Dear Waylon: 4 months

Waylon,

You turned 4 months old on November 8th. You had your 4 month appointment the same day & you weighed 14 pounds and 3 ounces which is the 50th percentile and were 26 inches long which is the 85th percentile. Dr. Simpson says you are doing exceptionally well and growing just as you should be. You have the bluest eyes. I love them and I think they may just stay blue.

Here's what's new with you this month.

You hold your head up with ease. When on your tummy, you can push up on your arms although you are not attempting to crawl yet. You prefer to be upright versus laying down. We've been making you spend more time on your tummy to strengthen your muscles and encourage rolling. You picked up quickly because anytime you are on your back you kick that leg out and attempt to roll. You've mastered getting yourself three quarters of the way over. You roll best form your back to your stomach.

talking to Daddy

You wear size 2 diapers. We still use Pampers but have considered giving Huggies a try because you have leaked through the Pampers several times. You can still wear some of your 0-3 months onesies but you've outgrown most of the pants. You wear 3-6 months clothes for the length. Most of the 6 months clothes are too big everywhere except in length.

We started you on rice cereal at about 2.5 months in your bedtime bottle to help with sleeping habits, but I have been so excited to start you on real food. The doc gave us the go ahead at your appointment so we'll report on your reaction next month. You are taking 6 ounces of formula every 3.5 hours for now. I had you stretched to a 4 hour period but while I was in Michigan Daddy had to do what was necessary to survive and he says that included shortening your feeding times to 3.5 hours.

You discovered your own grip. You can take your paci in and out of your mouth and you grip a rattle like a champ. You like the rattles pretty well but your favorite toy is still your red monkey that hangs on your carseat. You can be in the middle of a meltdown & red monkey will calm you in a split second.

Your sleeping habits have taken a dive since Mommy returned from Michigan. Daddy warned me you were waking up at least once a night while I was gone. I think you just missed me. I vowed to get you back on a routine and schedule when I returned. While we haven't yet achieved sleeping through the night as we had prior to me leaving, you're only waking once a night and don't require a bottle to get yourself back to sleep. I'm such a light sleeper that I hear when you whimper. I try to let you cry it out but usually wind up trying to soothe you back to sleep in order to get sleep myself. As for naps, all I can say is they aren't consistent. It's 30 minutes one day, 10 minutes the next, and an hour and a half the next. Frustrating. It definitely affects your nighttime sleep schedule. This is my source of frustration with being a working mom because I have no control over your daily schedule.

You have learned so much and are proud to show it off. You can grip a rattle and you can almost take your paci in & out of your mouth. You smile a ton and try to talk even more. I do believe you're going to be a talker and ask lots of questions. Good thing you've got plenty of ready ears to take all of those questions. Everything goes into your mouth, particularly your fingers. I haven't noticed you sucking your thumb lately so maybe just maybe we dodged that bad habit. I couldn't blame you if you did pick it up though because your mom was a thumb-sucker. Big. Time.

We celebrated your first Halloween.

And you were dedicated at church.

 Mommy's parents - Granna & Grandaddy

 Daddy's parents - Meme & Pop

 siblings

family of three

Unfortunately, we also lost my Mamaw this month but you were such a trooper and were so good, especially since you were passed and handled so much by so many different people. You were especially good for your Grandaddy. You brought him a lot of joy and comfort in a difficult time.

How could that smile not comfort a broken heart?

Outside is still your favorite place to be. If we're having a meltdown, one soluion is to take a stroll outside. Works every time. You have become fond of snuggle time with Mommy. I scoop you up and lay you close to me right before bed time & we usually both fall asleep...sometime around 8:30ish. That's what a long day of work or play will do to you :)

You get cuter all the time. You are starting to look more like a little boy and losing a little of that baby look. It's unbelieveable how fast you're growing and changing. I cannot remember what life was like without you baby boy. I love you, I love you, I love you!