The Pagan Post: Starving to Death

Apparently when a baby turns 4 months old, they realize that they have been starving to death for the past 4 months. Every mom I have talked to has said the same thing. "He was sleeping through the night fine, then at 4 months started waking up hungry." Well, lo and behold, Charlotte got the memo. Last week, her appetite was insatiable. For the past 2 months, she was 100% consistent: Wake up at 7:30, eat, play for 1-1.5 hours, nap for 1.5-2 hours, then start all over. She would go to bed at 7:15 and sleep for 12 hours. Then one day, everything changed. She started waking up 30 minutes into her nap, starving. She really couldn't make it any more clear: "Feed me!" And, out of the blue, at 4 in the morning, just had to eat! So after a few days of feeding her every 2 hours, drinking lots of water to try and keep up, it seems like she is getting back to normal. Yesterday she went back to her 3 hour routine and slept from 7-6 (then went back to sleep until 8:20). So I'm praying this was her way of increasing the volume of feeds and now she will be more satisfied.

Heaven knows, we need to feed this baby! She had her 4 month check-up and is indeed, a peanut! At just over 12 pounds and 23 inches, she is in the 15th and 5th percentiles respectively. Nothing to worry about, she is developing wonderfully! She smiled and flirted with Dr. Shettell the entire appointment. (Insert shameless plug) We absolutely LOVE Dr. Shettell. He was a resident at Mercy the past few years where I worked quite a bit with him. As luck would have it, he was opening his family practice the week before Charlotte's birth and was accepting new patients. He is so kind, easy to talk to, great with the baby, and extremely reasonable! AND he's a big breastfeeding advocate, which not all physicians are. He encouraged me to not worry at all about her weight and continue exclusively breastfeeding for the next two months. "Breast is best!" Seriously, did he read my mind? Did Jeremy pay him to tell me what I wanted to hear? So, if you're in the market for a new family physician, he comes with the Kelly Pagan stamp of approval! (As both a nurse and a mom)

We are slowly getting our house back in order. Jeremy finished the baseboards in the Master bedroom, so no more family nursery. It was glorious to sleep in our own room after nearly a month away. So now, only 3/4 of our possessions are in the family room instead of 100%. Progress.

Charlotte continues to light up our everyday. She has started laughing, but makes you work really hard to hear it. She loves games that shake and scare her. Almost falling to the ground is possibly the funniest thing that has ever happened to her. Hopefully she will love roller coasters and skydiving too!

Those who follow this blog, know that Jeremy and I ventured out on our first date away from the babe last week. We had a spectacular time. Dinner a la Olive Garden thanks to some generous gift cards and Harry Potter at the $1 theater. Charlotte was a good girl for Michelle and I didn't spend the whole night worrying about her. She took 6 ounces from the bottle like she'd been doing it from day one! She a genius... We will for sure be making a habit of this!