Four Months- 4/30/12

To My Sweet Boy,

Today you are 4 months old!! Exactly 1/3 of a year. This past month has been really fun watching you grow and learn new things. It seems like everyday you learn a new trick and become more engaged and active and curious. I love to just sit and watch you play, it amazes me how you will just "know" how to do things without being shown or taught. You make us smile and laugh multiple times a day and whenever we take you out in public you seem to charm everyone you meet with your infectious open-mouth smile. Daddy and I always say how lucky we are to have such a good baby and talk excitedly about watching you grow into a running, jumping, talking little boy. We love you more and more everyday.

Some of your 4 month stats:

Weight/Length- Your 4 month doctor's appointment isn't until Thursday so we'll get the official update then but I weighed you on our scale this morning and you clocked in at a chunky 18 pounds!!

Eating- Eating still seems to be one of your favorite activities. We had to up your bottles to 5 1/2-6ozs at the request of your daycare teachers who were saying that you kept crying for more after each of your 5oz bottles. A lot of nights you will fall asleep before you are able to finish your bedtime bottle. You've also been wanting to eat more often in the middle of night, instead of the typical one time middle of the night feeding some nights I'm having to feed you twice, every 3 hours or so. I guess it's yet another growth spurt. We will talk to the doctor this week about whether or not to start you on solids or wait a little longer. You have been eyeballing our food a lot more lately which I've read is a sign you might be ready to start solids.

Sleep- This past month has been a challenge. You seem to have regressed back to your newborn sleep days. We still get a few good nights out of you with only one wakeup call but more often it seems you are waking up every 2-3 hours either just wanting your paci put back in or to be fed. That past two night especially, you will just cry even after being changed and fed and given the paci. I'm not sure if it's allergies that are affecting you since you always are rubbing your eyes (though you don't have pink eye) or if maybe you are starting to teeth. We plan to talk to the doctor about it at your next appointment.

Clothes- You've outgrown all your 0-3 months and most of your 3 month clothes. Your 3-6 months outfits are getting snug and you seem to fit best in 6 month or 6-9 month clothes and sleepers. I have a whole dresser full of clothes you've outgrown in the spare room already. I plan to save most of them however in case you one day have a little brother.

Diapers- You are currently in size 2 diapers but have pretty much outgrown those and we will be buying you some size 3's this week.

Appearance- Unfortunately it seems one of the few things you've seemed to have inherited from me is my side's tendency for eczema. The past month it seems to have gotten worse, primarily on your cheeks and forehead, elbows and back. We've cut back on your baths from every night to 2-3 times a week which seems to help a lot and started using some Eucerin Calming Lotion which also seems to help if applied multiple times a day. We're having to put mittens on you at times so you don't scratch your face up since the eczema is causing you to itch.

Personality- This month you've really started to want to "play" more. You LOVE your playmat and have gotten really good at grabbing things. You also now like little rattle toys and always want someone playing with or engaging with you. You also "talk" a LOT nowadays. You are constantly cooing and cahing and yelping especially when you lay on your back. You will have full conversations with yourself. I would love to know what you think you are saying. You are still a mama's boy and have started to get a little bit of the "stranger danger" around new people. You also still have your fussy period most nights between 6-8pm but so long as you get lots of naps during the day it cuts back on the fussiness.

Likes- (all the same likes from last month as well as the new ones added)
-You like riding in the car and will typically fall asleep.
-You like our stroller walks in the evening and also typically fall asleep.
-You like the t.v. and will always try to turn your head to see what's on t.v. even when we have you faced in the other direction. We put on some cartoons the other day and you were fascinated!
-You LOVE bathtime. Sometimes it's the only thing that will calm you when you are being fussy.
-You like being carried in the baby bjorn
-You love to lay on the floor and kick and flail about or lay under your activity mat
-You have a love/hate relationship with your swing, somedays you love it others not so much
-You love to lay on the changing table and will just smile and coo at me when I get you dressed.
-You love to chew on your fists (I suspect you will start teething soon)
-You love to "stand", you have very strong legs and can stand with very little support from us.

-You love your rattle toys

-You love to just people watch when we take you out in public

-You love the stuffed bunny that your great grandma gave you for Easter

-You like to sit in the bumbo seat but only for about 10 minutes at a time.

-You like when mommy sings and dances around while holding you.
Milestones-
-You tried some rice cereal in your bottle on Easter night but did not sleep well, we think it gave you gas.

-You celebrated your first Easter.

-You met your Uncle Keith for the first time .

-You went out to three different restaurants and were very well behaved each time.

-You can now pull your paci out and put it back in your mouth.

-You are holding onto toys now.

-You will now grab and pull at the toys that hang over you on the play mat.

-You are getting very close to rolling from your back to the your belly.

-You went on your first fishing adventure with mommy and daddy.

-You've started giggling (mainly at your daddy who you think is very silly)

Four Month Photo Shoot

More pictures from the past month:

You and your Great-Aunt Phoebe

Easter morning.

Watching "Sunday Morning"

With your Aunt Michelle

Mommy and Daddy love you Hunter!