The Morris Family

We can't believe our little one is already four months old. In fact, she has been four months for a couple weeks….I’m behind on everything.

She is growing like a weed and doing wonderfully well. We had her four month check up, and she received a great report. She remains in the 50th percentile for weight, a little higher for height, and her head is slowly coming down from the 90th percentile. We continue to struggle with her reflux. In fact, this month, we have tried a third medicine and even had an upper GI exam to rule out anything serious. Mattie continues to spit-up 5-10 times between each feeding except for her last meal of the day. She continues to do well at night, but the days can be long. We average 4-8 wardrobe changes a day (plus 3-4 for me), and we use about 10 bibs each day. I don't believe "spit-up" is an accurate description.  It is definitely more like "blow-up." The volumes are pretty impressive. We still have no idea how she gains weight. In fact, she can soak her bib and clothes, my pants, and still have enough to puddle on the floor – all in one “spit-up.” We continue to be impressed by our little one’s “super power/party trick.” Thankfully, we have a pretty good handle on her pain and most of the time the reflux doesn't bother her. The downside is we receive little to no warning before she "erupts." We are so thankful for our amazing pediatrician who continues to help us handle the situation and hopes she will grow out of this in the next few months. Needless to say this has been a little debilitating. It makes it hard for one person to travel with our munchkin for fear she will soak her clothes, car seat, and car or choke during her reflux. It also means we travel with multiple wardrobes and bibs. In the pediatrician’s office the other day, she soaked both Jeffrey and me, and we had to wipe up puddles on the floor. We impressed everyone with our little sprayer. Nap time is also a bit of a challenge, since if we put her down before she is completely asleep, she plays “I’m a little Tea Pot” and pours right out. Overall, we are learning to adapt and thankful the MD did not find a greater problem/cause of the reflux.

Mattie seems to be right on track as far as her development. Even with the reflux she continues to impress us in other ways. She is an incredibly happy baby. She smiles all the time, loves to play, and really enjoys trying to stand-up. We think this child may skip crawling all together and just start dancing. Infact, she is already starting a little river dance. She also wants to talk and is a very loud little munchkin. We have started "food" in the form of very liquid cereal. She hates it! It is pretty amusing and I've posted a video below. Her hair continues to grow and she now has a “rat's tail in the back” and a permanent "Snooki poof" on top. It is still multi-colored with blonde patches and a hint of red.

We have tried hard for a Christmas picture but continue to fail. Some of our attempts are below. We will continue to try over the holiday and hope for a New Year's Card.

From our family to yours - May God Bless You This Christmas!!!

 

Madeline had her two month check-up and received a great report! She is in the 50th percentile for weight and height (around 10.5 pounds and 21 inches), and she still has a pretty huge noggin :) in the 90th percentile. All other cylinders seem to be running well. She is smiling all the time, kicking and squealing, and she even rolled over – sort of…she more flops over using the weight of her head to turn from her back to front and get out of the dreaded tummy time! The doctor says she needs to be rolling over by her four month check up – we like to think her huge head is helping her be “advanced” ;). It’s really cute and, though it startled her the first couple times, she now has it mastered. The video of her second attempt is below (it's a smoother roll, now) In fact, I now have to hold her to keep her in "tummy time." Although, I’m not sure she really needs it – the child has control over her head and pushes up on her elbows. She has had to build strength since her head weighs like 10 pounds :) !

We know we are biased - but we think she is the cutest baby in the world! The consensus is she still looks like her dad, but her eyes are still very blue and her hair is turning much lighter. So, maybe there is hope she will look like me eventually. She still has a lot of blonde highlights in the back – and even the very dark brown in the front is lightening up a bit. Her eyes are widening, too, which has been the big tie to her dad. Her baby pics do look identical to Jeff’s. She continues to have a full head of hair and it grows in all directions. Her big bump/head trauma on top is gone, but her hair still sticks up where it was and makes her head look even larger!

She is also a remarkably good baby at night. She is sleeping 7-8 hours and then usually does another 4-5 hour stretch. We are blessed and oh so grateful. Our pediatrician was impressed and, thankfully, gave us the green light at our one month check up to let her sleep, since she was gaining plenty of weight. It is so true that God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle. He knows how much Jeff and I need sleep to function!!! With the first few weeks being so hard, we really needed the sleep to stay partially sane. Mattie is usually awake most of the day (which can make it very hard to get things done), but we are so thankful for the nights. We finally have her reflux under control, but the little one spits up like a true pro. At the end of the day we all smell a little like old cheese, and she is in desperate need for a bath - which she loves. It is a great break from her very fussy afternoons and evening. Since she is so cranky in the evening, we spend a lot of time outside, walking around, and patting her little bum. My mother always says “there, there pumpkin,” or “now, now precious dumpling,” to calm her down – and it works. So, Jeff has started saying “there, there pumpkin dumpling” in a high pitched, southern accent, really fast, over and over again while patting her. I keep trying to get it on camera because it is hysterical. What’s amazing is that it actually works and has lead to a new nickname for Madeline – “pumpkin dumpling” (not a shorter name – but it has stuck).

Bottom line, Mattie is thriving and kind enough to let us sleep some at night. She’s growing up fast and keeping us plenty busy. Here are a few pictures and I will post more soon.