Four Months Actual, Three Months Adjusted

Emily and Alex turned four months old on August 18th and yesterday they had their four month pediatrician appointment. Here is what they are doing at this stage (I'd like to note that despite their prematurity they both now weight more than Lizzie did at this age and she was only a week early):

Alex

Weight: 13 lbs 7 ounces (15th percentile)
Height: 24 1/4 inches (13th percentile)
Length: 16 3/4 inches (46th percentile)

Alex has accidentally rolled from front to back a couple times when I've put him down for a nap. He prefers to sleep on his stomach and is really great at self soothing most of the time. You can put him down in his crib and walk away and he might do a little bit of low level fussing before falling asleep. He will also sleep for a long time. At night we do a dream feed around 10 pm and then he will generally sleep until 3 am, eat again and then fall right back to sleep. He has even gone until 4 or 5 a few nights so I think he'll be the first to sleep right through.

He loves to smile and coo and can be quite talkative when he is happy. When he smile his whole body shows how happy he is. He is very cuddly and will just mold himself to you when you pick him up.

He is getting stronger every day and doing much better at holding up his head without wobbling. His legs bow in a bit and he doesn't want to put his feel flat down when he stands so we need to see a physical therapist for that. However his torticollis seems to be gone and he is quite happy to turn his head either way.


Photo Credit: Nick Wasch

Emily

Weight: 13 lbs 5 ounces (34th percentile)
Height: 23 1/4 inches (8th percentile)
Length: 16 inches (21st percentile)

Emily is a very strong little girl. She holds her head up really well and when you put her down on the floor on her back she spends most of her time trying to roll on to her stomach, despite the fact that she isn't happy when she gets there! Once she figures out how to get over that arm she will be much happier as she currently gets very frustrated. She is very good at sitting in the Bumbo for lengths of time and I have even put her in the exersaucer a few times. Lizzie has fun playing with the toys while Emily watches.

She loves to smile and can be very chatty. She is saying "ah-goo" and likes to blow bubbles! She is a very straight forward baby. She cries when she is hungry, when she is tired and if she has a little pain but that is about it. Otherwise she is happy to look around and take in the world.

On the sleep front she has a tougher time then Alex. She will fall asleep easily but doesn't stay asleep. She will sleep from 10 pm to 3 am but hasn't gone past that yet. However, she does sleep later in the morning then Alex. He wakes up at 5 am to fuss for a bit then is happy from about 6 am on. If cuddled in our bed Emily will gladly sleep until 7 or 8. This usually happens on the weekend when I get up with Alex and Lizzie and Greg gets to sleep in a bit with Emily.


Photo Credit: Nick Wasch