Regarding sleep, BabyCenter mentions that "it may be a while before he stops waking at five in the morning". This is particularly on-point, because for the past 7 days or so Brooke has been doing exactly that! Interestingly enough, I decided to read up a bit more on her sleep habits. The last reading I did was when we began "sleep training" and at that point she was 3-months. There is a lot of development between 3 & 4 months, so I figured some updated information was necessary. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (by Marc Weissbluth) actually states that 5 AM is too early of a wake-up time and to ignore a baby who gets up at this hour. The principles of this book are not always something I agree with - the author suggests letting the baby cry for up to one hour. But I realized that Brooke was not waking up at 5AM crying, she was cooing and talking. I decided to leave her be instead of rushing in to grab her, and guess what? She fell back asleep and slept until 7:30 :) YAY!
In regards to "the company of strangers", BabyCenter says the following:
Your little genius is figuring out who's who in the world and likes Mom a lot more than most others, and may start to feel insecure in the company of strangers. As a result, you may notice your baby is becoming more selective with smiles - strangers are not welcomed as readily as they once were. He is also starting to develop preferences. Your little one may reach out for his favorite toys and turn from those he doesn't like. He may also become attached to one toy more than others and rely on it for security.
We have definitely noticed that Brooke has become more particular about who she spends time with - and will never shoot a stranger one of her smiles (she actually never really did). She definitely prefers me, which has its pros and cons. Its great that we are forming this special bond, and it took a while for us to get where we are. On the other hand, her attachment to me is making it hard for me to leave her. She often cries when others hold her, and keeps her eyes on me at all times. In addition, she is starting to cry if I leave her eyesight while she is in her bouncer or on her playgym. So I am glad Brooke loves me ... but do hope that she learns (soon) that it's ok if Mommy goes away for a minute - because she always comes back!
