4 months old (wrote last week but forgot to post)

Wow, my little baby is A) not so little and B) 4 months old, I can’t believe it!

Today we had our Dr appointment and he weighed 16 lbs 1 oz and was 25.25 inches tall.  That means he has gained 9.5 pounds and 6 inches of height.  That is a lot of work for 4 months.  All of his percentiles are good and he is definitely on the larger side, but nothing at all that is bad.  Doctor is very happy with him.  He loved the exam table at the doctor’s office, and got such a kick out of the mirror as well as the paper sheet thing (which he shredded).  His closet is mirrored in his room so we played a little on that tonight, but I also need to find different textures for him to play with.  He loved scratching his fingernails on the fake leather and ripping the sheet, so he will like other things too!  He also rolled over twice there.  Just goes to show how much of “liking” something is more about the specifics than the generals.  For instance, Logan likes to be held, if you are the right person and doing it right and moving around.  He likes tummy time, but apparently only with a mirror and with textures.  We will eventually learn it all, but for now it is still trial and error.

Feeding:  Logan is an amazing eater.  My feedings are between 8 and 15 minutes total.  He is distractible now, so I have to not chat with people (Charles or Julia) during a feeding.  He also has bit me twice on the left side, which I was not a fan of, but he hasn’t done since, thank goodness!  He eats about 6 times a day, with a few days at 5 times a day.  Otherwise, I am so lucky to have a good eater and good supply.

Sleeping:  Logan is getting better.  His bedtime has moved consistently to between 6 and 7 and he wakes, lately twice a night.  We are going to start some sleep training after he gets over his shots.  He has been calling out for comfort a few times a night and we are going to stop this trend before it gets out of control.  I know he can self soothe, he just would rather see us.  I am also going to enforce the once a night feedings.  I know he can go 8 hours with no problem, so I’m not going to feed him twice a night anymore.  Daytime sleep is more complicated.  Our doctor said we can do whatever but that she would focus on nighttime more.  Currently, he takes partial naps in the crib and then finishes his naps on people (or not at all).  Our doctor said it is common at this age for babies to take naps only for 30 min or so but do many times throughout the day.  We could start implementing this strategy.  Or, we could follow the sleep book that I like (and have been recommended to 5000 times).  It says to sleep train one nap at a time.  This would mean focusing on the morning nap and trying to get it organized and then hold or do whatever for other naps.  The rules would be, 1) if he sleeps for 45 min and wake afterwards, get him up, 2) if he never sleeps, get up after 1 hour, presumably of crying, 3) if he wakes before 45 min, let him cry until 1 hour.  I’m not sure yet if we will do this or not.  I think some of it depends on the success of the nighttime sleep training.  We also have to decide whether to train swaddled or not.  He still sleeps at night in his swaddle, but it does deny him the ability to use his hands for sucking.  Not sure whether  his arms will help or hinder his chances of sleeping.  He has been sucking his thumb more and more, which makes me lean toward unswaddled, but I do think the swaddle helps him stay asleep longer.

So, we have some decisions to make, but our little guy is already moving to a more mature sleep schedule, and that is good to see. 

Play: Logan is an amazing player.  He is so fun to interact with.  He smiles so big and so long it almost makes our cheeks sore! This last few weeks he figured out his handled toys.  My Auntie Jill gave him a monkey that has a big handle that you pull for music.  I put it on his play mat, subbing out another toy, and he figured it out quickly.  This then made him realize his bouncer has a smaller handled toy and started using that too.  He also has gotten much better at sucking his fingers.  His favorite are his thumb and index finger.  He also has now started playing with the same toy with both hands, where before it was always one hand on a toy and the other hand doing nothing or with another toy.  He is also repeating our “trill” noise back at us, though somewhat spittier (see flickr).  Lastly, he is learning more about his body.  He has started touching his head.  You don’t realize things he hasn’t done until he does them suddenly.  Last night and today, he put his hand on the back of his head.  He loves his feet too, though he needs some help to get to them.  After nursing, I help him sit up (folded over a bit), to play with his feet.  He loves it!