Ally - 4 months old

My baby girl is now 4 months old. Where has the time gone? The newborn stage is officially over. I can't believe it! There is such a love/hate relationship with that newborn stage, but mostly I am loving seeing her growing up. Well, I'm not sure growing up is the right term. We took her to the doctor and she still hasn't broken the 10 pound mark! She grew another half an inch, so she is now 24 inches long. The doctor was not concerned though. He said they measure a baby's growth in length and brain development, not so much in weight anymore. He did give me some suggestions on nursing that I'm working through so we'll see how it goes. Ally is very scheduled and does very well on a schedule. These past few days I've been trying to feed her constantly which is just making her upset and not sleep as well. So we're heading back to a schedule, I just might shorten it a bit so I can fit an extra feeding in per day. I told him I was feeding her 5 times a day, and he said it should be more like 7 or 8. He also said adding a formula bottle or two a day wouldn't be a bad idea. So I'm going to get in 6 feedings a day and add a formula bottle at night. Hopefully this new plan will help her gain some weight before her next appointment. God just made her a little bitty thing!

She is such a happy baby and such a joy to be around. She is very content most of the time and has been sleeping through the night for a while now. I do a dreamfeed at around 10pm just so I can get another feeding in...otherwise she would probably sleep through that as well! She is rolling over both ways and is still really strong. She loves to have her mouth open and drools on everything. She doesn't spit up much which is so strange to me (Emma and Jack spit up constantly). She is so adorable and stops traffic everywhere she goes. The thing I hear the most is "Que Cosita!" (what a little bitty thing).

I still get advice constantly on dressing her warmer. I'm not sure Costa Ricans know that they live in the tropics. I always have a hat for her everywhere we go so I won't get comments. But I still hear them: "She really needs a hat that covers her ears because of the wind", "It's really cold outside isn't it", "She really should have a shirt that covers her shoulders", "All babies should wear sweaters", and "Where are her socks". And my favorite was the other day when we went through the toll booth, the man told us that we needed to lift Ally's head up because she was bent over sleeping. And I usually have my other two kids with me so it's obvious I have done this mothering thing before and have kept them alive.

I guess if I asked for suggestions that would be one thing...but I can't imagine just constantly telling a stranger what to do with their baby. Funny.