Eli: month 4

Elias turned 4 months old on Friday! He had his 4-month appointment today, so I waited to write this so I could include his stats.

Hopefully we’ll keep saying this every month, but this has been the most fun month with Eli so far! It’s so crazy how quickly he’s learning new things and developing.

Eli loves talking and gives the cutest smiles. Sometimes he’s just heart-achingly sweet. I love getting to spend so much time with him.

Eating: Eli’s nursing really well and (obviously) gaining weight! I haven’t turned into a mom who loves breastfeeding, but I usually do enjoy feeding him and getting to spend that time with him. Sometimes he’ll lean back and look up at me and smile and talk, and I kind of feel bad that Derek doesn’t get to experience that in the same way. And then he’ll clamp down and I won’t feel so bad.

Eli usually eats 5 times a day, but there are some days when he’s just more hungry (or I’m trying to get him to go to sleep) and he’ll eat more. He’s still not taking a bottle very well. Bring on the sippy cup in a few months!

Sleeping: Elias is doing great sleeping at night! He probably averages about 10 hours a night, but it’s been somewhat inconsistent still. Sometimes it’ll be 8 hours, sometimes 12 (12 whole hours!!).

Napping is starting to be a different story. Although he still usually takes 2 or 3 naps a day, he has started resisting them. This month began the tired, emotional cry. I know when I start to see the pouty lip that we’ve moved past the point where getting Eli to nap is going to be easy.

Other developments: It seems like so much has happened in just a month! Elias will play with toys now, reach out and successfully grab things, pull himself to a seated position when you hold his hands, and he has rolled from belly to back a few times. He has also started sucking his thumb some, which I think is just so cute. We might feel differently about that when we’re trying to break him of the habit, but I think it’s sweet.

This has also been the month of spitting up all the time (although this is getting a little bit better), drooling, and diaper leaks. We went through a week or two when I felt like all I did was clean up poop. We tried different brands of diapers and changing him more often all the time, but it didn’t seem to help. Finally, we decided to go up a diaper size even though he’s still well within the weight range for the lower size, and that has worked so far. I just couldn’t handle any more poop!

Everything went well at his doctor appointment today. He got three shots, but handled them like a champ. He cried a little and then smiled at the nurse. His pediatrician gave us the go-ahead to start letting him try some other foods, but I think we might still wait a few weeks. I feel like eating real food will make him more grown up, and I’m not ready to let go of my baby! And I want to give him just a bit longer to be able to sit in the bumbo and hold his head up well.

And now the stats:

Height: 25 in (53%)
Weight: 15 lbs, 3.5 oz (57%)
Head circumference: 16 in (14%–either this isn’t correct, or there are some babies with some huge heads out there!)
Dislikes: sneezes or other loud noises, getting his diaper changed right after he wakes up, naps in the crib, tummy time, bottles
Likes: mama and daddy, giving smiles, looking at himself in the mirror, talking, his monkey and giraffe toys, being tickled, burp clothes, sucking his hands, snuggles
Clothes: size 3-6 months, 6 months; size 3 diapers