St. Patrick's Day at TCM

We loaded all 5 kids in the van and drove 2 hours to The Children’s Museum on Sunday, which is not really that big of a deal except that it’s been a long time since we’ve been. The last time we went was December of 2017. There's a picture from that visit of Rob carrying two sleeping toddlers at the end of the day. We didn’t go a single time during 2018. I feel like there were a lot of things we didn’t do, or didn’t do as much in 2018. I feel like my pregnancy, a new baby, two insane toddlers, it kept us from doing as much as we usually do. And that’s not to say we didn’t do things. Denver road trip, multiple lake vacays, the entire month of October. We did things, but I feel like what we did was limited. Limited to what I felt I could handle, or limited by how I thought Scarlett and Clark would act. 

I know I’ve talked about this before, but I sometimes feel like Scarlett and Clark get the short end of the stick. They don’t get to do as many fun things as their older siblings did. Part of that is because 5 kids is a lot to manage. Another aspect of it is that Scarlett and Clark are way more difficult for me to manage than Harrison and Brooke ever were. They don't listen, they constantly argue, and I don't want to have to be fighting with them all the time in order to keep them safe. It's just easier to stay home a lot of the time. 

On the way home from The Children's Museum Rob and I both agreed that the day went really well.  There were still tantrums, tears, and fighting(a meltdown over a wet shirt after playing in a water table comes to mind), but it was to a lesser degree than we're used to. We even talked about taking the kids back over spring break. It has me really looking forward to spring and summer ahead. There are so many opportunities to get the kids out of the house, and it seems like we're getting to a place in their lives where we can successfully do it.

Penelope Jo - 4 Months

4 months of Penelope Jo. We are so lucky. She is still the best baby. So happy. So talkative. So chill. As long as she gets to eat on demand and is home for bed before 7, she’s down for anything. (We are going to put that to the test this weekend when she goes to Indy for the first time. Wish us luck.)

Sleep is still mostly good, but sometimes all over the place. She sometimes sleeps from 7p-4am and other times wakes up at 1am demanding milk. Naps are mostly in her crib and occasionally in our bed. At night she is now in the crib full time. No more rock and play. She outgrow it about half way through the month. We are starting to let he have her arms out of the swaddle, which she seems to be a big fan of. She loves to suck on her thumb. She still loves her pacifier, but will use her hands if she wakes up in the middle of the night and isn’t ready to eat yet. There still isn’t much of a schedule when it comes to naps. Whenever she starts to get fussy, I know she’s tired. We definitely have not seen the emergence of two solid naps. I'm hoping we start to see that this month.

She still nurses on demand around every 2 hours, and then goes for a solid stretch at night without. Depending on how long any given nap or wakeful period is depends on if she eats before or after a nap. At home we almost always lay down in bed for her to nurse because she is either waking up or going to sleep, or still half way asleep if it’s during the middle of the night. Nursing sessions are down to only about 5 minutes on one side, and then she’s done. Very rarely does she want the other side. Her pediatrician gave us the ok to start solids if we want, but we are going to hold off as long as possible on that. At this point solids are just one more thing to have to find time for, and we already have plenty to do during our days. We also plan to do primarily baby led weaning, so it will be 6-7 months before we start solids.

She officially weighed in at 16lbz 12oz at her 4 month checkup and is 25.5 inches long. She is wearing everything from 3 months to 9 months depending on the brand. Her Cloud Island sleep and plays are still our favorite for daily wear, but their days are numbered. I don’t want to buy her new clothes(well I do but know I shouldn’t spend the money), but she is in a weird in between seasons/sizes phase with hand me downs. So we are stretching her outfits as long as possible until spring arrives and then she’ll have a whole new hand me down wardrobe. I am so looking forward to seeing her in some of the same outfits that her sisters wore.

We introduced the exersaucer this month, and she is a fan. About 10 minutes is all she can take before she’s ready to get out. Most of her time is still spent on her play mat. She has taken a major interest in the hanging toys and it now able to grab and hold onto them. In the evenings when I am cooking dinner she will rotate between the exersaucer and bouncy seat. She has great head control, puts weight on her feet, but has zero interest in rolling from back to belly.

I don’t want to wish away her baby days, but I am really looking forward to the next few months. Spring, summer, the park, the zoo, swinging, the pool, lake visits, crawling in the grass, daily walks. Getting to watch her experience all of it for the first time has me so excited, plus I just love summer. I know I can’t keep her little forever, and our baby days are coming to a close, so I plan to soak up every first along the way.