4 MO

Ava Kate is 4 months old and we saw the Dr. today. She weighs in at a healthy 15 lb 2 oz. and is 24" long. Her growth is right on track proportionately according to the growth curve. She was amazing while she got her immunizations. We've been having so much fun with her lately. She loves to play and laugh. The only thing we're struggling with is sleep. Surprise! can you even talk to a mom of a baby without talking about sleep or lack of? Well Ava Kate doesn't do it. So unfortunately Dr. Cramer said that we need to teach her how to fall asleep before she'll stay asleep. Therefore...I have to buy ear plugs. I absolutely abhor listening to her cry, which is how nature intended it.  But nature intended it so that when she's hurt I'll want to soothe her, or when she's hungry I'll want to feed her. But it poses a problem when she isn't hurt and all her needs are met and she just wants to stay up when she needs to sleep, therefore to get me back to play, she cries. And I go back in every time, and I'm also up every 2 hours at night. Well we're going to do everything we can (lovingly) to change that... wish me luck! Oh, and Dr. Cramer confirmed that it's better to put a baby to bed earlier, i.e. 8 pm, rather than later, 10 pm, they'll actually sleep better and longer...I had no idea! Thanks to Karen for suggesting Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, and thanks to Jess for letting me borrow it. I'm really enjoying what it has to offer, today's the first day we've tried implementing it, so hopefully...