Official 4 Month Photo Shoot
The update
Here I am, writing Miles 4 Month update but it’s almost been 5. Yup. Sounds like I’m right on schedule. Brittany schedule.
I wish I had written this earlier because things are starting to blur together and I’m not sure which things are 4 months and which are 5. I’d say month 4 was predominately about growing. My big boy grew a LOT bigger, as you’ll notice from his 4 months stats below. For the longest time he was eating 12-20 times a day! I know this can happen and babies develop a snacking habit and our pediatrician said I could try to stretch his feedings out but the effort I exerted keeping his fussing down that last hour or so was worse than whipping out my boob every hour and a half to two hours. Haha! He barely got to wear any of his 3-6 months clothes, luckily I squeezed him into a couple favorites for some photos (he was also already wearing most of them during his 3rd month). He’s in the 84th percentile for length and the 92nd percentile for weight! Insane. I think Steven likes to brag about it and I guess I’m happy he’s thriving, but I am a little sad to dress him in his 6 month clothes and he’s just so heavy!!! Carrying his car seat anywhere is a challenge and I can’t really hold and rock him while standing like I used to. I kinda feel like I barely got to spend any time with the “baby” Miles. He’s outgrowing clothes faster than he can wear them and my arms are about to fall off when I have to carry him.
I am absolutely in love with watching him grow bigger and stronger and more aware of the world. His personality is developing like crazy! At our 4-month well-visit, the pediatrician was surprised to see that Miles had a clear stranger awareness already, which I guess doesn’t usually develop until closer to 6 months. This has been a tricky development. Even his grandparents, who may have seen just a couple days before, will set off “the sadness,” as I call it. If you grab him and start trying to talk to him you might be lucky enough to receive a small window of warning in which he will stick his lower lip FARRR out and look around for mommy with his sad eyes. Breaks my heart. I hate it because it usually ends up leaving him so upset I have to take him to another room and nurse him before he’ll calm down. We’ve been working on it though and I think as long as he has his needs met and is approached cautiously, giving him time to adjust and make his own move, we’re good.
Miles had some unexplained fussy days during this month and that, combined with the frequent nursing, led us to suspect teething. The pediatrician said his gums are definitely swollen and she expects them to pop up sometime before the 6 month mark. Still hasn’t happened but I’m waiting.
Growth
Here are his stats from his 4-month well visit appointment: Weight: 17 lb. 10.5 oz. Head Circumference: 17″ Length: 26
Development
Strength
He finally likes tummy time! Well, perhaps “like” is a strong word. He no longer face-plants into the floor and sobs. He’s up to a consistent push-up now and is definitely strong in other ways, too. He can lean pretty hard core in many directions. We’re still waiting for him to really get the whole “sitting” thing. He likes to lean forward too much. His weight, combined with his determination to lean towards anything interesting has me about to expire daily. My back hurts.
Grasping
He has SUCH a grasp! Owww. Haha. He loves to grab fabric and toys and … fabric. He still gets super frustrated with some toys because they won’t come off the places they’re attached or they won’t fit in his mouth or he can’t quite maneuver them (i.e. water bottles and books). I can’t remember exactly what has picked up in the 4 month compared to 5 months so I’ll elaborate on the next update.
Sleep
He’s regressed just a bit. He still sleeps right after most night feedings, but his wakings and number of feedings are unpredictable and that’s tough. His naps are pretty much all over the place, too. If he’s in the car he’ll sometimes sleep an hour and a half, but most naps are 40-45 minutes long and occasionally he’ll just skip one and be fussy for another couple hours. That’s not so fun. He’s just so happy when he’s well-rested! I get about an hour and a half to two hours to eat, shower (what’s that???) and get “work” done. Sigh. But I really do love it. :)
Visual
He recognizes his momma, that’s for sure! And his daddy, too, of course. I think I’ll remove this category after this month because it seems he can spot me from across the room. As well as anything that looks like a toy.
Memories
Miles’ first laughs that are becoming more and more frequent, but never less exciting. It’s been too long now to remember specifics, but I know Steven and I have heard hilarious noises or seen him do such adorable and unexpected things that make us laugh and look at each other with a look that says “Did you SEE that?!?!” I adore my little man.
The very last day of December Steven and I took Miles out into the snow for the first time. There wasn’t much to do except block his face from the cold air and take some photos of his cuteness but I love making memories like that and I love the photos we got, so that is going into my favorite memories for this month.
Other Photos
