Baby at Four Months

Lucas is rocking his sleep and is so happy and cheerful! We've also discovered he is ticklish under his chin and at his rib cage...love to hear those baby laughs!

Here's what we have had going on lately...






Baby Update!

Lucas is moving around a lot now. He has rolled over a few times and is wiggling to get places. It's not uncommon for me to find him upside down in his crib from the way I put him down! He's very inquisitive, taking quite the interest in things going on around him. He is also loving the animal decals on the wall next to his changing table and the musical piano in his crib. 

He got his first mosquito bite (not really a first to commemorate!) while we were out on an evening walk recently. Luckily, he didn't seem bothered by it.

Until recently, I was still swaddling Lucas with his arms out. Since he has started rolling, although he has yet to do it at nap time or overnight in his crib, I've stopped swaddling entirely. He looks so lonely to me in the crib without a blanket, but I remind myself he's a baby and is fine. It's safest for baby to be in the crib with only a tight-fitting crib sheet. My toddler still sleeps without anything in his crib, I may introduce a pillow and blanket to him this coming winter. I will use Fleece Sleep Sacs for Lucas in the winter. I like the vest style and have several left over from when Henry was a baby.

Check out Lucas's current schedule. He goes to sleep on his own in his crib around 90% of the time. Sometimes so many days will pass without him crying at nap or bedtime, that I'm surprised when it does happen! Just a few days ago, he couldn't settle for bedtime and I finally fed him to sleep which I hadn't done in weeks and weeks. 

Tip - Sleep Regression can happen at four months. Baby is moving more and becoming so much more aware of surroundings, making distractions common. This can mean taking longer to fall asleep for naps, taking shorter naps, and/or waking at night. Keep consistency in your nap time and bedtime routines! But also go with the flow, shorter naps may mean needing to add in another nap or moving up bedtime.

I also had my first bottling fail in quite a while. Lucas completely refused to take a bottle of pumped milk last weekend. 

I try to not focus on little setbacks when they happen, because they will happen, I just hope the next day goes better. 

Lucas is only breastfeeding six times a day and that seems to be plenty! At his four month check-up, he weighed almost 17 pounds (75-90%) and was 24 inches (10-25%). Bad lighting in this pic...

He is drooling a lot, but no teeth yet! I'm looking forward to all the fun things coming...sitting, eating, crawling... Trying to stay in the moment though!

Mom Update!

I'm doing pretty well. Lately I've been reading the Becoming Minimalist Blog which has some tips on very moderate minimalism and also minimalism with children. Reading it has reminded me that my husband and I never finished the "Minimalism" documentary on Netflix. I've also recently added "What the Health" to our queue to watch.

I've realized that in order to meet my goal of exercising 4 times per week (spinning bike + yoga + weights), I need to work out Monday through Thursday nights. Friday is always my night off to hang with my husband and the weekends tend to fly by. This way if I do get an extra workout in on the weekend I just consider it a bonus! I haven't gotten into a book since giving birth in March, so I've been watching "iZombie" on Netflix which definitely makes my biking go by in a flash.

I invested in a few new nursing tops from Old Navy. I typically just wear clip down nursing tanks, but I wanted a few options that provide a little more chest coverage. This Ruffle Tier Tank and the Wrap Front Top are both super soft and drape well while providing easy access for breastfeeding. 

I also chopped off my hair. It had been in a ponytail nearly every day for two years and I decided I was ready to just have it short again. My hair is superfine and when it was long it looked limp and made the skinniest, most pathetic looking braid. Short, it looks much thicker and fuller. My husband is in mourning...just kidding...well maybe a little :-) 

Toddler Update!

Henry also had his check-up this past week. I combined his 2-year old with Lucas's 4-month old. He was 25 pounds (10-25%) and 32.5 inches (5-10%). I'm pretty sure my boys are destined to be short. 

Temper tantrums...what can I say...they come and go. Henry is fairly reasonable like 95% of the time and I'm very grateful for that! He still will not say the word "yes" but he has started saying "okay." So okay means yes and that works for me! I found this post Five Parenting Lessons I Learned as a Teacher really helpful and shared it with my husband and nanny. Hopefully we will be able to apply these ideas consistently!

Henry has been getting into more things lately. We have to remember that he can reach up on tables and counter tops now. Here he is making a play for his shark shoes...


He is also outgrowing his Play Yard to some degree. I know toddlers who refuse to go in play yards (we've always called it a "yard" not a "pen," not sure why as Henry doesn't know the difference). We started using the play yard at around one year. From the beginning, we would go in and play with him sometimes. I think that really helped him acclimate to it. I find it most useful for when I'm cooking or doing dishes. Those chores go so much faster when Henry is safely playing out of my way.

He is loving the Step2 Sandbox he got for his birthday. He was a little hesitant at first but then dove right it. It's a good size box for him and fits easily on our small patio. We use bungee cords to secure the lid and the box stays quite dry and clean. These Construction Vehicles were a good addition!





He also still loves his iPad, although less than he used to. He typically gets it from the time I start making dinner until his dad comes home from work, around 30 minutes. Sometimes after 10 minutes, he will just put it down and go play with a different toy. His favorite game currently is Monkey Preschool Lunchbox which I don't think is really preschool level...it's recommended for ages 2-5, but Henry can already do all the puzzles pretty easily. 



I noticed Henry really likes the matching game on the app so I bought the Eric Carle Matching Game because I knew he would like the animal images. It's a nice set, the cardboard pieces are sturdy and thick. However, Henry has had a little more trouble with the idea since the cards don't automatically flip back (like on the iPad) so he likes to peek to find the matching one LOL.

If you have a moment, please comment and also recommend a book! I really would like to start reading something new!