4 month Milestones- For mommy

At 4 months, Ryan is learning new things every day.  But I feel like I have reached several milestones myself.  Before RJ was born, I heard many times "The first 6 weeks is the hardest."  Well I am going to say for me, the first 4 months was the hardest!  Finally, I am starting to feel like myself again (most days).  Here are some things that I have finally accomplished this month.

1.  I make dinner occasionally!  Normally it is not until after Ryan is in bed, but still I have put dinner on the table a few times recently.

2.  Since Ryan actually goes to bed by about 7:30 every night (Thank God!!!), I am able to get a few things done at night.  Some nights I do laundry and some nights I relax with a glass of wine... but the point is, I am no longer rushing to bed the second Ryan falls asleep.

3.  I had sex!  Sorry if this is TMI for any family members that may be reading, but after a very long healing process with many complications we were finally able to have sex at 20 weeks PP.

4.  Most days I take a shower.  It varies from day to day, but I consider it a huge accomplishment that I am able to take a shower everyday.  Don't judge me, other new moms will understand :)

Hopefully the list of things returning to "normal" continues over the next few months.  My biggest goal is to find time to work out.  Breastfeeding has helped me loose the weight, so now I need to get my ass back in shape.

Nursing, Formula, and Solids - Oh My!

At Ryan's 4 month doctors appointment we started the conversation about transitioning to formula and starting stage 1 solids. The whole process is a little overwhelming (I think overwhelming is my new favorite motherhood word). Breastfeeding is just so EASY! After those first few weeks of trouble, I have really come to love breastfeeding.

**Anyway, lets start with the transition to formula. I go back to work in September, and I need to have Ryan on formula by then. I would LOVE to continue nursing him for longer, but my job makes it very hard to pump. Also, I really struggle with pumping. I am never able to get more than a few ounces. It would be very hard for me to get full bottles of breast milk in order to keep up. In addition, I feel like recently my milk supply has decreased. I never feel full, Ryan finishes his feedings very quickly, and he seems to still be hungry when he is finished. So all of this leads to the decision to start feeding him formula. I think the transition is going to be much harder on me than it is on him.

Here is the plan, I am going to start taking away 1 nursing session during the day and replacing it with a bottle. I started that this week. He takes the bottle for his 5pm feeding. Then next week I will replace one of his morning feedings with a bottle too. I will keep adding the bottles until there are no nursing sessions left. I hope the last feeding I get rid of is his bed time one. This is for selfish reasons, nursing him to sleep at night is one of my favorite things!

I will be totally switched to formula by the beginning of August. That will mean that I successfully nursed for 5 months. I am both proud of the accomplishment and disappointed that I didn't last longer. Such a bittersweet feeling.

**Solids is a whole new topic. Some mothers start solids with their little ones at 4 months but I am not quite ready. There are few things that I feel should happen first before starting solids. For me personally, I need to be finished with the nursing/formula switch first. It would be to much for Ryan to start formula and solids at the same time. But besides that I also feel that he needs to be able to sit better, show interest in food, open his mouth for a spoon, and hopefully have teeth.

My chiropractor (who as I explained in previous posts is also very much into natural health) explained to me why it is important to wait for a child to have teeth before starting solids. Without going into too much detail, when the digestive system is ready and able to properly digest food, teeth will then cut to through the gums. I know some babies don't get teeth until later, but I am going to try to hold off for a little bit and see what happens.

**So in a nutshell... July will be the formula switch, August may start some solids, and by September when he is 6 months old, we will officially start solids!

Rolling Machine

Ryan rolled for the first time (from back to front) when he turned 3 months old. But now at 4 months, he has become a rolling machine! He rolls to his tummy frequently when he is on the ground playing. There are only 2 problems with this. 1. He hates being on his tummy. I find it very funny that a baby that hates tummy time is very quick to roll onto it! 2. He rolls to his tummy in the middle of the night so I am frequently waking up to roll him back over. Once he gets older and stronger I will just let him stay on his stomach. Here is a video of his playtime and rolling attempts!

Eczema

Ryan's most recent health battle is with eczema. He always had very dry, rough skin but at 3 months it appeared to be eczema. He gets red irritated areas that ooze and get crusty (I know, gross!). The pediatrician and dermatologist both suggest a steroid cream for the hot spots and using Aveeno Eczema lotion all over his body. We also use a humidifier to try to keep his skin moist.

As a mom, I just wish I could figure out what is causing the rash instead of just treating it. I have attempted changing my diet and cutting out foods that might cause an allergy. I make sure that he only wears 100% cotton clothes. I am also re-washing all of his clothes, sheets, blankets, etc in a new detergent ( All free and clear) to see if it helps. I feel like it gets worse when he sweats and at night.

Anyway I am working on it... Ryan likes to make me work!

4 Months

Here we are again at your monthly update!  Your 4th month is off to a great start.  This past month your list of adventures has continued and you had a whole bunch of "firsts"...
- you went to Monmouth Park Race Track
-you went to your first Blue Claws game
-we celebrated Father's Day
-you spent your first full day with a baby sitter (my Aunt Diane and Lauryn)
-you had your first sleep over with GiGi and Pop
-you went to the beach and the boardwalk
-you went in the pool
-you participated in the Save the Barnegat Bay 5k

and on top of all of this, you spent a lot of time with your family and friends! 

Here are some of the highlights during this past month.

* You are 13 pounds and 11 ounces (25th percentile)
* You are still only breastfed.
* You are finally sleeping a little bit better (I am sure I am going to jinx myself for actually typing this).  But the last 2 weeks you have been going to sleep much easier and only waking up one time in the middle of the night to eat.
* You are just starting to nap in your crib, but we still have a lot of work to do with that.
* You are able to grab things and bring them up to your mouth.
* You like playing with simple toys, like Sophie the giraffe and your crinkle dog.
* You seem to be learning something new every day, its amazing to watch you figure things out.
* You are much happier very recently, you smile freguently, and you love interacting with other people.
* You are ALMOST laughing!
* You are almost completely bald, all that is left is your mullet in the back.
* Your cradle cap is almost gone, but you have very bad eczema right now, we hope that goes away as you get older.
* We think you are starting to teeth.  You drool all of the time, you put everything in your mouth, you chew on our fingers, and you are slightly cranky.  We will see.
* You are starting to show that you have ALOT of personality.  You smile, laugh, talk, flirt, cry, yell, scream, and really express your emotions well. 

Over all, there has been a huge improvement between 3-4 months of age (especially in the last 2 weeks).  You are still a fussy baby, but the good times by far outweigh the bad. I am so in love with the little man you are turning into. I can't wait to see what the next month has in store for us!