4 Month Wellness

William checked out great at his 4 month wellness visit today. His pediatrician was happy with his newest stats: 14 lbs 2 oz and 25 3/4" - not much of a growth change, but he's still above average. Long and lean continues.

The big topic today at the wellness visit was starting solids and it was recommended that we wait until around 5 months. I recently read that the AAP recommends that a baby wait until 6 months for solids because the baby's digestive system isn't ready for food until then. I know my parents started me on cereal when I was 4 months and I believe Matt was the same -- we turned out okay, I think! But William's doctor said wait until he's showing real signs of wanting solid food, such as leaning toward us as we eat or trying to grasp at our food. I have noticed William watching me as I eat, but no lunging just yet :) So as long as William seems satisfied and isn't really acting like he wants food then we will wait until he hits 5 months. His pediatrician also said it doesn't matter what we start him on -- cereal, vegetable, fruit, whatever -- just that we space out the type of food we go with in case William has a reaction and we can quickly deduce the problem food. Apparently there is no scientific backing for cereal being the right type of food to go with first or that veggies first is better than fruit... I honestly haven't really looked into any of it yet. I did buy the Beaba Babycook though and I'm looking forward to whipping up some tasty purees for Mr. William!

We also talked about napping -- not William's forte. Sleeping at night -- perfection! His pediatrician said the day naps should start showing up naturally in the coming month and by 6 months we should have a good nap schedule, but if not then we'll chat about it at his next wellness visit.

Spitting up was another question and we were told spitting up usually peaks at 4 months and begins to taper off. Hoping that tapers off sooner than later because he has more laundry than I do!

Then lastly, the blocked tear duct is still in his left eye. Another non-issue that we just need to wait out. So long as it isn't red then hopefully it will resolve itself also sooner than later.

We ended the visit with shots. Couple pricks, a quick cry and he was fine by the time we got to the car.

Looking good, William! Next wellness visit is at the end of July for his 6 month wellness visit. 1/2 a YEAR! Wow.

4 Months

William turned 4 months old yesterday and talk about changes!

The monthly picture is starting to get more difficult to take too... he's wiggling all around and grabbing Dog 2.0

He's pretty handsome though, so I forgive him :)

Little prepster! Popping the collar already??

Like I mentioned -- lots of big changes this month. This morning I woke up and found him calmly laying on his tummy in the push-up position looking around his crib. I called Matt to come into the room to check out his tummy push-up and then he rolled over from front to back. He's already rolled from back to front (which is apparently more difficult), so this was a first for us to see. Good job, William!

Other changes... 

• Already mentioned -- He's rolling! It started with back to front and a couple nights I've heard him crying from his room because he's rolled to his front and doesn't like it. I would flip him back over then he'd fall asleep. This morning is the first time he wasn't panicking being on his tummy. And he looked much stronger holding his head still and using his arms to push-up.  

• Plays off on the rolling -- he sleeps on his side now.

• Grasping everything -- from blocks to hanging mobiles to hair :) He wrestles with his farm animals on the activity mat and sometimes I think he's trying to catapult the animals since he's pulling down so hard on them!

• Talking a lot -- which he's already been doing, but the decibel has risen quite dramatically!
• Wants to check out everything and doesn't want to miss any action. When we're out and about he likes to sit on my lap facing out, so he can take in everything that is happening. If we're hanging out with our other baby friends, who are much older and mobile, he just wants to watch what these bigger babies can do. 
• He has found his thumb, which I already posted about -- but once again, a few days go by and things change again. I haven't seen him popping it in his mouth. The pacifier also doesn't seem to do the trick as often. He pushes it out with his tongue.
• Sitting in the Bumbo seat and supporting his noggin. 

• Giggles a lot! Completely cracks up when you do "Superman" (or rather "Superbaby") and he flies through the air or "Horsey" bouncing him on your knee accompanied with the horse race song.

Month 4 has been a lot of fun to watch him grow! I have no doubt Month 5 will be just as entertaining. You're doing a great job, William! Keep up the good work, little man. His 4 month pediatrician visit is on Tuesday, so keep an eye out for the post with his newest stats.

How cute is a baby in a diaper?

We also celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary a day before his 4 month birthday. It's been an amazing 3 years together!

The three of us on May 24 - our wedding anniversary

William & Maggie



Maggie and William - 5 days old

Many people ask, "How is Maggie with William?" Maggie is our Great Dane and she has always been the sweetest girl. She doesn't know her size, is very laid back, and wants to be with us at all times -- preferably in our laps. And so we knew when William arrived it probably wasn't going to be a problem for her.

We were right. As expected Maggie hasn't skipped a beat. When he came home she sniffed him and was more interested in me and Matt being home. The first few weeks at home with the new baby she was definitely wondering why we were no longer taking naps together. Now that William is bigger she notices him a little more. She'll walk up to William in his swing, take a look at him then come looking for me or Matt. She follows me around the house all day as I carry William from one room to the other and when we're in William's room getting ready for bed at night she lays at my feet waiting for him to fall asleep. She's been a great girl.

William is now noticing her, but doesn't understand her just yet. I'm waiting for the day when he wants to pet her -- or can even call her name! Maybe that will be his first word - Maggie!

Maggie likes William's big bear as a pillow

Surveying the land outside William's window

Rollin with my homies

Any blanket of William's is Maggie's blanket too

William likes his mini-Maggie

Maggie sees the stroller and knows it's w-a-l-k time



William looks up to Maggie - literally and figuratively



Baby toys and dog toys... oddly similar

 

I love routines!

I have been hesitant to even talk about it to be honest because "knock on wood" I was nervous as soon as I wrote about it then it would disappear... but I think enough time has gone by that I can say it... We have a pretty good routine going, folks!

William has been sleeping 10-12 hours since he was 10 weeks old -- he's now 16 weeks old, so I don't think it's going anywhere. Except for the rare exceptions, such as growth spurts or maybe not feeling well -- again "knock on wood' -- I never want him to get sick! It's been amazing and I remember the first month when I thought I. Will. Never. Sleep. Again.

William goes down between 7:45-8p and gets up around 7-8a. He slept till 9a a couple days ago -- eesh. May need to bump bedtime up a little more. So now he eats at (give or take 30 minutes depending on when he wakes up) at 7:30a, 10:30a, 1:30p, 4:30p, 7:30p. A routine!

I love our little routine and I'm back to getting my precious 8 hours of sleep again. Hallelujah! Thank you, William!

Ready to start the morning off right - one foot out of pjs already

Growth Spurt



Soon my feet will hang over the
edge of this carseat!

My friend Erin warned me of the 3 month growth spurt, but so far I wasn't noticing any difference in William's eating habits and his 4 month birthday is later this week. I remember his growth spurt at 2 days and 2 weeks. Wow those were tough. Up all night with these marathon nursing sessions because he wanted more food NOW.

Then this past weekend I am pretty sure it hit. Definitely not as dramatic as the 2 day and 2 week growth spurt that's for sure, but he wanted more food and I can't imagine where it all went because he's so tiny!

We had our usual nightly routine on Wednesday night... bath, feed him, put him down. After a few minutes he started screaming, which he never does. He's always out like a light. I was exhausted by this point -- Matt had been out of town for a few days, so it had been single mom mode and I thought Matt may like to bond with our boy :) So, I said maybe he just needs a little more food... well 6 oz. of food later he finally went to bed. 6 oz. -- on top of what I fed him! My guess being around 10 oz. of food total! Geez! Then a couple nights later at around 3 a.m. I hear him screaming bloody murder. This was definitely a hungry cry and so I made him a bottle (I haven't been feeding him in the middle of the night myself since he was 10 weeks old, so I had figured if he ever gets up in the middle of the night -- which he hasn't -- then I'll just give him formula supplement). He had 8 oz. of formula at 3 a.m in the morning! So the days of 3-4 oz. are gone and it looks like Mr. William is more satisfied with around 8 oz. of food now. Definitely his father's son :) He takes much longer to eat now too. It had been taking around 15 minutes total to eat and now we're back up to around 25 minutes long.

His 4 month appointment is early next week and I can't wait to see how he's grown with all this extra food intake!

Happy boy!

Thumb sucker

Uh oh... looks like our boy found his thumb... it looked pretty cute the first time, but I don't want this to become a habit. It all started last week when I walked into his room to say "Good morning!" There he was on his side just sucking away on his thumb half asleep! The rest of the week and weekend went by without another thumb sucking incident, but in the past few days he's back at it. He'll pop that thumb into his mouth when he's dozing off during the day. I've been quickly pulling it out to replace it with a pacifier. I figure it's easier to take a pacifier away than a thumb! He doesn't complain when I make the switch, thankfully. He'll suck away at the pacifier then falls asleep.

A Happy Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day

It was a very happy Mother's Day this past weekend - my first! We were in Boca Grande, FL for the Hannigan / Rhine wedding, which was absolutely beautiful and a ton of fun. It was nice to wrap up the wonderful weekend by celebrating Mother's Day there as well.

With the gorgeous bride -- now Mrs. Rhine!

Matt and I at the reception -- beautiful evening

Mother's Day started out with an early morning walk on the beach with coffee in hand. William dipped his toes in the Gulf for the first time and we watched the fishermen out in the water. We headed back to the Inn for a yummy brunch and William had the prettiest flowers delivered -- only 3 months old and he knows how much his mama loves her flowers :) what a good boy!

Mother's Day flowers from William

I sure am happy to be your mama, William!

 

Beach Boy

William's first trip to the beach was this past weekend. He dipped his toes in the Atlantic and took a nap on the beach. Looking forward to many more beach days to come!