Daniel at 4 Months

This month he is 15.75lbs (56%), has a head circumference of 16.38" (47%) and is 26.75" long (97%). The pediatrician said that he is as long as most of the 6 month olds she sees. No wonder hes comfortably wearing 9 month clothing and size 3 diapers! At some point his growth has got to slow down as his parents are not very tall, but for the moment at least, he continuing to shoot up more and more every month!


Teething is in full swing and he drools and sucks his fist constantly. Everything goes into his mouth. He is starting to get a bit more hand dexterity, at least enough to be able to grab onto his o-ball and his bracelet teether for a limited time. As soon as his little fingers close around an object, straight into the mouth it goes (as is typical with babies)! He is also able to grab some of the dangling toys in his activity mat and that toy in particular seems to be a favorite of his. Many happy, contented hours are spent grabbing toys, talking to and rolling around that mat! His other favored spot is his bouncy chair. He really gets rocking quite fast - fast enough that his butt touches the ground sometimes! He loves to just watch the kids play while rocking up a storm. You can tell how excited he is when the rocks are at their strongest. Sometimes hes so excited, he is rocking and squealing at the same time. Its pretty cute! That part reminds me quite a bit of Will when he was a baby. We didn't have a rocker then, but Will would kick his little legs so fast and squeal with excitement!

We've had a rough time of sleep lately. Hes been going through a growth spurt (one that never ends apparently), the 4 month sleep regression, and two colds, pretty much constantly for the past month. Some nights are so bad, that hes up every hour, like when he was a newborn. Then we will also have one or two random nights here or there, where he will only get up 1-2 times a night (though every other hour is still the most common wake pattern).






His daytime sleep has settled into a definite pattern though. He likes to nap (he actually gets really excited and happy when I take him up to his room to nap - its pretty cute) and does it often, he just never sleeps as long as Will or Nora did at this age. He basically takes 4, 20-30 minute naps (I like the short naps actually because it means we are not trapped in the house while he naps. So far we've been able to still get out and do activities most week day mornings. I think that might be a limited thing though as his naps are bound to consolidate and lengthen eventually.) The first one starts an hour after he wakes up, generally from 9:30-10, then hes up for an hour or two, then hes back down around 1-1:30, then up again until 2:30 or 3, and sleeps from 3-3:30 or so, and then up again, and then the final nap happens around 4:30 or 5 and then hes down for the night at the same time as the other kids - 8pm. Thats nice because then at least I have one time of the evening when all the kids are down together, and I know I will get at least 3 hours to myself before I go to bed at 11 (I really should go to bed earlier, but I NEED that down time for my own mental health).


In the last two weeks, nights have been a tad better. I've been giving him a dream feed before I go to bed, and then he will wake for the first time between 3 and 5, and then up again once or twice between 6-8am (sometimes he wants to get up for the day at 4am though, and I have to put him into his swing at this point, as I need a few more hours myself), then I get him out of the swing and up for the day at around 8-8:30am. The past month or so hes been doing this 5 day cycle where he sleeps great for 5 days (up only 1-2 times a night) and my boobs finally adjust to making less milk. Then the next 5 days he has a growth spurt, and is up every other hour (so up about 4- 5 times a night) and of course I have no milk which exacerbates the waking. Then after that my boobs start making more milk, and he starts sleeping again and I have to wake up to pump because I am engorged. I can't win!

He is still the smiliest and most vocal baby ever. He will tell you these long stories all while looking at you right in the eyes. He smiles at everyone too, even strangers - which utterly delights most people. He and Will still have a special connection and are just enamored with each other! He is also the most ticklish baby ever too. Has been since he was born in fact. I have never had such a ticklish baby. He will
smile and wriggle like hes being tickled, if you pick him up in certain ways (hands on his ribs/sides), use a diaper stick around the bottom of his trunk, or if you kiss his neck. And of course if you actually try to tickle him he wriggles and giggles. I never liked being tickled as a kid though so I don't tickle him purposefully very often and its always very short if I do. Finally, another cute thing he likes to do, is hold my fingers while he nurses. Nora used to love to do that to, and it just melts my heart!

His hair is starting to fall out like Will's did, and hes got bad male pattern baldness happening. Hes got this funny mow hawk/tuft at the top of his head, and then a ring around his neck and by his ears. The rest is bald with blond fuzz growing in. The one sad thing about that is that he used to have the softest head in the world. It was like petting a baby rabbit. Now this new hair thats coming in is a tad coarser and just isnt as soft to the touch unfortunately. Daniel is still the calmest, sweetest little guy. Hes just happy and totally content most of the time and aside from being a really crappy sleeper (in terms of length, he does go down to sleep quite easily thank goodness), hes just such a nice little squishy, good smelling (milky and sweet - I LOVE that smell) guy to have around!