Month 4 of Motherhood – We’re Rollin’.

We have successfully taken care of another human being for 4 months. I can hardly believe it! We’re now rollin’ in every sense of the word – rolling from back to front, front to back, rolls on his thighs, rolls on his arms, and his belly has rolled over his pants. I am so proud of every ounce of him!

Month 4 brought even more changes for our little Chief – he howls, he belly laughs, he thinks his feet are fascinating, and he rolls like there’s nothing to it. He has also decided that he has WAY more important things to do than nap – like roll or play with his toes. Baby Update:

First, a few stats:

• Weight: 17lbs 11oz
• Height: 27″
• Diaper Size: 3
• Clothing Size: 9 months

Basically, he’s huge. My back and biceps will attest to it. It makes me a little sad that he has more than doubled his weight since we brought him home. It’s only been 4 months, I feel like I got cheated out of an adequate amount tiny baby snuggles. Is this how every stage is going to feel? Like they’re so long while you’re in them but then they’re gone in a blink? I actually shed a few tears today because I can’t really remember that tiny bundle.

I should have never publicly confessed that his sleep schedule was awesome. As awesome as it was in month 3, it was completely the opposite in month 4. Dude wanted to hang out ALL. NIGHT. LONG. He went from sleeping in 6 hour stretches, to waking up, wanting to eat every 2.5-3 hours again. This lasted about 3 weeks. I’ve read they go through a 4 month sleep regression – I think we hit it.

Aside from the lack of sleep, month 4 was fun:

The Sooners won the Sugar Bowl! Beat Auburn 35-19.

His favorite New Yorker came to visit.

He finally got that horse that’s been teasing him for months!

He added to his collection of thigh rolls.

Went (slept) on a lot of walks.

Found his feet.

Transitioned out the swaddle.

Because he’s rolling over so easy, we had to officially let go of the swaddle this month.  Unfortunately, he still has no control over his arms and legs while sleeping – the scratches on his nose are evidence.  Lay him down and it looks like he’s swimming, arms and legs flailing all over the place. We’ve been using the Baby Merlin Magic SleepSuit to try to contain his busy little limbs, but I’m not convinced it’s working. To be continued…

Rolled all day every day.

Lift the hips, tuck the arm, drop the hips over. That’s his tried and true method. He’s been “rolling” for about two months but now his attempts are automatic. He can do it at the drop of a hat.

Mama Update:

Month 4 was a hard one. I felt like we were in a groove – we were all sleeping, we had this nursing thing down, then month 4 came along and turned it on its head. Naps became non-existent, night time sleep became interrupted, and he became much more interested in what was going on behind him than nursing. We’re getting back into a rhythm now but I’m quickly learning to never get too attached to a phase.

I began working out harder – weights and high intensity cardio intervals. I do my workouts with Chief or he cheers for me from his swing – best coach there is! He thinks it’s hysterical to watch me jump around and he loves being added resistance for squats, lunges, or wherever he is needed.

Before I increased my workout routine, I decided to put myself through a fit test. First, I ran a mile. First mile I’ve ran since October 2015. Yikes!

• 1 mile run time: 8:39

Then, I set my timer for 1 minute to see how many reps of each exercise I could do:

• Squats – 47
• Push-ups – 20 (toes), 9 (knees)
• Sit-ups – 21
• (Chest-to-floor) Burpees – 14.5

I plan to re-test myself soon to see if I’ve gotten faster/stronger.

I’m still trying to figure out how to juggle work, baby, husband, general to-do’s, workouts/Cassie time. So far, something is always neglected. I keep thinking it’s going to get easier (and some things do get easier!), but we’re always adding something new to the mix. Maybe when Chief naps longer than 30 minutes I won’t feel so scattered? I’ll figure it out soon. I hope.