As you’re reading this, Skylar is actually almost 5 months old. Our summer has already been crazy busy. Between work and family commitments, I have had little time to focus on writing. I didn’t want to miss sharing this post though because a lot has changed since Skylar’s 2 month update. Not only has she grown a lot, but we are starting to see her personality develop.

Skylar’s Stats at 4 Months

Height – 26 inches

Weight – 13 lbs 11 oz

Eating

I am still exclusively breastfeeding and that has continued to go well. When I’m with Skylar I nurse on demand, but she gets bottles during the week at daycare. She has increased her intake will now drink 4 ounces per bottles. At her 4 month appointment the pediatrician told us that we introduce solids, if she seems interested. Over the last few weeks, I have noticed Skylar watching us more when we eating so we may begin to explore new foods soon.

Sleep

We transitioned Skylar to her own room at 16 weeks. Prior to the transition, she was sleeping in her pack and play in our room. We noticed that she was moving around a lot and waking frequently. This resulted in lack of rest for all of us. We figured she would be more comfortable in her crib since it has a better mattress. We were right. As soon as we moved her to the crib, she started sleeping longer stretches and seemed to get more restful sleep. For the past two weeks or so, she has slept through the night almost everyday. Right now, she typically wakes up around 4:00am for a diaper change and feeding and then goes back to sleep for about 2 more hours.

We are now working on putting her down for bed earlier. At this age, it’s recommended that she get about 10-12 hours of sleep at night. That means an earlier bedtime. At the beginning of this month, Skylar was going to bed between 8:00 and 9:00pm. We started noticing her getting tired earlier in the evening and have slowly moved bedtime up to around 7:00 or 7:30pm.

Best Moments

The best moments have really been watching Skylar interact with her brother. No one can bring a smile to her face or make her laugh quite like he can. I can tell she loves him as much as he loves her.

She’s become more playful and interactive. Since her last update, she has really started “talking” a lot more. And when she has something to say, she makes sure you hear her.

While she still enjoys being held, she loves to lay on her playmat and kick her legs or pull at the toy attachments. She has also discovered her toes and loves to grab at them. Tummy time has improved. While she seems motivated to roll over, she hasn’t mastered it yet. She’s only rolled over twice on her own so far.

Skylar also started sucking her thumb. On one hand, it’s helpful because she can self-soothe and doesn’t require a pacifier. On the other hand, we will have to break the habit as she gets older (which we know can be difficult since Jaden still sucks his thumb occasionally at the age of 3). 😬

Challenges

Some of the biggest challenges I have encountered recently has more to do with me than Skylar. Mom guilt continues be something I battle, especially trying to balance work and family life. At times, I have also found myself second guessing or doubting my ability to parent well. I think a lot of my self-doubt comes from comparing myself to others or giving too much weight to comments from other people regarding what I should/shouldn’t be doing with my children. I have to constantly remind myself that parenting is a journey, it’s not an exact science, and ultimately, I know what’s best for my baby and for our family.