Here’s our happy little guy at 4 months.
Anders is an incredibly smiley little guy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve turned around in a line to find several adults competing to see who could get a bigger smile from him. He smiles in a wide-mouth full bodied way- his head swinging back and his legs kicking.
He’s started sleeping through the night the past week and a half. There are still those nights when he’ll wake up at 2:00 but generally he goes to bed between 6:30-8:00 and wakes up around 5:00am. As a result, I’m feeling a resurgence of “myself.” Suddenly, I feel motivated to do more than eat, sleep, and take care of my babies.
He’s interacting with toys a lot now and is able to reach out and grab things. He likes to hold onto his paci as he sucks on it. He loves to suck on both fists at the same time- or, my favorite, a pointer finger from each hand. One day I had wrapped him up snug for bed. Within a few minutes he had managed to free one finger on which he was happily sucking.
He’s strong. He loves to stand when you hold his hands. He can keep his head inline with his body if you lift him up from the floor with his hands. He doesn’t love tummy time, but he’s getting happier laying on his belly lifting his head and looking around.
He’s just learned the guttural “ah” sound. Which he loves to proclaim loudly- to the shock of those around him. It sounds rather like something you’d only hear in the restroom.
He blows bubbles.
He adores Scotland, and will often squeal with delight when he first sees him in the morning.
He’s all eyes for his Mommy- following me around and lighting up with large open-mouth smiles whenever we make eye contact. I’ll often look down to catch him starring at me, at which point he’ll turn his eyes away coyly.
He’s giggling. I’ll nuzzle my nose into his ribs, or give him kisses on his neck and he’ll let out these adorable little chuckles. Sometimes he’ll tease back aggressively gumming my neck or shoulder with a big smile on his face.
He continues to be our outdoor boy. It’s rare that taking him outside won’t calm him. My hiking group all think he is the world’s easiest baby- and as long as he’s in the Ergo, outside, he really is!
He’s getting much better in the carseat- thank goodness. As long as he’s fed and well slept he doesn’t mind it.
His sleep schedule has regulated. When it’s time, I can lay him down in his crib fully awake, wrapped tightly with a paci, and he will slide into slumber without a whimper. He’s transitioning into a two nap schedule.
He still is an eager eater- often demanding food as soon as he wakes up. Patience isn’t his strong point. He’s taken to using his hands a lot while eating, often squeezing my breast- perhaps to make the milk come faster. (His nails tend to be quite sharp, so I’m not a huge fan of this new behavior.) His four month doctor’s appointment revealed that his weight gain isn’t sufficient. So we’ll be figuring that out over the next few weeks.
He continues to suffer with gassiness after eating. He will typically cry and cry until he releases a loud burp, after which he’ll be happy and content.
Often he’ll be crying and you’ll look at him to soothe him and he’ll give a big smile and then go back to crying.
He likes to be straight, and it can be difficult to get him to bend.
He still has a bald spot on the back of his head, but the rest of his hair is coming in nicely.
He’s still my blue-eyed boy.
I just adore this little fella. He brings a joy and lightness to my life in a way that nothing else does. When he calms when I pick him up I feel successful, when he nuzzles his nose into my neck, I feel at peace. Every once in a while, I’ll really be present and look at my two boys and marvel at what Tom and I have created. Two beautiful boys, so dynamic and full of life. The moisture will rush to my eyes and I’ll smile, grateful.