Month FOUR

My Dearest Belle,

You are four months old today!!!

You’ve gained more chubs in your arms and thighs - your thighs finally have those cute and plump rolls that I LOVE in babies! Your cheeks have filled out more too! When you smile, they plump up and out, and it’s all I can do to stop myself from pinching and squeezing them!

You’ve mastered rolling onto your tummy, and you’re an absolute champ at it! Any time I leave you on the floor and walk away, I come back to find you on your tummy… most of the time complaining that it’s too tiring. Papa and I are hoping that you rolling from tummy to back on your own is not too far behind - that will give us MUCH MORE peace about starting sleep training with you. To date, we still need to put you to bed with a full swaddle - partly because your startle reflex is still pretty strong; partly because we’re just not ready ourselves. These days, we’ve gotten in the habit of holding you for at least 20 minutes after you’ve fallen asleep, then taking painstaking care to gently put you down in your crib, then finally placing a hand on your chest and tapping you until you’re fully out. I think this means we’ll have to find a weighted sleep sack for you to transition to… or anything else that will make the sleep training process easier - both for you and us.

I’m already dreading sleep training you. We’ll most likely go with the extinction method, but I’m already cracking at the thought of sitting there listening to you crying… and crying… and crying.

And, Peanut, when you cry, you don’t JUST cry.

You wail.

And scream.

Sigh…

During the last month, we have also had the absolute pleasure of hearing you not just giggle or laugh, but guffaw. It was the sweetest, cutest, more precious sound I had ever heard in the world! I would have continued the ridiculous act just to keep hearing that sound, but it definitely felt like you needed a break to catch your breath.

Lastly, you’ve always been talkative with me, but these days, I swear it feels like I’m having conversations with you - your tone, inflections, facial expressions… I’ve gotten in the habit of repeating “엄~마! 아~빠!” to you in the hopes that you’ll repeat it. I know that it will happen one day soon, but I keep hoping each time that by some miracle, it’ll happen that day. I can’t wait to hear your first word… and if it’s “아빠” or “papa”… well, Papa will end up melting all over, and you’ll always and forever be regarded as his Papa’s Girl.

And you can DEFINITELY kiss dating goodbye until you turn 30.

Or at least be ready for Papa to drive you to the date and sit 2 tables away at the restaurant…

Or sit between you and your date at the theater…

Or walk 10 ft. behind you while you’re on your stroll…

Or stand right outside the photo booth - with the curtain open…

So maybe it’s best that you say “엄마” first.

All this feels like eons away, but we know that it will happen at the blink of an eye. So we’re trying to soak it all in… soak YOU all in… as much as possible - in as much detail as possible.

Love always,
Mama