Another month has passed us by Noah Nicholas. You are now a whopping 4 months old, no longer a tidgey baby but growing into a big boy. Every month I say how fast it has flown by and how much you have learnt and developed and I will say it again, because you have. I love you to bits.
Character
You are still such a character and are getting cheekier by the day! You are so silly and giddy yet serious and almost brooding. You are hilarious. My days are filled with constant gummy grins as everything I say to you gets a big smile in return. I will never grow old of those smiles. You are still a major Mummies boy and we love our days together but you are also besotted with your Daddy too.
Size
You haven't been weighed this month but you must be around the 15lb mark. You now wear 3-6m in everything and they fit you perfectly. Everyone comments on how big you are but to me and to the health visitors you are bang on what size you "should" be. In the last week or two I think you have really bulked up though so the next time you are measured and weighed I wouldn't be surprised if you have gone up a percentile or two. You aren't very chubby yet though, you have a long torso, legs and arms just like Mummy and Daddy.
Health
We've been fortunate again this month when it comes to your health. A few niggles here with constipation but nothing to write home about. Your last lot of injections weren't very pleasant though and you were out of sorts for a good week after them. We need to book you in for your next ones this week and I am dreading it. You would think it would get easier taking you but it doesn't, it gets harder.
Feeding
I now make up 7oz bottles for you at every feed as you drink between 5oz or 7oz throughout the day. You aren't very consistent with how much you want at each feed so it is better for us just to make up the 7oz. You feed every 3 hours during the day. In the last week or two your love for your milk seems to have dwindled. You still have what you should but you don't seem to enjoy it as much. It's hard to explain but a Mummy knows. You have also begun paying a lot of attention to us when we eat, so much so that you will stop drinking your bottle to watch us eat. Last week when I was eating a pear you was watching me so closely that I showed you the pear. You then took it from my hand, pushed it onto your mouth and began gnawing and sucking on it. You absolutely loved it and actually complained when I took it off you. After a lot of deliberation after watching you on many occasions I decided to give you a little baby porridge here and there. You are only having a spoonful or two a day and you are still having plenty of milk so I don't see the harm in a little baby porridge. I know the recommended weaning age is now 6 months but not every baby is the same. If my baby is wanting to try food I am not going to not give him any because of what the guidelines say. This is my choice as a Mother. I shall be writing a post about this soon and will be blogging all about our journey.
Sleep
You are such a good sleeper, at the moment! Last month you wouldn't settle until 11pm but this month you have brought it back even more and settle for 9pm or 10pm at the latest which is fab for my little night owl. You are still sleeping through and sleep on average 14 hours a night without waking for a feed. You do begin to fidget in bed around 6am once Daddy has got up for work but I bring you into bed with me. I know this is a bad habit but I enjoy being close to you. We recently moved you into your cot beside our bed. We had no issue whatsoever switching you from moses basket to cot. First night in the cot and you was out like a light, you are fabulous.
Napping has gotten better this month too. Some days you still prefer to stay awake most of the day but some days you have frequent cat naps. It's such an improvement to how you were. Your favourite place to nap is in your pram and you have almost mastered self soothing. I didn't do any of the let your baby cry malarkey it is something that you have learnt yourself, with a little help from your dodo and comforter. I'm a firm believer that give your baby time and encouragement and they will master these things themselves, when they are ready.
Milestones
- You have mastered the head control! Finally! No more nodding baby. You are very strong posture wise. I sit you on my lap and you do try to hold yourself up with very little help from me.
- Giggles! We've had a few giggles but you still aren't giving them freely. Your first distinctive laugh was when I tickled your armpit when undressing you. I almost burst into tears! If I try to make you laugh by tickling you it doesn't work. You only find it ticklish when we aren't trying to tickle you. It's almost like you can only laugh by mistake at the moment, if that makes sense? When we say or so something funny you open your mouth into the biggest grin ever and make sounds that resemble a laugh like "HA AH" like you are trying to. I am sure in a week or two you will be there!
- Sleeping through. You still sleep through. It's a milestone I have to mention again because I know we are so lucky for you to be sleeping through already.
- Playing with toys. You now don't only bash toys but can grab them, wave them about and bring them to your mouth. You love sitting in your pram or on my knee with a few toys on your lap. You especially love toys that crinkle. Your favourite toys have got to be your Logan the Lion, Feel me Fish and Sophie la Giraffee.
- Recognition. You now know when your bottle is coming. As soon as we put the bib on you begin getting excited. Once you see the bottle the excitement amps up and you make the cutest mouth movements in anticipation. You also know the sound of the front door, when it opens you stop what you are doing and look for who is going to come through the door. You are such a clever little boy.
- Touch. You have an adorable habit of grabbing out hands, pulling them to you and then you stroking our skin. It is a comforter to you and a comforter to us as parents. So endearing.
- You can take your dummy out of your mouth and sometimes put it back in. You also grab hold of the bottle and shove it into your mouth. You can't feed yourself yet but we have switched to big bottles now so I think they are a little heavy for you.
- Pulling. You now pull my hair at every chance you can get. I am contemplating cutting it all off.
- Pram. You are no longer in your carrycot on the pram but in your big boy seat. You love your pram even more because of this and we love going on walks together with it.
- Cot. You are no longer in your moses basket but in your cot beside me. You love the extra room and are content laying it in while awake.
- Showers. You took your first ever shower last week. How? I hear you ask? We sit you in your bath seat which resembles a bouncer in the bath. I turn on the shower and make sure it is the correct temperature. I then gently wash you while you sit there. It's a lot quicker and you really enjoy it.
Things you like
- Dummy. You love your dummy but we use it a lot less during the daytime now. Daytime is chat and play time. Dummy is for naps, screaming do's and just before bedtime.
- TV. Still a TV addict. No matter what we do or show you your eyes always make their way back to the TV.
- Walks. When the weather is nice we go out for walks around the park. It's getting milder now so having a lot more days out. You would always be asleep by the time we got to the park but we have had two occasions where you have been awake and we've taken you out the pram to have a look around. You love being out and about.
- Pram. You love your pram even more this month now we have put in the seat. You are parent facing for the moment but do love to stare at me so are happy with it for the time being. You love sitting in your pram playing with toys, you love to nap in it and go out for walks. A huge fan of the pram.
- Changing mat. I don't know why I haven't mentioned this before but one of your favourite places to be is led on your changing mat. You can be having a major hissy fit and we only need to lay you on it and you are all smiles. I don't understand it but we are big fans of it too for this reason.
- Kisses. Kisses on your cheeks and neck create the worlds biggest smiles and almost laughs.
- Blankets. You are a major blanket lover. For warmth, comfort and even toys. It's a good job you love them so much because I have a dozen of them.
- Nappy changes. You love having your nappy changed but it's hard to change you now as you wriggle about like mad when I am trying to get a clean nappy on you. You would prefer to be nappy free I think!
- Sophie la Giraffe has joined the Noah Favourites list this month. You aren't chewing on her just yet but when you are crying all I need to do is give her a little squeak and you babble and smile away at her.
- Showers. You love having quick showers in the mornings.
- The car. Still a huge fan of Daddy's car.
Things you don't like
- Sitting in the backseat alone. This sounds strange but sometimes I will sit in the front passenger seat of the car if we are going on short trips but recently I have noticed that you don't approve. When I do you will whinge until we stop the car and I sit beside you. Bless you.
- Waiting for your milk. If you spots the bottle before it's anywhere near your mouth you will not be happy! I tend to hide it until we are ready to avoid the upset.
- Jumperoo. We recently bought you your Jumperoo and you aren't sold on it just yet. You will entertain the idea for a few minutes but want to get out of it as soon as possible. Same with your Mama's and Papa's snug seat, you aren't a fan just yet.
- Sneezes. I can't remember the last time I was able to sneeze freely. If I forget and sneeze you begin to cry hysterically. You hate sneezes, they really scare you. I always hold my nose if I feel a sneeze coming on. The things you do for your children!
You are one incredible little man Noah Nicholas and I am insanely proud of you. Love you so much baby boy.
