David is Four Months Old

Month four was a big one! He is really starting to show some personality and it is so much fun. He definitely knows who his mom and dad are and boy does he love us (whew!). If one of us enters a room he is all over it and can easily track us as we walk around. Generally we are greeted with a huge smile and it is fantastic. He still saves his very best smiles for Dad though. He is definitely a Daddy's boy. He just adores Zach and it is so awesome to see. He is starting to find his voice and will "talk" to you a little bit, but just like his Mommy if you are talking he won't say a thing. You have to be patient and wait for him to say something. It's almost like he's whispering things. I have a feeling he might be a little bit on the quiet side. We'll see though. We are still waiting for a full on laugh too. I think we've got a few little tiny giggles, but nothing definitive. I cannot wait for that!

Our living room has officially been taken over by David things. It used to just be the swing and the playmat. Now we have the swing, playmat, bumbo chair, toy basket and the play seat thing. I'm getting ready to add a bookcase with fabric bins to hopefully help contain the chaos. So far, he doesn't really care for the bumbo seat. He slouches really bad to the side and doesn't seem to like sitting int it for longer than about 5 minutes. At that time he will arch himself backwards and try to stand because this kid definitely prefers to stand. He could care less about learning how to sit, he's all about the standing. His legs are SO strong too. He can launch himself right off your lap if you aren't careful. He's still getting used to the play seat thing. He definitely likes to stand in it, but hasn't quite got the hang of playing with all the toys. Sometimes I wish we would have got one with more "bells and whistles" because ours is pretty simple and doesn't have a lot of toys, but we figure he'll grow out of it soon enough, why spend more? He's starting to get a bit restless and isn't interested in doing the same thing for very long, so we are constantly moving around and switching it up. It will be good when he can sit and play with his toys. I think he's totally over the whole laying down thing.

His favorite toys are a couple different balls that he can easily grab and chew on, his Sophie the Giraffe, his teething beads and links. I'll just make a chain of about 4-5 links and he's a happy guy! He doesn't much care for any toys that make too much noise yet. I think they startle him.  Although is favorite book is one that when you turn the pages it talks and plays music, he loves that!

I mentioned in his three month post that the slept through the night for the first time. Yeah, he's only done that 3 times, total. He still wakes up once a night, sometimes more for a few pats and the binkie. Last week we had to bid adieu to the swaddle. I just happened to be watching the monitor when I saw him roll right over onto his stomach, face smashed in the mattress. So, that was that. The first night without the swaddle was pure hell. I think we were up with him more times than we were the night we got home from the hospital. The second night was better. We also discovered that he sleeps realllllllly well on his stomach. So yeah. He does that. I'm not a big fan, but there's not a lot we can do if he can get over by himself anyway. The weird thing is that he he'll only roll over in his crib. He has never rolled over during floor time and still pretty much detests tummy time. I just don't get it.

While he's only waking up one time at night now, he is taking foreverrrrrr to fall back asleep. Usually I'm up with him for at least an hour. He's just smiling and talking to himself and then gets frustrated when he realizes that it's still sleepy time. I haven't decided when we'll let him full on "cry it out" but we do let him fuss a little. He's going down easier, but we still have a long ways to go. I've also heard rumors about this thing called "four month wakeful" where babies stop sleeping well and start getting up again multiple times a night. I'm hoping we miss this lovely milestone because it seems to last weeks. We'll see though. I'm not holding my breath.

During month four he also got a visit from Grandpa Swalley and went to visit his Great Grandparents on my side! We are gearing up for our first trip to Sioux Falls here soon and I've already started writing a list of all the things we need to take. I think we'll need to rent a Uhaul! Kidding. Kinda. It's a lot of stuff!  I just hope he does alright in the car and then actually sleeps when we are up there. We shall see!! We are very excited to meet his new cousin, Jude. He was just born a few weeks ago. It will be so awesome having a cousin his age to play with when we go visit. He already has a cousin who's about a year older and is also a boy. So once they get older, watch out!!

Anyway, his 4 month doctor appointment is on Monday so I will return with all his stats! Hopefully he handles the shots ok.

And here's a little video. I was rocking him for a nap and he started doing this to his hair. I love it because I did the very same thing and it drove my parents nuts. :)