Well Time continues to fly and this girl is already 1/4 of the way through her first year.
Little Miss Ayla continues to delight us and this was a month of many firsts for her. She had her first babysitter while Mom and Dad got away for several hours to see a show. She did awesome even if she went on a bit of a hunger strike (taking bottles is still a challenge for her). The weather was finally nice enough for us to go on a little walk and so far she just loves it outside when we've had the opportunity to be there. Another major first is that this girl has started rolling over, back to stomach (the hard way to roll). We started the process of removing the swaddle early because I felt like she was strong and had the potential. When we were discussing the swaddle and sleep situation with our pediatrician a few weeks back she mentioned that we could probably continue with the swaddle because we should have another couple months before we need to worry about rolling. But this girl has been determined to get rolling over (the cheers from her siblings help) and after weeks of trying she finally started making it over on her 3 month birthday. Whew, I just want her to stay my baby but I have a feeling with how strong and determined she is that she just might be an early mover and shaker!
She's turning into a bit of a peanut after all, weighing just right at 12 lbs (30th percentile). It's not unusual for us to have little babies in about those percentiles so I'm not worried. She's still eating great and we are having no issues with nursing at this point! Definitely glad we kept pushing through! Sleep has FINALLY gotten better. Even though she's been sleeping 9-10 hour stretches at night for quite some time, we were really having issues with getting her down at night. At 1 month she wasn't going to sleep until midnight-3 in the morning. At 2 months we were still battling and it was 11-12 at night. But finally just in the last week she has regulated herself and is consistently ready for bed between 8:30-9:00. Mom and Dad are finally getting to bed at a decent time! She's still sleeping pretty good and I can't complain at all. She's ready to eat sometime between 5-7 in the morning and then goes back to sleep.
It has been another great and fast month with our girl. This 3-5 month stage is my most favorite of any as they are still snuggly babies but we get to see and know more about their personalities. So far her personality seems like a thinker. She's a bit more serious than some of the other kids but Mama and her siblings still get lots of smiles. She'd rather face out at the world so she can keep an eye on everything going on. She sometimes fights sleep because she doesn't want to miss anything and will keep trying to pop those eyes back open. She's our strongest baby and just in general seems very determined but that is no surprise to me after the pregnancy I had with her. It is crazy to me that I could determine bits of who she has continued to be as far back as how she was in the womb. She is adored by all of us and we all definitely treat her like the baby :)
Little Miss Ayla, how can you be 3 months old already. This has been a fun month with you and I definitely feel like we are settling in a bit better! You seem to have your ways and routines that we are just going with because girl, you definitely rule the roost! We thought we had this baby business figured out after your 4 siblings but you've taught us we know nothing. There is no "training" you, you're determined to have things the way you want them and we are just rolling with it. I've repeated more than once that "you won't sleep in our bed forever" and you now sleep in your bed next to mine. I've repeated "she won't go to bed at midnight forever" and you are now sound asleep by 9. And now I say "she won't sleep next to the bed forever" or "she won't be a lousy napper forever". I've done this mom thing long enough now to know that everything is just a fleeting phase. Regardless of any sleep issues we've had, I just adore every second of your life and soak in as much of this baby phase as I can because you seem determined to try and keep up with those big siblings as soon as possible. I just want to tell you to slow down, there's no rush, but it doesn't seem you want to listen. So I will take the baby snuggles I can get and kiss those chubby lil cheeks for as long as I still can. You are beautiful and one amazing and precious baby girl!
