4 Months

How is it already they 15th? And how have I not blogged in forever?

It was supposed to be fall break for me this last week, however, one of my professors quadrupled our normal homework load because, as she put it, we have "all this free time". So I've been busy studying and writing and trying to keep 2 small tornadoes I call my kids entertained.

Anyways, onto a little Deagan update! 

DJ is now 4 months old! (well, nearly 4 1/2 since its been a couple of weeks) Which means, we went to the doctors for his 4 month checkup. As always, he is right on track with all his developmental milestones. He started rolling from his front to his back last month, he grabs at everything, which means everything goes in his mouth, and he's a smiley little guy! He LOVES his jumper, and bounces like a mad man all day long. When he's not jumping in his jumper, he tries to jump while you hold him, which wears me out. He's turning into a chatterbox, and babbles continuously. And he is super ticklish. His laugh kills me because he will giggle while I'm tickling him, and then he eventually just starts yelling this silly yell. It's hilarious! 

He sleeps decently well. He's not a good nap-taker though. His naps only last about 20 minutes tops because he's a light sleeper and so he wakes up at the slightest noise. He goes down for the night around midnight or 1am. He will then sleep in his bassinet until 6:30, when the people downstairs get up. They are kind of noisy in the kitchen, which is right below our room, and it wakes him (and me) up, so I'll bring him in bed with me, nurse him until he falls back asleep, and I let him just sleep in my bed until we get up around 8:30-9:00ish. We hopefully will be painting Savannah's new room this week, and then get him moved into his own room next week (who am I kidding? I don't have time to do all that, do I???) and the hope is that it will be quieter in there and he will start sleeping completely through the night. Hopefully.

 

He adores Savannah still, and smiles whenever she enters the room. And she loves being the big sister and helps change his diapers, sings to him, and shares her toys.

His stats for 4 months are:

Weight: 13lbs 10oz (13th percentile)

Length: 24.5 inches (20th percentile)

Head circumference: 40.75cm (22nd percentile)

He is a whole lot smaller than I had thought he would be. I mean, he was 9lbs when he was born for crying out loud! The doctor wasn't worried, he said that he is still following his growth curve, which I guess means everything is ok. I asked about his spitting-up-every-ounce-of-food issue to see if maybe that was why he isn't very big, and he said that as long as he has consistently wet and dirty diapers, that it means he is getting enough food. He ruled out food allergy, because he's not throwing up any blood, or having any in his diapers. He also ruled out excess stomach acid because it doesn't seem to be hurting him when he does spit up. And he ruled out a problem with his GI tract because it's just spit-up and not bile.

I nurse him the majority of the time, but I do supplement with formula when I'm out and about and can't really sit down to nurse, or if I have someone babysitting him. He spits up whether I feed him or he's drinking formula, and so the doctor recommended formula that has added rice starch to it, or mixing a tiny bit of rice cereal in his regular formula. 

So far, he is doing a whole lot better. He still spits up quite a bit, but it's not nearly as much as he used too, and it's not after every meal like it was before. Hopefully, that will help him continue to grow now that he's keeping more of it down. I've noticed that he eats less often now too. He used to want to eat every hour to every 2 hours. Now, he will go quite a while without needing to nurse. Which definitely makes running errands a lot easier. Last week, I went down to the park for a bit, then Provo, went to lunch with Bryant and some friends, and got all the way home, and not ONCE did he get fussy and need to eat. This was like a 3 hour total outing, and I didn't have to worry about him!

The doctor also asked if he had been excessively fussy. When I said no, he pointed out that his gums were a little swollen, which meant he could be getting teeth a little early. It could still be another couple of months, but those teeth were getting ready to work their way up. 

The doctor also said he was impressed that his legs were really strong for a baby his age. As soon as he laid him on the table, Deagan kicked his legs and pushed himself backwards a bit. When he asked if there was anything we were doing to strengthen his legs so well, I just told him that he's a little obsessed with his jumper. 

Savannah thought going to the doctors was the best thing ever. Lately, when she's not Pirate Savy, she's Doctor Savannah. Can you guess what she will be getting for Christmas? Yup, a pretend doctor kit! Anyways, as soon as the doctor walked in, Savannah said "Oh, hi Doctor! My name is Sanna Peter Pan. Are you going to check Deagan's heart beeps with your stethoscope?" (I'll never understand why she can't say "Sa-VAN-ah", but she can say "stethoscope"...)

And she was directing the doctor on how to conduct the exam "Oh, Doctor, you check his eyes ok? And check his ears and his tummy. Then he needs a shot, but I don't want a shot ok?"

Smarty pants

So yeah, that was a little longer than I thought it would be. I guess I'm just stretching out these old blogging fingers since it's been a while.

Healthy, happy kids. What more could a mom ask for?

(This is the 4 month update I wrote about Savannah. It's fun to see the similarities!)

Watch out, she kicks and spits!

I can't believe it. My baby girl is 4 months old!

I took her to the doctor today and it was so weird, sitting there holding her and realizing that the last time we were in there (for her 2 month check up) she was just barely trying to hold her head up and now, she was standing on my knees (with help, of course) checking out everything in the office and grabbing handfuls of my hair to munch on. 

 

 

 (Wearing her onesie from her aunt Chantel!)

 

She's growing and developing so much and so fast,

The doctor visit went fantastic! She is right on track for every milestone and super healthy and happy. She even gave her pediatrician a great big gummy smile when he walked in.

 

 

She now weighs 12lbs 10oz (30th percentile)

She's 23 3/4th inches long (28th percentile, a HUGE difference from 75th last time.)

and her head circumference is 41cm, (46th percentile)

 

 

I discussed starting her on solid foods with her doctor. I've been giving her rice cereal once a day and she loves it, and he said that between rice cereal, formula and breast milk, she was getting great nutrition and said I could even puree my own vegetables and fruit to give her, which is what I was planning on doing anyways.

She did really well with her vaccines this time. She only got two in her leg instead of 3 and the first one didn't even phase her. But after the second one, she looked straight at the nurse with a worried look, then at me and began to cry. But as soon as I picked her up, she stopped. Literally 5 seconds of tears. She was such a brave little girl!

 

 

She is really starting to become a lot of fun, but also a lot more work. She now can roll over tummy to back, and she tries really hard to roll from back to stomach. She has gotten a lot more control over her hands, which means that everything goes in her mouth. And by everything, I mean toys, fingers, my hair, her toes, everything. It really frustrates her because I will put a pacifier in her mouth and she will pull it out, then try to put in back in but she can never get it back the right way, and she will hold onto her bottle and pull it out and try to put it back in, but gets milk all over her face.

She smiles and everyone and everything, and her favorite thing to do it make spitting noises until drool soaks her clothes. She's also started giggling, but Bryant and my dad seem to be the only ones that can really get her going (although, I once was eating a sandwich and every bite I took, she giggled. Crazy kid.) She's also started yelling. No, not because she's mad or upset, she just likes yelling. She can sit and yell and yell and yell and be happy as a clam!

 

 

She never likes laying down or even sitting, she is happiest when you pull her up on her feet and she will stand all day long as long as you hold her arms or waist. She's gotten such chunky legs lately that I was surprised she was only 12 lbs 10oz!

 

 

Her personality is starting to become evident. She's always happy, she's interested and curious about everything and she is a go-er! She doesn't like sitting still and it frustrates her that she can't go anywhere on her own yet. She's going to be hard to keep track of once she's crawling!

(first time eating rice cereal. She was mad because I wasn't feeding it to her fast enough!)

Savy! Slow down on the growing will ya? Mom can't keep up!