Grey's World: The Big 4...

...4 months that is!  I know I say this every month, but I can barely believe that he's this old already.  Technically, since I'm late posting this again, he's into his second week of his 5th month.  We couldn't decide on one pic this month, so here's two!

{ 15lbs 4oz & 25 inches }

{ Faves: Mamas & Papas play mat, car rides & anything he can put in his mouth! }

{ Dislikes: Baths }

The 4th month has been a transition month for us.  I started back to work & Grey started daycare.  It actually hasn't been as bad as I had envisioned.  Staying home wasn't an option for us financially, so I just had to get myself in the right frame of mind.  The best thing about being back to work is "adult time".  Although it isn't the adult time I'd choose, it is really nice to have conversations that don't involve poop, formula, milestones, spit up, etc.  LOL.  The worst thing about being back to work is, of course, the lack of time with Grey.  I thought I would have time with him in the early evenings, but that doesn't work out well (see explanation below).  So I just truly cherish my weekend time with him.

Grey has done really well at daycare...except for his lack of naps, which may just be the new norm.  He loves his teachers, new "friends" and all the activities so much that he doesn't want to miss any of it.  Therefore, he naps about 90 min total (over 3 naps) on average while he's there.  Eek!  When we get him home, he's typically a tad fussy due to lack of sleep.  We swaddle him up right away and the rest of the evening goes a little like this...

• 5:00 PM: Down for a nap
• 6-6:30 PM:  Wake him up feeding
• 7 PM:  Down for a evening sleep
• 10:30 PM:  Wake him for feeding
• 11 PM:  Down for the night

So you can see how there is absolutely no time to connect with him in the evenings.  If he had a tad more sleep during the day, we may get a few extra minutes with him for a bath, but that's not very often.  I end up actually missing him by the time Friday rolls around and am ready to cuddle with him on the weekend!

Grey is doing well with milestones.  By the end of the 4th month, he had rolled over from tummy to back a few times but not consistently.  He's starting to use his hands & fingers more (without fists)...even holding onto toys at times.  He loves sitting up supported.  He also is getting much more comfortable with tummy time thanks to daycare.  They really work with him, and he's made significant progress towards milestones since he's been going there.  This is another reason why it's easier to leave him there.  He enjoys it and they really work with him!

He gets to watch himself & make faces in the mirror.

They read to him.

They work on milestones like tummy time.

They do fun projects.

Overall the 4th month has been good.  Grey is developing his own personality & really starting to babble.  Our family is normalizing to a routine.  Life is good - tired, but good.

Here's a few of our favorite pics from the past month...

Grey's World: Still More of Our Favorite Things

This is our last "Favorite Things" post for awhile...I promise!  I built my registry list from reading blog posts & reviews that I wanted to pay it forward.  You think I'd be done after 2 posts, but we just have so many things that help us out day-to-day or items that Grey loves!  This post includes random baby gear or items that we forgot to include in previous posts.  So here goes...

Baby Eucerin Cream

Our little guy has dry, sensitive skin.  We started out with Baby Aveeno, which was great for his sensitive skin, but it didn't quite take care of the dry patches he gets.  His pediatrician recommended Baby Eucerin, and it's worked wonderfully!!

Munchkin Waterproof Liners

These have been great to use on your changing pad, pack-n-play, bassinet, Mamaroo, car seat, etc.  You name it.  You can use these in it.  They're fabulous for protecting fabric covers and wash up great!

IKEA Raskog Utility Cart

We originally purchased this cart to use next to his changing pad/dresser in the nursery, but we ended up bringing it downstairs to hold items next to his pack-n-play/changing station.  

4Moms Mamaroo

This high-tech contraption takes the place of a bouncer & swing.   It's crazy cool with it's multiple different movements and sounds.  To top it all off, it can all be controlled through an app on your smartphone.  Now I must admit that I haven't found a need to use the app...but it's still super cool.  I have heard of moms with more than one child using the app when their hands are tied with one of their other children.  Grey didn't initially care for this too much, but he does like it quite nicely now.  He loves car rides, and "car ride" is one of the movements you can choose.  Score! 

Skip Hop Chelsea Downtown Diaper Bag

Love that this diaper bag has lots and lots of pockets (interior & exterior) and a pull out changing pad...and it barely looks diaper bag-isa! 

Summer Infant Sharp Sight Video Monitor

We haven't used the monitor a ton in the first 3 months given that Grey still sleeps in our room.  We did use it while visiting family over Christmas, and it worked great!  It has a great color screen for daytime and a decent picture for nighttime too.  You can control the camera from the video screen, which is super convenient.  I'm sure we'll use this more in the coming months. 

UPPAbaby Cruz Travel System with Mesa Car Seat

This has been a fabulous travel system to date!  The Cruz base is so lightweight, easy to turn, and crazy simple to open/close.  The Mesa car seat has been great too - super sturdy.  The only bad thing I can report is that I wish the canopy had an extender, as the sun often gets in his eyes.

Total Baby App

We tried a few apps out in the beginning and decided upon this one.  It's very customizable via the settings option.  It tracks diapers, sleep, feedings, baths, meds, etc. It also graphs out, averages & totals most of the items that you can track.  This makes it super easy to identify trends or report out when you take the babe to the doctor.  It even tracks vaccines, milestones and random notes that you wish to document.  Seriously love this app!!

Hope this has been helpful!  I'll post some additional favorites as Grey continues to grow.

Cheers!