You really start grasping how quickly time goes when you start writing monthly recaps lol. I feel like I just posted her 4 month update and it’s already time to reflect on another month with Josie! In a recent update, I shared how I was tackling my postpartum health journey and it’s been going well so far (minus the last two weeks.. with the holiday it’s been busy). I wouldn’t say I’m eating super clean all the time, but I have made simple switches to increase my daily intake of fruits and veggies. I’m still on medication for my High Blood Pressure, but my goal is to get off them as soon as I can. Anyways, let’s catch up with another monthly update.
How has her sleeping been? Any 4 month sleep regression?
I don’t really think she had a sleep regression. She did have a few nights around the 4-month mark where she woke up once around midnight and was unsettled, but other than that she actually started napping and sleeping better this month. She has become more independent falling asleep on her own consistently and has been having longer naps this month. She usually goes to bed around 8-9PM and sleeps until 8:30- 9:30 the next morning (I wake her up at 9:30 if she’s still sleeping to get her first feed in for the day).
Is Josie on a schedule?
This month it finally feels like there is some predictability to our days and she has naturally put herself on a schedule with 3 naps/day. Prior to this, I stressed over her wake times and although we’re still aware of them, it’s been more helpful going off her sleepy cues to figure out her naps. She typically starts sucking on her thumb and resting her head when she’s ready for bed. Anyways this is her average schedule these days give or take 30 minutes:
4 month schedule
- 9:00 wake up, diaper change, eat, play
- 11:00 NAP
- 1:30 diaper change, eat, play
- 2:00 NAP
- 4:00 diaper change, eat, play
- 5:30 NAP
- 6:30 I always wake her up at this time if she’s still napping
- 7: 00 diaper change, eat, play
- 8:00 Bedtime routine (usually nurse again and do a small bottle)
- 8:30-9:00 Bedtime
How is breastfeeding going?
Honestly, the last 2 months have been more challenging with breastfeeding. The first stage as a newborn was thankfully very easy with a lot of sweet bonding, but now that she’s getting older she’s been much more distracted while eating and she also gets frustrated during the afternoon and evening feeds… which has been difficult to manage. From what I’ve read it can be normal at this age.. which I guess helps.. but it has been a challenge. I think a combination of stress (this is my busiest month for work) and her being distracted has affected my supply a bit. For a few days when I was worried about how much she was eating I weighed her before and after every feed using our Hatch smart scale. During those days, we offered her bottles after feedings and I would do a round of power pumping in the evening. But that did seem to start causing an oversupply so I stopped and it’s since regulated back to normal. Now we just offer a small bottle after her last nursing session before bed to get her to around 25 ounces/day total. She’s pretty small percentile-wise, so I don’t mind giving her the extra calories before bedtime.
A few things that have been helpful to me this month are these warming massagers that I used to help with the clogged duct. I also started using them a few minutes before evening feeds and I think it’s helped increase the flow and she’s been less fussy. If you don’t want to purchase these, you can always use a heating pad and an electric toothbrush and I’m sure it would do the same thing 🙂
I’m also very glad I got the Elvie pump because I’ve been able to go longer out of the house and pump on the go. Now I use it before bed so I don’t go 12 hours between feeds. It’s definitely more convenient to use but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-have. It’s expensive, so if you can justify it in your budget it’s great. I waited to see how breastfeeding would go before purchasing it, and I am glad to have it!
** Luckily since starting this post things have gotten better! I think my cycle may be a factor too. That’s a misconception I had about breastfeeding… I thought I would be period free for another year but mine returned to normal around 2 months. I think it’s because she started sleeping through the night early on, so I guess I can’t really complain!
Josies Favorites
She loves anything with a crinkle noise and prefers to be on her tummy for play and sleep. These are the items we used the most this past month.
monthly milestones
The biggest milestone this month is she finally started to giggle, usually when I’m dancing with her after dinner and it’s the cutest thing! She is also getting much better at rolling both ways and intentionally rolling from tummy to back. I bought her the UpSeat in preparation for her to start solids soon and to practice sitting in a supported position. I love that it comes with a tray and the positioning is great for her developing hips.
Nursing Friendly Outfits of the Month:
See you soon for her 6 month update since this post is going up late 🙂
xoAmanda
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