All About Evi: 4 Months Old

Dear Evi,
You continue to amaze me with how happy you are!  You smile and laugh constantly.  It takes little effort to get you to beam us your gummy full faced smile!  Those around us always marvel at your sweetness and we can't help but agree!  You are growing, but in so many ways you are still the same baby we brought home from the hospital... you are still alert, still sweet, still easy!  THANK YOU!

Here's what you are up to:

• You weighed 12 pounds on your 4 month birthday and at your doctor's appointment measured 25 inches... You're in the 10-25 percentile in weight and 75 percentile in length!  You are EXACTLY the same size Jude was at this age!  Finley was much smaller at this point, but I don't have her info in front of me!
• You are wearing 0-3 and 3-6 month clothing.  I have actually pulled out a few 6-12 month one piece outfits because you are sooooooo long that the 3-6 ones ride up a bit.  The 6-12 month outfits are big, but fit you in the length.  Really, you're just all over the place in sizes right now!
• You wear a size 2 diaper.
• You eat 6-7 times a day for 10-15 minutes each time.  You aren't sleeping through the night and are kind of all over the place with this as well.  Some nights you give me a 6-8 hour stretch and then some nights, I'm good to get 4 from you.
• You love your binkie!  And you have started to try to get it in your mouth on your own.
• You roll over constantly... in both ways.  You are pretty much mobile these days because you will just roll to wherever you want to go.  It's crazy!  Dr. K said you are advanced in this area! YAY!
• You have started to raise up like you are attempting to crawl.  Dear Evi, please remember that you are still a BABY.  There is plenty of time to learn to crawl!
• You are a blend of Finley and Jude.  As I was taking pictures of you for this post, I would take one and say "Wow, you look just like Finley!" and then click "Wow, you look just like Jude!"
• You love t.v.  Ugh.  I hate it, but it's true.
• You love to be swaddled.  And I usually need to swaddle you for naps now instead of letting you fall asleep on your boppie or in the swing.
• You really like your bouncy chair now that you can make it sing all by yourself.
• You love to lay next to Finley while she watches cartoons.  You just smile at her.
• You still take a bottle fairly well.  It usually takes you a bit to figure it out, but then you're fine.
• You are pretty bald.
• We haven't left you in the nursery yet at church or at MOPS.  I like having you with me and your feeding schedule still isn't routine yet.
• Your birthmark seemed to be getting lighter, but then is back to being fairly dark.
• Your eyes seem a bit more green these days... you still have these huge eyes that just sparkle.
• You have began to discover your feet.  You can't quite grab them yet, but you're trying.
• You have started grabbing mine and your sister's hair.
• You talk.all.the.time.  Especially when Jude and Finley aren't around.  You just coo and coo.
• I call you lots of names still, but Evi Lou is still my favorite.
• Your toes look like fingers.  They've always been long, but they seem to be getting longer!
• You like to stand up and your head control is getting better.
• You are a dream when I put you in the Ergo.  You just sleep and make my life soooo easy.
• You are just my amazing little girl!  Hard to believe a year ago I found out that I was pregnant with you and now you are four full months old!!!

Love,

Mommy

Sidenote... At Evi's four month appointment, Dr. K mentioned that he thinks Evi's birthmark is a spider hemangioma.  I have been paranoid from the beginning about her birthmark because I read that it could be indicative of a genetic disorder and even though I have had 5 doctors tell me that hers isn't, they have all used different terms to describe her birthmark... I think they all fall under the same umbrella of birthmarks, but it has been difficult not to know exactly what it is.  I've heard a lot of "It may be this..." "It may be that..."  "If it is this, it'll go away..."  "If it is that, it's permanent..."  I think "flaws" make us beautiful so I'm completely fine if it is permanent, but I went into Evi's appointment praying for some clarity on the situation.  I was so ecstatic when Dr. K told me that he thinks it is a spider hemangioma that will fade sometime between 9 and 12 months AND that if it isn't gone by the time she's a year, he will send us to an ENT in town that studied under one of the pioneers in laser dye therapy... something I have read a ton about over the last few months.  I was soooo excited to have a gameplan and to know that there is someone in our own area that could help treat it!  Oh, my beautiful girl!  I am so thankful for that sweet birthmark that makes you YOU and am even more grateful that it is completely harmless.