Blake Olivia: 4 months

What's been happening this month:

• Blake moved from the bassinet to her crib.  It was the easiest transition.  She loves the crib and sleeps great in there.  I was obsessed with watching the monitor for the first two nights and kept the video on, which lit up our whole bedroom, but by the third night I was ready to relax a little and just have the sound on.  Now I check the video periodically if I wake up just to peek in on her but we sleep with video off.  Everyone is sleeping better.  Even Cody.
• I'm still getting up once a night to pump and I think that will just be the way it is for as long as I am nursing.  It's actually not that bad, or at least I'm getting used to it.  I have stopped any extra pumping during the day because I was having a bit of an oversupply issue.  It's nice to know how to control it now and that I have to option to increase and decrease it if I need to.  Nursing a baby is such a huge commitment.  I never knew just how challenging it would be but it is so rewarding also.
• Blake is not rolling over yet and still prefers to sleep swaddled.  From what I have read, it is still perfectly fine and safe as long as she can't roll over.  I use the Swaddle Me velcro swaddlers and I love them.  It's funny because I hated them in the beginning.  It's crazy how things change.  I tried the Halo Sleep Sack Swaddler and it worked for a few nights but she was able to get her hands out pretty easily so I got rid of it in favor of the Swaddle Me.  
• Blake has discovered TV and definitely shows a lot of interest in it.  She has even been so distracted that she refused to eat because she was turning her head to see the TV.  I have been trying to keep it turned off during the day so she won't be staring at it but it's hard because I'm so used to having it on in the background.  
• Tummy time is getting better.  She will do longer stretches now that she has the super fun tummy time mat that looks like a pink surfboard and has a pouch with water and floating fish in the front.  By longer I mean 5-10 minutes.  We are still far from the 1 hour a day recommended by the pediatrician.  I'm trying though :) 
• We have had a few real belly laughs but they are unpredictable.  She had a huge blow out poop that she thought was pretty hilarious one day but I can't really get her to laugh on command.  It sucks because once you hear it once, you are addicted and I'm constantly trying to get her to laugh again.  Big smiles, on the other hand, are easy to get out of her now.  She is definitely ticklish.
• Her neck is getting a lot stronger and she has a lot more control.  She also has a lot more control of her hands.  She likes to grab at everything.  She also chews on her fingers constantly.
• We had a little scare when I was rear ended with Blake in the back seat.  It wasn't that bad of an accident but even a fender bender can shake you up when you hear your baby screaming right after.  It was just the noise that scared her and I was able to calm her within a few minutes but it definitely rattled us both.
• I have been trying to get outside and do some exercise since I really want to get back in shape so we have been walking.  Blake loves to nap in the Ergo baby.
• Her nap schedule really isn't a schedule.  I'm torn on whether to force her into one or not.   Some say that it's soooo important and others say let the baby take the lead.  I try to stay somewhere in the middle and make sure she gets her sleep but I follow her cues.  I'm also torn about nursing her to sleep all the time. It is great bonding time for us and she falls right to sleep and stays asleep.  It's hard to believe something that comes so natural and works so well could be a bad habit but there are tons of people that will tell you it's bad.  Again, I'm just following my gut on this one and doing what works for us.  I really can't complain since I have a happy baby that sleeps through the night.  I must be doing something right.  I am reserving the right to change my mind though if I get a more difficult child the second time around :)
• My hair is finally falling out and it's amazing I can lose that much hair a day and not be bald.  I was hoping I would be immune to this one but, just like everyone else I know, I'm losing my hair.  I Googled it and read that it's the pregnancy hormones that make your body hold on to extra hair that it would normally shed all throughout your pregnancy.  So this stage is just your body catching up and shedding the excess.  (That's why people often have really thick, gorgeous hair while they are pregnant) I don't know if this is the real reason for hair loss but it seems reasonable enough to me.
• There is one really weird/gross thing we have noticed.  Not all the time, but pretty often, her poops smell like popcorn.  It's like we just walked into a movie theater.  I might never eat popcorn again.  There are tons of people talking about it online so I guess it's normal.  It's only with breast milk apparently. 
• Lastly, the best thing about motherhood so far is this amazing bond that Blake and I share.  For this short period of time Blake prefers me to anyone else in the world.  She only wants me.  It's a great feeling.  I tell Kyle that even though right now he comes in 2nd (and it's a close 2nd because she really loves him) his time will eventually come when she prefers him for a while.  I know this can't last forever so I'm soaking it all up right now so I have something to look back on when she's going through those years where she hates me :)