Anna: 4 Months

"Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

On the day that you were born the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue" (Close to You, The Carpenters)

Thanks to my mom's devotion to Karen Carpenter's songs back in the day, I have stored in the recesses of my mind just about every song she ever sang, and those songs are more than willing to spring to the forefront with the slightest prompting.  A few days ago, as I was putting Anna in her high chair first thing in the morning, the line "On the day that you were born the angels got together" burst forth from my mouth and I haven't been able to stop singing it to my Anna ever since.  Thankfully, she likes it when I sing to her, and the poor girl doesn't yet know that I have a terrible voice.  However, bad voice or no, I believe a mother should sing to her child.  Because when sung in love and in joy, even an awful voice is made better.  Many, many times I have gotten her to sleep with my singing.  Shocker, right??!!!  Yes, even this wretched voice is somehow better as I croon to my baby.  It is done all in love, so right there, it smoothes away all the rough edges.

How our Anna-Girl is 4 months old, I'm not quite sure.  It seems just yesterday we brought her home.  It is a wonder of science that for parents of babies under 1 that time seems to fly at warp speed, and 4 months is really only 2.  Or at least, it should be.

Our girl is simply smothered in kisses every day, so I'm sure she is contemplating in her pretty little mind that her purpose in life might just be to get kisses.  And for now, she'd be quite right!  

Anna currently likes to be in-arms.  If we have her lying about, it can't be for too long.  It is clear I have to switch her up constantly... play mat on the floor, to high chair, to possibly pack n' play (though she tolerates that the least), to in-arms, and also to baby carrier strapped to my person.  Sometimes, she falls asleep in the carrier, though that is never my goal, since baby sleep is most restorative when it is stationary.  

We are still working on her sleep, and no, I do not expect a 4-month old to sleep through the night.  I am for cry-it-out, but I am also for soothing when possible.  I do predict more cry-it-out in our future, and while I hate it with a passion, I have been down this road before.  We will get her sleep to where in should be, in time.  Actually, over the next couple of months her sleep should take on more of a definite schedule and be a bit more by-the-clock.  Her sleep is improving, which is good news, but we still have a ways to go.  That is all right by me.

I can't believe that I'll be feeding her solids in two months!  I am getting ready and I have a really good baby food cookbook in my cart at Amazon, and I'm currently researching non-toxic baby food containers.  In the next couple of weeks, we will be putting away the bassinet, and putting together a mini-crib, passed down to me from my sister, who was also in the unfortunate position of not having a bedroom for her youngest.  The regular size crib, which we still have, will not fit in our room, so whenever we move in the future, it will be waiting for us once again.

And for the record, room sharing is hard!  There is nothing this girl does not hear, and I can barely slip into bed without waking her up, and I am as quiet as a mouse!  She never passed her hearing test as a newborn, due to faulty equipment, fluid in the ear, or a real problem.  We tried having her rechecked when she was a month old, but she wasn't quiet enough for the test, and she still needs a retake in a couple of weeks. From what I can see, she seems to have superhero hearing, and I hope the test proves it.

I never want to stop hearing her giggles!  I believe she is going to be an affectionate little girl, as she is already starting to nuzzle and snuggle into my neck more and more, and wrapping her little arms around me as much as she can.  

Our Anna Lynn continues to light up our lives every single day!