We're a little behind in our monthly update, but 4 months has come and gone and Nolan continues to do so many new, exciting things and grows so much everyday! His personality has really developed in the last month and he's quite the happy, giggly character! He is almost always smiling and is very easy to crack a smile, even with strangers. We know lots of tricks and goofy things to make him giggle and even get belly laughs from him, and it is possibly the best sound I have ever heard! I love his little giggle and knowing that whatever crazy thing I am doing is making him smile is the best feeling in the world.
Nolan is healthy and happy; his 4-month well check went well and Dr. Reddy said everything looks great with our guy! His head is still quite flat, mostly on the right side, so we are waiting it out for one more month to see if more tummy time will round it out a little more. If it's still a concern in a month, we'll get referred to a specialist and see what they have to say. We need to get him on his tummy a lot more and thus far, we're doing so successfully... for Nolan's terms. He will spend up to ten-fifteen minutes on his belly with his head completely lifted, but we have to keep him totally distracted otherwise he will whine to flip over. We're working on rolling, both belly to back and vice versa. He can do belly to back by himself sometimes when he really wants off his tummy, as long as he isn't too upset. Once he gets too frustrated, he gives up, face plants and cries (so sad). I think if he really concentrated enough he could do it, because we barely nudge him for help and he can do it alone.... He's just lazy (or should I say, smart! He knows we will help him). Nolan has definitely started teething, with drool everywhere and everything he can get his hands on goes into his mouth. He never seems to be in too much pain (yet) with it, so we'll just continue to shovel toys, cool freezer teethers, fingers and mommy's shirts in his mouth to keep him happy!
Here is what else our big 4-month old is up to:
Height, Weight, and Sizes:
Nolan has gained even more weight this month, although he is slowing down a bit in chunking up (all completely normal). At his 4 month well check (at 17 weeks, 6 days), he weighed in at 15 pounds, 5 ounces (54th percentile), is 25 inches long (50th percentile), and still has a GIANT head measuring 16 3/4 inches in circumference (81st percentile). I'm so happy that he has chunked up in his percentiles, since he started out from birth having a hard time gaining weight, going from the 30th percentile when he was one month to the 50th percentile now! He fits mostly in 6 month clothing (chunk!) and is continually moving up in sizes. One week a pair of pajamas will fit and the next week, they won't! Most of his onesies are 6 months, while pants, shorts and PJs are 6-9 months. He can finally fit into the two-piece snug fit cotton PJs, and when he wears these, I wonder where my baby has gone! He looks like such a big boy in them. He is currently blowing out of his diapers almost every morning, which means we get to switch to the next size up: size 3!
Feeding:
Nolan continues to feed on a 3.5 hour schedule, with the hopes of switching to a 4 hour schedule in the next few weeks (no rush, if it doesn't work). He is following the same schedule as what we started last month: starting his morning at 6:30AM, with feedings following at 10AM, 1:30PM, 5PM, 7:30PM-8:00PM and a dream feed (top off) at 10:30PM, drinking about 5-6 ounces every time. This schedule is working out well, but he has not been finishing his bottles through a complete feed (he will drink 3 ounces, take a break for 15-20 minutes, and then finish the rest) which tells me he is ready to try stretching his feedings a little bit longer. On that note, we will also be starting on solids in the next few weeks now that we've had our 4 month well check and got the go-ahead from Dr. Reddy! Nolan has been watching us, wide eyed and super curious, while we eat the last couple weeks. He has started grabbing for our drinks and food while we hold him or he's sitting at the table with us, so I think he will be ready for it when we start! We will start with rice cereal for a few weeks and if he is ready, move on from there. Big changes are coming for the little man... hopefully he will like them all!
Sleeping:
We've pretty much maintained our 3.5 hour E.A.S.Y. schedule and Nolan seems to enjoy taking 2 hour naps both in the later morning and afternoon. He has improved with his "fussy hour" in the evening, and we've switched it up a little differently from last month to help him out. His last nap is from 3PM-5PM, with a feeding at 5PM and then some activity time while I get dinner together. He will join us at the dinner table in his high chair while we eat (which he loves to chat and watch us), and usually we start our bath and bedtime routine around 7:00PM. He gets a bath first, PJs on, then a bottle around 7:30PM-8:00PM, we read some books and off to sleep he goes! He's really tired by this point, so once we switch to our 4-hour schedule, he will be going down a littler earlier which I think he will like.
He is still sleeping through the night with no sleep regression so far (fingers crossed we don't experience that at all)! He takes all of his naps in his crib, and we move him when we dream feed him at 10:30PM into our room to the Pack N' Play. This is mommy being a worry wart and wanting my baby to stay close! I really need to work on getting him to sleep in his room all the time... this is something I need to work on and improve for me rather than for Nolan!
A new thing Nolan has learned to do this month is move around in his crib/Pack N' Play! He can scoot 180 degrees, so most times I put him down in one direction and he wakes up in the complete opposite direction! He sleeps mostly on his side now that he can roll onto it. Initially, he would roll to his side and couldn't stay, would get frustrated and cry out for us to turn him again. Now he is pretty solid when he sleeps and can manage to stay completely on his side the whole time or scoot around to different positions until he's comfortable. He is really good at taking his pacifier out of his mouth and just okay at putting it back in. Sometimes we still need to run in and put it back in for him if he's really fussing during nap time. At night, he never cries out for it, so I'll cross my fingers he sticks with that routine! Because he was moving around so much in his crib, I decided to rid of his blankets to swaddle and try out some new ones (the swaddle blankets with no sleeves that zip up, like a pouch) and he really likes those! We stocked up when some muslin Aden & Anais blankets at Babie's R Us and some Halo Sleep Sacks at JCPenney went on sale, so we should be good with those for a while... or until he outgrows them!
Firsts & Milestones:
-Sitting up unassisted
-Celebrated his first Easter!
-Teething (full on hands in mouth, chomping on everything or anything he can)
-Open mouth kisses (cutest thing ever!)
-Recognizing his name, turning towards you when you say it
-Grabbing his feet and eating his toes
-Moving/Scooting in his crib and Pack N' Play
-Clutching on while being held
-Developed his "angry" cry
-Celebrated first Mother's Day with Mommy
-Grabs faces and pulls you in close
-Grabbing hair with a crazy grip (and doesn't let go!)
-Takes pacifier out of mouth and sometimes can put back in
-Rolling from both back to belly and vice versa with the help of Mom and Dad
Likes:
-Singing "Nolan's Song" (made this song up... "There was a Nolan who had a puppy and Harley was his name-o.. to the tune of BINGO)
-Sophie the Giraffe (new favorite, we take her everywhere)
-Watching Mommy and Daddy eat, trying to snatch some food for himself
-Taking selfies with Mom on the iPhone
-Playing with and eating his feet (still a favorite)
-Laughing because Mommy is laughing
-Snuggling his puppy lovey to go to sleep
-Orange Oball... watching Mom and Dad throw it in the air always makes him giggle
-"Talking" in his crib or Pack N' Play when he first wakes up
-Putting anything in his mouth!
Dislikes:
-Tipping over from sitting up... we're working on our balance still!
-Getting better at tummy time... but still dislikes being on his tummy
-Sneezes (when Mom and Dad sneeze, it's inevitable that he will cry)
-Being off schedule (disaster melt down status!)
-Any kind of peek-a-boo game... He just blank stares at us like we are crazy!
-Losing pacifier in the crib
-Having the hiccups (he gets frustrated)
-Loud noises (sneezes, the dog barking sometimes, screams, too loud restaurants)
We're so excited to being trying a whole bunch of new things in the next month.. new food, new activities, and maybe even a first road trip! Here's to the start of summer and until next time!
