James - 4 Months

James, you are four months old! Another month has passed and I can't believe it. You're growing so big, so fast! You're becoming less of a newborn and growing more alert and aware of things around you. It's exciting because there's so many fun things on the horizon, but since there's a good chance you're our last little baby, another part of me is selfishly sad to see you growing up so quickly. 

Your stats:

Height: 27 inches - 99th percentile
Weight: 19 lbs, 8 ozs - 98th percentile
Head: 17 inches - 91st percentile

You are huge, no offense. ;) When you're just wearing a diaper, you look like a baby sumo wrestler! You're growing out of your 3-6 month clothes and I'm hoping with the weather warming up we can get you into all your Spring/Summer clothes before you grow out of those too! You wear size 3 diapers.

Here's what else you're up to:

- You rolled over for the first time on March 2nd from tummy to back! You've only done it a couple times since. You seem to really want to sit up, and you love when we stand you up. You're super strong...you're basically a baby super hero. Despite being younger, I think you're going to make a very nice bodyguard for your sister when the teenage years roll around!

- You're definitely noticing food now and seem very interested. You always sit on the table in your bumbo seat with us while we eat dinner, and you've gone from watching us to watching our food! Poor baby is hungry! We're looking forward to cereal and other foods soon. You're still nursing often...every 2 hours or so. Sometimes less often if we're out and about and sometimes more often if you don't have a big feeding after waking up or something.

- Teething is definitely going on! You're drooling up a storm and constantly have your fingers/hands in your mouth, or a blanket or our fingers if we let you. Your doctor checked and says there's no teeth coming in the next 2 weeks, but I wonder if something might happen soon after that. Your top front gums seem like they might be the first to sprout a tooth, but we'll see! You're wearing an amber teething necklace and I think it's helping some with the drooling.

- The time around 4 months has been a game changer for both my babies. It's almost like that's when you realize you're not in the womb anymore, and you're not crazy about it. You're just more fussy than you've been previously and you don't want to be put down. I'm sure teething is contributing too. Of course I wish I could hold you all the time, but it's hard with your sister being barely 2 years old. I sure wish I had an extra hand or three!

- You're also not sleeping as well. Up until recently, you've been in a pattern of going to sleep around 9 pm in your crib, maybe needing a paci once or twice in the late evening, then eating around 2 am, and then coming to our room sometimes between 5-7 am to eat and then finish sleeping in the rock n play. You've had a couple really bad nights where you're up a lot more recently, leading me to think you've hit the 4 month sleep regression. Hopefully it will be short lived...your sister never really slept through the night again after that until she turned 1, but I think/hope you might be a better sleeper than she was.

- You are such a sweet little guy! You're absolute favorite thing is to interact with people. You smile a lot and like to talk and make noises. You're a people person, for sure, and everyone just loves you right back!

Current nicknames: Jamesie, Jay-bird, little man, sweet boy, buddy/baby buddy

Favorite toys: Your teething giraffe, your jungle gym, your stuffed elephant (your love to chew on his nose), and anything else you can chew on!

Jamesie-boy, you are the sweetest little boy in the world! We just love you to pieces. 2015 has been a pretty tough year for my family so far, with several family members dealing with very serious health issues. You have been such a bright spot for everyone, reminding us how much hope and joy there is in a new generation. I couldn't love you more!

Love,
Mama