A busy day in the life of a 4-month baby

The newest  addition, an awesome combination of toys that helps the baby to grow

Being a mom is a very demanding task, but as a baby, there are so many things to do every day that you can hardly have a free time on your own. Somehow, being a baby and being a mom means for both a lot of chores and a very strict program to follow every day. There is almost the same program, a routine that does good to the baby and almost brings the mom to the edges of desperation. But given the exciting times ahead and the permanent development of the baby, we better enjoy the situation as it is and we cut short the complaining part.

As for now, let me introduce you to the daily schedule of my cute baby boy, 4 months and 2 weeks old:

- The day starts around 6.30, 7.00 the latest - without waking up in the night -, with a milky breakfast, followed by some small gymnastic, and the administration of a drop of Vitamin D on the pacifier. Usually we also change him to different clothes than the ones used for the night.

- For one hour, he usually plays with the toys hanging on the mobile playground, the latest add to the baby collection of toys.

- He sleeps in the middle of the playing for around 1 hour when he wakes up for the second meal of the day.

- As we started to diversify the food, he eats besides the milk 2-3 full spoons of carrots or parnsip puree. We give it to him in between milk shots and he likes it. 

- Until the next meal, we usually split the time between our working room, where I try to have some work done, and his mobile playground. If he is quiet, I am trying to put him on the belly or on other sides but the back.

- The next meal - we keep a strict schedule of the meals, with a list of the eating hours - is again a combination between milk and bottle food.

- Around 13 o'clock it is about time to go out - when the strange German weather allows it, of course. I usually do not change new clothes, just add new layers adapted to the outside temperature. We go to do shopping, or to visit and meet friends, or to have coffee and cake. He likes being outside and very often the crispy weather makes him sleep. As I go out, I always carry with me a big bag with: powder milk, thermos with hot water, bottle with cold water, milk bottle, 2-3 diapers and wet napkins. Even we only plan to be out for an hour, it is good to be ready, just in case our plans are changing. Thus, you can keep a certain level of independence.

- After the afternoon meal is finished - if we are at home we have the same menu of milk and solids - it start the most difficult part of the day, when he is relatively tired, regardless how much he slept outside, and needs more attention than during the rest of the day. Usually, I take him in the hands, we talk and play and laugh together, listen to some children music. If he is calm enough, I am trying to put him on the belly again for a couple of minutes. 

- Bath time is the busiest time of the day. There are so many things to arrange and set up in a relatively short amount of time: preparing the night clothes, the towel, the bath tube with the sponge and shower gel, the bottle of milk, the bed with the sleeping bag. The bath takes around 10 minutes, followed by drying up, some oil massage and kissing time. In the last weeks he is falling asleep very easy so I have to be fast with getting the mobile playground out and arranging the room for the next day. The baby days ends around 20.00 the latest.

From now on, I can continue doing some work or just relaxing. Tomorrow is a new day, for me ad y sweet baby.

Sweet dreams!

Month 4 with the baby

Here we are: our beautiful sweet baby is 4-month old. Compared to the first two months of his life, it seems that there were not too many nothworthy events taking place lately. Well, this is because I am looking from outside, from the height of my age and experience. But I am more than sure that for the baby boy every new day and new discovery mean a fantastic improvement. 

We already set a routine, with a specific hour to go to sleep and a long trip, usually before 13 and 15 o'clock. Unfortunatelly, given the cold days when the outside temperatures reached around -13C, we were forced to spend the day at home. Which was not necessarily a bad idea. The boy started to play more and thanks to some special toys we bought - review coming up soon - made of different materials which utter various captivating sounds, he can even play with himself for couple of good minutes. 

His degree of receptivity increased significantly in the last weeks: he is able to follow with his eyes us or a moving toy, to play with his hands and suck it in the mouth. For the last aspect, we were told by a specialist that it is a good thing and a sign of a normal development. 

The sleeping is not always regular, with some nights when he sleeps for around 10 hours and some when he wakes every three hours. The screaming is also more intense and lasts longer. As we made together the first overseas trip this month, he was able to scream for the duration of 5 months of the flight. Hope we will never meet again any of the annoyed passengers. But as a compensation, he smiles even more and with an open mouth and this is enough to forget all the hard noisy hours.

Health wise, we did again the requested vaccination and things went well. We need to deal though with a flat head issue that apparently can be fixed through weekly therapy. The German medicine is focused on prevention and one may need to get used with the many checkings and second opinions which does not mean necessarily that you have a problem, only that you have to work out for avoiding any problems.  

In order to keep him fit, we do some small gymnastics in the morning, and he enjoys it a lot. We continue also with the intensive music program and other relaxing activities.

From now on, we are entering the 5 month, with many new challenges ahead, the most important being the change of the food plan and introduction of solid foods.