finley // four months

FOUR months?!?! How has this happened?? My baby is already 1/3 of the way to her first birthday! She is so grown up already!

The past four months have been the hardest, but sweetest months of my whole life. Being a mother has changed me forever and I wouldn't have it any other way. Zach and I love our Finley baby so much it's ridiculous. She is the happiest, smiliest, most friendly baby out there. She brings us so much joy and we love watching her grow and change. Every day is a new adventure. I'm so excited for the all the new experiences 2016 will bring our little family as Finley continues to develop and discover the world. Here's a little update on how she's been doing:

Weight: As of her four month doctor appointment Finley weighs 12 lbs. 4.5 oz. (12th percentile) She has now more than doubled her birth weight! 

Height: Finley is measuring at 24 inches now! (30th percentile)

Hair: Still the normal peach fuzz on top and old man fringe around the back haha. I feel like it's definitely grown a little bit in the past month or so though!

Eating: As some of you might have heard, I decided to stop breastfeeding in early November. It was honestly one of the hardest decisions I've had to make--especially because I had been so dead set on breastfeeding for the whole first year. But in the end, it's been the best thing for me and for Finley overall. She averages anywhere from 24 to 30 ounces of formula a day and is growing like a champ. And I'm so much less stressed out now. So if you're a new mother and breastfeeding is just not working, don't let all the "breast is best" stuff make you feel like a bad mother for just trying to feed your child in the way that works best for you. Fed is best! 

Sleeping: Finley generally will go down for the night anywhere from 6 to 7:30 and will sleep until 3:00 am. Then I usually just let her come into bed with me until 5:30 when she's pretty much up for the day. I think she's starting to want a later bedtime though. The past few nights she's been just taking cat naps at 6 and then going down for the night at 8:30ish. We don't mind at all though because that means she sleeps all the way to 5:30 without waking up! We're getting ready to sleep train her so she'll hopefully sleep for a full 12 hours, so if you have any tips let me know! 

Likes: I know, I know this is bad, but Finley loves any type of screen! TVs, phones, computers, etc. We really realized this at my parent's house over Christmas. She definitely is our daughter since we're both such couch potato TV watchers haha. I've been trying to distract her more lately with books and toys so she isn't just glued to the TV all the time. She also really loves her play mat where she can hit the dangly toys, her Sophie the Giraffe, her pacifier, and story time. 

Dislikes: Lately Finley has started getting scared! Zach loves to play around with her and make all sorts of silly noises. But every once in a while he will make a noise that scares her and she starts to cry! It's so sad! She also doesn't really like to take naps in her crib very much and she gets really annoyed during tummy time haha. 

Milestones: First Christmas, first New Year's, learned to rotate 360 degrees on the ground, is becoming much more vocal, and learned how to grab onto things really well.