Happy 4 months, Clara!

Today marks Clara's 4 month birthday! For some reason, this milestone has hit me the hardest so far! It really does not feel like it has been four months since Clara was born. I'm sure it is because she is our third, and life gets busy!

Clara is such a little sweetheart! I think she has changed so much in the last month. She has gone from a little infant that just sweet talks with you, to an infant who talks and talks, uses her voice to get attention, and loving to play with toys! It really is amazing. She watches every little thing Mairead & Lilah do, and even the girls are really into Clara now that she is so interactive with everyone. The one thing that has changed in the last month is her daytime sleeping habits! She went from sleeping the majority of the day, to not being able to sleep for more than an hour at a time. This does NOT make for a happy Clara belle! Thankfully, her nighttime sleeping habits haven't changed very much. She is nursing for the last time between 10-11pm, and then she'll sleep until around 4-5am, which isn't bad! In the last week, she was waking a few times at 230am, but going right back to sleep. During the day, she nurses every 2-3 hours. Though, in the evening, it isn't uncommon for her to want to nurse off and on for a few hours :) - hey! whatever helps her sleep at night, right?

I am hoping these changes in her sleeping habits are just due to a growth spurt, and all the changes she is making! Both Mairead & Lilah had some changes in sleeping habits around this age. I am really hoping Clara is not developing bad napping habits like Mairead. As an infant, Mairead protested naps. She would take 30-60 minute cat naps about 4-5 times a day. It was horrid. Even as a toddler, she refused to nap more than an hour. Mairead never caught up on her sleep, and by the evening, she had troubles going to bed. Even at 3.5, Mairead does not nap, and hasn't done so in a long, long, long time.

With Clara being the 3rd, I don't have the time to spend with Clara putting her to sleep multiple times a day like I did with Mairead. She is going to have to learn to sleep. We learned with Lilah, a well-rested baby is a happy and content one. Clara surely has her own personality, but I also see so much of the girls in her, too!

I am so excited for the next few months with Clara! She is really going to come into herself, and it's just going to be great!



We love you, Clara!