Joey Lulu: Four Months Old + Baby Stuff We Love

Joey Lulu: Four Months Old + Baby Stuff We Love

We’re a week late but didn’t want to miss documenting Joanna’s four-month birthday! I have to say, this past month has been my favorite yet. Joey is in such a sweet spot of being aware of and interested in the world but content to sit back and watch it — or sleep through it — since she’s not mobile yet. It makes going out to dinner, meeting up with friends, traveling, and everything else really easy (and yes, we know this will not last so we’re taking advantage while we can!!).

Joey just keeps getting taller. I guess that’s what kids do, right?! She’s now 25 inches tall, which puts her in the 68 percentile for height, and 13 pounds, which is only in the 22 percentile. But considering she’s got plenty of pudge, that just goes to show how super chubby some other babies are! (If you’re paying attention, you may notice that we said she was 13.5 pounds at three months old, but we forgot to undress her to weigh her, oops. So she has gained weight IRL.)

Joey at four months is a ton of fun to have around. She’s always quick to smile, and has been babbling up a storm. This girl LOVES to talk!

She’s also still sleeping through the night, from about 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. every night, which she’s been doing since 9 weeks old. The only exception was when we were on vacation and she woke up each night needing some reassurance in a strange environment. We’ve been REALLY lucky overall, though, and we’ve also worked really hard on establishing routines and helping to teach her to sleep independently and to self-soothe. Right now we’re just holding our breath for the dreaded 4-month sleep regression to hit… any minute now.

We shared some of our favorite products way back at one month old, so here’s some of what we’ve been loving lately…

1. Snugabunny swing — this thing is a lifesaver when Joey is fussy. This usually happens when she’s overtired and we just need her to relax and take a nap. She’s instantly happy when she goes in the swing and it works to calm her down 99% of the time. I try not to use it too often, not even every day, because I don’t want her to come to rely on it too much to fall asleep. I like to teach Joey to fall asleep on her own, but sometimes I really need a break!
2. Old Navy leggings — these fit Joey better than any other pants because they’re a slimmer fit. Plus she looks like such a cool kid in her jeggings and the ruffle butt is adorable.
3. Boon bath tub — I wouldn’t go so far as to say Joey likes taking baths, but she definitely tolerates them. Doing a bath as part of a bedtime routine doesn’t work for us since our evenings are too rushed as it is, and also baths tend to energize Joey instead of relaxing her. So I give her a bath approximately every other afternoon and then we play afterwards. I put this Boon tub on the bathroom floor so I don’t need to bend over the side of the bathtub and it works really well.
4. Powdered formula dispenser — This  is one of my new favorite finds. Joey eats both formula and pumped breastmilk, so we make sure we have formula with us every time we leave the house. With this amazing little contraption, we can measure out the powdered formula ahead of time and then just funnel it into a bottle with water when we need it.
5. Boppy lounger — This has been one of our absolute most-used products. Joey spends most of the day in her boppy lounger, either next to me on the couch (back pre-renovation when we had a living room!) or now on our bed. It keeps her propped up so she can more easily interact with me and play with her toys and also laid back enough to take naps (it says she’s not supposed to sleep in it, but I just make sure to keep an eye on her and she’s always on her back). I wish they made these in my size!
6. Bandana bibs — now that Joey has started getting ready for solid foods and new teeth, she’s drooling like a waterfall! Her shirts are constantly wet if she isn’t wearing a bib, so I love these bandana bibs for catching the drool and making her look like a cool kid at the same time.
7. Jammy Jams on Pandora (or Spotify) — It’s like magic to stop the crying! One of our friends recommended the Jammy Jams station and it 100% works for calming down Joey, and it isn’t totally terrible for me either. Jammy Jams are lullaby versions of popular songs, so on shuffle I can hear anything from Rhianna to Adele to Guns n Roses. Joey stops crying immediately when she hears it. It’s magic.