Hello everyone! It's been less than a month since I posted Max's 3 month update, so not much as changed, but its already time to post his 4 month update! Four months. I can't believe it. Can time stop going so fast? Lately, I find myself thinking more and more about my maternity leave and how it was amazing, but went way too fast. Those six weeks with my boy was the best. I can't help but be jealous of all the stay-at-home moms of babies and those who get a longer leave from work. Max is so much fun to be with these days.
Height/Weight: Max's four month appointment was this past Monday. He weighs...drumroll, please... 17 pounds! Holy cow, he has gained five pounds since his six week appointment (almost 11 pounds since birth). Let me tell you, it feels like he gained way more than five pounds; he is heavy! Its definitely a workout when holding him. Add on his car seat and you are carrying at least 25 pounds. I am toning my arm muscles and carrying the cutest baby in the whole world all at the same time! He is in the 90th percentile for weight. Now onto height, he is 27 inches long (4 inch growth since his six week appointment and 7 1/4 inch growth since birth). That height puts him in the 97th percentile for height! He definitely got my side of the family's tall genes! The doctor told us if he continues growing the way he has been, he will be at least 6'2". He is going to be a male model and I will vicariously live through him, I tell him. Clothes-wise, he still fits in some 0-3 onesies, although they are getting tight. Even some three month clothes are tight. I wish all brands were sized the same. The majority of the clothes we put him in now are 3 month. He was in size 2 diapers, but we have recently moved him into size 3.
Routine: His routine is pretty much the same, although his bedtime is gradually getting earlier. He is usually in bed by 8-8:30 now, instead of 8:30-9pm. He still gets a bath every night and nurses until he falls asleep. He is such a happy baby most of the day, but can get fussy around dinner time. When I get home from work at 5pm, I immediately feed him. Its our little bonding time before its my time to eat dinner. He usually is pretty hungry by the time I get home. Like I said, he can get fussy when its time for Todd and I to eat. It seems he just wants to be held and have all of our attention. Some evenings it feels like all I do was nurse him; he just eats constantly.
Sleeping: Max is in bed by 8:30 every night, most nights. Unfortunately we are going through the four month sleep regression cycle. This is when a four month baby's sleep routine starts to resemble a newborn's sleep routine. Basically, we have increased wakefullness. We are fortunate that Max only wakes once (technically), Todd brings him into bed with us where he feeds and falls back asleep. He feeds constantly in bed, so who knows, if we put him back in his crib, he could wake up more than once. Even though I get less sleep with him in our bed, its better than getting up multiple times in my opinion. One week in particular was rough on us. The first night he woke up at 4am, the next 2:30am, the night after that at 12:30am (!). Then, luckily, he started to sleep a little longer each night after that. This past week, he slept ALL night (from 8-8:30pm-6:30am) three nights in a row! We haven't had that since. We are lucky if we make it to 2:30am now. So really, we never know what we are going to get. Hopefully this doesn't last long.
Eating/Feeding: Max is still exclusively drinking breast milk. We are going strong! I am still pumping and continually add to our frozen stash. When he does eat from a bottle, we are still at 4 oz per feeding. When at home, he mostly gets the breast, but Todd loves feeding him and is asking me more and more lately to make a bottle so he can feed him.
Behaviour: I mentioned in my 3 month update that we were waiting on giggles and that I was hoping he would be giggling by the time I posted our 4 month update. Well...he's giggling! Its amazing. It can be few and far between, but I can tell he will be a giggler. I usually have to tickle his stomach to make him giggle, but we have heard him giggle without any provocation. The first true giggle was when I was at work with him. His talking is so cute, just imagine his giggle! We love it.
He is such a smiler. I just have to look at him and he smiles. He is also a drooler. Holy moly, this teething business makes him drool! He doesn't act like is in any pain yet, thank goodness. He is just always sucking on his hand. He now is able to bring things to his mouth, which is so neat to watch. He has a little monkey rattle that is in his car seat most of the time and the next thing I know, he will get it in his hand and bring it to his mouth. It's so cute! I am still getting used to the fact that his hand in his mouth doesn't mean he is hungry anymore, like it used too.
Like any baby, he loves being held. He loves sitting up and being in your lap like a big kid. If he gets fussy, just stick him in your lap. He also loves watching cartoons. We still aren't rolling over, I feel like we aren't even close to that. I feel bad because a lot of babies Max's age are already rolling over (I am in a 'Due in April 2014' Facebook group and follow many mom's on Instagram with babies the same age), but I know all babies learn things at different times. Considering I am working full-time and am not with my baby 24/7, I do think that makes a difference. I don't have all day to work with Max and helping him to roll over and doing tummy time. I wish I did. But he will learn in time. Todd and I miss him throughout the day, so when we come home, we just want to hold him. We need to try to do tummy time more and working with him to roll over. So maybe by the time I post his 5 month update, he will be rolling over! Let's plan on that, shall we?
We have now moved his bathtub from the sink to the actual bath because he has learned to splash! He gets those little chubby legs moving, its rare if we don't get wet. Its not as easy in the bathtub, but we will get the hang of it. He also kicks a lot when changing his diaper. He straightens his legs out and just kicks, making diaper changes a little more challenging. But, he talks and talks to you when changing his diaper. Its no longer a traumatic experience, which is very nice.
I think that is it for his four month update. As soon as I publish this post I know I will think of more things, but its ok. I may add more over the next few days, or I will just wait to post it in his five month update. Either way, thanks for reading!
