Cora 4 months old

We did a Valentines Photo shoot for Daddys gift!

This last month has been so much fun. Cora is very aware of her surroundings and is beginning to play and like adventures. The drool, oh goodness there is drool everywhere! I would think she's teething, but I don't see any signs of it in her mouth. She loves to suck and slobber all over her fist or any toy. She'll take her passifier out of her mouth, and sometimes tries to put it back but hasn't mastered turning it the right direction. This doesn't seem to really phase her, she'll just suck on the side or back of her passifier until someone turns it right for her.

Tummy time isn't nearly as much of a fight, if she doesn't want to be on her tummy now she just rolls over to her back. She hasn't mastered rolling from her back to her front yet but I can tell she is capable of it. She rolls on to both of her sides very well. I'm waiting for the day that she figures out how to move herself from place to place by rolling.

Crawling hasn't happened yet but I'm very encouraged to see that she wants to. In the evenings she and her daddy will sit on the living room rug and play. She churns her legs like crazy and pushes up on her arms but the coordination just isn't there to move forward. She does a pretty good job of spinning herself around with a lot of effort.

This month Cora moved out of our room and into her own. She spent about 4 nights in her bassinet in her own room before we went ahead with the transition to her crib. Her crib doesn't seem to affect her any, that transition was very easy! One night we just put her in her crib rather than bassinet. I'm thrilled that the bed transition went well but sleeping isn't so much. We've lightly tried some sleep training techniques but haven't had much luck. She is capable of sleeping through the night and will do it sometimes but not consistently. Starting at 2 or 3 am if she wakes up I just bring her back to bed with us rather than repeating more trips through the entire house to get to her room. 

Oh! and that poor crib sheet has to be changed at least once a week. Not because of the usual baby messes (spit up has drastically dropped this month!!! I've taken her off her reflux medicine entirely!). She's loosing her hair! She looks bald in pictures because the dark hair is falling out and being replaced by blonde hair.

Each night we start getting ready for bed at about 7:15. She gets a bath every other day unless she's gotten especially gross on a particular day. After bath time John diapers her and gives her a leg massage with lavender lotion; then pajamas. I read her a story and John kisses her goodnight then she gets one last feeding for the day (hopefully, unless she wakes up again later...). I'm trying very hard to keep her awake during this feeding and putting her down in her crib drowsy but still somewhat awake. So far this isn't terribly successful, this girl really likes to fall asleep eating!

Speaking of eating... she eats a ton! She hasn't really increased her feedings; on days that I work she nurses with me then goes to Grandpas for the day where she drinks 5 bottles. We nurse almost immediately when I get home, then she cluster feeds most nights and has another really good feeding right before bed. I'm not sure what she is weighing these days (her 4 month check up and vaccination appointment is coming up in a few weeks) but she's clearly growing! She's out of all NB clothes and very close to being out of all of 0-3, there's just a few onsies and shirts she's still squeezing into. 

We're still holding out on not giving her solids yet. She observes us eating but that seems to be strictly a matter of curiosity. On a whim the other day I gave her a veggie straw as I was snacking on them. She enjoyed holding it but didn't even attempt to take it to her mouth. Unless something major changes, we're planning to skip the cereal in the bottle and puree stage completely and follow a baby led weaning plan and offer real food after she's 6 months old and meets some milestones showing us she is ready for solids. I'm still loving to nurse her but I also know that she likely won't sleep through the night regularly without eating solids. Breast milk is perfect for her now because it's easy to digest... precisely why she doesn't stay full for 8 or more hours. 

Little Miss Cora is learning to self entertain. She has a longer attention span for these things in the mornings - she still loves her jumparoo and will spend up to an hour in it on the mornings I'm home with her. She has an exersaucer at her Grandpa's house that she enjoys but isn't willing to spend much more than 10 minutes in. Her favorite self entertaining toy is her walker (This momma is proud to say she found it on sale for $7! Yay for Target!)! I don't know what it is about her walker but she loves being in it! She still loves her Mr. Foot stuffed sock monkey but her love is split between him and her tambourine. Poor Mr. Foot has a disadvantage because he doesn't sing to her and she adores music. "Shake shake the tambourine, music is such fun! Feel the beat and keep on shaking, listen everyone!" She shakes the tambourine, it sings that delightful repetitive tune and John and I both join in singing its incessant jingle. This new self entertaining is great in the evenings - she'll play in her high chair while I cook dinner.

She's still wearing cloth diapers every day that I'm with her. Both John and I love them. She's never had a cloth diaper blow out but regularly does when she's in disposables. I'll be adding to the CD collection as soon as it's in the budget with prefolds and covers, old school! 

This warm weather has been great! I'm so excited to share all the outdoor activities that spring and summer bring with Cora! So far she has enjoyed her first trip to the park where Daddy & I took turns taking baby girl down the slide and she had a nice time swinging.