you are four months old {dear beautiful little lady}

dear beautiful little lady

Well there went another month... it's mad how fast the time is going. This month has been a relatively quiet one in the scheme of things. Just all of us plodding along with life, a life that we simply can't imagine without you in it now.

You had your last set of jabs, which made you pretty tetchy and upset for a day, but it was nowhere near as bad as how you were with the first set which was such a relief. I think that because you are so happy and content all the time, that it somehow seems so much worse when something upsets you. It's just so out of character to hear you cry and have you be inconsolable.

We have the whole consoling you thing all figured out now (except for post jabs - that we just had to ride out); you are a true dancers baby and you obviously enjoyed spending most of your time as a bump being jiggled around to music, because jiggling you up and down on my shoulder and singing you a song work within seconds if anything upsets you. Not that that happens very often. You are just so amazingly chilled out and nothing seems to phase you.

Over the past month you have well and truly discovered your hands. I remember from your big brother and sister being at a similar age; that it was the cutest thing watching them stare at their own hands totally mesmerised. You seem much more interested in putting your hands in your mouth than staring at them though, and you can often be heard slurping and chewing on your fist. The jury is still out on whether you might end up being a thumb sucker like your big sister, or maybe a finger sucker which looks slightly more likely at the moment. From the state of your bottom gums it actually looks like we might be seeing some first teeth in the not too distant future, so all that enthusiastic hand chewing may be to do with that. It seems so ridiculously early for you to be teething, but your big brother had teeth quite early, as did I, so we shall see. Luckily they don't seem to be particularly bothering you; just making you a bit more dribbly.

You've started reaching out for toys and picking them up during the past month. The first time you picked up your giraffe, Sophie, it made me squeal and clap with excitement and then rapidly disolve into tears as I realised it was another skill that seemed to have crept up on me. I wonder when I will stop thinking of you as brand spanking new, and stop being surprised by your achievements. Or maybe you'll just always be my baby and always shock me when you learn something new.

You are so so so nearly rolling over. You get right up onto your side from your back and seem to rock there for a while as if you're thinking about fully rolling over. But you're yet to complete the manoeuvre just yet. You're enjoying a bit of tummy time more than you had been, and like looking around at everything, but your definitely aren't a lover of being on your tummy, which may be why you aren't too fussed about rolling over from your back.

We dug the bumbo seat out for you to try and it was an instant hit. The very first time we put you in it you beamed from ear to ear and couldn't stop giggling. I think you enjoy the new view and vantage point, and the fact that you can see what your big brother and sister are doing a little more. Whenever you're sat in it they will run over to talk to you and hug you, something which sometimes you like, and other times you aren't so keen on. 

With each month you seem to be more interested in your siblings and this past month has been no exception. Up until now you've always shown a bit of a preference for your brother, who tends to be a little quieter and more gentle with you. But it seems like the past month has seen you start to "get" your big sister a bit more. You watch her utterly fascinated when she's busy playing or dancing or generally being loud, and she definitely loves the fact that you are becoming more and more fun as you interact more.

You have become so incredibly vocal lately. You talk to your toys, you talk to the cats and the kids, and you absolutely love being sat on my lap face-to-face for a little cooing and gurgling conversation. And your laugh is developing into a proper little chuckle now too. You are super ticklish, especially your toes and armpits, and we love getting you to laugh hysterically. You're a sucker for a bit of peekaboo too, and you love being made to jump. 

I wouldn't say that you are into any kind of routine yet, but in a lot of ways that kind of works. Because you're always being dragged out to pick some one up or drop someone off, and no two days seem to be the same, so it's honestly easier that you just sleep when you're sleepy and nurse when you're hungry. On the most part, you go between two and four hours between feeds during the day; longer if you've had a sleep, shorter if you've stayed awake. But at night you're still a total pro, which I think is why I'm not too worried about forcing you into a day time routine. Most evenings you have a feed around seven when the older two have gone to bed, then you'll have some one-on-one time with daddy and me for an hour or so which is really nice, at eight-ish you'll have your last feed and are then in bed by half past. Mostly you sleep until the alarm goes off about 6:15-6:30ish, will have a quick feed and then go back to sleep again while we all get ready and then I'll wake you to take you on the school run. It works really well actually, and I'm so ridiculously thankful that you like your sleep so much. There have been a couple of unsettled nights lately where you've woken once in the night, but we have a sneaking suspicion that it's your teeth bothering you a bit, or it's a bit of the four month sleep regression kicking in. But you never do it two nights on the trot, and can always be very quickly resettled back to sleep, so it's nothing we can't handle.

It makes me so emotional to think that you're now nearer to being six months old than to being born. I really can't believe that we're going to be thinking about introducing you to foods in a couple of months time. The time is just flying by so incredibly fast, little one. And I am totally torn between how excited I am at all the new things you are doing and learning, and being more than a little devastated that you really aren't a teeny, tiny newborn anymore. It's just so bittersweet being a mummy sometimes, but utterly amazing too. I can't even fully put into words how much I love you, and how glad I am that you are a part of our family.

I love you so very much my little sunshine.

mummy xxx

You can read her first, second and third month letters by clicking the links, and can compare her monthly photos too.

A fourth month in photos...