Project Make a Baby: The One with the Four Month Update

Liam Michael you are

FOUR MONTHS OLD!

**This post was saved until you were four months and one day so we could get your stats from the doctor, but we took your pictures on your four month birthday**

What a month it has been! You and Mommy celebrated her final weeks at home for maternity leave/summer vacation - Mommy officially went back to work on Tuesday. She is trying her best to be strong and brave, but this is, by far, the toughest thing she has ever done. Leaving your sweet smiling face every day is very tough, but you are in excellent hands with Nana.

What are your stats and what does the doctor say?
We went to see Dr. G. today and you weighed in at a whopping 17 pounds, 10 ounces. You are 25 1/4 inches long. He is very happy with all you are doing and said you seem like a very happy and relaxed baby. You a still our blond-haired, blue-eyed baby.

What are you eating?
You are an eating machine kiddo! You spent most of the last month eating four 7-ounce bottles a day, but we decided to bump you up to four 8-ounce bottles a day of Similac Advance formula about 2 weeks ago. You have one every 4 hours or so. You still have one 1- or 2-ounce bottle after your bath before you go to sleep.

When do you sleep and eat?
You are still a great sleeper at night. You are doing between 10 and 11 hours a night, and even surprised us with an 11 and a half hour night last weekend! Things are little more complicated in the mornings now that Mommy is back at work, but you are up sometime between 6:00 and 6:30. Mommy gives you your first bottle of the day in your room while you stretch and wake up. You either hang in your bouncy chair or go to sit with Nana while Mommy and Daddy eat breakfast, pack lunches, and get ready for work. Mommy tries to leave between 7:15 and 7:30 (usually with lots of tears...from her, not you!). Sometime between 8:30 and 9:00 you sleep for about 30 minutes in your bouncy chair. You are still getting the hiccups right before you fall asleep. When you wake up, Nana says you read stories, play on your mat, or sing some songs. You eat again around 10:00 and then you and Nana do some more playing. You usually take a longer nap between 12 and 2, but it's often broken up into smaller increments. We are working on a nap routine, but you are really afraid you are going to miss something and don't like to take long naps! You have another bottle around 2:15 and hang out with Nana until Mommy gets home from school. When Mommy gets home, you help her make the lunches for the next day and tell her all about your day with your coos and gurgles. You usually take another short nap around 4:30 and then Mommy or Nana takes you for a walk when you get a little cranky. You have your last bottle around 6:00 and we start getting ready for bed by 6:45. You are usually asleep by 7:30.

What do your routines look like?
Mommy was supposed to start a nap routine with you before she went back to school, but it just didn't seem to happen. So Nana is going to work on that with you. You love your baths at night and like to kick and splash in there. You get your massage with special lotion after your bath and you are still getting swaddled like a burrito every night. You have a 1- or 2-ounce bottle and we read a story together. Mommy rocks you and sings you a song before you go to sleep in the Rock 'n Play.

What size clothes and diapers are you wearing?
All of your 3 month clothes are all packed away. You are wearing all 3-6 month and 6 month clothes, you big boy! You are wearing size 2 diapers.

What are some things you love?
You love just about everything little boy! You are just one of the happiest babies we have ever seen. You love to grab at objects and put them in your mouth, especially your Sophie the giraffe teether. You really like to hang out in your stroller and like when we take you on walks. You love to lay on Mommy and Daddy's bed and kick your legs. In fact, you love to kick your legs no matter where you are! You have so much fun smiling and talking and really seem to listen when someone talks to you. You like to pull yourself up with someone's help and you definitely prefer to be sitting with help as opposed to laying down. You like rides in the car and usually fall asleep. You are super happy on your changing table. You also seem quite amused when Max licks you.

What are some things you don't love?
You really do not get fussy often, but you definitely let us know when you are tired and need some quiet time. Tummy time is still a struggle for you, but mean Mommy makes you do it anyway! You lift your head like a big boy, but haven't figured out how to use your arms to push yourself up yet. Your little personality is already displaying itself and you get mighty frustrated when you are trying to make your hands bring something to your mouth and it doesn't work the way you planned.

What can you do?
You are still full of smiles almost all the time and your laugh is almost there. Right now it's more of an opened mouth catching of your breath, but we know the giggles are coming soon! You pull your head up all the time now and are not content to be just lying flat. You grab things that are in front of or above you. You have found your thumb (only on your left hand) and like to put it in your mouth for short amounts of time. You have also found your left foot and like to grab it. You track things moving around the room and turn toward voices and noises. You are sitting up with support and love to look around. You raise your eyebrows and it is just the cutest thing to see. You also learned a new trick on the day you were baptized. You put your tongue over your top lip and suck on your lip. Mommy has tried to recreate this herself, but you appear to have the upper hand on this one because it cannot be replicated! You also do this fake cough that cracks us all up.

Here's the lip suck...no idea how you manage to do this!

The eyebrows are so blond, but the expressions are priceless!

Where have you gone?
This month was quiet for trips. We finished up our Mommies' Group and went to visit Mommy's school a few times. We tried to take a day trip to Newport but there was big thunderstorm that day and we had to come home.

Who has visited and watched you?
Nana is your full time babysitter now that Mommy is back at work. She is having so much fun with you!

What was Mommy's Mother of the Year moment this month?
On Mommy's first day back to work, she was so excited to come home to see you. You were sitting in your bouncy chair on the kitchen island while Nana cooked something for dinner. When Mommy went to take you out of your seat, she bumped your head on the light above the island. You looked like you were going to cry for a second, but then started grinning at Mommy. I felt awfully bad for hitting your head, but you didn't seemed too bothered by it!

What are some of your nicknames?
Pumpkin, Cookie, Peanut, Bug, Punkin Pie, L. Some of your aunts and uncles also call you Cinco because of your birthday on Cinco de Mayo.

What are we looking forward to in the next month?
This month, we are going to celebrate your friend Sophia's first birthday with a trip to Connecticut. Daddy's birthday is also this month and we will definitely do something special to celebrate. We also have a cookout with our friends from the summer Mommies' Group. Most of all, we will just be soaking up as much time as possible with you now that Mommy is back to teaching and Daddy is working quite a bit of overtime.

Pictures from our photo shoot when Mommy got home from school yesterday...