4 Months With Casper

It's so scary how fast time is going. Someone said to me the other day that it's almost time to start solids and I had a little freak out haha.

 

I started Otis on solids at 4.5 months, but I am going to be holding off with Casper for as long as I can. I look back with Otis and I can see that he really didn't need to start at 4.5 months but being a first time Mum I was excited to start.

I will aim to get Casper to 6 months unless he shows signs that he needs food sooner. I'd rather not put any pressure on his digestive system given he has struggled with it and I have read lots of research that indicates starting closer to 6 months is better for their digestive system, kidneys and  their chewing abilities have matured.

 

I have also decided to go with a different approach too, instead of just purees I am going to do a mix of puree and baby led weaning. I was too scared to try baby led weaning with Otis but I feel more educated around the subject and think it's a great way to approach solid foods.

Leap 4

We are on the better side of leap 4 now which is a relief. This past week Casper hasn't been his usual happy self, he was quite grumpy and whiney. He also started waking between each sleep cycle at night so there were some nights I didn't get much sleep because he was needing some help to resettle. 

 

I only feed him once after his dreamfeed at 10pm, this feed can be anytime after 3am. When he wakes before 3am, I resettle him instead as this is the age where resettling instead of feeding upon every waking is important. I know he's not hungry before 3am because he's done quite a few stretches of sleep from the dreamfeed. 

 

We still have an unsettled night every now and then but his tummy is getting better and better. He is still on the herbal drops and the probiotics. I have been keeping a proper food diary since my last consult with the naturopath on friday just to ensure Casper isn't being triggered by a certain food. 

 

His day sleeps are really good. He's having a 45-60 minute sleep in the morning, a 2-2.5 hour nap at lunch and then a 30-45 minute sleep in the afternoon. Today as I write this is the first day he hasn't needed a resettle for his lunch nap. Usually he will wake from a burp after one sleep cycle (no matter how much I burp him), however he's been asleep for 2 hours and counting so far! He was usually really easy to resettle though, a burp, cuddle and he would go back in his bassinet and fall back asleep.

 

Casper transitioned to his love to dream swaddle really well! I started him during the day and by the night he was totally fine with it. He’s just like Otis and loves to suck his hands so the little wings are always wet. I just blow dry them dry between each sleep because I don’t want his little hands being too cold. I love how he looks like a little stingray with his arms up. Once he rolls them I will let his arms out but for now he will sleep in the love to dream swaddle. 

Moving Out of the Bassinet

Speaking of the bassinet, I will have to look at moving him soon (booooooo). He is getting so big that I think it's only a matter of a few weeks and we will have to get the cot out for him. i am so not ready, he's going to look so small in the cot. I am trying to hold onto every stage with Casper because time is slipping away too quickly.

 

He's going to stay in our room for now, simply because he doesn't have a room haha poor kid. We live in a two bedroom apartment which means we are quickly outgrowing our place! The rooms are huge though so we don't feel squished. 

We will keep him in our room until it starts to no longer work and then Paul and I will move into the sunroom and use that as our bedroom (which is where Paul is currently sleeping anyway) until we move. 

Hubby Back at Work

This has been the first week Paul is back in the office. We made sure to really soak up our long weekend together but come Monday night we felt that sad sick feeling in our stomachs. We have LOVED spending so much time together as a family. We know we will never get this opportunity again. Otis and Paul really connected with this time together. Otis has always loved Paul but now he is obsessed with him! It's so cute to see. Paul has also felt fortunate to be able to see Casper so much as a newborn. Working long hours 5 days a week means he didn't see much of Otis as a newborn which I know breaks his heart.

 

It is so much quieter with Paul gone during the day. I keep looking at his desk thinking he will be there. I joked to him last night that it felt like we had broken up haha.

Kinder Gym

Otis is so excited to get back to kinder gym next week. We had some friends over on saturday and they have two young girls. Otis was beside himself with excitement that we had 'people' over as he calls them. Even for us as well, being able to socialise with friends really brings out all those happy vibes. Otis was absolutely knackered come bedtime and crashed out hard. 

 

Otis's little toilet training regression passed thankfully. He's back to being a little superstar. We are almost at the end of the smarties so it'll be interesting to see how he goes without getting one for every wee haha. We have stopped offering him one and sometimes he asks and sometimes he doesn't which is good.

Life Getting Back it's Groove 

It's nice that life is getting some form of normalcy to it. Seeing friends last weekend was so nice and I have a birthday brunch with a few girlfriends this Saturday and then a 30th birthday party to go to. I am not going to know myself! Now comes the fun side of socialising - figuring out what to wear and then having a meltdown because nothing works the way you want it to ;)

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