Theo at 4 Months Old

I can’t even believe that Theo is 4 months old already! Time flies by a lot faster once a baby is here, instead of growing inside. It was a year ago that we found out I was pregnant, and here we are with our sweet boy that just makes life perfect. I can’t even put into words how much I LOVE motherhood, and I think that Mason would say the same about fatherhood. We are so lucky to have the best baby ever. I think he’s the perfect combination of Mason and me, not only in looks but already in his little personality. We’ve been so busy with our schedules and enjoying Theo that we’re (believe it or not) way behind on posting pictures and videos to Facebook and YouTube, so I’ll try to post some new ones in this post.

I’d have to say, that babies are changing constantly, but I’ve noticed the most changes in personality between months 3-4. Theo is doing soooo much and it’s just awesome to see what his little brain and body is capable of.

That Little Body: We don’t go to the doctor until Feb. 6^th for our official 4 month weigh-in and shots, but we took Theo in a week and a half ago (he had a cold- boo) and he was weighing 14lbs 10 oz. and I’d say he’s about 26inches long. Little dude needs to shop at the baby Big & Tall because all of his pants are turning into high-waters. He’s pretty much out of all newborn clothes, except he has two newborn onesies that are Chico brand and they still fit. He’s mostly into 3 month or 3-6 month clothes. His eyes are still piercing blue and he’s got a great head of light brown hair. No teeth yet, but he’s drooling more frequently so they are on their way. He’s also a great conversationalist these days.

He’s holding his head pretty steady now and is very strong and can hold his weight if you hold him in the standing position (although these are two things he’s been able to do for awhile now). When he’s on his tummy he can lift his head 90 degrees and follow an object up and down, and side to side. He’ll also support and lift his chest off the ground while on his tummy. A few weeks ago he discovered his little man parts South of the Border and his hand was instantly gravitating there anytime he was getting changed- which wouldn’t have been a huge issue except it seemed like it was always when he had a poopy diaper. Luckily (with some teaching from Dad) he’s moved further south and is grabbing at his ankles and toes. He thinks it is so funny to pull his legs up and grab on to his toes. He has rolled over from his front to back but only sometimes. I honestly think he has figured out how to make his body stop from rolling over because he’ll start and then grab onto the blanket he’s laying on to steady himself. Again, on his back, he’s found that he can roll onto his side and then fling his legs about to rotate 360 degrees, so rolling over isn’t a huge interest to him yet. Which works for me, since when I wake him up in the morning he’ll be facing a different way than when I lay him down, but he’s not face-planted into the mattress.

Yummy in the Tummy: Theo eats a diet solely consisting of breast milk- YAY for both of us. I give Theo props because he hasn’t really had any reflux problems or any digestion issues…although he does let me know when he doesn’t like what I’ve been eating (too much chocolate mainly). He rarely spits up and usually if he does it’s because we are forgetting to burp him because he’s chugging down his bottles. He eats about 4-6 ounces when he wakes up and before sleep, but other than that he has about 4 ounces every 3 hours. He likes to put his hands on his head while he eats, and put his hands on the bottle. If you take the bottle away when he’s not done, he’ll reach for the bottle and move his head forward as if to say, “hello, I am NOT done.”

Props to me, because I’ve stuck with pumping since day one and continued once I went back to work. It’s been a bit challenging and frustrating, but we had to buy a second deep freezer because I’ve already got almost 3000 ounces stored up for when I decide that I want to stop pumping. We aren’t sure if we are going to rice cereal or go straight to “solids.” We let Theo sniff our food and he totally seems interested, so we might start pureeing some veggies and seeing how he likes them, but I don’t want him to chunk up too quickly. He’d probably eat a steak if we let him.

Hush Little Baby: Theo continues to sleep 8-10 hours most nights. He has had a few occasions where he’s wanted to wake up in the middle of the night for feedings, but his middle of the night play sessions seem to be over. He usually goes to bed between 10-11pm which works for us, and Mason wakes him between 7-8am to go to school. Just this past week we’ve switched him from swaddles to sleep sacks. Another product we thought was silly-until he fought and refused the swaddle one night because now he likes to move in his sleep and have access to his arms. His startle response is mostly gone now, so we’ve let him stick with the sacks since he is still managing to sleep through the night.

Tricks: I already mentioned his attempts at rolling over, and moving 360 in his bed. He also likes to stick out his tongue and get a response from his viewer. It’s pretty funny. He’s also really smart about figuring out his toys. We have a little green mat which has a hanging toy bar above him. Two of the toys make noise, one of which is a ball that must be spun to make the noise. After 1 day of showing him how to hit it and make the noise, he figured it out. That then became too easy and he had to figure out how to do it with his toes. He can also take out his pacifier and get it back into his mouth. He’s also figured out the art of wiggling his body. He’ll be sitting in his recliner chair and if he isn’t strapped in, he’ll wiggle to the bottom where he likes to let his feet dangle. I’m sure I’m forgetting something.

Favorite Pastimes: Theo likes taking walks and he can sit-up for the most part in the stroller now. He stays awake more on walks and plays with one of his favorite toys, Fred the Firefly. Mason laughed when he saw how I had configured the stroller with so many toys. He also loves taking a bath. We just removed the insert this month, and he likes sitting up in the tub. He can kick a little and hold a toy now while getting a bath. He’s even gotten to float around if Mason takes a bath with him. He also goes to Day Care (aka School) now and he’s quite the charmer. They asked me last week if he ever cries loudly…they said, he’s just such a good baby, and I can’t agree more.

So much is going on, and I’m sure there will be just as much to report in the upcoming months. It’s all going sooo fast- but we are enjoying every moment of our time with Theodore.