Four months!

Four months - March 21, 2014

Look at this big, beautiful boy! Happy four months, Sam!

If it is possible, I think that he is getting cuter and cuter each month. As I write this, I am looking over at his rosy cheeks and big, curious eyes, and his red-tinged hair, and his little button nose, and I just can't get over how sweet this little man is.

Sam had his four month well-baby appointment on Friday. He weighs 14lbs, 2 oz and is 25 inches long. He is strong and healthy, and is right at the 50th percentile in height, weight, and head circumference. He also got three more vaccines. One oral (which he loved), and two in his little legs. The nurses each took a side, had me hold his hands and get my face up close to his, and then on the count of three, stuck him at the same time. His eyes got wide, then filled with tears, and then that little lower lip came out, and he was sad baby until I could pick him up and cuddle him close.

Sam is getting stronger every day. He's not wild about sitting, but LOVES standing. He is strong enough that he can stand just holding onto our fingers. Dr. Locke thinks that he might end up being an early walker! When he's lying on his back, he likes to lift up his head and shoulders. Also, he has rolled over a few times, from back to tummy! Once in his crib when he was all swaddled, once unswaddled on the floor of my office (I didn't see it happen, I just looked down and found him flipped over!), and once on the bed (again, I didn't see it happen, I just found him flipped over when I turned back to him). He doesn't love being put on his tummy, but when he gets there himself, he likes to prop himself up on his arms and look around. He likes being on his tummy at the edge of the bed, too, where he can peer over the edge.

Sam is really exploring his world these days. He stares at everything, especially bright colors and things that move. When he is fixed onto something, it is hard to pull his attention away from it. He continues to be fascinated by his hands. He'll stare at them and suck on them and try to fit both of them in his mouth at once. He has started to grasp onto toys and suck on them, too. I think that he sees toys as a fascinating extension of his hands.

Our new game is holding out our hand like an octopus, wiggling our fingers, and moving our hand closer and closer to his face until we grab onto it. He loves watching our hand coming toward him. He is really good at tracking movement with his eyes; he hasn't quite figured out how to track sounds yet.

He still doesn't like pacifiers, and he still doesn't like being in his carrier if it isn't moving, and he still doesn't like being awake and alone in his crib at night. Car rides are not quite as magic as they used to be. He'll still fall asleep, though not instantaneously like he used to. And he'll wake up and scream for stretches, too, for no apparent reason. Perhaps because he is bored and lonely?

The weather has been getting nicer, so we've taken more walks. He loves being outside in his stroller. I can't wait until it's actually warm out so we don't have to keep him as closed up in the stroller and we can let him see the world around him.

Lest you think everything is all perfect, though, let's talk about sleep, shall we? Sam was doing so well, sleeping as many as 8 or 9 hours, but at least 6 reliably. We'd gotten into a lovely routine of bedtime around 8:30 p.m., and then one overnight feed around 3:00 a.m., and then back to sleep. The week leading into his four-month birthday, however, he decided that he was no longer interested in sleeping. So the last two weeks have been pretty terrible, sleep-wise. We struggle to get him down at the beginning of the night (he used to nurse himself to sleep and stay asleep when I put him in the crib; now he wakes up within minutes of me laying him down). And he doesn't sleep more than two or three hours at a time, and wakes up screamy, and we haven't figured out exactly what he wants. And then it takes time to get him back down. So I'm a sleeeeepy mama. As far as I can tell, this is pretty normal at this age, and it's because he is so focused on and interested in his world that he has a hard time shutting off his brain to sleep. Hopefully we'll turn a corner soon, because I'm pretty sure that this is as exhaused as I've been with him; even waking up every two hours to feed him as a newborn was easier than this.

But he makes up for the lack of sleep by being so very happy in the mornings. He babbles to himself in his crib until I go to get him, and then looks up at me and gives me the biggest grin. We take him into our bed, and he grins at us and laughs and talks to us. It's the best.

Sam is also a very friendly baby. He'll smile and flirt with everyone, and is especially interested in faces that have glasses. He is a great "office baby," and all of my friends on staff are quick to snatch him away from me to carry him around and play with him.

He is still a very happy baby. Fusses when he's hungry, tired, or in need of a diaper change. But mostly content with the world. I love watching his curious face, and I love hearing him talk to himself. He recognizes mama and daddy, and will flash them big smiles from across the room.

He still melts my heart, even after the rough nights. His smile means everything to me. We're looking forward to watching him get more mobile (even though it also terrifies us!), and we love watching his sweet, happy personality continue to emerge.

We love you more each passing day, little man! You are our world!