Julia Grace {month four}
three! Instead of coming home every day
after work to see your bright smiling face (or sometimes your weepy willow of a
poop covered face), I went to Africa for two weeks and left you and your mom
Home. A. Freaking. Lone.
Thankfully, both of you survived, but I wanted to thank you for taking it
easy on her when I was gone.
was gone!!! When I left you were barely
11 pounds and while you were starting to get a beat on this whole “universe
thingy” you were still pretty confused about it all. By the time I got back you were whole one pound
heavier (which made both the doc, and your mama happy) and you were picking up
all sorts of new tricks. You can now
suck on your toes and thumbs (all at the same time), and you are getting really
good at grabbing things.
think you’re finally starting to recognize that your folks eat a little
differently than you. First of all I
hope that you notice how our meals don’t begin and end with crying (hint
hint). When you sit with us though,
you’re getting very curious about why we keep picking up colorful things and
stick them in our mouths. This last
week, you started getting this hopeful look on your face when we pick up
something to eat, like we’re going to feed you some spicy Italian pizza or a
Manhattan. Don’t you worry though, in
just a few short months we’ll start giving you all sorts of new foods to try
out (no Manhattans though. Mom said no).
Your papa.
Nicknames: Poopers, Droolia, Sugar Pie Honey Buns, Jules
Likes: Standing up, being held facing out, looking at mom and dad, putting your arms in and out of clothes, “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle…wiggle,” sucking on your big toe, your elephant “Ellie.”
Dislikes: Having a wet diaper, getting overstimulated, loud noises, feeling over tired.
Milestones: Rolling! You roll allllll the time now. You’ve figured out how to scoot yourself on your tummy to rotate, spin, and move across the crib and mat. You’re also starting to coo and make lots of different noises. It’s pretty adorable and I love that you’re trying to talk.
Weight/Height: You’ve gained more than a pound in the past month! This is good news since we had issues with your weight early on. You’re now at 12lb, 11oz and you’re 25″ long. I’m constantly amazed that most Italians (the men, especially), can guess your age exactly. They also all comment on how long you are.
Clothing Size: 3 and 3-6 month.
Sleep: We really need to work on figuring out a bedtime routine. You’re finally getting better about sleeping (taking naps) in public and in your crib/pack ‘n play, and not just in your car seat or swing. Since we’re still trying to get you to gain more weight, you’re waking up more often throughout the night. I miss sleeping more than 3-4 hours at a stretch.
Random Tidbits: You basically just rock. Also, when your dad sneezes it’s the scariest thing in the entire world and you cry. We find this hilarious.
How are Mommy and Daddy Doing?: This month was tough for both of us. Your dad had to go away for work. He missed you like crazy and wanted to be here to help me. You and I had a few challenging moments, but overall it went much better than I expected. You decided to start rolling over and coming out of your swaddle the day after your dad left—you also grew out of your bassinet, so you and I slept downstairs (me on the couch and you in the pack ‘n play). I would’ve kept you in the crib, but it’s in a different room and I couldn’t figure out how to set up the baby cam we have…so downstairs was our solution.
How adorable is your daughter?! I mean look at those beautiful eyes and that SMILE!!! I love her nicknames and you picked an absolutely beautiful name for such a lovely little girl!
Such a sweetie! I LOL'd at the poop story too. God, I love kids.
Such a cute little lady!
she is so cute! I laughed at your poop story lol
4 months already!? I feel like she was just born last week! She is such a little cutie!
She is just so beautiful! 🙂
I just came back here to steal this format for a post and noticed the thing about "Ellie." Ellie was the name of my stuffed elephant growing up! I still have it, but left it at my parents' house because our cat also really liked it. It's his now 🙂
Your baby girl is so precious.
What a little cutie! I love hearing about you watching her grow and learn and discover. Sounds like it was an interesting month for you all!