4 Month Appointment

Yesterday Kalaya had her 4 month checkup, only a couple of weeks past actually being 4 months. She did great! Soooo much better than the last few times. She was totally content while the nurse weighed and measured her. She is now 15 pounds and 1/2 an ounce. She is 25 inches long, both keep her in the 75th percentile. She is very consistent! She was also very content to sit on Daddy's lap while Dr. Wu examined her. She only fussed for a little bit when he used the tongue depressor to look at what we thought may be a tooth. Turns out it is just cartilage and her gums will eventually grow over it, so she is not getting teeth right now, which is fine! Dr. Wu said she looked great! We absolutely love Dr. Wu, so much so that we are driving from Washington all the way back to Tualatin for appointments. He is so supportive of everything associated with attachment parenting; having a family bed, not letting her cry it out, etc. We talked a little bit about starting solid foods, but he said it wasn't necessary yet. We'll chat more about it at her 6 month appointment and then get that going. Still just breast milk for Kalaya! It's obviously nourishing her just fine!

The only challenge, obviously, was the vaccinations. Only 1 more appointment with 3 shots, thank goodness! At least it was over quickly, some screams, sobs and then right to the breast. She did so well. And, I did better this time too! : )

19 Weeks

Is that right?? I know she's getting older, because I no longer think of Kalaya's age in terms of weeks. I had to look at the calendar and check to be sure!

Not a terrible amount to report this week, but I'm trying to get better about posting regularly again! Kalaya has discovered her toes this week! She plays with them the most when they are bare, which isn't as often any more, since the weather has turned cooler. She puts them in her mouth on the changing table or during bath time. It's a nice replacement for her fingers, which she tends to have in her mouth any time she is awake and not eating. She has gotten better at it, but still gags herself occasionally, which never ceases to freak me out! It's a horrible noise. At least she hasn't made herself throw up in a few weeks, thank goodness!

Kalaya is such a happy, content baby! She rarely cries at home and when she does, we know each other so well that it's usually very easy to figure out what she needs. She makes babbling, humming, silly noises constantly throughout the day, it's so cute! She has very obvious signs when she's tired, she yawns, rubs her eyes and buries her head in my shoulder (so sweet!), so I have been able to put her down and have her fall asleep for naps on her own, which has been a huge step at our house! She used to nap on me each time. I already miss it, but I'm glad she can fall asleep herself. There are still times when she is too tired and needs to nurse to sleep and then stay on me, but the naps on her own are getting more frequent. We are not parents who believe in baby crying it out in order to fall asleep. I know there are many out there who think otherwise, and if that works for you, great! However, there is a huge difference between allowing her to fuss as she falls asleep (which she definitely does some times) and letting a baby scream and cry themselves to the point of exhaustion. You can definitely tell the difference. If Kalaya is really upset, we rock her, or soothe, or nurse, which calms her and then put her back down awake and she then falls asleep on her own. Very rarely do we have to completely let her fall asleep and put her down totally out. We've done a lot of research on different opinions of how to raise her and we feel the most comfortable with the attachment parenting method. There are so many things about it, between co-sleeping, baby wearing, exclusively nursing and not letting her cry it out, that we completely agree with. It feels so natural to us and after 4 months of practicing these methods, we feel like we know Kalaya so well and are able to meet her needs so much better than if we'd tried scheduling her, putting her alone in her crib down the hall, forcing a bottle on her, etc. Again, I completely support whatever method each parent chooses for their own child, but this has worked so well for us!

4 months (cont)

I'm sitting here smiling, looking over at my sweet baby, who is content to sit in her swing and babble away. I never knew I could love someone so much! She is so cute, sweet, lovable, everything I ever hoped for and more! Being a mom is the greatest thing ever. I knew I would love it, but it is beyond anything I ever expected.

Kalaya is changing so much every day, it's amazing to watch! She has not only discovered her voice, she has discovered that she can change the pitch in her voice. She babbles constantly to anything and everything. She wakes up babbling and babbles right up until nap time. She learned how to make an extremely high pitched noise this week, which scared the absolute CRAP out of me the first few times she made it. I calmly explained to her that that noise needs to be saved for something like a deadly viper entering the room, but, strangely, she didn't listen. She makes it constantly, usually just for fun, but has incorporated it into her cries as well. She plays so well now and for extended periods of time, especially on her gym. She has become very independent about entertaining herself. She loves her gym, her swing, books and other toys. Car rides are getting even better, because she can hold, look at, and play with toys, so she gets distracted from being stuck in the car seat. We went to dinner last night and had a couple next to us ask if she was "always this good and quiet." She sat in her seat, and played with her cow toy and book and didn't get fussy until the end, which was very brief and then nursed herself to sleep.

School has officially started and I feel as though I really am a stay at home mom now! It was kind of weird this week, knowing that kids were starting school and I didn't have anything to do with it! Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed teaching and I may want to go back some day. But, I love being a mom so, so much! It doesn't get monotonous to me, doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, I love it! It's nice to have some other friends (though sadly, too many are out of state!) who are also stay at home moms and understand the feeling. I get so, so SO sick of people making comments like, "oh, that's so nice that you get to do that." You know what? If you make it a priority, you can do it too. (the exception being single mothers) You know what? We only have one car. We budget a LOT. We rent our house. We don't go out to eat very often and we go to inexpensive places when we do. We don't go on vacations. We shop at places like Ross, Goodwill and Target. These are not complaints in any way, just facts. I always, always, always knew that I was going to be at home with my kids. I am still employed at our church, but I only work on Sundays. And, that's just a bonus, it wasn't in my original plan. I may add nanny back to my list some day, but we're in no rush. Nelson knew from very early on in our dating relationship how important this was to me. We made it a priority and we've made it happen. We don't have a high income, but we've made it happen. We just aren't a "things" couple. If there's something we want, we save for it, wait for it to go on sale, and/or get it used. We are so happy and grateful for everything we have and we always know that God will find a way to provide for us what we need and more. We are very grateful for Nelson's job and the wonderful benefits that go along with that. We're so grateful that Kalaya has a parent at home with her. I have nothing against working moms. I just don't ever want to leave my baby all day. Exclusively nursing is so important to me and it (obviously) would never work if I was away from her. I can't stand when people act like I'm spoiled or lazy for staying home. Hmm....that vent came from out of no where, but that's how I feel!

Kalaya is a wonderful, sweet and happy baby! She is happiest at home, when she's near Daddy or (especially) me. She is slow to warm up to unfamiliar faces some times, but, I swear she feeds off of other's energies. When people are soft, approach her slowly and respect her need for Mommy, she is all smiles and coos. When people are loud, in her face, try to pick her up when she is obviously content, or say things like, "you're just a little pill, aren't you?", of course she fusses! (people need to think before they make those little comments) The sling has been a lifesaver, it keeps her so calm. It's great whenever we're out in public, whether at the grocery store, church, the zoo or, last Sunday, the Beaver game. This game went SO much better than last time. The weather was cooler and I think that made all the difference. She sat in the sling and hardly fussed. We have gotten very good at nursing in all situations. It made a big difference once I stopped caring what others thought and focused on giving Kalaya what she needs. And, Grandpa finally figured out to stop telling me to cover up every time. : )

Passed out in the sling, at the Portland Beavers game.
(her rattle is a softball, can't start too soon!)

Wearing one of her cute new winter hats from Maia, cutest Minnie ever!

She is SO close to rolling from back to front!

4 months old

We finally caught a giggle on camera!