Mercy at 4 months

My friend has a nice blog, in which she gives an update of her baby each month.  It's a wonderful way to keep track of development and such, especially because I don't use a baby book (maybe I should).  Although I'm starting four months late, it's better than nothing. Thanks, E, for letting me steal your idea.

At 4 months, Mercy:

weighs 15 and a half pounds (90th percentile) and is 25 inches long (70th percentile). She's smaller than I was at 4 months (19 pounds!), but 15.5 lbs is still pretty hefty.

wears 9 month clothes. She somewhat fits into 6 months still, but her cloth diapers are bulky, so we go with 9 months to accommodate them.

has adorable chunky thighs. I suppose it will be the only time in her life where rolls on her thighs are cute.

hasn't rolled over yet, but she gets close.

hates tummy time still. She can lift her head up well and has great head control, but she can only tolerate being on her stomach for about 4 minutes, at which point she'll start crying and bury her head into the ground in absolute defeat. The pediatrician said she needs to do more tummy time so that she'll start lifting her chest off the ground with her hands.

goes by many nicknames, including Mr. Bop, Fat Baby, Mr. Cutie, Fuzzboy

has been sticking her tongue out when she smiles all the time.



likes to sleep in flannel sheets because they're cozy.

sleeps and naps unswaddled. We made the transition right before she turned 4 months. I thought it was going to be difficult, but it went off without a hitch.

sleeps from about 8pm to 8am (sometimes 9) and gets up 2 or 3 times to eat. I feel like I have a newborn on my hands because from about 3 weeks until her 4 month birthday, she would sleep 12 hours and only wake up once. I hope these frequent wakings are just a phase because I'm tired!

nurses every 2-3 hours. At the end of her meal, she stops, turns her head and talks for a couple seconds, then goes back to eating for a couple seconds, and repeats this cycle for as long as I find it cute (which is a long time).

started using a pacifier. She never liked them, but one day, I was desperate trying to get her to take a nap because she was overtired and screaming, and she figured out how to suck on it, which calms her completely.

naps usually about three times a day for about 40 minutes each time. Up until a couple weeks ago, she would rarely nap without screaming for 15 minutes first. But ever since she has taken to her paci, putting her down for naps has been more pleasant.

is living at her Grandy and Gramps' house while we are waiting to close on our new house in Rhode Island.

is using cloth diapers. We use all in one diapers, with the occasional prefold thrown into the mix. They make her butt look extra big.

grabs for everything and puts it in her mouth.

Here are a few more pictures from recent times: