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four months as of January 5, 2019
I guess I’ll forever be a few weeks late on this updates, but I like seeing her stats and chatting with her doctor about developmental things before writing the posts. I did mean to take the photo on time this month, but the ever elusive daylight is hard to catch and our weekend was so full, that I finally managed to snag some photos of her yesterday. How adorable is she?!
Height + Weight: At her two month visit, Polly weighed 11 lbs 15 oz and at this month’s visit, she weighed 14 lbs and 3 oz — she’s getting so big! On top of the weight she’s gained, she’s almost 26 inches long, making her the “tallest” of our babies, so far. Sophie always trended high for length, so I’ll be interested to see if Polly’s growth tapers like her big sister or if she’ll prove to be taller than the girls at some point. We all adore how squishy she is and my personal favorite thing is to pinch those thigh rolls when I’m changing her clothes. I’m not rushing this year by, but I can’t wait to see her tan little legs with fat roll creases. Crazy mom alert: you know how ridiculous it is when you hear people say they want to eat their babies? Well, I completely understand where they’re coming from.
Clothes: We can still wear most of our 3-6 month outfits, but anything sized 3 months is getting a little snug. I’m learning to pay more attention to the weight range on the tag than the months and that’s been a huge help. I’m also learning that less is more when it comes to baby clothes. I’m trying to be a little more discerning when my sister brings things that Vera has outgrown and I’m only buying a few pieces from my favorite shops for each size range. I’m currently scouting some super cute lounge clothes for little people, so I’ll report back after we’ve had a chance to try them out.
Sleep: Sleep has been a little trickier this month. I was convinced we were entering that dreaded four month sleep regression after a solid week of nightly wake ups. She was getting up to nurse two to three times a night, which is completely out of character for her. Just as quickly as her schedule fell apart, it seemed to come back together, so Josh & I chalked it up to congestion and started running a humidifier in our bedroom. We did have another rough night last Thursday, but generally speaking, we’re back to sleeping through the night.
Schedule: Our schedule hasn’t changed significantly from last month — I have to wake her up around 6 o’clock to nurse her before work. Her daily routine is generally an 8:30, 11:30, and 2:30 bottle at my aunt’s house, with playtime and naps in between. I’m almost always racing the clock to get home in time to feed her around 5 o’clock — she usually naps good for my mom and almost always waits to eat until I can get home. After feeding, I usually wear her in the sling for an hour, while I cook dinner and pick up around the house. That leaves an hour of playtime with our sisters before bath, plenty of snuggles, and then one more nursing session before bed. Bedtime can range anywhere from seven to eight-thirty, depending on how her day went, so she’s getting ten or eleven hours of sleep most nights.
Health: Polly looked perfect at our doctor’s appointment last week. She had to have five vaccinations — four shots and one oral — so she was a little fussy for the rest of the afternoon. Developmentally, she’s right on target. Her head control is great and she’s a champ at tummy time, even though she hates it. Our pediatrician said she’s pretty close to sitting up unassisted (cue the tears), but I’m trying not to rush her. Josh had a question about her soft spot (it seems really pronounced to him), but our doctor confirmed that everything looks perfect on that front, too. We did discuss introducing cereals and baby purees, but Josh & I have decided to wait until closer to six months and try Baby Led Weaning instead.
Crying: Polly usually only cries during extreme distress, especially when she’s overly hungry or in the car after dark. We have noticed more tears than usual in the last few weeks and we’re trying hard to figure out why. She’s still a mostly happy baby, but we’re struggling with naps during the day and being too tired is a recipe for disaster. I’ve also successfully made her a mama’s girl, which is pretty fantastic unless I need to leave her behind. Oops.
Likes: She is loving our new Wildbird sling, so we try to get some amount of baby wearing in every day. She is also a huge fan of bath time, now that we’ve ditched the bathtub in favor of a cheap sponge she can lay on. She has a few stuffed animals that get lots of giggles and she really likes silicone teething toys and the beads hanging from her play gym.
Dislikes: Her dislikes are very specific. She hates riding in the car after dark. She’s completely content in her car seat otherwise, but as soon as the sun sets, you better be very close to home. I think it has something to do with being strapped down and not able to see what’s going on around her. Lights on inside the car do not help, it’s the exterior darkness that seems to be the problem. We learned our lesson over the holidays and try to coordinate our evening events accordingly. Also, Josh has been growing a beard for the last several weeks and she isn’t a huge fan of his whiskers. Now that they have softened up a bit, she’s not as fussy, but she did not like having him kiss her face!
Milestones: Polly finally rolled from belly to back, for the first time, yesterday! She did it so quickly and the look of surprise on her face was hilarious. We’re still working on rolling from back to front. She gets so frustrated because the hand on the side she isn’t rolling towards get stuck underneath her every time.
Places She’s Been: The only new place she’s been since the holidays is the gym where Sophie is playing basketball this season. She is so alert at the games and when she isn’t being passed around for all the snuggles, there is a line of little siblings to keep her company.
Special Moments: Gosh, Christmas was so special. I know that she didn’t know anything that was going on around her, but just having her in the room was so special for us all. My mom gifted her a new plate and cup for Santa’s cookies and I love that she’ll get to use that for her entire childhood. The big girls had so much fun hiding the elf this year and even though she didn’t know to look for it, it established such a fun tradition for later years. We carried her to our church’s candlelight service and that was really special, too. I know I’ll look back on this Christmas as one of my very favorite seasons.
Mama, Daddy + Big Sisters: I feel like I answer this prompt the same every month, but we are so obsessed with her. I look forward to the few minutes alone with her just before bed — nursing and singing lullabies and having her fall asleep in my arms. I’m not as big of a fan of getting her back to sleep if she wakes up, but that first round is pretty fun. I’m also really enjoying observing her as she figures things out. She sat in her high chair trying to grab a stuffed bunny for so long a few nights ago. She never got frustrated with herself and I ended up helping her out a bit, but it’s so neat to see her try different techniques.
Josh is joining the baby wearing adventure, so I borrowed a Baby Bjorn from my sister for him to try. Polly likes facing out with him, so the ring sling isn’t as easy for him to use. Ella is the best at making her laugh and it is so funny to see them interact. Sophie has started reading to her as a part of her homework each afternoon and that is one of my new favorite things to watch. She’s also decided to share her room with Polly instead of bunking with Ella, so we’ll see how that works out after Polly moves upstairs later this year. Josh calls them the middle and the little and it’s been so much fun to watch their relationship develop.
Since Polly got so many fun things for Christmas — and we’ve had a few weeks to try them all out — I thought I’d share a full post with our four month favorites, instead of cramming them into today’s post. Check back in a few days for a list of things we’re loving — a few favorites and a few more that are on our shopping list for later this month!
