Ryan is 4 months old.
He’s getting so big now and is starting to develop his
little personality. He changes every day, that’s for sure.
The month started off with me going back to work and Ryan
starting daycare. I stayed home with David for almost 5 months, so going back
after just 3 with Ryan really made me feel pretty guilty. But, ya know,
kids cost money and all. We switched them both to a new in-home place and I
think they are going to do really well there. So far, he’s doing well –
sleeping and eating alright and David really likes having his baby brother
there with him all day.
Unfortunately with daycare also comes the sicknesses. After
his first week he caught what doctors tell me was a GI bug. He was having some
real diaper issues there for a week or so. I’m still not totally convinced it’s
all sickness, as he’s always had a pretty sensitive tummy. We’ve toyed with
changing his formula again but we are giving it a little more time.
Then last week he started having a cough and it just kept getting worse.
Turns out he had RSV and his first ear infection. He was pretty miserable, poor
little thing. He ended up missing a couple days of daycare and we became
frequent fliers at the pediatricians office. They had to suction his nose out
twice. When they said they were going to suction it out, I figured they were
just going to get the ol’ bulb sucker, so imagine my shock when they wheeled in
this cart with what looked to be a generator with tubes and hoses and OMG it
was horrible. The poor little guy just wailed. I almost couldn’t even watch.
BUT he’s doing a lot better now and has been back to his happy self the past
couple nights.
He was sleeping through the night for one glorious week.
He’d go down at 7 and I’d have to wake him up the next day to go to daycare at
6:30. Then once he got sick he started waking up multiple times a night. I
honestly don’t even count how many times I go in his room at night anymore.
Mostly he just wants his binky back or needs a few cuddles. I’m hopeful that
once he’s not so stuffy anymore he’ll go back to sleeping through the night. I
have a feeling he’s going to be a binky baby. While he likes to chew his hands,
he really calms down when he’s given his binky. We’ll see what happens.
He started laughing this month. It. Is. Adorable. It started
when I’d wash his neck in the bathtub. He’d just giggle and giggle. Tiny little
laughs. Then the past few days he’s started all out belly-laughing at David and
the dog. Last night he was sitting on my lap during dinner and was laughing so
hard at Missy – who was just sitting there, doing nothing. He’d laugh and kick
his legs so crazy!! It is awesome!
He’s a little rolling pin too. He can finally go from belly
to back after being able to go from back to belly for months. The other day he
rolled all the way across the living room!!! He only goes one direction right
now but I know it’s only a matter of time before he figures it all out. He is such
a scooter! He gets all over in his crib and just wiggles, wiggles, wiggles! I
keep saying he’s going to be crawling by 6 months.
Feeding him is still the most challenging thing we have to
deal with. Sometimes he eats every bottle, no problem. Other times it’s a
struggle to get him to eat at all. He still spits up quite a bit and is on his
reflux medicine. I’m not sure when he will grow out of it. Like I said earlier
he seems to have a bit of a sensitive stomach, so while I’m really excited to
start doing baby food and cereal, I’m also a little nervous. I think we’ll just
take it super slow. He’s ready to eat though, you should see the way he eyes my
food and smacks his lips during dinner!
He’s starting to spend time in his jumper thing. He loves
sitting up like a big boy! He still doesn’t really grab at many toys, but is
constantly gnawing on his fingers and hands. He likes his index and middle
finger the most, just like David did/does, except he prefers the opposite hand.
There’s lots and lots of drool but no signs of teeth yet. I’m looking forward
to him engaging more with toys and I think big brother is too. He wants to play
with him so bad!
In stats, he was 15 pounds 10 ounces at his last
appointment, almost exactly the same weight David was at this time. I think
he’d weigh more if he didn’t have so many eating issues and didn’t get sick.
He’s also VERY long. He wears 6-9 month clothes and has long feet and fingers.
His hair is still dark and falling out all on the sides and in the back, but
it’s still really long on top and at the nape of his neck. It’s very hipster.
His eyes really haven’t lightened up any since he was born so they are still
dark blue. I’m pretty sure they will end up being green or hazel.
Overall he’s still a really laid back, happy little dude.
It’s bittersweet as each month goes by. He’s most likely our last baby so
passing milestones and packing up things he has grown out of is kind of a
little sad for me. I’m VERY excited to get to the “fun baby” stage, but it all
just goes so fast after that. I’m trying to soak it all up while I can. Even if
that is at 3 am in the morning.
