4 Months Old

Katherine Grace, you are FOUR months old! These months are flying by and I'm begging time to slow down more with you than with any of your siblings. You're growing up way too fast. I'm trying so hard to soak up everything and treasure the moments, but they just continue to whiz by me.

You have changed so much this month. You are getting bigger and more interactive, social,  and stronger every single day, and you are the absolute sweetest baby. You're happy and social and cuddly, and just perfect. I want to bottle up your sweet babyness and keep it forever.

You have such an enjoyable temperament. Unless you're tired or hungry, you're usually always happy. If anyone looks at you, you'll grin at them and try and talk to them. You're such a social little bug. You're always looking around wanting to be in on the action and you eat up any attention you get from anyone. You love your mommy the most, and I don't mind at all. If you're inconsolable and upset, I can take you and you'll calm right down. You really shouldn't give your daddy as hard of a time though. In the evenings, you do always prefer me to take care of you.

You're still a tiny little peanut. At your 4 month well check you weighed 11lbs (2%) and were 23 inches long (4%). You're wearing 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers and can't seem to ever keep socks on your feet. You kick them right off, and it's cold outside Sister! We can't go without socks, but they drive me crazy that you can't seem to keep them on. You just kick your feet all the time. You've even managed to kick your pants off a few times, seriously, I don't get it!

You're talking and laughing and reaching for and grabbing toys and rolling over. You're just growing up too fast. According to your big sister, you're almost a grown up by now :).



 You're super strong and have great head control. Our pediatrician told us to watch out that your motor skills are advanced and you'll be mobile before we know it. I am not ready for that!

You're still nursing, sort of. My milk supply tanked a few weeks ago, and I have no idea why. We worked to try and get it back up, but it didn't seem to help much. You don't really help either. You love your bottle and most of the time you fight me when I try and get you to nurse, so I think we're both about done, and I'm becoming okay with that. I had hoped to nurse you longer, but really I just want us both to be happy with your feedings, and if that means we just switch to bottles all the time, then that's just fine (and will probably end up being a lot easier for all of us).

You are starting to laugh and it's the best sound in the world. I do everything I can these days to hear that giggle!

You have six feedings during that day and then an extra early morning feeding. You usually wake up around 5 in the mornings and I nurse you and put you back to bed. Then your typical schedule is eating at 7:30, 10:30, 1:30, 4:30, 7:00ish and a bedtime feeding around 9:30. You're sleeping pretty good at night. You're still in our room, and I do have to reach over and stick your paci back in once or twice a night, but you usually sleep from about 10:00-5:00 and then go back to sleep until 7:00ish.

Your nap schedule is pretty inconsistent. I just put you down whenever you act tired. You still usually need a nap after every feeding, but a lot of those are car naps. When you do nap at home you usually sleep about 45 minutes. Occasionally, you'll take a longer nap but not very often. I still swaddle you for naps and bedtime and you love your paci. I love it when I get you all snuggled up for a nap and I sit down to rock you. I'll start singing to you and you'll look up at me and give me the biggest grin. Your pacifier always falls out because you're smiling so big and you melt me every time. You love  when people sing to you.

You started rolling over from your tummy to your back right after you turned 4 months old. You had such a big fan club cheering you on to reach that milestone. It was cute to see how your siblings were so excited when you did it the first time!

You are such a gift to us. I still think back to how much your Daddy and I went back and forth about having a fourth baby, and all the worries and fears we had about growing our family, and God was so very gracious in giving us you even through our fears and doubts. You have the sweetest, happiest personality and you are just a joy and a delight to all five of us. I'm so very grateful for you, Baby Girl, now stop growing up, okay :)