Aria- 4 month pics

 She has super curly eyelashes. I love it.

The 4th Trimester is Over

 Aria on the left, me on the right, both of us at 3 months old...

Can we all just do a HUGE COLLECTIVE SIGH OF RELIEF? We just survived four of the hardest months of my life. I don't want to sound like I'm whining or complaining.  I just want to state the facts. Adding a 4th child, when your oldest is only five years old, and having (yet another) baby with crazy allergies, thus requiring an incredibly hard diet...not to mention that the baby is usually still somewhat uncomfortable, can't fall asleep on her own, has to be held and comforted constantly, and bounced to sleep six times a day while the other kids run around unsupervised, making massive messes...well, you can see why it would be a lot of work.

Some major changes have happened in the last two weeks though.  #1, We put Aria on goat milk. Meyenberg evaporated (canned) goat milk to be exact. We got this idea from my cousin Andrea, who also has 4 girls, all of whom have had the same intolerances as my girls. Her girls have not been able to have any formula either. So when she discovered that her last baby tolerated evaporated goat milk, it was huge. It was huge for me as well, since Aria couldn't tolerate our usual "go-to" formula that we rely on when I can't keep up with the diet anymore.

I wanted to make it at least 6 months nursing Aria, but unfortunately, we found out that rice was bothering her somewhat. Once I cut it out, she was less fussy, and not spitting up as much. BUT, since that was such a staple food for me, I was starting to be hypoglycemic...very frequently getting shaking hands, light headed and dizzy, and feeling awful. I was trying to eat quinoa 2-3 times a day and it was getting really old. I didn't want to eat at all. I know I was getting malnourished, despite my faithfulness taking my  multi-vitamin.  It was one thing to just have a yucky diet. It was another trying to take care of my family when I felt like I was about to pass out all the time. So when this solution of goat milk showed up, we decided to try it. On August 23rd, Samuel's 36th birthday, we left the baby with his parents and we went off to dinner. I ate in a restaurant for the first time in 4 months. We went to Famous Daves. I ordered an entire rack of ribs, and grilled pineapple (SOO GOOD!) and fries, and then a huge bread pudding that was just unreal, it was so delicious.  The baby took the bottle pretty well (we've tried a bottle before so it wasn't soo hard for her) and there has been no going back. I started eating again, Olive Garden the next day, Cafe Rio a few days later, and just lots of glorious FRUIT! I'd missed it so much.

Okay, so she did really well, and we haven't looked back. I am totally having anxiety that in another week or so, something in the goat milk will have built up and start causing problems, so I am still pumping 3 x a day JUST IN CASE.  And since Ella still doesn't eat much and still drinks some formula every night before bed, I've been GIVING HER THE BREASTMILK!!! HAHAHA! I think this is hilariously awesome.  I have been mixing in 1/3 breastmilk with formula, now we're up to 1/2.  I would love it if eventually she was at 100% breastmilk again. I let my kids stay on the bottle til their 3 since that's about the only way they get any food and vitamins down them. Whatever.

So since she was doing so well on that, and because she hit the 4 month and 14 lb benchmark, it meant it was SLEEP TRAINING time!!! I was really ready to do this, and so was she.  We have been co-sleeping all this time, which I LOVE- her night sleep was not a problem.  It was mostly her ability to fall asleep, on her own, during the day, and especially right before we all went to bed. She could NOT do it without a "carnival ride" as Samuel once put it. She was usually her fussiest at night, and didn't ever feel really good, so it took a lot of distraction for her to be able to relax and fall asleep. Many nights I would spend 20 minutes rocking, bouncing, and doing deep, slow squats to get her to fall asleep. Then she'd keep waking up and every 40 minutes and I'd either have to lay by her to keep her asleep, or just get her up, and try again, all night, until midnight.   So there was no relief at the end of the day, that mandatory "quiet, recharging time" that I need desperately. We'd get the other 3 to bed, only to have 5 more hours of battling the baby. And my back and shoulders were so fatigued by the end of the day. My right shoulder blade started burning so bad all the time, especially at night, that there was a point that I couldn't physically hold her and bounce her anymore, and Samuel would always have to take over, whether he wanted to or not. He was always willing to take a turn, but honestly I didn't mind. I liked having an excuse to hide in the bedroom because I was exhausted and didn't want to stay up all night socializing with his parents. I love them and they are soooo sweet and kind, but as I recently discovered, I am an introvert and by the end of the day I am really in need of quiet alone time that requires NO talking.  It's harder to do when you live with your very friendly in-laws.  :)

Anyway, I am using the book I always use, that always works, called the Sleepeasy Solution. It helps you wean them off night feedings (it's extra easy if you are bottle-feeding and can see how many ounces they are getting) and it does require some "crying it out" but it is a kind way of doing it and it works in a week or less. Aria is doing fantastic and learning quickly, especially at night. Last night was night 3 and she slept 11.5 hours, with us giving her one large "dream feed" (she's half asleep and doesn't wake up) and then a "wean feed", 2 oz at 2:30 a.m., Samuel is so kind to do this feed for me cause he falls back asleep so easily.  Her naps are hit and miss. This morning she cried for 10 minutes, then slept for 2.5 hours, one of her longest naps ever. But right now she is screaming again, it's been about 30 minutes. I have to go pick up my girls in 35 minutes so either way, it's not going to be a good nap for her, if she gets one at all. Oh well. My in-laws are out of town so it's the perfect time to sleep train her-- so they don't have to cringe at the crying and want to pick her up. Anyway, it's amazing to put her to bed at 8 and have the rest of the night to hang out with Samuel, fold laundry, watch TV, read, just be FREE again!!!

So, a little more Aria update:
on her 4 month birthday she was 75% for both height and weight, 14 lbs 9 oz, 25.5 inches, 41 cm head, and she has been rolling from tummy to back since before she was 3 months old, and just this week she totally mastered back to tummy (perfect! now she can sleep on her tummy!). She still hasn't belly laughed for me, she's almost laughed a bunch, especially at Ella and Annie, but she's much more calm and content since on goat milk, and will play in the exersaucer, her bouncy chair, or even laying on the floor. I never could do that during the first 3.5 months. It's a relief. That's really an understatement. Oh, and she just found her toes!! One of my favorite things!

Aria's eyes are starting to change colors, probably turning brown, and she has the longest, curliest eyelashes. People comment on them a lot. I think the shape of her eyes makes them curl, like she has a built-in eyelash curler, thanks to her eyeshape and face structure.

I started working out when she was 3 months old, and was feeling WONDERFUL, but my milk immediately started to disappear. I tried ONE cup of Mother's Milk tea and Aria broke out horribly in a rash and she screamed for days. So no herbs to help boost the milk supply. I quit working out in order to make enough milk, but now I am really ready to start again. I have a 3 month gym membership and I just love their classes- Step, BodyPump (lifting to music), Zumba, and I really love Yoga. That's done my body some serious good. I lost the 40 lbs of baby weight, but gained 2 lbs back when I started eating normally. I want to lose 5-7 more so I need to be careful what I eat....starting tomorrow. :)

More updates coming soon...the girls' first day of school and Kalia's 6th birthday party must be documented, of course! Samuel is back in school full-time and will probably take his LPN certification exam soon, as soon as he feels ready and confident that he'll pass it. It costs $550 so he doesn't want to take it until he's sure he's going to pass. Then he might just start working to get through the last 9 months of nursing school.