Why does it feel like I announced my pregnancy five minutes ago, and yet here we are, with a smiley, giggly, extra drooly 4 month old taking up my bed who suddenly wants her arms out of her swaddle to punch me in the face all night. More on breaking up with your swaddle in a minute (wah!) and the absolutely game changer that is Love to Dream™ Transition Swaddle Up (yay!)
It’s a deceptively cute age, four months, isn’t it? The smiles get wider, the giggles get louder and the random facial expressions melt your heart when they see your face walk in the room. But also the age when just as you think you’re starting to find a rhythm - kapow! We’ve been dealing with spontaneous wakes over night, 45-min catnaps, teething, rolling, and chew chew chew chewing on everything!!
Despite STILL vomiting every feed, Essie is also getting chunkier, and her round moon head replicates that of her brothers all those 11 years ago. The flat head, mind you! Regardless of everything I’ve done with all three children, they’ve managed to succumb to having flat heads. I’ve always put it down to the fact it’s because I’ve had 3 x good sleepers who plonk their heads down for hours from an early age, but with Essie - I made sure we did EVERYTHING from day one to avoid it. No luck. Another bub with a flat head. We’re currently in paediatric osteopathy therapy to help loosen all of the tightness in her shoulders and neck that causes her to only turn her head one way, and are currently on track for it to sort itself out once she’s sitting up on her own in a month or two. For now, it’s carrying her 24/7, tummy time over and over and over again, and only allowing her to sleep on her back at nighttime.
She is still however, my little tiny girl - elevating herself just this week from the 10th percentile for height to the 25th - woo! A vast contrast to my other two big bubs who were consistently on the 90th for everything.
It’s funny, despite how large my belly got and how many times I was told she would be big… my intuition knew she was my little girl.
So how else are we tracking at 4 months?
Well, we are currently going through one of the most difficult breakups you’ll ever go through - breaking up with your swaddle.
Esmé has started to try to roll over which is a sure sign it’s soon time to remove her from the swaddle for her own safety. Our swaddle of choice has always been the award winning Love to Dream™ Swaddle Up - or as they’re known in my house - her “wings”. Essie has also been gnawing & sucking greatly on her hands whilst they are in her wings which is again another sign she’s looking to use them for comfort and therefore needs access to them.
Removing the swaddle can be a daunting milestone for us parents. I know all too well. Essie is definitely a baby who associates her wings with sleep, often drifting off almost instantly once the zip is done up. So I’d be lying through my teeth if I said I was thrilled about this next step. But the way I’ve decided to tackle it is by sticking with the Love To Dream brand and moving on to their Swaddle Up Transition bags.
This will be a whole new experience for me. My first didn’t care much for swaddling, and my second was Miss Independent from day one - she did things her own way in every area. So I’ve never had to wean either of them off something as clearly important as the swaddle is for Esmé.
The idea of the Stage 2: Swaddle Up Transition Bags is to still provide the tight, snuggly feeling of being swaddled, but with the option to remove the arm wings to allow your child to slowly adapt to having their arms free. You can remove one at a time, or choose both, so my plan is to start by just removing the side Essie is starting to suck and leave the other one all snug by her head for the first few sleeps… and then adjust accordingly to how she’s managing the change.
Next up, our little peggy two bottom teeth that have been slowlyyyy making their way through have just pierced the skin this week, which explains why everything is soaked with drool. Cue the constant gnawing on fists and the distinct cry that hasn’t ever really matched any other. In classic teething fashion, though, no two days are the same. Some days it’s unnoticeable, the next its ice cold face washers, teething rings and mummy carrying her around the clock.
And then there’s sleep regression, because we are regressing hard! I find people talk about the four month sleep regression with so much fear and I’m not here to do that to you. Sleep regression isn't just about shorter naps or a bit of fussing at bedtime. For some, it can be a complete unraveling of whatever sleep pattern you thought you had down. I’m well aware that this may be my third-time-mum experience speaking here, but like all motherhood battles, you just have to roll through it… knowing the sun will come up at the other side. We’re currently in the thick of it for sure. Sudden 3am wake ups, that then went to 2am, that is now 1am. Why, Essie, why? ‘Cause my little baby is growing up: growing in size and growing her little brain to be more active…. So it’s all normal.
Despite all the chops and changes happening right now, I feel more connected to Esmé than ever. I know her cues, and I understand each cry. It never really gets easier, trust me on that. You just learn to manage things better, bit by bit. Whilst one challenge might ease, another will always pop up. That’s the nature of parenting… we’re built for these moments.
If you’re in the thick of it too, I see you. I feel you. We’re not failing. We’re doing exactly what needs to be done in this season of our lives.
As someone with an 11-year-old who now settles for a quick fist-pump from a distance, I’m soaking up every drool-filled, sooky snuggle I can get right now.
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