4 months old--for the record

Last Tuesday K was four months old. At his four-month appointment he weighed 15 lbs. 8 oz. and I forget how long he was (he was kind of upset for some reason while he was being measured--I guess he wanted to be held). He got his second round of shots, and the doctor said he's developing very well.

K sleeps 10-12 hours at night and takes good naps about half the time. I had nothing to do with him sleeping through the night--he chose to do it himself. I love that I'm getting a decent night's sleep. I think sleep has been the most difficult part of motherhood for me--it is so hard to tell if he is tired or bored or lonely or what. I have found that it helps to feed him right after he wakes up so that if he's fussy I can be more certain that he is tired--he's never been one to nurse to sleep, and in some ways I like it since it has helped him learn to fall asleep and stay asleep on his own. I've been reading an interesting book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I wish I had skipped the first half and gone straight to his recommendations for different age groups, because once I reached that point I started learning so much, and a lot of my struggles with K's naps started to make sense. I have to say that I think the book is very poorly written and poorly organized, and the charts and stories are often ineffective, irrelevant, and even ridiculous, but the actual information has for the most part been very useful. One of my friends told me this is one of the books she would like to rewrite, and I wish she would. I'm looking forward to reading some more of it after I write a paper and take a final. I think the most useful thing I realized was that when K cried after I left him alone in his crib, it was because he was sad that he didn't get to be with me anymore, not because he felt abandoned (those are slightly different). I realized that I needed to just give him a chance to learn to get himself to sleep--and he is rising to the challenge. He is a very alert and happy baby.

K is an expert roller now. He sleeps on his stomach about 75% of the time. He still hasn't figured out the whole creeping thing, but of course there's no rush. He will scoot his legs up underneath him so that his bottom is up in the air, but he doesn't know how to coordinate it with his arms yet. He is getting pretty good at grabbing things and putting them in his mouth. Lately one of his favorite games is taking the pacifier out of his mouth and trying to get it back in himself--and if he succeeds, he clamps down on it with his gums and pulls on it till it comes out with a pop, then does it again and again. Another of K's favorite things to do is play with my face. He loves to reach up and grab my nose, pinch my cheeks, and stick his fingers in my mouth. This requires some care, since he doesn't know how to not scratch me, but it's rather sweet.

I think I talk about my baby a lot on here. It's probably because I really like him, and also for the benefit of my parents, who will be meeting him for the first time in January.