4 Months Old...

Meera is already 4 months! As each month passes I marvel at how quickly time flies. She's grown so much now and changed right before my eyes.

She definitely recognizes who her parents are (cos we get the biggest smiles), and she recently started laughing (although its few and far between...guess we're not funny enough for her). Her head control is really good now....very steady and she can put both hands together and just recently has started to reach out for things that catch her interest. Has yet to rolled over but seems to enjoy tummy time for short periods at a stretch. Sleeps thru' the night (a blessing for me) and feeds about 5 times a day. Lately when nursing she's easily distracted by loud sounds. We were in Midvalley last weekend and when another baby started to cry in the nursing room, she started crying too and refused to nurse! Empathy or what?! Needless to say I will have to look for more private (and quiet) rooms to feed her in the future. Hopefully it's just a phase cos I don't think I can shush other babies just to get her to nurse!

We took her to the doctor for her vaccination and got her weighed...6.51 kg. And the doctor says she's hitting all her milestones in time.

Sleeping Beauty

For the past few months I have been constantly noting down Meera's daily schedule in the hopes that it would give me some idea of how to fix a schedule for her. But I notice that her routine keeps changing every so often so was never able to see any discerning pattern. One thing that is pretty constant though is her bedtime. She'll normally go to bed around 10 p.m. and (thankfully) sleep till about 9 a.m. (with one feed somewhere between 4-7 a.m.).

We haven't really got a bedtime routine since most nights she falls asleep with her pacifier in her bouncer. We just carry her and put her in her crib where she continues to sleep.

I love the way she sleeps!

Laughter...the BEST Medicine!!!

Yesterday, Meera laughed for the first time! It was such a sweet wonderful sound. Truly brings joy to the soul. At first I wasn't sure if she was really laughing... Lately I've been blowing raspberries on her and she'd just stare at me with this puzzled look on her face. But yesterday she finally found it funny and laughed. I couldn't resist doing it again and again...and she laughed everytime, which made me laugh as well!

But today when I did it....no response. Guess I overdid it yesterday???

My New Hobby

During one of my regular trips to Border's at The Curve I came across this book that had a pattern for a really easy but cute baby cardigan.

Decided to buy it (it was on sale!) and thus began my journey into crocheting. It was quite difficult to find the thread but finally found a shop, Jen's Handicraft, at Atria. The owner was really helpful. Showing me how to do it and even going so far as to start of the first row for me.

Unfortunately, being left-handed, it was a bit confusing for me to follow her (thank God for the internet and YouTube!).

BSER???

Today we took Meera for a BSER (BrainStem Evoked Response) test which is basically a hearing test. Why? Because when she was 5 days old, her jaundice level was so high that she had to be admitted to the hospital. Which apparently is quite a common thing. So initially we took it all in stride. But by the time she was admitted and they did another test her levels had reached a dangerously high level! She had to be put under 4 photo lamps and I was made to sign a release form in the event that they had to do a blood transfusion for her (to clear out the bilirubin from her blood). Needless to say I was freaked out. Well, after a few days in the hospital she was discharged but the doctor told us that because the jaundice level was so high there was a risk that it may have entered her brain which would affect certain developmental milestones. One of which was her hearing.

Which brings us back to today's visit to the hospital to check her hearing. Because she's still a baby they use a special device which can detect her brain waves as the device emits sounds into her ear. Thankfully, she passed!

We're not completely out of the woods though. The doctor said we have to get her evaluated at least every 4 months to make sure she meets other milestones on schedule. But for now...yippee!!!

Breastfeeding

After reading and hearing about all the benefits breastfeeding provided (to baby AND Mommy), I was quite determined to breastfeed my baby. But as I asked around, no one I knew had managed to successfully breastfeed their babies exclusively despite them having the best intentions to do so prior to the arrival of their baby. It seemed as if there was always some reason for their failure. Needless to say, I was quite concerned...

3 months down the road, I'm proud to say that Meera has been exclusively breastfed! (with the exception of about 2 weeks when we thought she had breast milk induced jaundice). So far it has been a rewarding journey although not without its fair share of challenges. Thankfully I did manage to find a few friends that breastfed successfully. And the numerous breastfeeding forums and blogs helped tremendously whenever I was just about ready to give up. But the most important support came from my husband who was just as committed to it as I was. Could not have done it without him!

Nowadays, breastfeeding is a joy. I treasure those moments when Meera nurses. The expression on her face is one of pure contentment. And once she's had enough she purses her lips, gives the sweetest pout followed by what I refer to as her 'drunken smile'. No bottle feeding ever gets those expressions from her.