4 Months Old

This past month has brought many exciting changes for Jacob. The best change of
all is that our fussy newborn has blossomed into a happy, sweet infant! Of
course, he can still be fussy and temperamental at times, but his fussing is
what I would consider "normal" baby crankiness rather than the unpredictable,
unconsolable fussing that we dealt with the first 3 months of his life. In fact,
the change happened so suddenly that I'm starting to think he was a colicky
baby. Luckily, the worst seems to be behind us, and we are able to have a lot
more fun and do much more with our sweet baby boy. He has been able to get out
and about with Mommy and Daddy much more. He's now been to the mall, Olive
Garden, and Babies R Us in addition to many other places. It is so nice to be
able to get out of the apartment with him without the constant anxiety of
whether or not he will start wailing.

In addition to being less fussy, Jacob is doing many new things. He now puts almost everything into his mouth. It all started with his fists and fingers, and lately he has started sucking on his thumb. He also likes putting his bibs and blankets in his mouth. Another thing Jacob has started doing is batting and grabbing things. Instead of just lying on his activity mat, he now hits and grabs the toys that dangle from it. He can also hold his rattle for several minutes and shake it himself! It is so fun to watch him playing with these things and interacting more. Jacob also loves smiling, "talking," squealing, and lately he has even started to laugh! The first day he did it was so fun, and it almost made me cry- the sound was so sweet and cute. Finally, Jacob is getting better at sitting up in his bumbo chair and is getting close to rolling over from his back to his stomach. All of these developments have been so fun to watch, and it is crazy how much he is developing in just these past few weeks.

Jacob has been doing well with eating but sleeping continues to be a challenge. I have started doing whatever it takes to get him to sleep- usually resorting to feeding him or putting him in his swing to get him to pass out. His naps are very unpredictable, and he often sleeps best when being held. Nights are also all over the place. Some nights he wakes up only once or twice, and other times he wakes up 3-4 times. These nights I end up putting him in the swing to sleep so that he won't wake up again. Although his sleeping has not improved, I have somehow managed to get a decent amount of sleep each night, and this past week really helped me catch up a bit. I have been on Spring Break, so it has helped not having an alarm wake me up and being able to sleep until Jacob finally gets up for the day. At the end of the month I plan to start sleep training with him to hopefully get him to sleep straight through the whole night and take good naps consistently. I know it will probably be a challenge at first, but I am eager to get to the point when his sleep is more predictable and we can all get some good rest.

Finally, I thought I would share some of the things that Jacob likes and dislikes, now that his little personality is starting to come through. Jacob seems to love taking baths, playing on his activity mat in the morning, playing with his blankets, listening to Mommy sing songs, playing with Daddy, looking at lights, practicing standing up (when we hold him, of course), hearing us clap our hands, and playing with his toys. Jacob does not like waiting for things (to be picked up, be fed, etc.), having his nose cleaned out, riding in the carseat in Daddy's car, tummy time flat on the floor (he prefers the boppy so he can see things easily), not being able to fit things in his mouth, and sitting in the carseat when we're out at restaurants. It is so fun to see his personality developing! I can't wait to see what this next month brings as he continues to grow and change!