4 months

Wes is now 4 months old. Today we had his 4 month appointment, and his stats are as follows:

Weight: 13lbs 6ozs - 19th percentile

Height: 24.9 inches - 49th percentile

Head Circumference: 16.1 inches - 18th percentile

Diapers: Size 1/2, or 2, depending on brand

Clothes: 3-6 months

Wes did well at his appointment, though he didn't enjoy getting his shots. The pediatrician was suprised at how much he liked the oral medication. At this age Carly had a horrible gag reflex, and could not take oral meds without throwing up. Wes sucks them right down.

Carly got the swine flu vaxine while we were at Wes' appointment, so they got to hang out on the exam table together. She was pretty concerned when they started making him cry with those mean needles. Afterwards, though, she wanted some shots too when she saw Wes' cool bandaids. We skipped the shots and just let her have a bandaid.

Wes is still primarily breastfed, though the same thing that happened with Carly is happening again: my supply is struggling. We have had to supplement with formula a few times a week, mostly on the days Daddy is home and has run completely through the freezer stash of pumped milk. But I am determined to keep breastfeeding as much as possible, unlike with Carly, where I gave up and went entirely to formula once I got frustrated and was using half formula anyway. I am really hoping to avoid all of the ear infections/diaper rash/illnesses that Carly had her first winter as soon as she was off my milk. I am hoping that any amount of breastmilk will be helpful. So we shall see.

Wes is so fun. I love this age. This is the age of the epitome of "baby." He is rolly and pudgy and jabbery and smiley and delightful. Every time I come into his line of sight, his face just lights up and with the wide mouth smile. And the squealing! I don't remember Carly being such a squealer. But Wes can hardly smile without high-pitched squeaks coming forth.

Wes' hair is getting long enough that we can start putting it in a little mo-hawk. SO fun. He also has been hanging out a bit in the bouncer. The bouncer was Carly's favorite. She could hang there for hours! But Wes is only luke-warm so far. He'll be interested for maybe 5 minutes before he is crying to be held again. I thought it was that he loves sitting. But even in his bumbo he is counting the minutes until someone picks him up. I think he is just a cuddler. He loves nothing more than to just sit in one of our laps. And that is where he often is, because otherwise he is probably fussing, which is NOT fun to listen to.

As previously blogged, Wes is now getting very mobile. He can roll both ways, but prefers to roll from his back to his tummy. Then he'll hang out on his tummy for a while before demanding that we pick him up. Wes also loves reaching and touching things. Mostly my face. He loves to grab my nose, my mouth, my eyes. So we have to keep his razor sharp claws nice and short.

Wes also thinks Carly is hilarious. Not sure why. She mostly just abuses him. She can't get enough of him and her number one priority in life at the moment is to prevent him from ever sleeping. If he is napping, she will hover over him announcing "I wake Wesley up!" She also likes to 'bonk' him with whatever she is holding. I think this starts with her desire to show him things and share them with him, but she gets so excited she starts hammering him with them. So half of my day is spent telling Carly to not hit her brother. All the while, Wes is just smiling at her. If she is in the room, his eyes are on her.

We have started getting Wes used to rice cereal. Carly wasn't much interested at this age, and Wes hasn't been very enthusiastic either. But some part of me thinks that the rice cereal has got to be better for him than the formula. So today is day5 of those efforts. So far it has been a lot of crying, spitting, and gagging.

Wes is a great sleeper. He has is very consistent, and goes to bed between 10-11 every night. He is then down until early morning, betwee 4-5, when he wakes and nurses for 20 minutes. Then he is back asleep until 9-10 am. I am pretty lucky. If only Carly'd sleep that late in the morning! We have been trying to get Wes moved into the crib in Carly's room, but that has been a horrible failure so far. Remember how Carly does not want him to sleep? Yeah, bad combination. So we start him there and usually before he has woken up on his own to nurse, she has crawled into his crib "to see my Wesley." So we are a little unsure of where to go from here, because they are both so dang noisy and wake each other up. Not to mention that we don't want Carly in his crib.

I just can't believe how big my little guy has gotten. And how cute he has gotten! I am really looking forward to all the milestones in the near future, like the army crawl and those first chompers.

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