Fox | 4 Months Update

Weight:
14 lbs, 11 oz (32%)

Height:

25 inches (40%)

Health:

He still has some eczema and cradle cap, which is not a big deal. We are so grateful for his health!

Nicknames:

Big Honey, Honeys, Baby Honey, Bubba, Baby Bird, Schaetzchen (german nickname), Bubbles, Mr. Fox, Foxy, Stinky Butts, Big Stinky

Eating:

We’re still breastfeeding and I’m loving it! He usually eats every 2-3 hours during the day and has been eating for longer periods than he has in the past. At night, it’s hit and miss. Some nights, he doesn’t wake up to eat at all and some nights he wakes up multiple times.

We reduced the amount of bottles we give him, because I really hate to pump, so we are just trying to use some of the frozen breast milk before it expires (its only good for three months) and those nights I will pump in order to store some more “emergency milk”.

I’ve been freaking out a lot about my milk supply, I always worry if I produce enough and if I should pump more often to build a stockpile. I don’t think I have a very good pump, because I only pump 3-4 oz each time, or maybe that’s just how much I produce? I stress a lot over it, but I’m so grateful that I have come so far and that I’m able to give our son what he needs.

Sleeping:

This month is the first month, where we established some sort of schedule for Fox. He wakes up between 6-6:30am and from there on out, we follow the “Babywise” schedule, which is eat, play, sleep. We try to not let him stay up any longer than 2 hours during the day, he usually starts yawning, rubbing his eyes and getting fussy after 1.5 hours, which is when we put him in his crib and try to have him fall asleep on his own. Sometimes he goes right to sleep, other times, it takes a while and he keeps fussing. We don’t let him “cry it out”, whenever he gets fussy, we go back in, give him his pacifier back, “shush” him, pat his tummy and leave again. We just started this a week ago, so hopefully it will pay off with consistency.

Sounds like a good plan, BUT this kid doesn’t like to nap! We call it a good nap when he sleeps for 45 minutes, most times he only naps for 30 min, but some days he surprises us with two hour naps (which only happens like twice a week).

I also think we hit the “4-months sleep regression” phase. One week this month, Fox decided that it would be fun to get up every two hours at night, which left me exhausted. We also had a few nights, where he slept 10-11 hours straight, so you never know! His bedtime is 7pm.

He has night terrors quite often, where he cries out in his sleep and oftentimes will not calm down, but you can tell that he is still deep asleep. Katie read that night terrors are a result of too little sleep, which makes total sense!

Diapers:

We’re using the last of our size 1 diapers right now and will transition him to size 2 once we run out of 1’s.

Clothing:

I was so sad when we had to put him in 6-month outfits! He is growing up way too fast and I can’t believe how big he is getting! Katie had a fun outing at Carter’s where she bought half of the store to make sure Mr. Fox is the cutest kid on the block! I’m telling you, this kid has more clothes than he can wear before he grows out of them!

Social:

Fox loves going to Music Class, Swim Class and having Play Dates with other babies.

He still thinks Katie is hilarious and will crack up for her all the time! His giggles are the cutest thing I’ve ever heard and Katie and I both race to his bed in the morning, because he gives us the biggest smile when he first wakes up and sees us. So sweet!

Sometimes he looks at me with this deep love in his eyes and it just melts my heart. He found his voice this month and practiced his language skills, he squeals and babbles away!

This month he also started to develop a bit of “stranger danger”. All of the sudden he cries and becomes hysterical whenever certain people hold him that he hasn’t seen in a while, i.e. grandparents. First, he shows us his “boo boo-lip”, which quickly turns into cries and sheer panic. So sad! I hope he gets over this phase soon!

Overall though, he is still such a happy baby and when he cries, you just know something is wrong!

Likes:

Looking at himself in the mirror, chewing on his fist, sitting in his carrier (we have the Ergo), when we sing to him, rocking chairs, standing, his pacifier, laying on his changing table to look at his mobile, his Aden and Anais blankets (he cuddles with them, tries to eat them, rubs them on his face – it’s the cutest thing!), swimming and music class, being outside, his big boy stroller, other babies, holding his feet, when we say “gaga, gaga, goo” to him (he smiles and laughs every single time), sleeping on his side, bubbles, his jumperoo, foot massages, Sophie (the giraffe)

Dislikes:

Naps, being in his car seat, loud noises, being held by anyone but us, tummy time, sleeping on his back

Mama:

This month has been awesome and challenging at the same time. I love spending every single day with my little love and I can’t imagine leaving him. I did go out once for about two hours to meet some friends, which was nice, but it was even nicer to come home to my family! I miss them when we’re not together!

Having more structure in our days has been great, I thrive on routine and schedules and I’m hoping it’ll get even more consistent going forward.

I’ll probably say this every month, but some days I just feel so overwhelmed by my love for him. The moment he goes to sleep at night, I miss him and Katie and I always joke that we should wake him up, so we can play some more! J

I only lost 1lb this month, which puts me 7lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight, which is not very surprising because I’ve been eating ice cream every single night, ha!

Nights have been rough on me. I don’t know if it’s the 4-month sleep regression or another Wonder Week Leap, but having to get up 5 times a night has left me drained! And it’s not like I can take a nap when he naps, because that’s when I have to work! I don’t need him sleeping through the night (although that would be nice), but if he could go back to only waking up once, that would be great!  

Mommy:

Katie keeps surprising me! She’s such a great mom to Fox and you can see how much they love each other. As I mentioned before, he thinks she is hilarious and no one can make him laugh like she does!

She keeps telling him that he needs to take his naps and drink his milk, so we can go to Disneyland…haha!

She’s been such a great support to me, helping me with whatever I need and being there for me and Fox day and night! We’re lucky to have her!    

Fun things we did:

More Swim lessons, playdates and music classses. We were able to take our first walk outside and are looking forward to the weather to cool down soon!

Milestones:

He stopped rolling over altogether, but he’s been practicing sitting up and is doing pretty well with a little support! He’s grabbing and holding his toys like a champ and we love hearing his little giggles! Katie also taught him how to hold his feet, which he loves to do!

What we’re looking forward to:

Cooler Weather, Pumpkin Patches and Halloween, and of course some more restful nights for everyone! We’ll also be going on our first mini vacation as a family of three in a couple of weeks. We’re visiting Katie’s grandparents at their beach house in Mexico and I can’t wait to show Fox the ocean!