Sleep & Other Miscellaneous

Two Sundays ago, James hit the 4-month mark. It goes without saying (even though I'm going to say it anyway...) that the past 4 months have been so joyful and amazing. But, they have also been the most exhausting 4 months of my life. I was hoping by 4-months James would be sleeping completely through the night. Thanks to a variety of things, including teething, hunger, and wanting constant mommy contact, the sleeping through the night thing just isn't happening. I would say, on average, he wakes up 3-5 times a night. Nursing always calms him down and puts him right back to sleep--but being woken up that many times a night consistently for the past 4 months is starting to take a toll on me. The teething thing is such a drag too, by the way! As if we didn't have it hard enough... Anyway, he gets at least 3 good naps during the day, which are pretty on schedule, but it's the nighttime that we're struggling with still. It's a good thing he's completely & utterly adorable...


On a lighter note, James is getting so funny & full of personality. I love all the cute new things he is doing. Just to name a few:
-rolling over like crazy, especially when I'm trying to change his diaper
-lifting his head up really high when on his tummy (this is especially cute when I find him this way after a nap as he's whimpering and looking around the room)
-lifting his head up and smiling at me when I'm lying next to him, then burrowing his head in the bed when he realizes I'm smiling back at him. He repeats this again and again---so endearing
-grabbing his feet, which causes him to tip over onto his side
-gurgling his saliva and foaming at the mouth (sounds totally gross, but somehow cute when coming from a baby)
-baby talking (sounds something like "guuu errrrr uuuu ggggg rrrrrrr") with his serious face
-smiling and kicking excitedly everytime I look at him
-laughing his head off, especially when I stand him up and dance him around--his laugh is too adorable for words--I love it!
-whining and burrowing his head in my chest when he's tired (again, sounds horrible).
-putting everything he can get his hands on in his mouth (this can be a little frustrating!)
-propping his leg up on my arm when he's nursing--it's like he's bracing himself!
-making lots of loud sighing sounds when he's eating
-concentrating really hard on objects he's trying to grab by furrowing his brow & forming an "o" with his mouth while his hands and head are intensely shaking
-burping like a full grown man after each feeding (once again--only cute coming from a baby)
-grabbing my face & opening his mouth in a wide grin when I go in for a kiss while making a cute "aaaahhhh" sound.

I love my little guy :)

Something a little scary, yet supposedly normal, has been happening to me since I started nursing. My hair is falling out in clumps! I am starting to get two bald spots near the front of my head. Everyone I have talked to says this happened to them as well. Some say it's due to hormones, while others say it's because I had an epidural (the latter doesn't make any sense to me, but what do I know?). All of my sisters & many of my friends have had the same hair loss issues while nursing. To me, it seems like it would be linked to nutrition, but that doesn't make sense either because I'm taking prenatal vitamins still and trying to eat as healthy as I can (I'm definitely not perfect, but I try). Whatever the reason, it is becoming really annoying. When I brush my hair every morning I feel like a cancer patient, waiting for the globs of hair to stop coming. It is truly disgusting, especially when I'm constantly finding hair everywhere--all over James, me, the floor....yuck! I can't stand it. Any words of wisdom, comfort, or just plain sympathy? I'll take anything.