3 & 4 Month Must Haves

In addition to everything from Months 1-2 Must Haves (you can see them here), these have been our tried and true for the 3rd and 4th months of life.

1. & 2. Go hand in hand. We have seriously used the Nosefrida with Ri Baby since the day she came home from the hospital. And since this past month has been one of RSV and Norovirus, I don't know what we would have done without it. She definitely wouldn't have been able to breathe. The saline spray helps break up all the skank and helps the Nosefrida work it's magic.

3. Ri is a blankie freak. I had no idea really until her teachers at daycare told me that when she was sick and fussy, it would soothe her for them to put the blanket by her head. So, I got her a few Aden + Anais security blankets and she is obsessed. She loves to grab it and put it up to her mouth and nose. My sister used to do that with her blankie growing up. Something about the smell of home. So, Ri Baby carries one of these with her at all times now. I love that it is such breathable muslin so I am not afraid of her sleeping with it.

4. I don't know what it is about a rubber squeaky giraffe named Sophie that gets babies going, but get one.

5. Everyone has their own opinions and preferences for baby carriers, but a baby carrier period is on my list. Ri is a busy bee and has been for awhile. She doesn't like lying around and loves to be held. The Baby Bjorn carrier has been a blessing in order for me to run errands. I have two hands, the baby, and we can shop. This, my friends, makes me giddy.

6. I cannot speak highly enough of the 4Moms Mamaroo. It is sleek, unlike the usually bulky & tacky infant swing/bouncer, will take place of a bouncer and a swing, has variations for swing, speed, lounging position, music AND you can play your iPod through it. It is lightweight and baby loves it. Buy the infant insert. They didn't carry them when I first bought ours so it may be the reason Ri was not really a fan the first 2 months.

7. Jacque the Peacock was really the first "toy" Ri Baby really seemed "interested" in. When I say interested, I mean, eyes got wide and she attempted to touch it. When she then discovered his feathers had the "crackly" sound and sensation, she was hooked.

8. Poor Babe had major diarrhea for over a week after coming down with Norovirus. Her poor hiney looked painfully chapped so I am sure it was uncomfortable. We had originally used Desitin but her diaper rash wasn't budging. I grabbed Boudreaux's Buttpaste and it literally works overnight.

9. We have been doing a nighttime routine pretty consistently since day one. Ri was over the swaddle after the first month or two but I worried about her being cold or not feeling secure. Someone had given us a Halo Sleep Sack Wearable Blanket and I now swear by it. She only wears it for nighttime so it is almost like she knows it is bedtime when the sleep sack goes on.

10. Another part of our nighttime routine is to have our last feeding for the night in her room, in the dark. This is quite impossible when you cannot see to feed baby or put her in her crib. I got Ri the Baby Einstein Sea Dreams Soother just because I didn't want a tacky mobile or a million dollar mobile that is cute, and she has always loved to watch her light fixture instead. She has loved the Sea Dreams Soother and I am not going to lie, it looks quite realistic when it is on. But a super extra perk to it is the fact that I can turn the ocean waves + light option on in addition to her sound machine. That way we can feed, I can see, and it slowly dims and eventually goes off so I can put her to sleep and walk away...

babies don't keep.

Ri Baby was super sick the last two weeks. Poor thing caught what I thought was her first cold. It had been a pitiful 7 days and I was so hopeful that we were on the rebound. No, scratch that. I had to take her to daycare last Thursday. She seemed to be turning a corner. Until they called me 3 hours into the day, scared to death because she had a coughing fit where she couldn't catch her breath. FML. There is nothing worse than 1. having to put your child in daycare while you work, 2. having to go back to work when your child is not 100% healthy, 3. having the daycare call. It is the worst bout of Mommy Guilt. Ever. 

Thank God for our pediatrician. He is the shizz. Really. And saw Ri right away, only to then inform us that she had Bronchiolitis from RSV, of which the daycare had warned me about- some kid in Ri's room had had it. The good news was that she was in great spirits and never have a fever, and her appetite had not been too bad considering. So, we have an inhaler now and have to do breathing treatments every 4 hours. I just pray that the asthma is induced by the RSV and she will not develop asthma as she gets older (30% of children who get RSV will have asthma later in life).

The sneezing, the coughing, the runny nose, congestion, irritability, restlessness... it can definitely take it's toll on mommy and baby. I felt so helpless when I had done all I knew to do to relieve her and I hate to see her not feel good. She just wanted to be held, which I loved, but the weather had also been so gloomy, dreary and wet. 

Everyone's mood was down and the laundry was piled up. As I rushed out the door today in a hurry to work, fretting about all the things to do that didn't get done this past weekend, this sweet sweet saying popped into my head. Never has anything been more the truth and I am so thankful to have had the holiday weekend, and my birthday, to be able to rock that sweet, sick baby back to health. These are the days to cherish.