Little Man is Four Months Old

4 months! Already! Oh man… Can our sweet little guy really be four months old so soon? Time, as always, is just racing by!

Lately Bubs loves: being held (always!), his swing, looking at our faces, his little monkey toy that he was given for Christmas (the paddles on the ends of each leg are perfect for gumming on), bath time (and peeing during bath time), scratching at and touching everything, looking at the sky and trees while we’re on walks, his pacifiers, and making lots of noise.

This month was a big one for T. He went on his first long car trip (to New York) and did wonderfully! He slept most of the way there and the way back. I believe I nursed him once during each trip and also had bottles of pumped milk for back up so that we didn’t have to stop a bunch of times if the little guy was extra hungry. It worked out really well! A long trip juggling the needs of two dogs, a toddler, and a baby was daunting but it ended up going so much better than I anticipated. We had a lot of family in New York who had yet to meet T, including two of my aunts and my paternal grandfather, and everyone was delighted by him. He’s already a little charmer and stealer of hearts because he’s such a sweet guy2/6. The trip was probably the biggest first of this month but some of his other firsts included visiting with the Easter bunny (he was all smiles), using the bumbo (he now joins us for dinner each night seated in the bumbo), and crib attempts (we’ve given up halfway through the night both timed we’ve tried to get him to sleep in the crib because he’s been so congested this month that he’s waking a ton while sleeping flat, so he’s been sleeping in his little bouncer chair).

Speaking of the congestion, it has been over a month that he’s sounded all snuffly and snorty. He’s not acted sick at any point, so I am hoping that as the weather warms and we can turn of the heat that his congestion will clear up. We’ll continue using saline spray until then to try to get the little guy the relief that he needs. Congestion isn’t the only issue poor T has been dealing with month. He also had a resurgence of cradle cap, a mystery rash all over his torso, and irritation under his chin. We’ve gotten the cradle cap under control besides some residual flakiness. The irritation under his chin was likely due to his extreme drooling habit. Liberal application of Aquaphor and attempts to keep him at least mostly dry have helped with that little issue. Then there was the rash… all over his torso, very red and rough – it wasn’t pretty. The pediatrician examined him and thinks that Bubs just has a serious case of some very dry and sensitive skin. We’ve graduation from lotions to creams in terms of moisturizers for him (with Aquaphor on the particularly bad areas) and we’re hoping that will make a difference for him. The redness is already disappearing and looking better but his skin is still extremely dry and scaly.

Our big guy is A BIG GUY. 15 lb. 15 oz. and 26.15 inches! He’s not fat (though he has a good amount of baby chub and, of course, cheeks for days), he’s just a solid little dude. And so tall! T is in the 91st percentile for height (and around 65th for weight). Because he’s so tall he’s already in six month clothing (and likely soon to be on to 9 month sleeps and such). It’s kind of crazy! E was 26.25 inches at five months of age but didn’t hit a similar weight (15 lb. 4.5 oz.) until she was eight months old! My goodness, I can’t even being to wonder what he’s going to weight at eight months!

Sleep has been a big rough this month. I’m blaming the congestion. His sleep pattern is all wonky but he usually wakes twice a night (between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.) lately. I’m hoping that we can get back into a good routine to help him sleep a little better soon. It’s not terrible as it is but it could be a lot better! He’s not nursing a ton when he wakes at night – I’m thinking he’s waking due to the congestion usually, not because he’s hungry. Let’s hope that the congestion clears up soon and the crib transition goes smoothly. Maybe then we’ll start getting longer stretches of sleep.

T is very handsy lately. Not only is he grabbing at us and his toys but he is pulling his pacifier out of his mouth and using his hands to push his toys (and blankets and anything else) into his mouth. He also sucks on his hands and his fingers all the time. This does not particularly help with the drool situation. Bubs now rubs his eyes with the back of his hands when tired (Hello, adorable.) but also tends to just rub his hands over his head and face a lot in general. This means he is constantly scratching himself with his razor-sharp baby fingernails. That would be bad enough on his own but when combined with his dry skin… well, the poor guy often looks like he was attacked by a wild animal.

This last month with our Bubs has been really fantastic. His squishy newborn phase was cute but he’s just getting more and more fun as he gets more interactive and animated in his expression! T is almost constantly making some kind of noise when he’s awake. He’s such a happy baby – smiling, hooting happily, and screeched and squealing with joy all the time. He’s laughing more and more now, sometimes just because I’m talking to him! I love it! In addition to being a happy baby, he’s also such a sweet baby. He will now grab at and hold my hand whenever I reach to him. He will also reach out to touch or pat my face sometimes. Way too much cuteness. I love watching him interact with E. He babbles to her and smiles and laughs at her. I can’t get enough of that!