4 Months Old!

Ariella is growing so fast, it's insane! We have her well-baby checkup this Saturday, and we'll get her new official measurements. And, we'll have the 5 vaccinations again (no fun). And, I'll bet the pediatrician will talk about introducing solid foods. I think we're going to stick with the breast milk only until 6 months (as is recommended by all of the baby associations as being the absolute healthiest). But, I'm sure the doctor will say we can start solids if we want.

I'm thrilled that I've made it through 4 months of exclusive breast milk. She's gaining so many health benefits. And, if I can make it through 6 months, then I think she'll also have the extra protection against diabetes and obesity. Ariella's been gaining weight wonderfully, and she's never been sick. (She has had a clogged tear duct, but I don't think that really counts.) So, I think the breast milk has been great for her. It's been a journey for me - sometimes more difficult than others (mostly because of having to pump while at work). But, I feel proud that I've made it this far.

Ariella can do assisted-standing now (which her daddy is really proud of). She sits straddling Tyree's leg, and pushes herself into a standing position from there (with him holding her hands). Granted, it's only a couple of seconds, but he's extremely excited about it.

We have Ariella sleeping in her bassinet at night almost exclusively, and she's doing fine with it. She slept all the way through the night one time, but then went back to her regular pattern (waking up to eat around both 12:30am and 3:30am (and then of course 5:30am and then 7:30am). There's still a long way to go with that, but every so often she'll skip her 12:30am feeding, which is nice for me. Tyree sleeps through all of it most nights, so it doesn't affect his sleep too much. Me, on the other hand, it's a wonderful surprise when I can sleep for 4-5 hours straight.

She's still only rolling the one way (so, no back to stomach yet), but I'm not worried. She likes to try to scoot/crawl once she's on her stomach, though. She really wants to be mobile. Everything will come in time, though.