My Girls: 4 months

People are always asking me how Olivia compares to Avery. Honestly I try not to compare them too much because they are different kids, but as I have been thinking about it lately I went back and looked at the photos we have of them at the same age. There are some big differences and some striking similarities. 

Avery weighed 13lbs 14.5oz and was 26.66in long at 4 months. 

Olivia weighs 15lbs 3oz and is 25.25in long at 4 months.

Avery was a sleeper. She would sleep all day if I'd let her. She would fall asleep within 2 minutes of being placed in the swing.

Olivia will sleep in the swing but it's not the magic bullet like with Avery. She also established a sleep pattern much earlier than Avery. At 4 months she consistently takes 3 naps per day and goes to bed around 6:30-7pm waking around 6:30-7. 

Avery took to a pacifier like a kid to candy. She took the first kind we offered and never looked back. She never even tried sucking her thumb or any other fingers.

Olivia is picky. It took us 4 or 5 different kinds of pacifiers to find one she would take halfway decently. And turns out it was the kind they usually offer in the hospital, but silly us didn't want to offer one that early to risk confusion for breastfeeding. She is also a big thumb sucker -- or rather a thumb chewer. She only actually takes the paci about 75% of the time. The other 25% of the time she is perfectly content chewing on her thumb. 

Avery hated the bath. Like I dreaded giving her a bath until she was about 6 months old when she began to enjoy it.

Olivia has loved the bath (or shower, rather) from day one. She loves the warm water and snuggling skin to skin with me. These days she even enjoys watching Avery splash around in the water that I let fill up in the bottom of the shower tray. 

Avery and Olivia both have matching "stork bite" birthmarks on the back of their heads on at the nape of their necks. They both have strawberry hemangiomas, but Avery's was on her forehead (and is now gone). Olivia's is on the top of her head and is significantly bigger than her sister's.

Olivia: 4 months!

Weight: 15lbs 3oz
Height: 25.25 in
Head circ.: 16.5 in

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY BE ABLE TO:

• squeal and laugh with delight Laughing is the newest trick and it is absolutely adorable! Listening to my girls' laughs is probably my favorite sound in the world.
• make "raspberry" sounds with her lips Olivia sure loves making raspberry sounds and bubbles with her mouth!
• experiment by making new sounds She has been "talking" up a storm lately and is such a chatter box.
• make sounds in response to you She even "talks" back when I make silly noises with her.
• track moving objects as her head and neck development work together Olivia is definitely gaining focus. She loves to watch Avery has she moves toys and books all around her head. She also follows my hand as it's between her face and whatever Avery has in front of her face so that when inevitably Avery drops it I can swat it away before it whacks Olivia in the face.
• roll over—usually from front to back—as muscles continue to develop As of Saturday Olivia can officially roll over from her belly to her back AND from her back to her belly. She is a real rolie polie.
• raise herself up on straightened arms while lying on her tummy, looking all around as neck muscles strengthen Olivia really hates tummy time and will only now tolerate it for more than a minute or so. She keeps trying to push herself up but she can't hold herself up for more than a few seconds.
• grasp a rattle with stronger hand muscles Not only can she grasp the rattle she can even pass it from one hand to another without dropping it. Totally advanced, I know. My genius.
• bear weight on both legs I swear if she had balance she would just walk away. She loves standing on both legs and even likes to bounce.
• start to sleep through the night Ya right. She still wakes twice a night to nurse, but I don't mind (too much, anyways) because I love the quiet time with just she and I where I don't have Avery jumping on my lap rushing me to get done.
• begin to show interest in solid foods by reaching for mom and dad's food at the table or other food in her line of sight Nope. She is not at all interested in food -- only the boob. For that reason we will not be starting any type of food for a while yet.

4 Months!

Where have the last four months gone? It seems like in the last trimester of pregnancy time moved at a sloths pace. And now that my beautiful miracle is here time is whizzing by a warp speed. So, Avery, I so enjoy watching you grow and get bigger, but I wish time would just slow down a bit. You have plenty of time to be a big kid. I want you to stay little for a while.

Here was A on Monday. She was not very excited to be taking pictures, but I like this one.
And thanks to my friend SSM, here is a monthly recap:

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• squeal and laugh with delight. She does this all the time! It is the best part of the day when I get her out of bed in the morning and she looks at me like I could save the world and just squeals and laughs even during a diaper change.
• make "raspberry" sounds with her lip. She is trying. It's pretty hilarious. She has making the sound with her lips down, now she's trying to figure out how to get the tongue in it so it makes the sound while she's sticking her tongue out. It's so funny when she does it and gets so excited!
• experiment by making new sounds. She is definitely experimenting with her voice. Sometimes funny, sometimes not so much. Like after 20 minutes of the same sound over and over and over and over and over and over and... well, you get the point.
• make sounds in response to you. A tries so hard to copy sounds. Sometimes it works, but most times not. I keep waiting for her to just blurt out a word like an adult, but alas, she is not quite there yet.
• track moving objects as her head and neck development work together. She has been doing this for a while now. It's like teasing a cat with a laser pointer -- hours of entertainment.
• roll over—usually from front to back—as muscles continue to develop. She will roll over belly to back if she feels like it. She usually doesn't when we have the camera out. Or when we are trying to show someone how talented she is. Le sigh.
• raise herself up on straightened arms while lying on her tummy, looking all around as neck muscles strengthen. She does this for a few seconds and then goes back to her elbows. She is not a fan of tummy time.
• grasp a rattle with stronger hand muscles. A is so strong! She will get a grip of my finger and turn the end of it purple from lack of blood circulation!
• bear weight on both legs. A loves to lap-stand. She will even bounce a little if she's really energized.
• start to sleep through the night. We are so lucky. Avery has slept through the night since about 6 weeks. I am told that sleep patterns will change as she grows and gets older, but they haven't so far and I honestly hope they don't because I love these great sleeps!
• begin to show interest in solid foods by reaching for mom and dad's food at the table or other food in her line of sight. She doesn't really seem interest in our food, so we are waiting to start solids until she seems more ready. I am so excited for her to try new foods, but sticking to the bottle seems best for us right now.