Will turned 4 months a little over a week ago. We have noticed a huge difference in his temperament in the last several weeks which has been so nice! He is a much happier baby. That 6-12 week stretch is really rough for many babies as they tend to be super fussy. I'm glad that stretch it behind us. Here is how he is doing at 4 months!
Growth: He weighed 13.5 pounds and was 26" at his 4-month appointment. He's a smaller than average baby, weight-wise, but seems so big compared to Paul! He is also super long! He wears 3-6m and 6m clothes due to his length, not girth! Paul was 28" at 1 year, so if Will keeps growing at this pace (he grew 2" in the last 2 months) he is going to be a much taller guy than Paul.
Likes:
He has really started to like books in the last several weeks. He always seemed to enjoy being read to, but now he really looks at the pages.
He loves his big brother! He really enjoys watching what he is doing. Paul is a big fan of Will, too, and is pretty good at holding him. We are still working on 'gentle touch' as sometimes Paul's hugs are a bit, uh, smothering!
Dislikes: being tired (who doesn't dislike that?) and going to bed/down for naps at times. Other than that he is pretty happy!
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| Papa and Will |
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| He was very interested in Nana's coffee cup! Give me some of the good stuff, Nana! |
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| Holding hands with brother Paul |
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| He enjoyed time in the swing at my parents. We don't have a swing at home - I sometimes wished we did as he enjoyed this swing, but our main floor is kind of small and we just don't have room for one. |
He started giggling last week which is the BEST sound ever! He giggled for the first time during his 4 month appointment when the doctor was doing her examination. She said he made her day! The next time he giggled was in response to me laughing at something on tv which I thought was so cute!
Feeding: He continues to eat well. I was a little worried that my supply was low as I felt so empty at his bedtime feed, but his doctor assured me that is normal and his growth trend indicates he is getting plenty. My goal right now is to get to 6 months and then assess if I can stick with breastfeeding. I'm getting some minor flares so am always on prednisone which isn't optimal. The best treatment option for my RA is not safe for breastfeeding, though, so I have to decide what to prioritize - giving him breast milk or being on a better course of treatment. It's a tough decision so for now I am telling myself I can reassess at 6 months. Ideally, I'd like to breastfeed him for a year. Phil has given him the occasional bottle and he does so so with them. I'm hoping he does ok with bottles at daycare as I know some kids refuse to drink them. I'll get an idea of how he does next week when my parents watch him during my first 2 days back at work!!
Sleeping: He hit the dreaded 4 month sleep regression at 3.5 months and went from waking 2 times a night to wake every 2-2.5 hours, sometimes more often. Eeks. After several bad nights, I messaged his pediatrician and asked if we could do some sleep training - not to sleep through the night but to get him to fall asleep on his own. She gave us the green light and said we'd all be happier if he could learn the important skill of falling asleep on his own. I know this is a controversial/you do you type of decision. But for us, it was the right decision. Sleep training is a 2 week process and it was hard at times but effective. He falls asleep on his own now, usually within 5-10 minutes which he often spends cooing and rolling from side to side. He's up once a night to eat but has slept through the night twice. I don't expect him to sleep throught the night consistently until he weighs a bit more. His doctor said he needs to be at least 15 pounds before we can expect that. Some kids do it earlier of course, but she wouldn't push it until he weighs more. Getting up once a night is totally sustainable for me, though. Naps have been the toughest part, though. Before we started to sleep train, he would only sleep when being held! That was not sustainable, especially with him starting daycare at the end of the month! Naps have been very hit or miss and there are many days where his naps are all 30-40 minutes which makes for a looooonnngggg day, but I know naps take longer to improve.
Mama: I have been feeling pretty good overall, aside from the flares I've been getting. I started to see a pelvic floor PT to work on some ab pain. She's also helped with mobilizing my c-section scar and assessed my pelvic floor. I highly recommend that every woman see a pelvic floor PT after they give birth. She is extremely knowledgeable and has been super helpful! In some countries, it's standard to see this kind of specialist after giving birth but in the US, this is a PT that is really underutilized in my opinion!
Pablo: continues to do really well with Will overall. There are times when he plugs his ears when Will is crying but I can't really blame him as I know it can be loud/jarring. He loves to hug and kiss his brother and bring him toys. We make an effort to spend one-on-one time with him as much as possible so he doesn't feel lost in the shuffle and that seems to help!
And that's Will at 4 months! This is my last full week of maternity leave which is kind of crazy! I go back to work next Thursday. My parents are coming to watch Will for those first 2 days as he doesn't start daycare until the following Monday. I actually feel pretty ready to return to work. I will be working from home for 2021, so it will be a gentler return to work compared to Paul when we all had to be out of the house at 6:50 and I was pumping at work! I know I will miss him but overall, I know I'm meant to be a working mom. It helps to have a great daycare with providers we love and trust! Will is going to be in a small baby room, too, which is nice. There were 12 babies in Paul's room but will be 8 in Will's room. I'm hoping Will naps better than Paul did but I also know that it will be ok if he naps terribly!
10 comments:
What a terrific report! I'm glad the sleeping is going better and all the other things too. The visit to your parents looks like fun and so glad Paul has been adjusting well. Lots of cute photos -- and plenty of big smiles!
Hope the transition goes smooth for everyone! Adeline has consistently been sleeping through the night for a month now. She had been waking up just one time at like 530 sporadically and I could nurse her and she'd fall back asleep until 7-730 but now she is usually up between 630 or 730 depending on if Anthony wakes her up as he is getting ready for work. Thankfully I can usually let her hang out in there for awhile because I don't parent before 7 am haha.
So happy for you that you could see your parents!! What a perfect time, too, right before going back to work. It's hard to believe you go back to work next week! Although- you had a "long" maternity leave, for US standards, anyway- so maybe you are ready. :) It will be SO NICE to be just working from home. Working from home with no kids home is definitely the way to go! However, is there any part of you that would actually like to be in the office at all yet? I sort of remember feeling like I enjoyed "getting out" to go to work when the boys were little, just since we were home a lot otherwise. As a nurse at a university hospital, my coworkers were mostly all female and aged 22-40 or so- so it was kind of like getting together with a bunch of friends, in a way, on work days! (Minus the hard work and caring for sick people part, haha). After all the baby talk on my days off, it felt good to have some grown up conversations and we all got along so well. It is definitely so convenient to not have to get everyone up and out the door though! I was lucky because I started work so early (had to BE there by 7 am) that I always was up and left before anyone else was even awake! My poor husband got the brunt of dealing with the fun times of getting everyone ready and out the door to daycare all by himself. ;) He actually really never complained! Good luck with the transition- you'll be great.
Sounds like you all are doing great, and Will sounds so mature and smart! I love him reading books - that's adorable. He sounds ready to take on daycare! Will you be back at work in person, or remain WFH?
^ NM, for some reason feedly cut off your last paragraph! So WFH. Probably an easier transition? I hope so, at least. Pumping at work was the woooooorrrrsst.
My daughter will be 12 weeks tomorrow and im returning to work in a couple of weeks. She will be going to daycare here and there as my husband and I have random schedules (healthcare and fireman). I love how youre relaxed about napping at daycare, I need to adopt this mindset. My daughter is on a schedule of sorts now, and like your son, doesn't do well when she is tired. But like you said, if naps are missed, it will all be okay :).
Will is just SUCH a cute baby! All of his little expressions make me happy. :) And I'm glad that Pablo is loving his little brother, too! yay!
I hope the transition back to work goes well. WFH during this transitional season sounds so ideal, so I hope it eases you back into work without it feeling as difficult as it did with Paul.
And hooray for more lake weekends in 2021! I'm so glad your parents and you are fully vaccinated and can enjoy seeing them again without all the anxiety that Covid brought. <3
It was pure joy to have you at our house last weekend. You have no idea how deeply we missed seeing them and holding them, so I pray we can continue to get back to life as it should be. We are so excited to be able to see them next week already and to help you transition back to work. It will take some adjusting, but Will seems to be an easy going baby, so that will make it easier. And working from home will be less restrictive with time in getting out the door!
We were impressed at how sweet Paul is with Will! He was such a joy to be around and to watch him play etc. He impressed us with reading the caterpillar book by memory!
Also, it was great to spend quality time with you and Phil. Family time is so important!
Awww, I love seeing Paul and Will together. They're going to be best buddies.
You have the cutest little guys 💜 It's nice that you can spend time with your parents now. Things are looking up!
I hope your return to work goes well, and Will's first days of daycare too.
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