About the Kiddo: One post at a time: 4 Month Wellness

Four months already. That's it, Nolan, you've got to slow it down, Son.

The amount of change I've seen in my baby this month is crazy. First of all, after switching doctors and medicines Nolan's reflux finally started to get under control. Suddenly, we have this completely different baby. One that squeals in delight and smiles and coos so much more. He eats and isn't miserable after, he gets to actually enjoy his play times, and he's started doing tummy time again. He still has flare ups with it, but the improvement is incredible.

There is still some other stomach issue going on. Most likely some intolerance in my diet, but we've already changed it so much the doctor doesn't even know what else to suggest taking out.

We also started giving him Probiotics. We started that about the same time as the Prevacid, so it's hard to tell which one has helped the most, so I'm just going to say they've both contributed.

I've yet to see him roll from his back to his stomach, but he has done it twice while on his playmat. Rolling from tummy to back is no problem. In fact, it's the biggest problem in getting him to do tummy time. But, we're back up to about 30-40 minutes a day.

We got him a new activity / bumbo seat thing. He doesn't seem to like the one we had. The way it's designed his butt is real far back and his legs come up a little too high or something. I guess it just isn't comfortable for him. We got one of the Summer Seats with three stages that comes with the rotating activity tray and he enjoys it. He'll sit in there happily occupying himself for a good half hour.

We also got him a little doorway Johnny Jumper. That thing does make me nervous, but I didn't want to buy an exersaucer yet since we're fixing to move. He hasn't quite figure out how to make it bounce yet. He'll sit in there, and he likes it when you help him bounce in it. His first time in, when he kicked off with his feet, he bonked his head on the door frame (great job supervising, Mom). It didn't hurt him, but he looked around real confused and grunted unhappily about it then just went back to gnawing on his hands.

We still maintain a strict routine, as it is good for babies. His night time schedule continues to improve. We started merging some feedings and pushed back bedtime just a bit. His nighttime routine now starts at 7pm and he's usually down between 8-8:30. I still set an alarm and do a dream feed with him around 11:30. Sometimes he sleeps all the way till 8am after that, but he sometimes does still wakeup around 5:00 to be changed and fed and will then go back down till 8am. No complaints from this mommy. I'm averaging about 9 hours of sleep a night now :) Plus, he's just so darn cuddly during those feedings.

Along with numerous squeals and screams and coos Nolan does make some defined sounds now:

ah-goo (which is hilarious because you can say, "Nolan, are you a good baby?" and it sounds like he's saying, "I good." Too cute)
buh
muh (also funny because he does this "muh, muh, muh, muh-muh" in a whiny way, and his daddy teases him because it does almost sound like, "I want my mama.")
He's learned to scream. Not cry. Scream. I've mentioned this before, but it's so intense. I try not to laugh or encourage it, but sometimes it's hard not to because it's so hilariously cute. I wish he hadn't learned that quit yet though. You never know which way it's going to go either. He's either very excited and happy, or about to turn into the little red rage monster.

He's also laughed out loud / giggled several times, which is about the cutest thing ever.

Like most babies, he loves to stare down new faces and most likely will smile at you a few times when you first interact with him. Most likely. Sometimes he cries. I read that sometimes babies don't like the way someone smells because of shampoos/soaps/perfumes, etc. Who really knows? Probably just total coincidence. Maybe he just likes to look at some faces more than others ;)

He does not like to be wallowed around. He doesn't like a lot of people getting in his face or touching on him. He's very particular in the way he likes to be held, and if you aren't doing it right he is going to let you know. He actually seems to get sensory overloaded pretty easily (with my professional background, I'm trying to not let that bother me just yet).

I'm head over hills for this baby. He is my love. One of my favorite things about him, is that I seem to be his favorite too. I love it when people say, "He's looking at mama" or "He's looking for mama" or "Look how he watches his mama." It's like when I pass him off, he first has to identify that I'm still there and then he'll interact with the new person, but frequently has to check back that I'm still around. Also, if someone else has him he almost always turns towards the sound of my voice. Talk about melting a mommy's heart ❤

He did have his dreaded four month wellness visit today. He weighed 12 pounds, 14 ounces, was 23 inches long, and his head circumference was 16.25in. That put him in the 5th percentile for weight, the 3rd for height, and the 25th for head circumference.

Everything else seemed perfect! I'm so blessed he's mostly healthy. If we could just get over this darn stomach stuff.

We're doing so well with breastfeeding. I feel like we're pros at this point :) I love the experience and that I've maintained it even with all the challenges we've had along the way. I hope it's smooth sailing from here on out.

We're about to go on an adventure with our sweet little boy! I'm worried about the plane ride and worried about how much the time change will jack up his schedule. I'll be so happy to just get there and get settled. Can't wait to share all our experiences with Lovebug in the big city :)

Our 4-month-old: