4 Months and Sleep Deprived

It has been 4 months since our little Libby was born. Where does the time go? It seems every time I turn around another month has passed. And like always I like to post a few things that our little one has learned or loves doing.

First off her 4 month stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 2 oz (70th %)

Height: 25 3/4" (93rd %)

We have an extremely tall girl. The doctor always comments on how tall she is when we go in to see him. He predicts at every appointment that she'll be at least 5'8" when she grows up...which means she'll be taller than me. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens!

Some things about our princess:

*Libby loves to grab anything and everything in front of her. She has started grabbing toys and holding on to them, it is so fun to see her discover new things. Not interested in playing with the toys just yet, but loves to grab them. And this also means she loves to grab anything I am holding or using or trying to do something with.

*You usually see Libs lately with her fingers in her mouth....trying to get all of them from both hands in. She is starting to put things in her mouth and play with her tongue more and more. She puts her toys in her mouth but doesn't know what to do just yet when it is in there, I'm sure she'll pick that up pretty soon.

*Libby is the happiest baby when she wakes up. She is usually ALL smiles but not just when she wakes up. She is a happy, content, easy-going baby all the time. How did I get so lucky?

*Libby laughs and giggles all the time. Her laugh is very infectious. But what babies isn't? She is pretty ticklish on her collar bone and the top of her thighs. Sometimes you can get her to laugh under her arms, but that is a rare occasion. We get Libby into her pajamas every night at 7:15 and she thinks this is hilarious. Every time I try to take her clothes off the thinks I am tickling her and she just giggles. It is so funny, Jedd and I laugh for about 10 minutes about it.

*Libby is already a girly-girl. You can find her a lot of the time with her arm up next to her ear and her fingers just going through her hair. It is quite hilarious. Her hair is getting so long and she is getting more and more of it. It is still extremely dark and the top is starting to finally fill in a little bit, although it does have a mind of it's own, it still sticks up no matter what I do. She also loves it when I let her play with my hair. When I get brave, I let my hair down in front of her and just let her run her fingers through it. She loves this and usually has a giggle when she gets to play with mommy's hair. She also LOVES to get her hair brushed through after her bath.

*Libby has recently been OBSESSED with water bottles. I usually am drinking a bottle of water through the day (trying to get my daily supply of water!) and Libby can spot it from across the room. I usually have a bottle sitting on our coffee table in our living room and if we are sitting on the couch with her, she will not let it go until we let her play with it. Don't know what she finds so enthralling about a plastic water bottle, but hey, she loves it so who am I to judge?

*Along with Lib's hair growing so fast, her fingernails grow 10 times as fast. I swear I am clipping and filing her nails at least twice a week and if I was more diligent, I would do it every day I was home from work. She loves to grab Jedd's and my fingers and arms when we hold her, but man her nails are so sharp sometimes. It is hard to clip and file them, I can only do it when she is asleep and sometimes I don't have the heart to do it when she is out for a nap.

*Libby has become somewhat of a mommy's girl, especially when we are places she doesn't know or with people she doesn't know. As much as Libs loves her grandma's, she is definitely a home body and likes to be home with her mommy. The last week or so Libby has been crying when she realizes that I am at work and she is at grandma's house. It is so sad to hear that she is so upset, it sure makes my day seem so much longer. I didn't think I would have to deal with this so soon, but I guess she knows her mom and dad. It is kind of fun that sometimes she only wants me, it is definitely a good feeling knowing that I am Libby's comfort.

*Libby has the prettiest big slate-blue eyes. And I can proudly say that this is one thing that she got from me. Libs sure looks like her daddy, but her eyes, I can take full credit for... size and color.

*Libby loves to be sitting up and looking at everything. She has started to try and pull herself up when she is laying down. We think she is going to have amazing abs in the next while due to her doing so many crunches.

*And last Libby LOVES the mirror. She loves looking at us in the mirror and she loves laughing and smiling at her self.

Ok that seems to sum up everything this month. Now you're probably thinking why was "sleep deprived" part of my post title? Well that is something that has come up the last 2 weeks. Last week Libby started not sleeping through the night, which she had been doing for the past month. I was a little frustrated hoping this wasn't a new habit but thought nothing about why it was happening. Luckily we went in for her 4 month checkup and found out she had a really bad ear infection. So we started her antibiotics on Wednesday night. But the one who is sleep deprived is me. Libby is usually awake 3-4 times a night sometimes not going back to sleep for hours. The last couple nights she has been awake at 2 or 3 am and hasn't really gone back to sleep. I really feel like this is worse than a newborn. I am just so tired lately that I have been falling asleep right after Libby does at 8pm. My poor sweetie I'm sure is in pain from her ear, I wish there was something I could do for her to help her sleep, hopefully the medication will kick in SOON!

What I need to hear is encouragement from you out there. I am so worried that Libby will never sleep through the night again and this habit will last for ever! Ok I know that is a little extreme, but at the moment it's so hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Will things EVER get back to normal? Will Libby start to sleep through the night again? I feel so bad for her because I know she has been in so much pain, but I just don't know how much longer I can handle waking up at 2 am every morning and never going back to sleep because I'm so worried about her. Have you been through this? How long did it take for your baby to start sleeping through the night again? Is this going to be a new habit she's forming?