Brooks Matthew: 4 months

Don't you just love the drool!

Happy 4 Months Brooksy Boy! 

I skipped a 3 month update. I think every 2 months is going to have to be it for right now. Blogging isn't very high on the priority list these days. Plus, there is SO much change between 2 and 4 months that there's more to blog about!

Brooks is growing like crazy. Everyone constantly comments on how big he is. I see it in the cheeks, but really, he's not as big as he appears. He is just now wearing 3 and 3-6 month clothes. He has such a laid back, sweet personality these days. Unless he's hungry or tired, he rarely cries, which makes things a lot easier on this momma. His little smile is absolutely adorable. Sometimes he even seems a little shy..he'll give you a big smile and then look down or away in a bashful way. So precious.

Size:

At his 4 month appointment yesterday, he weighed 15lbs 12oz (75th percentile) and was 25 inches long (50th percentile). His head was still in the 50th percentile as well. So he weighs a little more than the average 4 monther, but he's not gargantuan haha. And his head is average :)

Sleeping:

Much better than the 2 month update. I think I had high expectations of my 2 month old. These days he: 

-goes to bed between 8 and 9 most nights. He randomly has some fussy nights where he doesn't settle down until after 9. 

-Around 3 months he started sleeping until 5:30am. It was awesome. And only lasted about 3 weeks. He started waking up about 2:30 again and then sleeps until 6am. So I guess only waking up once isn't too bad. But I sure miss those nights of solid sleep. 

-After his 6am feeding, he will usually sleep until 9am unless I make him wake up. He goes down for naps about 2 hours after waking up throughout the day. 

In the last post, I commented about how he wasn't doing well going to sleep on his own in his crib. That completely turned around once I was ready for it to. It took a couple of nights, but not long after 2 months, he started doing great laying in his bed at nap and bedtime and drifting off on his own. He plays with his hands or blanket for a little bit and sometimes talks to himself, and is usually out within 10 minutes or so. Obviously, like all babies, he'll cry somedays and I'll have to just let him work it out and eventually he'll settle down and go to sleep.

Teeth:

He's still working on the same tooth that we thought was breaking through 2 months ago. Its more visible right under the surface now and we have lots of drooling going on. 

Sleepy boys all piled in our bed one morning

Milestones:

-Smiling, laughing, and "talking" a lot

-Raises feet up to play with them

-Rolls from back to side but hasn't made it all the way over yet

-Grasps toys with hands, puts things in mouth

Likes

-He is coming around to the paci, somewhat. He likes to chew on it and it will settle him down for a short while if he's fussy or tired. But he doesn't require it to go to sleep.

-He LOVES to pull his blanket up around his face and neck when he's going to sleep. Just about every time he goes down, I have to go in a few minutes later to pull the blanket off his face because he's covered it. (Don't worry, I use lightweight cotton blankets) He likes to chew on it and rub it. Today I introduced a taggy that was given to Brody that he or Carson never really took to. Brooks LOVED it and is currently sleeping with it right up next to his face. How awesome would it be if I can convince him to use this instead of dragging blankets around the way my big boys do :)

-Loves being talked to and having people around. He's content laying down with a toy as long as he's not completely alone in the room for long periods of time. He's definitely a people person. 

Dislikes

-He still despises the car seat. If he's in the seat, and he's not asleep, its not a happy car trip for us. So although its not great for the nap schedule, I try to plan my errands around his morning nap. If he's tired, he'll fall asleep in the car seat and if I can get my errands done, and keep him asleep, it goes well. However, if he's not tired, then he is unhappy pretty much the whole time he's in the seat. We bought new car seat toys as well as put a toy on the seat in the car for him to kick at and see himself, but he's not all that interested. 

-At the moment, I can't even think of anything else. I'm sure in the next couple of months he'll start being more opinionated. 

I did a horrible job of taking good pictures this last month. He's not even in very many Christmas pictures because he slept through most of the events. I'll have to do better this month!