I've popped it back out again as soon as drifts off to sleep. The last time, I wasn't so on top of it. 

And then last night Lola was up at 3:30am. It started with her just chatting to herself but slowly turned into crying. Nothing really appeared to be wrong and I was really looking forward to a Saturday night snooze...so binky to the rescue. It worked again. The thing is, about 5mins later it fell out, Lola cried, and I re-popped in. This time success. What I worry about though is that she won't always be right next to our bed where I can do this without even opening my eyes and I really don't want to be getting up several times a night to re-insert a rogue binky... And then I think oh who cares it will get sorted out when it needs to. We've been really go with the flow throughout these last 4 months and its served us so well so why change that now? At least this is what I plan to keep telling myself and hopefully it will become reality! 

So yeah, Lola is still in our room with us. Before she was born I totally thought she could start in her crib in her own room and it would be nooooo problem for me. Now? Forget it, I can't even think about her moving to her nursery full time it makes me so sad and so nervous. The thing is, the more aware of her surroundings that she gets, the more she realizes how big the crib is and the less she's able to sleep in it. Lola has been having some difficulties with naps lately and you can see her preference is for small spaces. I'm not looking forward to the transition at all!

But there I go again catastrophizing and ruining a perfectly positive post on Lola's latest progress. So, I'll stop there and refocus for a quick recap: This month has been the best one yet. We can see how far Lola has come and catch glimpses of where she's about to go next and its all so exciting. Shes now looking like a baby rather than a newborn and her personality is coming through in spades. She remains the very best baby girl around and I love her more than anything in the entire world.

Happy 4 months Lola bean!