4 months baby!

Where did time go?! Didn't my baby just look like this?

Now he is a chubby-beyond-reason 4 month old who completely owns my heart

...weird. I tried to find similar pictures, and it is almost eerie to see how much he has grown up and changed! And talk about hair loss! haha...poor guy! Hey, at least he still has his little tuft of hair on top (which of course you can't see very well in pictures). It really makes him look like a child from who-ville! Haha...these are the kind of things we will very much enjoy telling his dates when he gets older...muhahaha...

Stats at 4 months

Weight: 18 lbs 6 oz (above the 95th percentile)

Height: 26 in (90th percentile)

Head circumference: 17.3 in (90th percentile) 

He is still a very big boy! It's neat to watch him grow consistently along a line above the 95th percentile in weight and 90th percentile in head circumference and length! And I am so glad he is still proportionate!  

In fact here is his weight chart from the pediatrician...see the top line? That is the 95th percentile...he has his own "Liam Line" above the 95th percentile! He sure likes to eat! ;)

We went to his 4 month check-up and everything still looks great! But the poor guy has a little bit of eczema that we are battling right now. It runs in my family (I have had it since I can remember as well as most my siblings so I am not surprised) and unfortunately it is something you can only manage and won't ever completely go away. It's not really bad and something I can totally keep under control, but I feel bad because I know how annoying it is. Sorry kiddo! That is another bummer about living in Idaho. The dryness does make it much more annoying. So the doctor told us how to make that better and what to do. The doctor also explained that those with eczema actually have an abnormally strong immune system and because of that, the body reacts to a simple pollen as it would normally to a threatening bacteria. So that is nice that he has a really strong immune system! I would rather him have eczema and a strong immune system than no eczema and a weak immune system! Of course he hated his shots, and it totally broke my heart. But just like his 2 month appointment, he cried for about a minute after his shots as I cuddled and loved him and was completely fine after that. I just have to remind myself it's a little pain to keep him safe! :)

It was no time before he was back to his happy self! I LOVE this picture! He smiles like this all day.

So this month has been interesting in regards to his sleep. He started teething which made for a very cranky boy for a couple days. They haven't broken through but now you can see little white things on his gums. I think it's just a matter of time. And right after that he was impossible to swaddle! Which I knew would be hard because he used to love being swaddled and would sleep so well with it! One night he spent all night breaking out of being swaddled and we spent almost the whole night trying to re-swaddle him in every way we could think of. We knew that was it! So after that, we had to say good-bye and...wow. He has been swaddled his whole life and so he was not used to sleeping with his arms free. His hands would wake him up a lot during the night at first and it made for some crazy nights. But we are making some good progress with it and I think we are getting close to our normal nights. Hopefully sooner rather than later! His naps are getting almost normal and actually better. So hopefully once he gets used to being swaddle free, his night time sleep will also get better. I am really excited about helping him learn to sleep unassisted so that he doesn't rely on things like swaddling to fall asleep but rather learn to self sooth. The nice thing is that since we stopped swaddling he rarely ever cries when falling asleep. It's nice he can soothe himself to sleep. Now he just needs to learn to control his arms better or just get used to them and we will be good! :) I know this will make things in the future so much easier and sooner is better than later in weening him off swaddling, so that helps all the hard nights be totally worth it. Plus, I know this will be over soon so that's nice.

One of our favorite things is getting him up after he sleeps! He is always SO happy! It's adorable.

(this was before we stopped swaddling him which explains the blanket. I unwrapped him to pick him up and had to take some pictures)

...I thought this picture looked funny!

"Hey mom, just going for a little stroll"

He has also started grabbing everything and putting everything in his mouth. He LOVES these little toys and is constantly waving them everywhere, putting them into his mouth and playing with him. It's funny to watch him play with and enjoy toys! It makes him seem so much older! 

...this also includes grabbing our faces...and it hurts.

The new monthly development is that he can ROLL OVER! Like as of yesterday. :) I have been focusing on helping him learn how to roll over for a while, and he would just get very unhappy. Finally, we realized the reason he was getting frustrated was because he had no traction so we would put our hands against his feet so he could push off them. That helped a lot and today he was able to do it (several times!) without our help! I don't have a picture or video of it yet, but I will put it up when I get one! Heck, it just barely happened! :)

Look at those cute little feet! He totally crossed them as he was watching the cars drive by! Hey, he also doesn't hate tummy time as much as he used to! Victory...

And now that it is FINALLY getting nice, we like to go outside at least once a day so that he can explore. He loves it, but you would never guess. This is the face he has the entire time we are outside:

It's so funny! He loves to observe everything and is baffled by all the sounds. It's neat to watch him learn and observe new things. He looks miserable and mad, but he actually loves being outside. This is his observing face!

p.s. I love the moby wrap. It took me awhile to get used to it, but I love it because carrying him doesn't hurt my back which is really nice. We have a normal carrier, but it hurts my back after a couple minutes.

I have to say, I HAVE THE CUTEST BABY EVER!!!!! And I love how much more social, interacting and friendly he is! Each month I think that he can't get more happy, but each month he gets more and more happy and social! I seriously spend all day kissing his huge cheeks and munching on them. 

He looks like such a big boy here! He is getting so old!

Look at that little perfect face!

"Why are you so close to my face mom??"

At 4 months Liam can...

Do everything from the previous months and new this month...

--Roll over from tummy to back

--Sits momentarily by himself or with little support

--Squeal, babble and talks...all the time!

--Hold his head completely steady

--Bear more weight on his legs and bounce

--Grab, grasp and bat at toys

--Recognize our voices (even on the phone)

--Laugh A LOT more and at almost everything

--"Talks" to us when we are talking or singing to him

--Play with his hands

--Enjoy tummy time more and spend more time doing it without getting mad

ETC.

(I would include everything else he can do, but I have already posted about it in previous updates. If you are curious they are: here, here and here. I wanted to save myself time by only including the things that are new or improved this month. Same goes with what he likes and dislikes).

At 4 months Liam likes...

--When I munch on his cheeks

--If I say something in a high voice

--When we tickle him

--When I sing to him

--Playing with his bear friend or his play rings

--Observing things, especially when we are outside

--Watching cars drive by

--When we pick him up after naps or sleeping

--Sitting on my knees when I am sitting with my legs up and laughing at me as I make weird noises

--The camera

--Giving us "kisses"

--Playing with Daddy (he gets so sad when he leaves)

--Looking in the mirror. He always smiles so big!
--Grabbing my hair and nose when eating (I think a short haircut is in my future...)

--Sleeping on his side

...and so much more! Jeeze this kid is happy pretty much all the time!

At 4 months Liam dislikes...

--Having his nose cleaned...and boy I hate it too.

--Being alone (he sure is a social little thing)

--The wind

--Tummy time when he is hungry

I love my little family so much!