Four Months of Francie!

Dear Francie,

You are four months old today, sweet girl! The past month has flown by, and it's been a great one with you :) You continue to be such a happy, easy going baby. You're pure sweetness, and you've brought so much joy into our family.

We had your four month checkup this week, and you're doing great! You weigh 12 pounds, 8 ounces, and you're 24 inches long. That's only the 16th percentile for weight and the 21st percentile for length, but you've moved up on the growth chart since your last checkup and your doctor said you're very symmetrical :) You are growing and thriving, and we're so proud of you! You wear a 3 month or 6 month in clothes and a size 2 diaper.

You continue to take your bottles like a champ. You eat 6 ounces 5 times a day. Your little schedule seems to be on the verge of changing a bit, so we're working on getting it figured out. For one thing, we're trying to move away from swing naps since you now have your very own room (Alaina moved out of the nursery a few days ago, so it's all yours now). You've done well with napping in the crib, but your naps seem to be a lot shorter than they were in the swing. I have started putting you in bed awake for your naps the past few days, and you've done great with that! Right now, you take two to three naps a day, and you sleep through the night. So, no complaints on the sleep front. Let's keep that up! No four month sleep regression, please! ;)

You've started smiling more consistently, and it's been so fun to try to make you smile. Up until just the past few days, you did smile but your smiles were pretty rare. Now you smile a lot, and we all love it! Your head control is getting better too! You're still a little wobbly, but you're getting steadier and steadier. We started physical therapy recently! The first time, we just met the nice lady who will be coming to our house for your PT and she did an evaluation. We're going to really get started next time, and you'll be having physical therapy every other week for now. I'm excited to get started and to learn how to help you work those little muscles! :)

You love taking baths, your swing, and being on the floor. You LOVE people the most, though. You're a very social baby! If we put you on the floor on your play mat and leave the room, you usually start fussing after a few minutes. As soon as we come back and talk to you, though, you smile and are so content to just visit with us :) You're a perfect fourth baby because that means you almost always have someone in your face talking to you, and you thrive on the interaction and attention.

We all love you so much, Francie! Your siblings can't get enough of you. The other day, Aubrey said you were her "dream baby." She also told me that you were even cuter than she imagined you would be before you were born. We just cannot imagine our family without you now! Of all the babies that God could have given us, we're so glad that He gave us YOU! We can't wait to keep watching you grow! We are and will always be your biggest fans!

Love,
Mommy