4 Months! And 5 Months!

My baby is growing up so fast! Maybe not super fast, but at any rate, she's growing faster than mommy can write new blog posts. She's already 5 months old. Of course it feels like we've had her forever (especially at 1:00 in the morning).

In the last month she's started rolling front to back, then a week later, back to front. Now she's trying to sit up on her own and actually manages to stay upright for a few seconds before faceplanting into the floor. Next week she'll probably be crawling. Although I hope not since I'm not very mobile at the present time.  

I have to say, Greyden is the best big brother ever. I had to take both kids to the doctor for their well visits a few weeks ago. Of course both needed shots and Kevin was out of town. I had them do Greyden's first so that I could calm him down before doing Emerson. He cried for a few minutes, but I asked him if he could help Sissy with her shots. He said yes and climbed up on the step stool next to the table and held her hand. It was precious. It's also amazing how much Emerson adores Greyden. If he's in the room, she has to be watching him and, if possible, touching him. There is nothing the two of them like more than laying next to each other in Emerson's crib before their baths each night. Emerson just reaches for him and laughs the entire time.

Here are her 4 month pictures:

And here are her 5 month shots:

Checking In!

Weeks Post Partum: 22 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: A TON. Well, not quite a ton. But I was thrilled to step on the scale last week and see that I was down to 165. How? I have no idea. It must have been the fact that I haven't exercised since October. Or maybe the fact that we order pizza at least twice a week. Regardless, I'll take it. (And if that's the case, bring on the Christmas cookies!)

Maternity Clothes: I have officially ditched the maternity pants. Literally. I threw a pair of jeans away. Granted it just about killed me since I hate throwing away clothes. I'd love to say it was because they were too big on me, but to be honest, the belt loops were ripped off (from me hauling them over my love handles) leaving gaping holes where my muffin top was squeezing out. How's that for a visual? 

Sleep: Have you ever heard of the 4 month wakeful? Apparently at 4 months, babies are hitting a stage where they're becoming more aware of their surroundings and therefore are sleeping a lot less. I remember Greyden going through that phase. I just laughed this time thinking about how Emerson would never start waking up at night. She's been sleeping all night and only getting up once since day 1. No sense in ruining a good thing, right? Then she ruined it. At about 4 months and 2 weeks, she became very difficult to put down. I used to nurse her, lay her in the crib, and walk out. Now I nurse her, lay her in the crib, walk out, walk back in, put paci in, walk out, walk in, put paci in, sit in chair because I'm sick of walking out, walk out, go downstairs and relax for 15 minutes, go upstairs, nurse her, lay her in crib, walk out, walk back in, put paci in....you get the idea. All I could figure was that it was because she was fighting her swaddle so badly. So we stopped cold turkey. For the 3rd time. The last 2 times we gave up and reswaddled her again after a few sleepless nights. This time, we're sticking with it. She's getting a little better. I only have to go back into her room 1 or 2 times before she's down for the night. And when I say "down for the night" I mean, down until she gets up at 11, 1, and 5.

Best moments this week: 

 
What I am looking forward to: Christmas! I am so excited for Santa to come for the kids. We've been telling Greyden all about Santa. While Kevin was explaining that Santa was coming to bring presents, Greyden suddenly stopped and looked at the door. Then he looked back at Kevin and said "Someone here, Daddy!" HA! Not quite yet, buddy. We took them to see Santa last week. There is a little one room schoolhouse that the Brighton Historical Society opens each year to host Santa and Mrs. Claus for the kids. It was perfect. No mall, no lines. There were probably 20 people there total, and most were running it. And they had baked goods. We've definitely found our Santa spot. I'm still shocked that Greyden went and sat on his lap. Emerson was ALL about the candy cane (which Mommy later ate - refer to weight loss section above).

Milestones: Rolling front to back (18 weeks), back to front (19 weeks), and wanting to sit up on her own. We've also moved her into the big bathtub with Greyden since her little infant tub was causing tsunamis all over the mirror and countertop. The girl likes to splash just a leettle bit.



This is when we caught her rolling from back to front. Doesn't she look proud of herself?