Letters to Valor: 4 months

My dear Valor Zeal,

Your daddy and I remark that you get cuter every day. It's true! This is your most joyful month to date. You break out into the silliest, gummiest grin and coo at anyone who pays attention to you (which is a stark contrast from your deep-in-thought resting face). You have surprisingly strong legs and prefer standing while being held. You gaze at your surroundings with wide-eyed curiosity. Human faces are your favorite to observe, especially your mama's, daddy's, and big sister's.

You're gaining dexterity. You bat at dangling toys on your baby gym. You hands reach instinctively for whatever is around you, whether it's a blanket or our hands. You suck on your fist to self-soothe before falling asleep. Speaking of sleep, you have reached a turning point. You no longer depend solely on being held or worn to nap. You have no idea how much I am praising God for this breakthrough. For the past month, I place you in the pack n' play while you're drowsy and you'll whimper or cry a bit, suck on your fist, turn your head from side to side, and doze off with your arms above your head. Sometimes in a normal day's hullabaloo, you don't make it to the pack n' play before napping underneath your baby gym in the living room. In terms of nighttime sleep, you sleep swaddled (with your arms free) your longest stretch after your bedtime feeding from around 8-9pm for 5-8 hours, averaging around 6 hours. Then you'll partake in a quick feed and sleep for another 3-4 hour stretch before waking up for the day. You nurse every 3-4 hours during the day. Except for when you went through a 16 week growth spurt. You were up every couple of hours again like a newborn and ate like one too. Overall, you are such a calm and content baby these days, crying only when you're hungry or tired. Which are all good indicators that you're growing healthily.

You're getting longer; I already feel as if you're not as squishy. You weigh 15 lbs and are 25 inches long. You wear size 2 diapers, a few 3 month clothes, but mostly 3-6 month clothes. You're still happiest in our arms. I wear you often, which you love. When you see me pull out the sling or wrap, you get really excited and kick happily because you know you'll be close to your mama. I love holding you close, my sweet baby boy. My heart expands every day when I think about how undeserving your daddy and I are to be stewards of sweet, loving babes as you and your big sister.

Your instinctual devotion to your daddy and me is but a shadow of how we ought to depend on the Savior wholeheartedly. The way you communicate your simple needs reminds me of how we are to cry out to the Lord, trusting that He will provide our needs more abundantly than we can imagine because He loves us so. The way you delight in our presence teaches me how much joy there is in intimacy with the Father. My sweet son, you teach me about our precious God and His goodness more than you can ever know.


Love you so,
Mama

P.S. Valor Zeal at 0, 1, 2, and 3 months. Plus, his birth story.