Four Months

Today Brock turned 4 months old. It's strange how in retrospect every month seems to pass so quickly, and it seems like it's been years since he was a newborn. If I hadn't written out everything about those first three months, I'd probably have forgotten it all by now and be ready to have another one. I've never been more grateful for my blog! ;)

Brock went to see my favorite doctor ever his pediatrician today (Dr. Josh Smith with Pediatric Diagnostic Associates in case anyone is shopping around for a doctor - we were referred to him after our first visit with another doctor left me on the verge of a nervous breakdown; why didn't I blog about that I wonder?). He had to get another round of immunizations, which was just as heartbreaking as the first set, and got all his measurements. Let's just say he's earned the new nickname people have been giving him ("Chunk"). Brock now weighs 16 lbs, 9 oz which puts him in the 80th percentile (up from about 14 lbs and the 67th percentile last month). He is now about 25 1/4 inches long putting him at about the 70th percentile (up from about 24 inches and the 55th percentile last month). The doctor said he seems to be developing at a healthy, normal rate.

Just like the previous months, I have to list out all of Brock's patterns and accomplishments for 4 months (the time between the third and the fourth month):

• Brock is smiling all the time now! He is the most easily amused baby I've ever seen and gets a big kick out of my and Blaine's faces (I haven't decided yet whether or not this is an insult). He laughs a lot too but it usually sounds less like giggles and more like he's taking big gulps of air. He's a belly laugher.
• He did roll over a couple of times from his stomach to his back at about 13 weeks but hasn't really done it since so I'm not counting that as a development yet.
• He has definitely found his hands and likes to eat them and gag himself with them all the time (Favorite quote from my sister, "Quit gagging yourself; This isn't America's Next Top Model!"). He's started using his fists as a self-soothing device and gets drool everywhere by the time he's done with them.
• At the first of the month he started making new noises by spitting and blowing raspberries constantly, and something happened during week 16 and he just started talking and socializing like nothing we'd seen before. We got a little bit of this on camera in case you haven't seen last week's Friday photo in motion.
• Around 14 weeks, he started stretching his morning feeding times out to about 3.5 or 4 hours so he can go longer between meal times. He eats 5 or 6 times a day now, still just breastmilk but we may add some solids soon.
• Between weeks 13-14, he was consistently sleeping 9 hours straight at night (from about 10:00-7:00). Then at 15 weeks I dropped his late feeding so he started sleeping for about 11 hours every night (about 8:00-7:00).
• He's wearing 3-6 month size clothes now and size 2 diapers (size 3 at night because they have a little more absorbency and last until the morning).
• He can lift his entire chest up now during tummy time, but he's still not loving being on his stomach.
• He seems to like to study things more than play with them. He will just stare at toys we put in front of him and occasionally grab for them with his hands but he likes to just look at them. He also has to study new people for a little while before he warms up and smiles at them. (He's analytical like me)
• We're still swaddling him with the Woombie swaddle for naps and night sleep. We've tried letting him sleep unswaddled for one nap every few days but he hasn't quite gotten to the point where he will fall asleep easily and stay asleep as long as he needs to. I predict by next month he'll be able to do without it. (A word to the wise: It's best not to let others see your 4 month old in a swaddle because apparently a lot of people have strong feelings about babies being swaddled, hypothetically speaking of course)
• Brock is a lot more aware of noises and sounds now and can have his sleep interrupted more easily because of them.
• At some point this month, he made the link between his crib and sleeping. We've been putting him in his crib for night sleep since he was 5 weeks old and not long after that we put him there for all of his daytime naps too. This month something clicked and it's like he realized the crib means it's time for sleep.
• On that same note, week 14 was like a miracle week for naps and something clicked there too where he would only fuss for 5 minutes or less and then go right to sleep. Up until that point, he would cry a lot before naps every day. Now if he cries more than 10 minutes I know there's something else that's causing the problem.
• He likes snuggling things like blankets and stuffed animals and squishing them up to his face.
• One of my favorites this month: He's stopped peeing every time I take his diaper off so I am finally able to put the attractive cover on the changing pad without having to worry about washing it every time I change his diaper.
• For a few days during week 16 he did start waking again once during the middle of the night, but I think he was having another growth spurt because he was wanting to eat every 2 or 2.5 hours during the day that week too.
• His head is a lot steadier now and he can pull it up with his body when you pick him up, but it's still a little wobbly.
• A few times in the last week he has woken up from his nap talking and babbling instead of the usual crying, which is fun to listen to.
• He still takes about four naps a day but many days can go without that fourth one in the evening and just eat a little early before bed. His first two naps of the day are usually the longest lasting between 1.5 to 2.5 hours.
• He has really become a fun, social, interactive, little guy this past month.