Today we had our Bradley childbirth class reunion! It's crazy to think that just 5 months ago we were all taking the class and we were just about to give birth! We all gave birth between mid-December through mid-February. Out of the five couples in our class, four of us had a natural birth. How awesome is that?! The one couple that didn't, had to go in for a Cesearian Section. But we all did great! Way to go mamas!!!! It was so exciting having all the Bradley babies together!
For more information on Bradley Childbirth Classes in the Fort Lauderdale area, please contact Tracy Pericht at http://www.ourbeautifulbirth.com/. Tracy was a wonderful teacher and I truly believe her classes helped make my childbirth experience an amazing one. I tell every pregnant woman I know about the Bradley Method!
Wednesdays we go to a Mommy and Me class, which is a class focused on the baby, and every other Friday Mila and I go to a Mommy Group where other new moms get together with our babies and talk. It's so great to hear what other moms are going through! I learn so much. They are a great group of girls. We talk for a couple of hours and then we all go out to lunch. It's so much fun and sooo theraputic! I really look forward to it. Lisa and Spencer from my Bradley class go too and it's so nice to meet up with them and little Saeryn and Bea! We've also met other new moms. So great to make new friends! Yay!
Today at our Mommy and Me class we played with the tamborine and sang some songs. We also played with this little pop-up dinosaur egg toys. Mila had a blast!
This weekend Jorge also put together Mila's ExerSaucer that my uncle Enrique and aunt Laurie got her for the Baby Shower. It's a really great toy, and Mila loves it! I wanted to find the perfect ExerSaucer for her -- one that was interesting and entertaining, but most importantly, one that would last! So I researched it in my Baby Bargains book and found this one that I liked. It's the Evenflo Triple Fun ExerSaucer. It's called Triple Fun because it has three stages. The first stage is for babies 0-3 months, where it's just a pad where the baby can lie on her back and play with the two toys that dangle. Mila really liked it, but she loved it even more when she could actually grab the toys and put them in her mouth, so we sat her up in the Bumbo and put the toys in front of her.
The second stage is the one we are at now, where she's actually in the ExerSaucer, surrounded by the toys, and that stage is from 4 months to walking age. Jorge put it together and he says it was harder to do than he thought it would be. There were lots of peices and he expected for it to come assembled already. It took him a bit to put it together... I have a feeling we'll be doing this a lot! Haha!
She's still familiarizing herself with the toys but right now her favorite is the dragonfly because it's the only one she can put in her mouth. I think she'd like it more if she could put more of the toys in her mouth. It also has sounds and lights and says "1-2-3" and "A-B-C" and also "Red-Yellow-Blue" which she seems to like. One of the toys plays a song if she moves around, without her having to touch anything. I like that feature and at the same time it drives me nuts. I like it because Mila seems to like the lights that it shows when it plays, but it drives me nuts because I'll hear it so often I get the "Red Yellow and Blue" song in my head. I'll even hear it in my head as I'm trying to fall asleep! But hey, as long as she's happy, I'm happy! It also has 3 different heights for when she gets a bit taller.
The third stage is from walking age to 24 months, and it converts into a little table.
I'm so glad that she'll be able to use this toy for a while! Kids grow so fast, I'm all about longevity of toys!!
So after using the Graco Nasal Aspirator that I told you about on Mila repeatedly this week because of her cold... she's caught on and she no longer sits still when I vacuum her nose. Still works better than the blue one, but now she pulls away and if I insist, she'll cry. Ugh. So much for the miracle aspirator! I can't blame her though. Who wants to have anything shoved up their nose? At least this one is better at grabbing the boogers than that blue one we got at the hospital. Oh and it comes with 2 aspirator tips (one for dry boogers and one for wet ones) and I already lost one. Arg! Good thing I can get a replacement tip online. So hard to remember where I put my head these days! :/
Since Mila's bassinet has a weight limit of 15 lbs, and Mila is just 6 oz away from that, we've decided to move her from her Pack N' Play bassinet that is in our room, to her crib in her nursery. We also thought it was best to move her to her room before she really started noticing where she slept and then the move would be more obvious to her. So Saturday night was the big change. Mila had no problem with it all, she went to sleep like she usually does. She did wonderfully!... Not the same for Mom and Dad though! Her nursery used to be our guest room and since we have a queen sized bed in there, Jorge and I decided to sleep in her room for now. So we can keep an eye on her... you know, during this transition... to make sure she's alright. Ok, ok! So it's been harder on Jorge and I than on Mila -- we can admit it! Jorge and I were up talking about how big she's getting already and how she's moving out. Such a big step! We're going to miss having her in her little bassinet next to our bed... Gosh, if this is how hard it is to move her to her own room, how will it be when she moves away for college?! Gasp! Tears!
This weekend was also Mother's Day, and our original plan was to go down to Miami to spend it with my mom and my grandmother and the rest of the family, but since Mila's still recovering from her sniffles/cold and I'd started getting some sniffles myself, we decided to stay home. Jorge got me two beautiful Mother's Day cards, one from him and one from Mila. It was really sweet. :)
We had a sweet surprise that Cindy dropped off a Mother's Day balloon and card downstairs early in the morning (she was on her way out of town) and then my dad came by to say hello in the afternoon. Then my mom and Cathy stopped by to say hello too. It was so nice to spend some time with everyone! What a sweet Mother's Day!
A bigger, stronger baby is also likely to be a wigglier one at diaper-changing time. Be sure to keep one hand on your baby at all times during changes. Some parents like to place a musical mobile above a changing station so their baby will have a distraction. A basket filled with toys you rotate or make available only during diapering may also help your baby lie still long enough for you to get the job done.
By now, your baby may play with her hands and feet for a few minutes at a time. She's quite fond of doing one action over and over again until she's sure of the result. Then she'll switch things up a bit to see if the result is different.
Suddenly you'll realize it's strangely quiet in the bedroom and look in, only to discover that your baby, who until now has needed your attention for most of every waking moment, is amusing herself in her crib. You might be able to start reading the paper again — well, maybe just the headlines.
Mila isn't crazy about diaper changes. I can't imagine I would be either. But she doesn't complain all that much during the day. Unless it's 4am! Then she'll scream bloody murder!!! She HATES it! So Jorge and I have been looking for something to distract her during that nighttime diaper change. We've started using the Twilight Turtle - Constellation Night Light. It's really great. It has a light in the shell and when it's turned on it shines stars onto the ceiling. It is AWESOME! It shows 8 constellations and comes with a booklet to help you identify them. I would have loved this as a kid! It shines light in green, blue or amber. I like the green because it shines the brightest. It runs on batteries, so it's really portable. It also shuts off automatically after about 40 minutes so we use it as a night light in her room. It doesn't calm her down completely all of the time, but it really does help. It distracts her and sometimes she even reaches for the stars projected on the wall to try to grab them! I love that it's multi-use, it's good for kids of all ages and it's educational as well! It also comes in the shape of a lady bug.
Since Mila's been congested, we've been using saline drops and then use a nasal aspirator to help clear it the boogers. I hate using the nasal aspirator. I actually have memories of my mother using it on me when I was a kid --yeah, that's how traumatizing it was! Awful! I hate using it on Mila. Our friend Karina got us this one and she said it worked so much better on baby Liv than the blue one they give you at the hospital. It's the Graco Nasal Clear Nasal Aspirator. It worked really well! It's a battery operated nasal aspirator. At first I thought it would be scary for her, but since it also plays music (genius!!) Mila thought it was a toy and actually sat still to listen. She usually fusses a lot and even cries when I try using the blue one, but with this one, she was great! Not only that, but I could actually see the boogers that came out. With the blue one, you couldn't really tell. This one is easy to clean, easy to operate and even came with 2 nasal tips: one for dry boogers and one for wet ones. It worked really well, especially on the wet ones. No fuss, no muss and a happy baby -- well, as happy as one can be with the sniffles. At least not a crying baby! Just thought I'd share this great baby product! Thanks Karina for sending us this! You came through for us again!!!
Mila's had a few boogers here and there for the past week. Just a couple of the dry crusty ones. I figured she was just developing them, cuz everyone has boogers, right? Well last night they started getting worse. Now she has the full-on sniffles!! She's snorting a lot and I hear congestion. Last night we woke up and found her with her nose smushed up against her mattress, snorting, trying to breathe! Ugh, it broke my heart! Poor baby!
I called the pediatrician and he said it could be a cold or allergies. We weren't sure what it was so we cancelled our Tuesday playgroup and our Wednesday Mommy and Me class this week just to be safe. The pediatrician said if it's a cold it would last 3-5 days. Sound like forever!
We have her 4-month check up this week, hopefully she's feeling better by then! Get well soon my little girl!
What a crazy, stressful, amazing, rewarding 4 months it's been! I can't believe you're four months already! You've gotten so big! You've gained so much weight -- have I told you how much I love your chunky little baby legs? So adorable!
This month you've learned quite a lot. You're grabbing your toys and mouthing everything in sight. There' isn't anything you won't drool on. Your favorite toys are Finding Nemo, Jumbo Dumbo, Pinky the Bear, Frenchy the Poodle, Piggly Wiggly, El Pollito ("The little chicken"), Finding Nemo, Moo Moo the Cow, and El Amiguito Anaranjado ("The Little Orange Friend" -- we couldn't come up with a better name for that one because we couldn't figure out what animal it was, LOL!). I know, I know, we're so original with the names!
Your favorite playstations are your swing and your new mobile and your new Bumbo chair. You keep yourself entertained there while Mommy and Daddy try to eat dinner together -- but sometimes you insist on joining us and Daddy will pull you onto his lap. You just love being next to Mommy and Daddy!
You and I have started a playgroup with our friends Lisa and Baby Saeryn and Spencer and Baby Bijou. They come over on Tuesdays and we love their company! We also see them every other Friday at our New Mother's Meetings and we grab lunch with them afterwards. We also started taking a Mommy and Me class and you love that too. You're enthralled with all the colors and toys and sounds and I love seeing how interested and curious you are.
The most exciting (and most stressful!) accomplishment this month has been that you learned to roll from your back to your stomach! We are so happy for you that you've learned how to roll, but you do it mostly in the middle of the night when you're sleeping and it really scares Mommy and Daddy! There's a higher danger for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) when babies sleep on their bellies so we always put you to sleep on your back. Since the "Back to Sleep" Campaign started in 1994, SIDS deaths have gone down 50% so it's really shown to be effective. But it seems like you're a tummy sleeper! When we wake up to check on you, you've rolled onto your tummy and your Daddy and I hover over you wondering if we should risk waking you and roll you back over. We apologize for the interupted sleep! We just want to make sure your ok!
You still haven't mastered rolling from your tummy onto your back... you've done it a handful of times, but haven't done it in a while. You do great on tummy time though -- you hold your head up so well now!
You've also found your feet and you're getting closer to putting them in your mouth. It's so cute to see you try!
Although you've been sleeping wonderfully through the night (about 6 hours straight), and go down easily at nighttime, your Daddy and I still struggle with putting you down for naps during the day. You love being held and the only places you'll fall asleep at are at the boob on the Boppy or in the Ergo Baby Carrier. (As I type this, you're sleeping on Daddy in the Ergo, as a matter of fact!) It's a bit of a challenge, especially when we want to get some things done around the house. We're trying to see if you'll go down during the day into the swing or into your crib instead of the bassinet. I know you aren't crazy about it, and I'm sure there's nothing better than snuggling up to Mommy and Daddy, but how about you give it a shot? You might like it!
Speaking of the Ergo, Mommy's biggest accomplishment is feeding you in it! Yes! I finally figured it out and now you'll nurse while you're in there. It's great! Now we're mobile while you're eating and I won't always be tied down to a chair!
Ok, so you're not really nursing in this picture, but you'd just finished. But you might as well be nursing because no one can tell anyway. It's just a matter of loosening up the shoulder strap on the side you'll be nursing on and helping you latch on and that's it! As long as I use a burp cloth or wear a sweater that can cover up the sides of the Ergo, we're set and it's buffet time! No one is the wiser.
We've been learning more and more how much you love music. Your Daddy and I sing to you all the time and make up lots of songs. There's one I came up with for bathtime: "Es hora de banarse con Mila J, es hora de banarse con Mila J! Mila J, Mila J... es hora de banarse con Mila J!" ("It's bathtime for Mila J, it's bathtime for Mila J! Mila J, Mila J... it's bathtime for Mila J!") And then for some reason we end it with the Mentos tagline: "The FreshMaker!" Don't sk me why, that's just the way it is, LOL! This one is my main song and I just change what we're doing to fit any occason.
There's the diaper change song that goes, "Un poopoocito por aqui, un poopoocito por aya... poopoocito, poopoocito, poopoocito, poopoocito!" ("A little poop over here, a little poop over there... little poop, little poop, little poop, little poop!")
Daddy has come up with some really good ones. Whenever we hear a song, we incorporate your name into them. That's where we got this one, to the tune of "Mambo Italiano": "Hey Mila! Mila Colombiana... Hey Mila! Mila Ecautoriana... Hey Mila! Mila Ecua-lombiana!" Hahaha!
We heard a Subway commercial that sang "Ohhhh Pepperoni, how much I love yah!" to the tune of "O Sole Mio". Your Daddy came up with "Ohhhhh Mila-roni! How much I love you!" That really cracked me up! He also came up with his own original song that he came up with during a diaper change that says, "I'd rather be flying, but instead I am crying.... today!" The flying he's refering to is when I have you in my arms and help you "fly" through the apartment. You love that!
But this one is my absolute favorite one that he made up. It's called "Everybody Loves Mila". Here's a clip of your Daddy singing it to you. :)
You're getting to be such a big girl, Mila! Daddy and I love you oh so much!
Your Mommy
4 Month Status Update:
14 lbs. 10 oz. (75th percentile)
25 inches (75th percentile)
Everyone loves my cousin Carlos. He's the sweetest guy around, how can you not love him? Look how thoughtful he is: since he reads my blog and he knows about Jorge's Simba and Dumbo impersonator toys, he stopped by the Disney store and got her these! So thoughtful!! :)
But as much as we love him, he drives everyone crazy with his camera -- he's officially the family paparazzi! I know I take a lot of pictures, but nothing like Carlos. He can easily post over a hundred pictures from one family event -- it's almost like watching a flip book of the whole occasion, haha! But I gotta admit, (at the risk of encouraging his paparzziness, LOL) he posted pictures from my grandmother's birthday a few days ago and they came out sooo great. I, of course, was too busy being a hovering mother over Mila to take too many pictures myself. He captured so many wonderful moments!!! I just have to share them! They came out great!
Babies love to check themselves out in a mirror. In fact, faces are your baby's favorite things to see right now. Hold your baby in front of a mirror and watch her delight. She won't understand that it's her own reflection until she's about 7 or 8 months old, but she'll enjoy the view. And the motion of her hands in the mirror will capture her attention.
Researchers believe that your baby can now understand all the basic sounds that make up her native language. Between this time and 6 months of age, she'll develop the ability to make some of these sounds, which means you may hear the words you've been dreaming about, namely "mama" and "dada." While child development experts say it's too early for your baby to connect those sounds with you, that won't make hearing them any less exciting.
You can encourage your baby's attempts at communication by mirroring or imitating her expressions and sounds. She may try to imitate you, too. Say "ba" and she may try to say it back.
Reacting when your baby makes noises or tries to say something will help her learn the importance of language and better understand cause and effect. It's great for her self-esteem, too: She'll begin to realize that what she says makes a difference.
Today we had Amanda, Bob and Baby Mia over for dinner. It was so lovely having them over! Mia and Mila played a bit together. Look how big they both are! They are so cute! At one point Mila was sitting in the Bumbo playing with her exersauer toys and Miss Mia wanted to play too. She seemed to want to climb Mila's leg to get to them! It was hilarious!!! I think she might have even confused Mila's foot with a toy and wanted to put it in her mouth! All of us parents were laughing!
book and found this one that I liked. It's the Evenflo Triple Fun ExerSaucer
. It's called Triple Fun because it has three stages. The first stage is for babies 0-3 months, where it's just a pad where the baby can lie on her back and play with the two toys that dangle. Mila really liked it, but she loved it even more when she could actually grab the toys and put them in her mouth, so we sat her up in the Bumbo and put the toys in front of her.
online. So hard to remember where I put my head these days! :/
. It's really great. It has a light in the shell and when it's turned on it shines stars onto the ceiling. It is AWESOME! It shows 8 constellations and comes with a booklet to help you identify them. I would have loved this as a kid! It shines light in green, blue or amber. I like the green because it shines the brightest. It runs on batteries, so it's really portable. It also shuts off automatically after about 40 minutes so we use it as a night light in her room. It doesn't calm her down completely all of the time, but it really does help. It distracts her and sometimes she even reaches for the stars projected on the wall to try to grab them! I love that it's multi-use, it's good for kids of all ages and it's educational as well! It also comes in the shape of a lady bug.
. It worked really well! It's a battery operated nasal aspirator. At first I thought it would be scary for her, but since it also plays music (genius!!) Mila thought it was a toy and actually sat still to listen. She usually fusses a lot and even cries when I try using the blue one, but with this one, she was great! Not only that, but I could actually see the boogers that came out. With the blue one, you couldn't really tell. This one is easy to clean, easy to operate and even came with 2 nasal tips: one for dry boogers and one for wet ones. It worked really well, especially on the wet ones. No fuss, no muss and a happy baby -- well, as happy as one can be with the sniffles. At least not a crying baby! Just thought I'd share this great baby product! Thanks Karina for sending us this! You came through for us again!!!
