4 Months Old

We love this little girl more than anything in the world!Today Johanna had her 4 month checkup. Our little peanut is 14lbs 6oz and 24.75 inches long, so according to the breastfed World Health Organization charts she is in the 59% for weight and 55% for height. She is consistent with her previous height and weight which means she is growing just as she should be.

Johanna is still exclusively nursing and hasn't shown much interest in eating solids yet. She will watch us eat our food but has not grabbed at our plates or anything we're eating. My plan is to continue watching her for signs of interest before I introduce solids. I am not in a rush because I know I have until the recommended six months and I am really enjoying the ease of nursing!

The last few nights Johanna has been waking up every 3-4 hours which isn't typical of her previous sleep pattern. It could be teething but my motherly hunch is telling me it is probably Johanna just wanthing to eat and cuddle. I did bring this up today and his opinion was with still being breastfed you don't want to deny the baby food if their weight is still consistent with where it should be. But as I type this I wonder if that means she isn't getting the calories that she needs in the daytime...so maybe I should introduce solids? So many decisions! I've also read about a 4 month sleep regression that some infants go through as their sleep cycles change. As a child goes into a more adult cycle of sleep they go in and out of light and deep sleep. Just like we wake up several times a night to change positions or drink a sip of water, they wake up as well but the problem is they need to be able to soothe themselves back to sleep! So that could also be our problem. Whether it be teething, needing extra calories or change of sleep cycles either way I hope she grows out of it quickly. But in all reality it isn't a big deal for her to have a few bad nights here and there.

Wow have these last four months flown by, we love you Johanna Banana!

*Update on last night's sleep: Johanna fell asleep around 7:45. She woke up at 11:30 and I let her wiggle/grunt/pant it out. (Johanna doesn't cry very often but she likes to make these panting and whinning noises while kicking her legs desperately in the air until she circles around in her crib.) After about fifteen minutes of this she fell back asleep! Then she woke up around 4 and I fed her and she fell asleep. Then she woke up again at 6, but wiggled it out again and slept until 8:30. Now she may have been more tired because of her shots, but I take this as a step back into the right direction :) Good job baby girl!