Baby AJ: Month 4 Update

AJ turned 4 months old on Valentine's Day! It still amazes me how much can change from month to month.

One of the biggest changes was how much more he enjoyed being in a sitting and standing position. Sometimes he'll cry when on his back until you lift him up. He just looooves to be upright and look around. He also finally discovered his hands. He will just hold them out in front of his face and stare at them and then shove them into his mouth. His hands are constantly in his mouth now. Still not really reaching out yet though. There have been a handful of times that I've seen him attempt to grab something. The winkle toy is nice because it is easy for him to grab onto.

Weight: 15lbs 15ozs
Length: 25 inches
Diaper size: Size 3
Clothing size: All 3-6 month size plus towards the end of the month, he started wearing 9 month pants. 6 month size was just too tight for his Buddha belly!

Nicknames: Bub bub , bubs, munchkin, baby boy, little man, grumpster, sweetie, sweetie pie, sweetums

Health: Still has yet to get sick. Fingers crossed! He did have his 4 month check up and had to get his shots. I'll be glad when he doesn't have to get so many shots every 2 months.

Sleep: Ah sleep. Maybe we're in a 4 month sleep regression? It hasn't been as great over the last month. Over the last month, we've been working on getting him out of his bouncy chair at night and into the pack and play next to our bed. Neither Jack nor I are ready for him to go into his crib in the nursery yet. We like having him so close to us at night. We would put him in there for his first stretch of sleep at night. The first few nights took us a few hours to get him to sleep. He would sleep in there for like 45 minutes and wake up crying. I would nurse him some more or we would give him the paci and it would take a few tries of this. Then he would sleep a couple of hours and around 11 pm wake up. Then we would put him back in the bouncy chair for the rest of the night. He gradually started sleeping longer and longer in the pack and play. He went from just a couple of hours in it to 6-7 hours sleeping in it. But over the last week he's been waking up a bunch again. For a few nights he kept waking at around 11 pm, 2 am, 4-5 am and then up for the day around 6:30 am. We were tired! We were so spoiled by his 8-11 hour stretches. I'm hoping he goes back to that soon. We also started leaving one arm out of the swaddle so hopefully we can ditch the swaddle all together in the next month. His naps are the same. Only about 25-30 minutes. Ah well. I keep hoping they'll get longer as he gets older. We've also backed off the use of the vacuum to get him to sleep. We felt we were starting to rely on it too heavily and sometimes we'd have to keep it on for his entire nap. So now we just use it every once and awhile at bedtime if he wakes up crying right after we set him down for the night. Phew! So much going on with sleep in our house right now.

Diet: Still only breast milk. I started back to work 2 weeks ago and I was so nervous about pumping enough for him, but it's been going well so far. I've actually been able to add to my freezer stash because I pump more than what he eats.

Baby Gear Love:
-Babybjorn Babysitter Balance: Love this bouncer although he is starting to tolerate it a little less. He prefers to be more upright. But he is willing to take a bottle in this thing, so we still love it.
-bibs: This kid is always drooling, so we need lots of bibs.
-Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Puppy: He loves this little toy dog that sings. He lights up when he sees it.
-Lamaze Play & Grow Jaques the Peacock: He loves to stare at this while in his car seat.

Loves: his bath every night, laying on his changing table, Fisher Price puppy, sitting up with assistance, standing with assistance, when we blow raspberries on his belly, chewing on his hands

Dislikes: being overtired, and getting vitamin D drops

Milestones: Rolling from belly to back more and more. He tries to roll from back to belly but only makes it onto his sides. He has finally discovered his hands. He will hold them out and just stare and them and then chew on them. And he has finally started trying to grab objects. He won't do it all the time. Feb 5th was the first time I ever saw him look at a toy and reach out and grab it. He can also momentarily sit in a tripod position all by himself.

I also went back to work when he was 16 weeks. I'm only working 8-12, so I get to be back home soon and spend the whole afternoon with him. It was so hard to leave him though and I miss him so much while I'm at work. We've hired a nanny that comes to the house to watch him.
Other things of note about month 4: 
-loves when we shake his arms. Makes him laugh every time.
-loves a game where I take him from a sitting position to a standing position. I'll using say "uuuup" in a high pitched voice and "doooown" in a low pitched voice.
-He loves to be tossed in the air or turned upside down. I have a feeling he's going to be a rambunctious little boy. He just loves to be tossed around.

-Loves, loves, loves to be in a sitting position. He can even sit in a tripod position momentarily.
-He has also really started to notice the TV. I have to turn him away from it or turn it off because he'll just stare at it. Sometimes he'll even smile at the people on TV.

-He loves to chew on his hands and has finally started trying to grab objects. He's not always successful, but he's working on it.
-Sometimes when he's laying on his back, he'll arch his back and stick is butt in the air.

-This kids squeals and screams like no other. It's so funny!
-He's got great head control now, and can lift his head up so high.
-A few times while he was on his tummy, he's tried to get on his knees.

He has finally started tolerating his car seat. The last couple of weeks, we've been able to get out of the house easily with him. We even went out to eat at a sushi restaurant!

Finally old enough to be worn forward facing! He loves it!

We bought a BOB revolution stroller. It's been so nice taking him out for walks in it and I think he enjoys facing forward.

Month 4 has been awesome! I love watching him learn and his little personality come out. I can't wait see him grow and learn even more. He's such a happy baby. Always smiling and squealing with joy. I feel so lucky that he's my baby.

Dear AJ,
Your Dad and I love you so much! We can't possibly imagine our lives with out you now. Our hearts have never been so full of love. You are the center of our life and we can't wait to see what month 5 has in store for us!