Our baby girl is FOUR months old! 

Now a baby and no longer a newborn, she’s really quite different now. She’s awake and more alert during the day, and behaves like a proper baby and not a sleepy newborn.

I actually find tracking her milestones pretty fascinating and exciting. With Hunter, I was a first time parent and basically learning on the fly. With Carter, I was far too busy juggling two-under-two children to appreciate his milestones. So with Chloe, I have the luxury of having the wisdom of a third time mum, as well as the attention since the older boys are at preschool. Thus, I am REALLY enjoying her baby-ness and milestones!

 

This lil lady looks so demure here, but she is a hell cat. Oh boy, can she scream! She has quite a temper, and is the fussiest and most demanding baby to ever inhabit this earth. Seriously.

Friends used to label Hunter and Carter as “dream babies”, “easy babies”, etc. I didn’t really appreciate that then.. because I didn’t really know any better. But now, with THIS little girl, I sure understand why her brothers had people asking me how to get such easy going babies.

Chloe keeps us on our toes. She is difficult to please. She wakes up fussing/crying/screaming, and she falls asleep fussing/crying/screaming. It’s just her way of life.

YES, she does have her smiley and giggly moments.. but those are generally reserved only for Chris and I, and perhaps 20% of the day – tops. The rest of the time? Fussing/crying/screaming. Oh joy.

 

  

One HUGE ‘milestone’, if you can call it that, is her ability to sit in her stroller. She’ll quietly sit in there more than 50% of the time now, a huge improvement from her 0% before – lol. Of course, the stroller must be upright so she can see the world, and it must be moving around at all times, as she will scream in fury at you if you dare to stop.

 

Falling asleep is a toughie. You see, if we carry her to sleep, she generally will fall asleep easily half the time. However, she will then wake up constantly through the night, demanding to be carried back to sleep – zzzzz. So we get her to fall sleep in her cot, which makes her sleep much better for the rest of the night. Only problem? She can take anything from 10 mins to 3.5hours of fussing/crying/screaming before she fall asleep. So, yes, bedtimes are particularly hairy for us…

She wakes up twice a night (2am / 5am) to nurse. This is a huge bummer for me, as the boys slept through the ENTIRE night without waking me up at the age of 8-10 weeks. And here she is… still waiting up twice a night. Only saving grace is that she will go straight back to sleep after nursing, so I can too.

The pediatrician said it’s normal for babies her size to still wake 2x/night.. as Chloe is super petite. She’s only 5.1kg, which is at the 5th percentile! But, she’s happy and healthy and hitting all her milestones, so I’m not worried. Also, admittedly I like having a petite lil girl… a nice change from my king kong sized boys 😉

 

Daytime naps are totally random and frequent. She naps after 1.5hours of awake time.. and will nap for a mere 30 mins (if in her stroller) or a solid 2 hours (if baby carried on me – her favourite). So different from Hunter who was on a very strict and regimented day napping regime.. because that’s what he loved.

 

The only thing that makes Chloe happy? PEOPLE. People paying ATTENTION to her.

I clearly remember my boys being fascinated with toys and mobiles.. and could spend good bouts of time looking/playing with those. Chloe can’t and won’t. She will look at toys only for a few mins, then lose interest. All she wants is our face, and us talking to her. She is a major attention seeker! Chris says she takes after me. Ahem.

 

It’s been really fun seeing her learn to grasp with one and both hands, move objects to her mouth, and transfer toys from one hand to another.

She easily rolls from front-to-back now, and can roll halfway from back-to-front, but then gets stuck.

Her epic drooling is constant, and she is a fist sucker, unlike her brothers that took a pacifier and never sucked their hands.

 

I think this pic sums us up very well. I exercised daily with her in my belly when I was pregnant.. and I wonder if she remembers it. Now that she’s out, I exercise while holding her – nothing like doing bicep curls with her, or squats to rock her to sleep!

She either watches me doing yoga, or I incorporate her into it. She enjoys the attention and movement, and it usually keeps her happy for 30mins and I get some exercise – so it’s a win-win.

 

Hunter still regularly marvels “I can’t believe my dream came true!” and one day, was gazing at her and then burst out, “Chloe is just soooo cuuuute. I can’t stand it!!”

He ADORES her. I find this surprising as he’s not really a lovey-dovey kinda kid, but he’s quite besotted with her. He generally doesn’t have much patience (especially with Carter), but he has infinite patience with Chloe. When I get angry with her and shout at her, he will swoop in to whisper in her ear to calm her down.. and he will patiently dress her in the morning and rush to her when she cries.

His efforts are rewarded, because this month, she’s started recognising him (and Carter), and dishing out smiles his way. He’s delighted!

 

I love this pic of myself and the three kids, during bedtime story. It’s a bit of a production when I have to get all three kids showered and into bed by 8pm.. but we are slowly getting the hang of it.

 

Me and the little miss. I can’t quite believe I have a mini-me! Also cannot believe that I’ve lived all my life thinking I didn’t want a daughter. What was I thinking? I feel silly thinking that our family was complete with our two boys. NO it wasn’t… it’s truly complete now 🙂

 

What a difference! Her skin tone has lightened and pinked up (she had some issues with Jaundice for the first three months) and really plumped out. Look how much longer her legs have gotten! Even her hair’s gotten longer.

Yes, she is totally a High Needs Baby. Yes, she screams the majority of the day. Yes, she drives me craaazy with her incessant need for attention and carrying. Yes, she is a far cry from her two brothers, who were soooo easy, and I regret that I didn’t appreciate it then.

But… I look at her and I AM IN LOVE. One small smile from her is enough to keep me going for the rest of the day. One little giggle, and I forget all the hardships she’s put me through. One look from her as she searches and locks her eyes on me, and I know I am wanted and loved by her too.

Happy 4 months, my baby chickadee!