Four Months!

LG at 4 months old! 

Londyn Grace is four months old! 

January began with a terrible virus, a sick baby, and a scared Mama but thankfully she recovered quickly! It did however disrupt her pattern of sleeping through the night since she was having trouble breathing from the congestion. 

Since then she has yet to return to December's sleeping habits, but I'm pretty sure it's because she has officially entered the distracted while nursing stage! She will frequently pull off to look around or smile at me!  It is the cutest thing, but also means she's not taking in as much milk during the day. She makes up for it when the house is dark, quiet and a lot less interesting during the night! Currently she is sleeping for a five hour stretch from around 10:30-3:30 and will feed again at 5:30 and 7:30 and sleep until around nine each morning.

sweet smiles and smocked dresses

Over the past few weeks, we have slowly started to get into a semblance of routine when it comes to naps! She is now taking about three naps a day which is a huge accomplishment! After fighting hard against it, she will usually sleep around 11:00, again around 2:00 and then take one more nap after dinner (Granted I still have to hold her for the nap to last more than five minutes) but I've determined it's better for me to hold her and let her get her nap out (usually about 30-45 minutes) than for her to be really grumpy because she didn't! She is such a light sleeper and the slightest movement disturbs her thus making it really difficult to transfer her from my arms to the crib or bouncy seat without her waking. I know this is just a season and one I will miss dearly so I will hold her and cherish every moment.

loves her hands

In her awake time, she has been busy learning how to grasp her toys and place them promptly in her mouth! Her favorites are Sophie the giraffe and a butterfly toy that has crinkly wings, but as you can see from the picture her hands work just fine if no toys are available! She is definitely discovering texture. She also loves to feel and hold  my hands and face. Some days she is really vocal while others she is quietly taking it all in! Today in the church nursery, she was cracking up laughing! You can see it on video here! (I took it with my phone so not the best quality!)

Londyn seems to prefer her blanket over her bouncy seat and swing for playtime! She loves to kick her legs and flap her arms freely! She is very very close to rolling over and can wiggle herself from one spot to another fairly quickly. If I lay her down vertically she can work her way horizontally in no time! Daddy recently put her exersaucer together and she seems to like it. When held, she prefers to be facing out so she can see what's going on. She can put weight on her legs and stand on the lap of whoever is holding her, too! Just recently she has started to tolerate tummy time and is holding her head up well!

how can she be four months old already?

Nursing is getting much easier for us! Praise the Lord!!  Even with the new distraction element added she is now taking about 30-40 minutes versus the hour-hour and half of months past. Her tiny mouth/jaw must be growing and helping her to become more efficient. She is still eating every two hours unless she's napping and will go two and a half to three (three is rare). Mama is so thankful that she didn't give up though there were many times that she almost gave in to the exhaustion and emotion that our nursing challenges brought. Daddy was so good at encouraging Mama to keep going. When she wraps her tiny fingers around mine while eating or stops to smile at me, it makes it all worth it!

looking at Daddy!

All that milk is making her grow long and lean! She has almost doubled her lowest weight of 5lb 13oz weighing in at 10 pounds 14 ounces! She still weighs a good bit less than most babies her age but is measuring 24 inches long (the same length as babies a few pounds heavier than she is) 3 month clothes are fitting well on her body but her 3 month dresses are getting a bit short! :) 

She is doing well with baths and getting her clothes and diaper changed as long as we're quick! Miss Squirmy Worm doesn't want to be held in one spot too long. 

We are excited about all the new things she will learn in the month to come and loving each moment with our Londyn Grace!