4 Months Old

    Payton Joy is 4 Months Old! I can't believe how time has flown! She is 15 lbs 6 oz (75th percentile) and 25 in. long (50th percentile). She wears size 3-6 Month clothes, size 2 diapers, and size 1 shoes. At daycare, She drinks 6-7 oz every 4 hours. At home, she nurses for 10-15 minutes every 3 hours. We introduced formula for the first time shortly after she turned 3 months. I am not considering weaning her and don't have any plans to switch to formula anytime soon, but it made things a lot easier to have the option every now and again if necessary. For example, I keep an emergency formula stash in her daycare bag in case she goes through the milk I've pumped for her more quickly than usual and gets hungry again before I'm able to pick her up. They have needed it once or twice and that gives me peace of mind that she won't go hungry.  Right now, we are going through the 4 month sleep regression, so she wakes every 2-3 hours to nurse during the night, but she only nurses about 5 minutes and falls right back to sleep. We had started having her sleep in her crib at night until she got croup, then we put her back in our room. Lately between the sleep regression and the sickness, she's been sleeping in bed with me more than usual, which I don't mind the extra snuggles one bit!

      She is getting so strong! She can sit up on her own for about 3 seconds before she starts to lean and fall over. She's finally got the hang of tummy time and will play on her tummy for 30 minutes or more at a time. She loves to sit and stand and jump in all her different activity toys. At school, she likes to spend time in their walker, but she can't make it go very far. She also loves to sit in their bumbo and watch the other kids play. She is ALWAYS smiling and laughing. She will just start giggling for no apparent reason. We definitely gave her the right middle name!! She is such a happy baby. She brings so much joy to our lives.

     I can't believe how big she's getting and how much she's doing. I wish time would slow down, but since I know it won't, I cherish every moment I spend with this sweet girl. I give her lots of hugs and kisses and cuddles, and I definitely am in NO rush to have her grow up! I don't even mind getting up with her at night, because to me, that makes it feel like she's still a newborn, and it gives me a few extra minutes each night to spend just enjoying her.