Rolling Over Queen!

Here is Charlotte rolling over from back to belly. Please forgive my excitement - I'm one proud Mommy!

Speaking of rolling over, weaning Charlotte from swaddling has been interesting. She's been waking up each night rolling over, and won't roll onto her back. Monday night, I held her arms down at around 2AM because every time I let go, she'd lift those legs in the air and roll over. Eventually, she calmed down and went back to sleep. Of course, it took Chris and me a long time to fall back asleep because we were just bracing ourselves for her to wake up again. Last night she managed to sleep okay, but that's because she's sleeping on her stomach, which is fine with us.

Weekend Update

Hi Everyone,

This is very stream-of-consciousness so I apologize in advance.

So Friday was Charlotte's four month appointment.  She's growing very consistently.  Her doctor was very pleased with her growth and tickled by her smiles and laughs.

Weight: 15 lbs 10.3 oz - 87%
Height: 27 inches - 100% (still off the charts and around the size of a 7 - 8 month old)
Head Circumference: 16.73 inches - around the 86th percentile - can't quite remember and don't really care?

I discussed with Charlotte's doctor that she eats a lot at daycare -- sometimes as much as 20 oz -- but still wakes up hungry at night.  As a result, we got the go ahead to introduce solids.  We're going to start with rice cereal and once she gets the hang of eating, we'll move on to pureed fruits and vegetables.  So we'll start that as soon as we A) get my boss's son's highchair, B) get a splat mat, and C) get some baby spoons.  We are SO not prepared.

Charlotte also got her four month shots. The Pediatric Injection Clinic was packed on Friday because of parents and children trying to get the HlN1 vaccine.  Luckily, as Charlotte was there to get shots other than the flu shot, we didn't have to wait in line at all!  And as Charlotte is too young to get the flu shot, I got it at the same time.  Score!  Charlotte handled the shots much better this time.  She screamed for a couple minutes, and was all smiles shortly thereafter.

During her exam, Charlotte was constantly rolling over on to her tummy and then back again.  Her doctor was quite impressed and said that if she wanted to, Charlotte could roll across the entire room that way!  Ack!  Mobility!  Time to start baby-proofing our house.

Speaking of rolling over....  So we've been swaddling Charlotte at night since birth.  She takes the swaddling as a cue that it's bedtime and goes to sleep pretty easily.  It's worked great for us until now.  Now, because she's rolling over constantly (mainly from back to belly), this is presenting a problem.  We're trying to wean her from the swaddling, but it's not going very well.  For one thing, it's a lot easier to roll over when your legs and arms are free.  As a result, we have to go up multiple times to flip her onto her back.  Last night she woke up at 12:45 and then again at 5:45, and both times we found her on her stomach.  The thing is, she hasn't gotten the memo that she can just flip herself to her back when she's tired of being on her tummy.  Instead, she starts crying because she's so frustrated.  Oh joy!

We have a great video of Charlotte rolling over onto her stomach three times in succession, so I'll have to share it here as soon as I get a chance to upload it.

Finally, we had a really nice weekend!  On Saturday, we headed to San Francisco to visit with our friends Nancy and Eric, who just moved there.  It was an absolutely beautiful day -- sunny and warm -- and we walked all over the Noe Valley neighborhood.  Two city blocks were blocked off for a Harvest Festival complete with face painting, pumpkin decorating, and a Halloween pet costume contest.  The winner was an adorable little dog dressed up like Frida Kahlo -- she even had the iconic uni-brow!  Charlotte had fun until about the end when she had a major meltdown because she was so tired.  We hightailed it out of there and she slept all the way back to Sacramento.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Next weekend, Charlotte's first Halloween!

Like Daughter, Like Father

Charlotte has this new habit of lifting one foot up in the air.  Chris decided to be silly and copy her.  Kind of like those ridiculous Captain Morgan Rum commercials...

Also, we wanted to welcome to the world Jackson Weaver, first son of Terry and Susan.  He was born yesterday and is exactly four months younger than Charlotte!  We hope they will be good friends.

Four Months Old!

Charlotte is four months old today.  I can hardly believe it.  It's a total cliché, but time is seriously flying by!  Our baby girl seems to be discovering new things she can do every day.  She has mastered rolling over from back to tummy.  I'll put her down on her activity mat, and the minute I turn around she's flipped on to her tummy!  She is also getting better and better at her hand eye coordination.  On Saturday, we went to Total Wine to stock up, so we placed her car seat on top of the shopping cart.  While Chris was salivating over the thousands of wines in the store, I would get my face really close to hers (the car seat was much closer to my eye level) and she would grab my nose!  Very cute.  She also has her first stuffed animal friend - a very long and skinny bunny that's easy to grab on to.

Friday is her four month appointment, so we'll find out then how long she is.  She'll also have to get more fun shots. Boo.

Charlotte holding on to her new friend, Bunny.

Charlotte standing up with her cute BabyLegs on.  Taken this morning from  my iPhone!  It's not the best quality, but it sure is convenient.

The New Normal

Charlotte is nothing if not consistent.  Every night for the past 4 nights, like clockwork, she wakes up hungry at 2AM and then at 6AM.  It's pretty eerie, actually.  This doesn't seem to matter whether she goes to bed at 8 (her normal bedtime) or later.  On Monday, we went out to dinner for a friend's birthday and didn't get Charlotte to bed until 9:30.  Two o'clock rolls around and there's that crying on the monitor!  Now, two weeks ago, I was a wreck with this change in sleeping, but it's become the new normal.  After I feed her at 6AM, she falls back to sleep on our bed and I get ready for the day.  So technically it's only one nighttime feeding, but it's still strange that she went from consistently sleeping 8 hour stretches to now not going more than 6 hours at one time.  I've done a lot of researching online and a general consensus is that at four months, babies just start undergoing major developmental changes and this affects their normal sleep habits.  Of course this had to coincide with my going back to work, which might be a coincidence or it might not be.  All in all, it's really not so bad.  She forces me to actually get to work early, which is a good thing. 

My Thoughts on Co-Sleeping

I've also read that when you go back to work, it's not uncommon for the breastfed baby to start waking up at night to get some extra quality time with mom.  The solution in this book I bought by Dr. Sears was super preachy -- something along the lines of "the experienced mother will just accept this new routine and enjoy this new bonding time with her baby."  So when I read this, it was 2AM on one of the nights I was frustrated and crying, and I literally threw the book across the room.  How dare you tell me that I'm supposed to just accept sleeplessness in the middle of the night when my baby used to be such a great sleeper?  This is also the same book that suggests that adoptive mothers can breastfeed their adopted babies if they just "try" hard enough, and that working mothers should bring their babies to work and "wear" them (please tell me which place of employment allows you to bring your baby to work).  And that the solution is co-sleeping with your baby.  Now, I'm not opposed to co-sleep per se, but the thing is, I can't sleep when Charlotte's in the bed with us.  She moves a lot, and I just can't settle down knowing I might pull the covers over her head and smother her.  So that's why we don't co-sleep.  Wait, let me rephrase this. That's why I don't co-sleep.  Charlotte and her daddy sleep just fine together. :)

So in sum, we're coping.  I'm definitely a little more tired than I'd like, but I actually get up in the morning and have time to take a shower, eat breakfast, actually blowdry my hair, all while Charlotte blissfully sleeps off her 6AM feeding (her daddy is also often sleeping still!).  And of course, my heart melts when we finally wake her up for the day and she just grins and grins like you're the best thing since sliced bread.

Getting in the Swing of Things

The Berrys have all been sick this week, I'm afraid. It started with me getting a sore throat and has expanded to a full head cold.  Then Charlotte got a cold and has been all congested.  Today, Chris is sick.  Although I've felt horrible, Charlotte's been happy, happy, happy.  And she's also been, for the most part, sleeping much better.  We're chalking up last week to a growth spurt and/or transition to a new routine.  Yesterday afternoon Miss Linda called and said that Charlotte must have an ear infection because she's been tugging on her ear and it was bright red.  Uggh, I thought, what next?  So I took Charlotte to the doctor this morning, but nope, no ear infection.  Apart from being all stuffed up, Charlotte is doing great.  She now weighs 14lbs, 14oz!  What a big little girl. No measurements, but her four month appointment is in two weeks, so we'll find out then.

I guess I should expect some paranoia on the part of the daycare lady because the mom who recommended Linda told me that when her son had diarrhea once, Linda was sure it was e. coli. Right. So we'll just have to observe Charlotte ourselves next time before rushing her to the doctor's.

Sleep Regression and Fall in Sacramento

So we've had a rough few days.  Suddenly our great sleeper is waking up every three or four hours during the night.  Wow.  We think she wakes herself up, talks to herself for a bit, and then suddenly decides, "Hey, I'm hungry! Why don't I cry and get Mommy's attention!"  So instead of 8 hours of interrupted sleep, Charlotte has been waking up at 1, 4:30, 7:30, etc.  Ouch!  She seems happy, but obviously there's some kind of change.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that Charlotte might be getting her first cold because she's been coughing and sneezing a lot today, and well, because I'm getting a cold.  I haven't been sick since February, but of course I've ventured back into the real world of germs.  The owner of Dad's Kitchen in Land Park told me at breakfast this morning (he has a 7 month old) that as soon as they get sick their sleeping gets all out of whack. 

Who knows why the sleep change has happened.  It could be A) Charlotte's sick and feeling lousy, B) misses nursing, C) has the so-called 4 month sleep regression where she is more interested in her surroundings so wants to be up and look around, D) hitting a growth spurt that makes her hungry, or E) a combination of the above.  Whatever it is, it's a major change.

In any case, after being frustrated two nights in a row, I've decided to just take it as it comes.  We've been spoiled like crazy up until this point, and Charlotte is still a very happy and mellow baby, so we're still pretty lucky.  She's also the size of a six month old, so maybe she really does need to be eating more (rice cereal?).  I'm going to email her doctor for advice.  And I've decided not to beat myself up about pumping.  Had I thought about it beforehand, I would have been stockpiling milk in the freezer, but since I didn't, I'll know that she's thriving just fine on the half and half diet.

The weather has finally cooled down.  I think Sacramento in the Fall is the best.  The mornings are crisp, the days are still mild, and we're all thankful for no more triple digit days.  We spent yesterday pressing grapes at our neighbors across the street, and today Chris is getting 250 pounds of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to start fermenting in the garage (he already has Merlot aging).  And today marks one year since we found out that Charlotte was on the way!  So yes, Fall is the best!

Mmm...Maple Syrup!

So I spoke to a lactation consultant the other day, the one who taught our breastfeeding class and helped me out so much when Charlotte was about 5 days old.  She gave me some advice including trying to pump one more session during the day, pumping longer, and taking fenugreek supplements.  I have to say that it's almost impossible to pump one more time at work, and hello, I'm already pumping for half an hour!  Half an hour at a time -- I feel like an industrial dairy cow!  So I'm taking fenugreek pills three times a day and like the lactation consultant warned me, I now smell like maple syrup.  I sweat maple syrup and I pee maple syrup, and now Charlotte smells like maple syrup. Weird. But I guess there are worse smells to have?

So far, I haven't noticed any upswings in the milk supply area.  Not pumping any more, but not pumping any less.  The real difference?  Charlotte has not been sleeping as well.  I think I've boasted about her ability to consistently sleep for 8 to 11 hours at a time (like 8 to 4 or 6) and then eating and sleeping for another three hours.  But now? She's been waking up at 2 or 3 for the past few nights.  On Wednesday night, when she woke up at 2 AM, I lost it and just cried and cried.  I mean, I haven't seen 2AM in weeks (like maybe since she was about 6 weeks old)!  My poor baby.  Is she such a crazy eater during the day that she was used to eating more than the 16 ounces Linda feeds her at daycare?  Does she miss nursing?  Ack.  And of course, this just means that I am exhausted and stressed and worried.

Chris and I decided to try something new for my sanity.  We put Charlotte to bed at 7:30, I went to sleep at 9, and Chris brought Charlotte in at 11PM for me to feed her again.  But I was so out of it that she ate and I pretty much slept through her eating until 12:30, when Chris put her back in her crib.  And then she woke up again at 4, ate, and then slept until 8:30 (I'm working from home today).

I guess I'm just worried that she's not sleeping enough.  When I dropped her off at daycare this morning, Linda said that Charlotte slept a ton yesterday - two hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. I  certainly don't want her mixing up her nights and days, but then again, Charlotte was used to sleeping through the night, eating, and then sleeping again for two to three hours.

This insanity really feels like I'm starting all over again.  We need to come up with a new schedule or I'm going to be a wreck at work.