Happy 4 Months!

A few days late, but as always, wanted to get the "official" measurements at the doctor. Happy 4 months little man! You're 1/3 of the way to a year! What?!? I better start planning that birthday party (and I'm only half way joking here. I may already have some theme ideas.) I would sum up month three by quoting Dickens, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." :) This month has been so hard because of sleep training and feeling like I live in a permanent fog of tiredness. But it also has been SO much fun watching him become more interactive, alert, and funny!

Measuring
On Sunday, at our small group for the Peoria church plant, Owen was next to his 2 new buddies, Abe and Jacob who were all born in the same month. He's by far the biggest one of them all! Today at his 4 month appointment, he was 17lb 1.5 oz (84th percentile) and 25 3/4 in (78th percentile). His head is 41.4 cm which is still only in the 26th percentile. We're still in size 2 diapers, but this week we'll probably be moving up to size 3's!

Milestones

• He is able to sit upright when he's propped up with the Boppy or a few blankets. He's able to do it for longer and longer times without slumping forward.
• He's making TONS of noises! Some of his consonant sounds are /m//l/ and /b/. He has an adorable shriek and his laugh is so precious! He loves his little activity mat and screeches at the animals (especially if I'm not close to him):
  
• When we read books before naps and bedtime, he's starting to reach out and hold the book with his left hand. Ahh, makes the teacher in me so proud.
• At small group the other night, I was holding him and eating snacks off a plate. For the first time, he reached out about 5 times and grabbed onto the plate. Guess he's starting to realize that there might be something good on there.
• He blows little bubbles all the time and his hands are always in his mouth, especially that index finger that he liked when he was first born.
• He rolls easily from side to side while on his back. I often find him facing the complete opposite way in his crib after a nap. And he's starting to try and kick his leg to roll over when on his stomach. Maybe in the next few weeks, we'll have a real roll over?
  

Poop
My son got my digestive track, meaning he doesn't poop very often. In his 3rd month of life, I think he pooped maybe 4 or 5 times, total. The doc was not at all concerned and neither was Owen. Although this week, he's pooped twice already, so maybe month 5 will bring about some more regularity.

Sleep
I went back to look at my 3 goals of sleep training to see how we were doing:

1. Owen will be able to lay down for a nap or bedtime without the 20-30 minutes of rocking/walking that we've been doing.
This is the one thing that is going super well!! No more walking around the room trying to figure out how to get him to calm down. We swaddle, read a couple stories, sing Jesus Loves Me, and lay him down. It usually take about 15 minutes, but he goes to sleep with NO crying!
2. Owen will extend his naps from one sleep cycle (45 minutes) to 2 sleep cycles (1 1/2 hours).
This is really hit or miss. He rarely (almost never) can stay asleep for longer than 35-45 minutes on his own, but it's getting easier for me to get him to go back to sleep after a short nap. I usually try this once of twice a day. Otherwise, I just let him get up after the short nap.
3. Owen will sleep for a 4-5 hour chunk at night and then be able to go back to sleep. Also, Owen will only need 2-3 feeds at night, instead of the 6 he wants right now.
Absolutely no change here. He's still up 6-8 times a night. Now don't worry, I don't feed him every time. Nor do I rush in there the minute he makes a sound. But he'll still take a full feeding 2-3 of these times. Maybe I'm just doomed to not have a full night's sleep until he 1) starts solids or 2) is in high school? :) One (yes, just one) night he slept from 7:15-12:30 so I know it's possible. Just not the norm at all.

Feeding
My cousin, Julie, and I were talking about how for her next baby (due around Thanksgiving) she was going to make as much noise as she could when nursing. I laughed, because I feel the same way. When Owen eats, it now needs to be totally distraction free. No talking from me or William and either on "my" couch or in his room. I've been trying to talk a little each feeding because there's no way to always feed him in a quiet place. But he's still a 7 minute, one sided nurser. At least he's a consistent little guy.

Other things that have happened:

• He had his first (not Dad or Grammy) babysitter. While still family, my Aunt Toni watched him while I worked one day. She even drove him home (it's scary to let someone else drive your kid, even knowing she raised 3 of her own just fine).
• He's been going to 2 small groups with us and does a great job hanging with whoever wants to hold him.
• He got his DTaP vaccine and Polio vaccine today. We somehow didn't get the Rotovirus series started on time (oh darn) so we'll be taking that one off our schedule completely now.
  
• Sophie has finally realized that Owen is not going anywhere, so she's rejoined the family. She's back to cuddling up in our laps and now likes to sit very close to Owen. If he's crying in his room, she'll go and sit by his door until I go in there. And as this picture shows, Owen is starting to realize he has a furry friend that likes to move. He follows her with his eyes and has reached out a few times for her.

Here's a few more pictures of that cutie patootie:
It's getting easier to catch a few smiles:
On a road trip to Peoria:
My arm is yummy.what's this for mommy?
laughing more with Daddy: