Jake - Four Months

I am FOUR months old today!!!!!

These days:
- Jake is a happy baby!  He can be serious at times, like he has the weight of the world on his little shoulders, according to the little wrinkles he makes on his forehead, but, overall, he's content and happy. 
- He is fairly predictable and it's getting easier to tell why when he's fussy. Usually it's because he's sleepy or needs a change of scenery. (or, if he's in a new environment, because he's overwhelmed)
- If he's a little fussy, he wants to be held, but NOT while we're sitting.  It's like turning a switch on and off sometimes; sitting = crying and standing = silence.
- He has been consistently sleeping through the night since about 14 weeks.  He goes down around 7 or 7:30pm and wakes up between 6 and 7am.  Sometimes (a lot this week), he'll wake up at 5 or 5:30, so I'll nurse him and put him back down and he'll sleep for a little while longer.  I would love him to stay up an hour later so we could spend more time with him at night, but he just gets way too sleepy to keep him up.
- I rock him and sing to him while he takes his last bottle every night.  I go through about 3 or 4 songs and save two of my/his favorites for last because they make his eye lids heavy as soon as I start singing them.  I do not rock him to sleep, though.  I put him in the crib awake, but sleepy, and this has helped him to sleep independently from the beginning.  This was great advice I took from a few books.
- When he's sleepy, his eyelids get red and he sucks his thumb.  If he gets too sleepy and isn't put down for nap/bed, he is very fussy and fights sleep. BUT, if I put him down at just the right amount of sleepiness, he doesn't fight it at all and goes right to sleep.
- Just in the past week, he has started napping less predictably.  Sometimes, he takes only two naps a day and, other days, I can't keep him awake for more than an hour at a time.  I think a growth spurt (Lord, help us) may be to blame.   Plus, he's able to sit up (with help) now along with some other new skills, like playing in his exersaucer, and I think that wears him out. 
- He nurses for his first feeding of the day and gets 7 - 8oz of breast milk (still pumping) for the rest of the day (every 3 or 4 hours).  Occasionally, he gets formula if my supply is down and in need of a boost. 
- I am going to ask Dr. Bagley about adding rice cereal to his diet when we go on the 27th for his 4 month check up.  It is recommended to wait until 6 months, but, because he is not always full after these large feedings, I am wondering if she would recommend starting now. She said any more than 32oz per day of breast milk or formula is too much and he is now exceeding that.  I'm in no hurry to start since he's obviously thriving without the cereal, I'm just curious.  We'll see what she says.
- He weighed 19 lbs when John weighed him Monday night.  According to the online calculator at babycenter.com, that is above the 95th percentile.  Goodness. 
- He still doesn't poop every day, but he is going much more regularly than he was.  He flares his nostrils when he's going.  It does not bother him to sit in a wet or stinky diaper, so I have to keep an eye on it for him.  This is good and bad.
- He is in size 3 diapers
- He is in 9 month clothes and some 12's.
- He rolled over from tummy to back and from back to tummy the week he turned 3 months old, but he hasn't done either since then.  He rolls on his side a lot so it's only a matter of time. 
- He is very strong and loves putting weight on his legs and "standing" on our laps.
- He discovers new noises he can make all the time and I love it!  He's really into squeaking and squealing right now.
- Instead of crying in the morning in his crib when he wakes up hungry, now he'll make this weird whining noise and it sounds more like a child than a baby.  It's funny.  And then he grins so big when I lean in to pick him up.
- He's responding more and more to toys and books put in front of him. He's reaching a little for them, which is a milestone met, and he likes smiling and talking to them.
- He has the sweetest sneeze in the world.
- He can sometimes get a little overstimulated around a group of people or in an unfamiliar place, especially if it's nap time or bed time.
- He's starting to drool a good bit, so teething may be around the corner.  He's also fingering his gums a lot.  Sometimes, he tries to stick his whole, chubby hand into his little mouth and it's very cute.
- He's laughed a little one syllable laugh for a few weeks now, but, this Monday, he really laughed for the first time (that I've heard).  It wasn't quite a belly laugh, but it was close.  I grabbed the flip cam, but, of course, he didn't do it again.  I know more are to come and I am so excited.
- He still loves "his" window.  Rain or shine, dark or light, it is a wonder to him and makes him smile like he's never seen it before all the time!  He also loves ceiling fans and ceiling light fixtures.
- He loves laying on the bed his in room while I lean over him and play and talk to him.  He is so excitable there and loves kicking and talking and playing.
- He doesn't love tummy time, so I break it into short sessions for him or let him do it on my tummy instead of on the floor.
- His hair is starting to thin out a good bit.  I can't wait to see if the new hair will be red, too, or if it will be blond or brown.  His eyes are still really blue.  I'm excited to see how they turn out, too.
- Comments from others are often about his red hair, his big eyes, how big he is ("did you say he's only 4 months old?!"), and what a pretty baby he is.  I love hearing all of it.
- John and I get the biggest smiles.  When we are both in his face, he gets so excited he doesn't know what to do.
 
He really is such a happy, content baby which makes me proud and happy and thankful.  He kind of has a silly little personality when he's in a really good mood and I could just eat him with a spoon.  If Jake got a nickle every time I kiss him, he'd be richer than Bill Gates by now.  I can't help myself.

I can see him learning every day and there is nothing like watching a new, innocent baby boy soaking in his world one little thing at a time.

Jake, I love you from the hairs on your head right down to your edible little toes.  Every single inch of you.  Always, always.

Look how much I've grown!!

I realize this post is really long.  Just a reminder that my blog's main purpose is to keep record.  I know these details are not so interesting to most of you (if you even read them). ;)