Ryan is 4 Months Old

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.