Dear Emersyn: 4 Months

Dear Emersyn,

This past month has flown by, which could be why I'm late in posting this update.  We finally sold our house in Oklahoma, and moved up to Missouri the day before you turned 4 months old!  I'm sure you felt a bit of our stress, and this resulted in some off days, but for the most part, you've done really well!  I'm ready to be done unpacking so I can get back to the business of snuggling my girl since you're growing so very fast.

Just a few days into this month you mastered rolling over!  You only roll to your right, from your back to your belly, but that's all you really seem interested in for now.  This meant the end of swaddling.  I don't notice that you sleep any differently unswaddled and you look so cute in your footy pajamas.

However, you love to roll over in your crib, and often sleep on your side and belly now, sometimes with your face straight into the mattress.  I tried rolling you back over more than a few times, and you'd just roll right back, so I gave up.  I still obsessively check to make sure you're breathing though.

Another development this month: laughs- true, happy, belly laughs.  The first time I heard it, I swear, my heart went into my throat and I almost cried, I loved that sound (and you) so very much.  You don't laugh very often, but blowing raspberries on your neck right below your chin is our best chance, so we do that a lot!  Also, you can now motorboat with the best of them, and often get some good bubbles going too.  This results in lots of laughs from mom and dad.

You've gotten lots of time with family this month- we went up for your Daddy's 10 year reunion, which was the same weekend as his hometown fair, and you won first place in the baby show, just as your Daddy did 28 years ago.  I don't plan on you being a toddler with a tiara, but this was a fun tradition on your dad's side!  We also went up and celebrated your cousin's birthday and you got to meet your Uncle Cory's family at last!  They live in Kentucky, so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like, but I hope you will still be close with your cousins!

I'm thinking when we weighed you last month at home we must have been off, because at your dr's apt this month you weighed 14 lbs 7 oz, and there's no way you only put on 1 oz in a month.   You also measured at 25 inches long. This puts you in the 75th percentile for height and weight, and is giving mama some muscles.  You've nearly outgrown your 3-6 month clothing and mostly wear 6 month and 6-9 month things.  I'm happy knowing that you're getting plenty to eat as you are still exclusively breastfeeding.  You handled your 4 month shots really well, we did just a bit of baby Tylenol and you slept a lot of the day again, which was handy, as it was the day we loaded the truck to move!

You love to play with your baby gym arch, seeing yourself in the mirror, being outside, chewing on your hands (and really anything else), and being held.  You are definitely a morning person, and coffee is helping mama to be one too.  You now hate your changing pad, but love to roll over while I attempt to wrangle you into a fresh diaper.

When it comes to eating, you still eat every 2.5- 3 hours, sometimes 3.5 hours if you settled in for a long nap.  Your bedtime has moved up to 8pm and you get pretty cranky if you're up later than that.  I still often dreamfeed you at 10pm, but your pediatrician said you really didn't need it, so I don't always do so, but I figure it can't hurt anything.

Sleep is still kind of hit and miss.  Sometimes you'll sleep through the night for a week straight, and then the next week you'll be up a few times a night.  Once we're settled in I hope to work on a better nap routine in hopes of getting a better groove.

We tried taking you off your Prevacid when you ran out of your prescription, and you are definitely NOT over your reflux.  Poor baby, I think it made for a few miserable days.

This month has been so hectic, but so fun too, watching you grow and change.  We love being your parents, and we're excited for this next chapter in our new home.  We love you baby girl!

Love,

Mama