Four Months

We have a growing baby!

Weight: 15lb 10oz
Height: 24.5"
Head: 17"

Eating:
Isaiah was stretching himself so long between bottles that I ended up lowering the ounces and feeding him more frequently, mostly in part to try to help with the spit up issues we have. It didn't help, but we're still trying. Isaiah was cleared by his doctor to start rice cereal before he hits 6 months. I haven't decided if we're going to do cereal or skip right to purees, so I'll get back to you on that.

Sleeping:
Isaiah sleeps in his own room now. He's still in the RNP though so he can be inclined. It was rough the first few nights because I felt so lonely without him, and because I would have to get out of bed to get his pacifier to him so he would go back to sleep. He's still swaddled, so he isn't self soothing yet. I tried swaddling with arms out for about an hour. It isn't time yet. I keep hearing that I'll know when it's time. He went through a 3.5 month sleep regression. We're getting good long stretches of sleep again, and I cannot complain.

Umbilical hernia:
This is getting better! I notice it's bigger right after he eats and smaller right before he eats. His doctor and I agree that it is looking better.

New this month:
Isaiah squeals with delight... all the time. I could barely hear the doctor at his appointment because he was making so much noise. He acts like he wants to roll front to back, but just hasn't made it happen yet.

Likes/Dislikes:
Isaiah loves the outdoors. If we can't get him to stop crying, we stand in front of the window and he stops immediately. If I take him outside to walk in the yard he's in heaven. This is fantastic since I'm watching my brothers this summer and a great deal of our time is spent outside. Isaiah went swimming for the first time a few weeks ago and seemed to like it. He is also enjoying bath time now. I can't think of a single thing he dislikes, besides burping. He hates taking breaks in his eating.

As parents:
I feel like things are a little better this month than they were last month. I've been dealing with serious anxiety over Isaiah's 4 month vaccinations, but now that they're over I feel like we're going to do better. It's getting easier to deal with not going to my job anymore. I told our social worker that it is hard to be home all the time, but on the other hand we get to go places and do things that we wouldn't be able to do if I were working outside the home. We got to spend some much needed family time on our little trip south, and it was perfect.