Ezra: 4 Months

*I wrote a majority of this entry on the 22nd, but didn't get the pictures loaded in time to get it posted on the same day.*

My "little" guy is four months old already! And yes, I must use the term "little" lightly. We just got back from his 4 month check up, and this baby is one big boy! The doctor even momentarily forgot that he was 4 months old and not 6 months when she was getting ready to examine him. :) He is practically off the charts. Both his height and weight are 90-95th percentiles! And his head measures in the 75th. Here are his latest stats:

Weight: 16 lbs, 13oz (up 2 lb, 12.5 oz since his last appt)
Height: 27 in - he grew 3 inches in two months!
Head: 17 in

Ezra has excellent muscle strength when pulled to a sitting position and is doing a great job holding his head up. His doctor said she never would have guessed he doesn't get a lot of tummy time (I can't keep him on his belly for long due to his propensity for barfing). The only giveaway was his slightly flat back of the head. He was an absolute angel during the entire visit and was quite the little flirt.

 He is still a pretty good sleeper by most standards (I still have to remind myself that we were ultra spoiled with Caiden). His bedtime has gotten earlier - he goes down between 8 and 10pm (the fluctuation depends on when he started his day and how long his naps were). He generally has 2 long naps (2-3 hours) and one short nap in the late afternoon/early evening.  Every once in awhile he throws me for a loop and takes a short nap in the morning. He still has night wakings for feedings and some nights are better than others. Most of the time he wakes up only once (last night was great - bedtime at 9:30 and he slept straight thru until 5am, nursed and slept for another 3 hours), but the hard nights are when he is up 2 or 3 times. His doctor suggested that we move up his bedtime to between 6 and 8pm. Her prediction is that this will help eliminate the multiple night wakings. That is also pretty much in line with the recommendation from the Healthy Sleep Habits book. So we just need to figure out how we are going to manage this shift. I so wish I wrote down how we did this for Caiden!

Highlights for this month include:

• My absolute favorite thing is still his smile! He is just the cutest little grinner! He loves to smile at us and at Caiden, and it is so easy to bring a smile out of him. It is a rare day when he is in a grumpy mood. 
• He is also so content to just watch what is going on around him. He has no problem spending time hanging out in his swing or papasan or on the floor just watching what is going on.
• We got him a Bumbo seat so that he can see a little bit more of the world around him. However, his trunk muscles aren't quite strong enough yet, so he still spits up quite a bit while in his seat. I just love how he looks sitting up in there. Most of the time he is chewing on his hands while he observes all the hustle and bustle going on.
  
  
  
  
  
• He had another string of rolling over 2 nights ago, but once again hasn't done it since. Oh well, he'll get the hang of it soon enough!
• He is becoming quite the little inchworm! Put him down on his playmat or the quilt and with in 15 min, he is 180 degrees from where he started!
• He still loves to chew on his fingers. And my fingers. And daddy's fingers. It is the cutest thing! Some nights I hear him start to grunt and strain in his sleep. Turns out he is often just working a hand up out of his wrap to slurp on. I am dying to get a picture of him sucking on his fingers in his sleep, but I need to figure out how to do it without waking him up!
• He is talking a lot more now. No real distinct sounds yet, but he sure does love to exercise his vocal cords! Most of his conversation is punctuated by grins and other cute facial expressions. He's also been working on blowing raspberries.
• He is very ticklish. I can tickle his feet, thighs, back, arms, armpits, elbows and the back of his neck. Most of the time this elicits squeals of laughter. So much fun!!
• He loves getting kisses all over his face. And those cheeks are just perfect for loving on!
• He isn't the biggest fan of his car seat. I don't think it is uncomfortable for him, but he gets pretty bored if the seat isn't moving. At the rate he is growing, it won't be long before he graduates to the big boy car seat anyway.
• He is already very comfortable in 6 month size clothes. It's funny how pants seem to fit him differently than they did for Caiden. He definitely has a chubbier tummy and legs.
• He still gets all his milk from Momma! In a couple more months we'll start branching out into solids.
• He is actively reaching for toys, mom or dad's fingers and other things. It is fun to watch him stare up at the toys on his activity mat and grab for them and pull them down to his mouth.

I know there has got to be more that I wanted to capture here, but I just can't think of anymore right now. I have got to start making notes as the month progresses.

Anywho, I can't believe Ezra's first Christmas is just a couple days away! I am excited to celebrate with him and Caiden even though Ezra probably won't understand half of what is going on. :P

Photo logs for Ezra and Caiden.