17 Weeks

I'm not sure, but I think Lola will be 17 weeks on Sunday.  I can't tell you how many times I've counted, but I can't remember.  Sleep deprivation kills my memory. 

I'm not sure if we've hit THE sleep regression, but we've certainly hit one.  The past 3 weeks have been pretty rough, I don't think I've felt so badly since that first month.  So desperately tired (and whiney), so isolated, so frustrated.  I've started laying down with her during nap times; otherwise, she doesn't make it through the first sleep cycle (which is about 45 minutes).  I don't really enjoy laying there for two hours at a time, but she's a terror if she doesn't get decent sleep.  I don't feel like we have much of a routine yet, but it's not because we haven't tried.  Whatever your beliefs are on co-sleeping (I don't need, nor want opinions) it has saved much of our sanity.  Some nights are still not as great (she likes to kick a lot), but she just doesn't sleep well in the crib sometimes.  We've been pretty consistent with bedtime, but the waking up seems to fluctuate the most.  I'm not sure if that's normal.

She's quite the chatty patty these days and we've decided she has the sweetest voice.  She loves to laugh and we love to make her laugh.  As much as she hated tummy time in the past, she's been rolling onto her tummy a lot lately.  She's trying to crawl, but she's still lacking some strength and coordination.  She gets so upset when she realizes she's not going anywhere.   I can honestly say we're having a ton of fun watching her grow and learn new things.  She loves her daddy's beard.  Bo has learned that he is going to need to keep it fairly trim because Lola enjoys grabbing it with both hands.  She still hates the car seat, but surprisingly tolerated it a little today.  I mostly carry her around when I'm at the store.  I've noticed that people really like babies and sometimes it catches me off-guard.  "Oh my God, she's so beautiful" "Your baby is so cute!" "AAAAH, BABY!", etc.  The weirdest was this lady who was walking towards us in the parking lot (about 20 ft. away) and was baby talking very loudly at us.  I didn't run away, but I walked as quickly as I could.  I'm not sure how I would have reacted otherwise. 

I'm still dairy-free.  Her face cleared up and then lately it's breaking out again.  Luckily we see the actual doctor next week.  Up until now, we could only get in to see the nurse practitioners. We have been going out to eat a lot, so I'm wondering if we have some cross-contamination issues (I really don't want it to be another allergen).  I really should try and figure that out though, but it's so hard when we're so tired, you know?  Bo has been incredibly supportive, even through the last two weeks when he had to work a lot (he even had to work Labor day weekend and Labor day unexpectedly).  He helps out so much and certainly doesn't complain at my lack of housework.  I'll have plenty of time to worry about dusting...some other day :)

I'll try to post a picture soon.  I've not been very good at getting posed pictures, but I really want to get a 4 Month picture soon.