Four Months!

I would say that Hayes's fourth month has been hard.  I've been back at work, he's had two ear infections, a respiratory virus, and has stopped being a good little sleeper.  But, he is still our sweet boy and we think he is the cutest kid on the planet!

A little bit about Hayes:

He still enjoys school, and he isn't the youngest one in his class anymore.

He still eat every 3 hours during the day

His bedtime has moved up to between 6:30 and 7 pm, which means that he is now waking up twice to eat - once around 10 or 11 pm and once sometime between 1 and 3 am.  The doctors told us at his 4 month checkup and at his appointment for his second ear infection that he is big enough to sleep through the night without eating, but they also told us that he's dropped a bit on the growth charts.  So, I've been trying to figure out how to balance those two things!  I figure he really is hungry because he really does eat when I feed him.  I'm going to try to start weaning him from the early morning feeding soon.

He has gotten in a bad little habit of waking up one or two other times between his nighttime feedings.  This started when he was sick, and we are working on sleep training to get him out of the habit.  Sleep training is not easy!
He still takes pretty good naps - usually one hour and a half or two hour nap in the middle of the day with shorter naps in the morning and afternoon.  But lately, he's been skipping the long middle of the day nap sometimes.  I don't like when this happens because he is ready for bed earlier and doesn't sleep as well.  

We've started trying to wean him from his swaddler blanket.  He is getting strong enough to almost break out of the velcro, and I worry that he might do it and then we'd have a loose blanket in his crib.  Right now, I put him down with one arm out, and next week, we'll start leaving both arms out.  I do think he likes this better.

He still likes his bouncy seat, Bumbo seat, ocean playmat, and swing.  He loves to look at the elephants that dangle from his swing and bouncy seat; he concentrates so hard on them!  Same thing with the toys that hang from his ocean playmat.

He has started liking his toys more - he likes rattles, books, and balls.
He still likes to lay on our bed and on the floor and look at ceiling fans.  He also kicks his head back in whatever direction the TV is.  He loves to watch TV, and we have to work really hard to keep him turned away from it.
He has noticed his feet.  He hasn't grabbed them yet or gotten them up to his mouth, but I can tell that he's thinking about it.

He loves to chew on his fingers.  He also loves his paci, but he can't get it into his mouth on his own yet.  So, if left to his own devices, he will go for the fingers!

He does not enjoy tummy time.  He can hold his head at a 90 degree angle, but he gets mad pretty quickly.  He gets so mad that he doesn't even try to turn over.  I think he is strong enough to do it though.

He can roll from his back to his side.  He hasn't figured out yet how to get on over to his tummy.
He had very good head control. 

He has started experimenting with his vocal volume.  He loves to yell.  We say that he is going to be a loudmouth like his Aunt Jen!
He has laughed out loud a few times. 

He appears to have a propensity for ear infections.  By four months, he had had two already!

He weighs 12 pounds 13 ounces and is 24 inches long.  He's right around the 15th percentile for height and weight.  At his appointment for his second ear infection two weeks before his four month well child visit, he weighed only 12 pounds 6 ounces, which is the 10th percentile.  This was down from the 25th percentile at his first ear infection appointment.  The doctor pointed this out and asked how my milk supply was holding up.  Even though he also said that the drop in weight gain could be due to his not feeling good, it made me feel like a bad mama!  But, at his 4 month checkup, the doctor said that he was growing really well and we didn't need to worry about anything! 
He is wearing size 3-6 month clothes and size 1-2 diapers. 

He is getting more and more fun everyday!  We can't wait to see what the next month brings!