Where has the time gone?! These two little miracles are 4 months old already!
Yesterday was the girl's 4 month check up at the doctor. Dr. Trumbull, as usual, was very pleased with the girl's progress. Hadley weighed 12lbs 6oz and was 24 inches long. Ava James was 10lbs 8oz and 23 1/2 inches long. It is becoming apparent that both girls will most likely be tall- just like their Mama! They are catching up MUST quicker on height than they are weight- which is fine according to Dr. Trumbull. Ava James is still, and will most likely continue to be, more petite than Hadley. Both girls had their first cold this past month which left Hadley with an ear infection. We didn't even know she had an ear infection until Dr. Trumbull checked her ears at their check up. Even though both girls haven't felt good lately, they have still been as sweet as ever. They never complained and just wanted to snuggle! Both girls eat 6oz consistently now and will most likely start solid foods in a month. Dr. Trumbull and I both agreed that we didn't feel they were quite ready yet for solid foods. The girls have a pretty solid schedule now and are doing fairly well at night time. They go to bed at about 8:00 and normally wake up at about 3:00-4:00am to eat. In about two weeks we are going to change their schedule which should help them to sleep an additional 3-4 hours (through the entire night). I think Ava James would sleep through the entire night, but Hadley wakes her up most nights! Hadley is our light sleeper. Both girls have become more aware of their sister. When they play together on their play mat they are constantly reaching for one another, looking at each other, or making noises at their sister.
Here is some more "stuff" on the girls at 4 months...
We will start with our Hadley Cakes! She is such a nut! Hadley LOVES to laugh and smile. There isn't a shy bone in her body. She is constantly smiling and laughing at strangers. Her favorite activity is being thrown around like a rag doll. She loves to be thrown (more like lifted) into the air and be bounced on your knee. If she isn't moving, she isn't happy! Naps are NOT one of her favorite activities and she fights sleep constantly by babbling or crying. Speaking of babbling, Hadley is "talking" A LOT more than she was last month. She mostly talks to her toys- specifically the toys that have faces. Her favorite toy to talk to is a small yellow stuffed animal that hangs from her car seat. You can often hear her in the back seat babbling away to her toy. Hadley continues to love to stand. She can now stand(hold her own weight) on her own as long as you prop her up against some furniture. She is also lunging towards toys during tummy time. She can hold her upper body up while on her stomach for extended periods of time. Her back and neck are very strong and she has no problem holding her head up/still. Rolling over from her stomach to her back is still easiest for her. She still hasn't quite figured out how to roll over from her back to her stomach. She can hold her bottle by herself and drink the entire 6oz, but she has to be in a certain mood. Sometimes she just wants you to feed her (cough, cough spoiled). Dr. Trumbull thinks that even though Hadley seems stronger, her "tight muscles" might get in her way and her sister might actually crawl before she does. Hadley now reaches for toys and other objects that she sees, but she seems to be more interested in her feet. She is still trying to figure out how to get them in her mouth! It appears that she is in the early stages of teething and loves to gnaw on EVERYTHING. You can see and feel her bottom two teeth now!
Ava James is still our sweet, shy girl. However, she is by far our most talkative girl! Where as Hadley talks to her toys, Ava James wants to talk to people. She will sit and talk to certain people (mostly people she is most comfortable with- me, Rusty, her Nonnie, and her Poppa) until she literally falls asleep. It is pretty funny at times- she will crack herself up and laugh at herself. Sometimes I wonder if she is trying to tell us jokes? She is fairly shy around people that she doesn't know. Ava James LOVES to sleep and sleeps solid once she falls asleep. Her hand/eye coordination is VERY good. If she sees something, she reaches out and grabs it. This is great until she tries to grab your eyes or teeth! Laying on her play mat and kicking her feet is still one of her favorite activities. She also likes to talk to herself in the mirror that is attached to her bouncy seat. There is also a hot pink flower that dangles from her bouncy seat that she thinks is HILARIOUS. Whenever AJ gets very tired, she will complain if you are holding her- she just wants to be left alone to go to sleep. We can lay her in her crib wide awake and she will fall asleep all on her own. During the night, Ava James can managed to turn herself completely around in her crib. We call it the "helicopter routine"- she gets this from her Uncle Jason! She can now roll over from her back to her stomach, and stomach to back. This has something to do with her constant movement in her crib at night. We have found her several times with her legs propped up on the side of her crib, totally upside down. She very rarely fusses and is still our most observant girl. During tummy time Ava James can hold her entire body up but gets tired fairly quickly. She can hold her head steady now and prefers to sit in your lap, not be cradled in your arms.
Both girls amaze us more and more each day!
