Well, I regret to say that at 4 months, I didn’t take the time to sit down and write an update on Wes. I’m sure in the future I will regret it, however not a whole lot changed between 3 and 4 months. But this last month has been surreal in our household. It is amazing how much such a little guy can change so much in such a short amount of time. At his “4 month “ appointment (which was more like 4 ½ months) Wes weighed 13 lbs 6 oz, and was 25 inches long. It seems like since then he must have grown another 2 lbs and 2 inches! He is getting so big, too fast if you ask me. Every day I sit with him and cherish these moments because I know all too soon they will be just a memory written down in my blog. We have spent the majority of the last 2 months in Stanley, Idaho, in the Sawtooth Wilderness. It is stunningly beautiful and very remote.
Things to remember about 3-4 months:
*Right around 4 months you gave up your binki, on your own! YAY! I was dreading the day I was going to have to take it away from you. Now you won’t even take it in your mouth. You will chew on it a little then grab it and pull it out. You suck on your thumb occasionally, but not too often – or sometimes I guess I should say your whole fist (or both!) At night however your “binki” has become the blue mini blanky (or keakers) that Aunty Chasity bought you and embroidered your name on. It is silky on one side and microfiber soft on the other. You suck on the corner of it when you are falling asleep.
*That’s next on our list, the amazing success you have had with your hands. By about 3 months you were starting to reach out and grab for things, but with closed fists. You would hold on to fabrics and such with ease, but hard plastic toys and what not would just get batted away. It seemed like one day you just caught on that you needed to open to your hands around 4 ½ months and now, EVERYTHING is game. Anything you can wrap those tiny little fingers around goes straight to your mouth.
*Speaking of mouth, a little over a week ago we started you on solid foods. What an adventure this has been! I will never understand why, but I was scared for some reason to start. All the books, dr.’s and stuff I read on the internet said between 4 and 6 months to start you on baby food. I was leaning more towards the 6 months!!! I guess it’s just a sign that my sweet little baby boy, who was solely dependant on me is growing up, and I just wasn’t ready to accept that. However, when you went from sleeping a solid 6-8 hours at night to waking up every HOUR (something you didn’t even do as a newborn!) I decided it was probably time to start the rice cereal. It was a big hit! So far we have tried rice cereal, mashed potatoes and green beans, all have been a success. I started off with the recommended amount (1 tbls with 3-4 tbls of breast milk) and in the first sitting you devoured every last bit of it. I’ve started slowing increasing the amount and you still eat almost everything in the bowl. Daddy was fortunate enough to change your first poopy diaper after starting solid food and he was not impressed to say the least. On Saturday mornings, he gets up with you so mommy can have an hour or so of actual restful sleep, and I could hear him gagging from your butt all the way in the bedroom with both doors closed J As of right now, I have been making all of your baby food. I have quit a bit stored up in the freezer. I only hope I don’t give this up. I know as you start to eat more it will become more time consuming, but it is just so much better home made. I have tried jarred baby food several times and can’t even imagine eating it myself. The food I have made you so far, I have tried everything and its actually good! I decided I wouldn’t give you something if I didn’t like it (well except for maybe sweet potatoes and califlour… I’m not a big fan, but you might be. ) Regardless, if the taste is unbearable to me, I’m not going to try sticking it down your throat.
You are still not back to sleeping a straight 6 hours, but things are going much better, you usually sleep for about 4 hours straight and only wake up twice in the night to nurse.
*During your 4th month, you have really become independent. Up until now, you have wanted to be held almost all the time. The only time you were happy being left on the floor to play with toys or in your bouncer was if someone was there playing with you. While holding you however, you would just start jumping like crazy! The swing Grandma Joy bought you was never a big hit from the beginning, but when you started this jumping thing, I knew it was time for a bouncer. Grandma Vicky bought you a baby Einstein saucer bouncer and that has become your favorite thing in the whole world! When we first brought it home, you were too little for it, so we had to wrap blankets around you to support you and put a 2x6 under your feet so you could reach the ground. In the past few weeks you have started enjoying some time to yourself (so mommy can actually get stuff done now! Like take a shower…) playing in your bouncer or with some toys on the floor. You no longer need the blankets or 2x6 to use the bouncer and sometimes you bounce so hard I think your going to bounce right out of the darn thing! You laugh and giggle and just have a great time in that thing.
*Which brings up probably my favorite new development of the last couple of months, your laugh! You have started laughing, and giggling and screaming so much! The sound of your deep belly laugh brings such a joy to my heart, its almost indescribable. You have become ticklish, alllll over, and your smile could light up the whole city (just like your daddys!) Sometimes, as I’m getting ready to nurse, you get so excited and start giggling, another one of those heart warming moments that I will forever hold near and dear to me.
*Last week, you discovered your toes. Every time you are laid down on your back now your hands go straight for your little piggy’s and you hold on to them with a death grip like you might not ever see them again. The more your feet grow, the more that middle toe curls under the second one – sorry to say bud but you have inherited mommy’s crooked toes!
*You officially rolled all the way over on Friday August 5th, just after your 4 month birthday. You and I were at Nate and Amy’s house, working out with Amy and Nissa. You were laying on the floor playing and right in front of us, you just decided to roll over! I was amazed. You still are not a huge fan of tummy time, so once you roll over, most of the time you roll right back over to your back. But last week you spent about 10 minutes on your tummy, kicking your feet like crazy. I have a feeling crawling is only a short time away… You have the stance down, just need to learn how to move your legs correctly!
*No teeth have popped out yet, which I must say I’m quit surprised. Around 4th of July you were sure showing all of the signs, but nothing happened. I am glad tho, I’m not ready to go through that agany yet! I sure hope for your sake, and my sanity, that teething goes well! The thought of you being in pain and there being NOTHING mommy can do about it just breaks my heart!
*My first real experience leaving you with a babysitter is coming up this Saturday, and I must say I am already getting nervous thinking about it. When we went to your cousin Madi’s 4th birthday in Prineville 4th of July weekend, you were just over 3 months old – and still sleeping until about 1 – 3 in the morning. We did go out for a few drinks with Aunt Vanessa and Uncle Beau, while Grandma Cindy watched you. However we waited until after 8:00 (your bedtime) so mommy could put to you sleep and were within walking distance of the hotel where you slept soundly the whole time we were gone. Even then I was checking in with Grandma every hour at least. This weekend however, we are going to see the Judds, at the Oregon State Fair. Allllll the way down in Salem. You are going to stay with Grandma Joy and Grandpa Milo… But they are going to have to feed you dinner, put you to bed, and quit possibly we won’t be back by the time you wake up the first time in the night. I think that part worries me the most, I am the only one that has gotten up with you in the middle of the night. Usually I nurse you and you go right back to sleep, sometimes you don’t even eat, just nurse for comfort. I’m not sure how you are going to take to a bottle in the middle of the night, let alone when someone other then me gives it to you. I’m sure Grandma and Grandpa will take great care of you, I’m not worried about that… I’m just worried about YOU giving them a hard time. I can only hope things go well, goodness knows I’m going to be a nervous wreck!
*We have decided to fly home for the weekend, since driving would take pretty much the whole weekend, and we would like to spend as much time with our families as possible. So that means you will also be going on your first plane ride this weekend as well. Labor day weekend 2011 should be a memorable one to say the least!
*ECing has still been going very well. Even when we went home for a couple of weeks at the beginning of August, because of traveling and just been plain to busy, we kind of slacked off a bit, but once we got back into a routine, it was like you didn’t miss a beat. Just yesterday, I was getting ready to take your diaper off to see if you needed to go, and you had started to go already (do I have timing or what!) As soon as I took your diaper off, you STOPPED right in front of me, I put you on the potty and you finished going! It was amazing. We are averaging 2-3 diapers a day, and some days as little as 1! I definetily don’t catch every single potty, but we are getting so close. We just opened the last package of diapers we got from our baby shower – 5 months and we have barely had to buy any diapers! We did at the beginning because you were in premie diapers for the first month or so, but since then we have been using just what we got at the shower. Its been fantastic!
While we were home in August, we went to the Washington County Fair with Grandma Joy and Uncle Stinky, Somer and the boys, and also met Auntie Katie and the girls there too! You enjoyed walking around seeing and smelling everything at the fair in your stroller, and the girls sure did enjoy hanging out with you too!
We also bought mountain bikes and a little trailer to pull behind for you to ride in. We house sat for Greg and Nissa while they were hunting, so we rode our new bikes all around St. Helens. Our first trip out, we put you in the trailer (having to prop you up on blankets so the straps would fit!) and you screamed bloody murder as if you were hurt! I was so excited to video tape this experience, however once you started screaming I decided against it. I do regret it however, because once we got rolling, you laughed and giggled the WHOLE ride, for about an hour. You love riding in that thing now!
I can’t wait to see what the next month brings. I feel like every day you are getting smarter, wiser and catching on to more things. I just can’t believe 5 months have gone by so fast, before I know it you will be running around and instead of rocking you to sleep to sooth those cries, I will be kissing away tears from scraped up knees and boo boo’s. In some ways I get so excited to watch you grown and learn, and in others, I hate to see my sweet little newborn growing up. One thing I can’t wait for though is for you to be able to kiss me back. You smile when daddy or I kiss you, but when you can reach your little arms around my neck and kiss me back, it will just melt my whole heart! For now I will enjoy these moments and do my best to preserve them in my memory bank (or blog in this case…) TTFN!
