Charlie at 4 Months!!

These blog posts have been few and far between these days.  Chad and I recently bought a new house in Gainesville, Virginia and have been pretty busy the past month and a half.  (In fact, Charlie's photos were taken in front of his pack n' play this month.  We had not set up his crib in his new room yet).  There will be more posts about the house, but first I did not want to forget to document Charlie at 4 months old, even if it is a month late!!

At 4 months, he weighed 15 pounds, is 25.75 inches long, and it appears that he began teething.  He was chewing on everything and drooled nonstop.  Due to the move, we have a new pediatrician and he definitely commented on Charlie's size and lack of a neck at the 4 month appointment. HA HA

Charlie's daily schedule looked like:

5:30 - 6 am: Wake up & Eat
7:30 am: Eat
9:30 am - Eat & Nap
11 am:  Wake Up & Eat
1:30 pm: Eat & Nap
3:30 pm: Wake Up & Eat
5:30 pm: Eat
7:30 pm: Eat & Bedtime
12:30 - 1 am: Wake Up & Eat

Also, Chad and I are very happy to report that the crying has decreased significantly and Charlie is a pretty happy baby.  He still loves to be held ALL the time and only cries when he is hungry, needs a diaper change, or we have to put him down to give our arms a break.  But we are normally able to calm him down with some soothing words and his pacifier.  And he does better when he can keep an eye on the people in the room.

We still have not begun sleep training.  When Lauren was a baby, I read book after book on sleeping habits, kept a sleep journal to track her patterns, and worked hard to get her on a set schedule.  Lauren was successfully sleeping, on her own and through the night, by 5 months old.  Unfortunately, I don't have the same luxury with an active toddler in the mix.  Most days I have been able to get Charlie to take a nap in the morning, but Lauren's classes are at that time or that is the best time to run errands, so these naps are not always in his crib.  Luckily, Charlie does manage to take an afternoon nap while Lauren naps.  And while he does sleep nicely at night (5-6 hour stretches), he is still swaddled/fed/rocked to sleep.  Eventually we will begin the "cry it out" phase of his sleep training, but I do not feel ready for it yet.  Until then, I will enjoy my snuggle time with Charlie and continue to hope for successful naps and longer stretches of sleep at night!!

Finally, one of the best things about Charlie's age at 4 months is that he began to really smile and laugh.  We discovered that he is very ticklish (especially around the neck and armpit areas) and he enjoys it when we make weird noises.  Lauren seems to get the most smiles right now.  Charlie is fascinated with her and lights up as soon as she comes into the room.  It really warms my heart to watch those two happily interact with each other.  I hope these happy feelings continue as they get older.  (Fingers crossed)!!!