4 Months Old

Holt was 4 months old yesterday. Hard to believe! We went to the doctor today to have his monthly check up and he is very healthy. Growing, growing, growing! He had his second round of DTAP-IPV-HIB, PCV, and Rotavirus vaccines. I thought he would pitch a fit like he did last time, but to my surprise, he didn't. He cried for just a few seconds and then he was fine. His stats are below. Holt still has quite the appetite but it seems to be better in the late evening than in the morning/daytime. Our doctor recommended trying rice cereal at his 6:30 P.M feeding, eliminate the 10:30 feeding, and see if he can go all night until 6:30ish A.M. She thinks a heavier meal at bedtime with a 12 hour stretch in between might help him eat better throughout the day. Plus, he is obviously gaining weight just fine so she thinks he is more than ready to go 12 hours at night. We are going to try it for a week and see if it helps.

 

Height: 24.75 inches (50%)

Weight: 16 lbs (75%)

Head Circumference: 17 inches (90%)

 

Holt is rolling over from his tummy to his back but doesn't do it every time we do tummy time. This morning he rolled over twice from his back to his stomach. I raced into the nursery to roll him back over to his back. It had me worried since a big deal is made about babies sleeping on their backs, but our doctor assured me that it is fine for Holt to sleep on his tummy if he is rolling over to it himself. However, she said to always place him on this back a bedtime and let him make moves on his own.

 

He isn't napping as well as he once was and he will still only nap in his swing at home. He is napping some in his crib at school but naps best in the swing. I figure over time, he will slowly transition to his crib. He takes a morning nap from about 9-11 each day but the afternoons aren't as predictable anymore. He use to nap from about 1-3 but now there really isn't a pattern and his afternoon nap is never as long as his morning nap. However, he seems happy so I am not going to worry about it.

 

He is also teething. No teeth yet but he drooling and gnawing on his hands all the time.This might be the explanation for why he hasn't been eating and napping well during the day but it is hard to tell because he acts like he feels great. I am expecting he will have a tooth soon.  

 

Holt is still "talking" and smiling all the time. He is such a flirt. Can't imagine where he gets that from! He really only cries when he is very sleepy and even that has settled down now that he is older and we are reading him better. I really think we lucked out with a happy/easy baby.

 

Wednesday, I head back to work. I am honestly ready to go back and get back into the swings of things but I am worried to be so far away from Holt on a daily basis. On a good day, I will be an hour away...most days I will be 1.5 hours away. However, Holt is doing well at school and I know he is in good hands. Chad and my mom are close by so I know someone can get to Holt quickly if need be. We are just going to take it day by day and see how things go. My first priority is Chad and Holt, so if we need to make a change, we will. I just pray that the transition back to work is smooth and that I enjoy my job as much as I did before I went out on maternity leave.

 

We are in love with Holt more than words can express and are so thankful for this sweet blessing!