Nov 20, 2012

Happy 4 Months, Brody!

I think I have officially worn out the 4 month celebration, wouldn't you say?  Sorry for the million updates on this same milestone but with the lag in his appointment I didn't want to leave you hanging.  Consider yourself now an expert on this stage in Brody's life. 
Stats: 16 lbs (71%) 26" (84%) and his head circumference is 17.5" (94%). Not sure where his huge head comes from but I'll take it to mean he is going to be highly intelligent. His growth is steady and Dr. S gave him two thumbs up and a high five for sleeping through the night.

Eat: Brody is a champion eater.  We have increased his bottles from 4-5oz over the last month and he is now taking three 5oz. bottles while at school everyday.  He nurses in the morning when he wakes up and then again before he goes to bed.  Depending on the time that he wakes up, sometimes I am able to sneak in one more feeding before I head to work but usually he is just eating five times per day.  I didn't think  that it was a lot but he is gaining well and generally just a very happy baby so no need to supplement with another feeding.

Sleep:  This babe still continues to love his sleep.  After the time change he had a weird week where he woke up a few times to feed, but after about 4 days of that he went right back to his normal schedule.  Bed time is a strict 7pm.  Every once and awhile he will stay up a little later on a weekend if we are out and about or met friends for dinner.  I don't really like to do this because he still wakes at the same time (don't know why most kids do this) and then he is not really well rested for the next day.  His morning rise is between 5-6:30 but usually closer to 5:30/5:45am.  He seems to really need a solid 10 hours of sleep and most nights gets that and then some.

Last Friday I made the executive decision to break the swaddle.  He is getting really close to rolling back to front and his startle reflex has really suppressed over the past few weeks.  He has been doing a great job so far and only waking once and his binkie seems to help him go back to sleep immediately.  To try to keep him warm I have been putting him in a sleep sack but his little hands are cold when I get him up in the morning.  He doesn't seem bothered but I would hate to have cold hands!

Play:  This has been where we have seen the largest jump in development.  He still loves to play in his gym and grab on to the toys that dangle down from above.  He can grasp objects and shake them, but mostly he is grabbing them to put in to his mouth.  He likes peek-a-boo and raspberries on the toes.  He'll laugh or giggle when we do this.  One of his favorite places to play is the tub.  Since he has really found his legs he kicks and splashes the water and giggles as he gets Bella wet (because she is always close to him).



This kid is a natural in the tub ! Sorry for the nudity ;)


Language:  He is always "talking."  He has lots of sounds and is beginning to use them specifically in certain situations.  Whenever he is hungry he does the Maaa, Maaa (of course he is saying mama).  Sometimes it seems like he is working so hard to say something and searching for the exact sounds.  He is very social and his teachers love how communicative he is when he needs something (in ways other than crying.)






Physical:  He has been able to roll from front to back for a few months but is now getting close to rolling back to front.  With a little assistance he gets all the way over, but he hasn't quite figured out how to get his little arm out of the way.  He doesn't get frustrated by this, and to be honest I'm not sure how motivated he is.  Although he loves his tummy, he doesn't roll that frequently to his back; he really enjoys his tummy and is trying to "inch" a little bit.  I have been putting my hands on the bottoms of his feet when he is in this position and he will push off on them a bit and move forward.  His head control is good and sits well with assistance but when he is sitting on his own he just slouches over into an incredible yoga pose.  We have been practicing sitting in the bumbo seat and he is starting to enjoy it for longer periods of time. 









He is certainly a happy baby and we're so blessed to have him in our lives.  It's amazing how fast time is flying and I am trying my best to savor all these sweet firsts with him.  Even though my house is a mess, my hair has not been blown dry in weeks, and 5am has become a reasonable and (somewhat) enjoyable wake-up time in our house we are smitten with our little boy and know that someday we'll have time for all the chores that we don't get to.  Till then, we're just living the dream.




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