four months old.

i know i say this every month (possibly even daily), but oh my gosh time is FLYING by.  you are definitely not the teeny tiny baby you once were - every single day you are becoming more interested in the world around you, and you're gaining more and more independence.  it's a sad and happy thing, of course. i am absolutely enthralled with everything you do, but at the same time i miss the newborn stage already.  i'm trying to just spend as much time soaking up every inch of your baby sweetness as i can.

even though i think you're growing up too fast (kk likes to remind me that i'm almost 30 if i think the first four months of your life have been quick - ha!), this current stage is the most fun yet.  you are laughing more, but you don't give your chuckles out for free and we never know what's going to tickle your fancy.  yesterday in yoga i got a few and every time i think i could just about pass out from the sweetness.  you are incredibly grabby and you love to reach for things and give them a taste.  fingers are your favorites, although you're content with some of your toys, too.  you scoot around on the floor or in your bed by digging your heels into the ground and launching yourself.  you squeak and coo and gurgle all the time and you love to have us paying attention to you.  you're still a very good sleeper and enjoy your naps - sleeping in whatever position in whatever location you happen to be in.  you have found your toes and feet and i could watch you grab them and roll back and forth holding on to them all day long.  you still have an exceptionally sweet disposition and hardly cry at all, except the past week as you've been fighting your bed time.  we have begun a little sleep training which is (like most things) harder on me than it is on you.  i don't like letting you cry anything out for more than a minute or two, but i'm told a little bit of crying it out (when all your needs are met) is for the best, ultimately.  bath time is your favorite and you're becoming more aware of books when i read to you.  you reach for the pictures and try to help me turn pages (or maybe you're trying to grab them so you can eat them....).  you love songs and rhyming words and the dogs and being outdoors.  and we love everything about you.

i brought you to the pediatrician for your four month check up this morning.  your stats:

weight: 13 lbs 9 oz
height: 24.5 inches
head: 42 cm

you're in about the 50th percentile for height and weight and the 75th for head circumference.  the doctor said it's normal and totally fine to be down a little in weight/height but that it's really good to stay consistent for head size, so i was happy to see you maintaining there.  she also said you're grabbing very well and tracking perfectly with your eyes and all in all you look awesome.  she suggested that we eliminate your pacifier cold turkey since we're already working on the sleep training.  i'm going to have to think about that - i am ready to be done with the beanie, but it is really nice to have a go-to object to help you calm down if you need help.  she also said we should probably stop swaddling you since you kick out of it and it's unnecessary.  finally, she suggested we start you on rice cereal.  i'm having an internal debate because i've read so many conflicting opinions about it.  i really really didn't want to start you on solids until 6 months, but she says you need iron and you can get it from a multi-vitamin or from the rice cereal.  she also thinks the rice cereal may be a little heavier on your tummy, which may help the spitting up situation (have i mentioned you still spit up like a champ?  you do!).  on the other hand, i don't think rice cereal has much of any nutritional value and starting solids too early has been shown to increase the risk of food allergies.  then there's the whole debate about iron absorption and whether offering inorganic iron hinders a baby's future ability to absorb iron.  it's all just so much to consider, really.  i will probably read some more about it and i guess come to some sort of conclusion soon.

you were a champion today with your shots - just a little wail and then you calmed right down.  you're sleeping more than usual today, but i think that's to be expected and i haven't even had to give you any acetomenaphin yet!

it's hard to think that last year at this time we hadn't even had our first ultrasound yet and now here you are enriching our lives daily.  i plan to post some four month pictures as soon as we take them....