4 Months Old...

Photo by Art and Soul Photography by Angel Porch

Well our little guy is 4 months old!  It is seriously going way too fast.  On the evening that he turned 4 months, October 25th, I was nursing him in the bedroom after his bath and the lullaby playlist I made was playing and only the lamp was on. It was so peaceful and perfect.  A song came on that I always thought was sweet but hadn't really listened to all of the words.  Well here they are:

Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel)
The version on my playlist is by Haley Gibby but I guess Billy Joel originally sang it but I 
hadn't ever heard his version.  

Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away

Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean
I'm rocking you to sleep
The water's dark and deep
Inside this ancient heart
You'll always be a part of me

Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullabye
Then in your heart
There will always be a part of me

Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabyes go on and on...
They never die
That's how you
And I
Will be

So this song is on and I'm nursing and just bawling my eyes out!  And Harry comes in to see if Ramey is done eating and ready for his bedtime story and says "are you crying?" and I said, "yeah" and he said "because you love him so much?" and I said "yeah."
I just don't know how we got so lucky to have such a happy and healthy little boy.

Today, October 29th, we had our 4 month well baby check up and shots.  Harry got to go with us this time because he works at such an amazing place!  Ramey did good.  He started crying before the shots even happened because Harry was holding him down and he is a mover and a shaker.  He is always waving his arms and kicking his legs.  So the fact that he was restrained wasn't making him happy and then he got the shots which made him even more mad.  But he stopped crying before we had even gotten out of the room.  I did give him some Tylenol before the shots this time which I think helped, thank you to those who suggested it!  He fell asleep in the car but woke up when we got home, but didn't seem to be in any pain.  I nursed him and then he was sleepy because he didn't get his good morning nap (normally 1.5-2 hours- I still have to wake him from most of his naps to eat!)  So he ate and went right to sleep in his swing.  He is sleeping as I type.

Dr. Adair said he is perfect!  He weighs 13.13 lbs up from 10.4 lbs at his 2 month and still the 25%.  His height is 24.5 inches up from 22 inches- (31% now from 25%.) And his head circumference is 41cm up from 38cm- (15% now from 10%.)  So he is just growing right along.  I asked her about his head shape because I want to make sure it isn't getting flat on the back or anything and she said his head shape is perfect, lol.

We have always kept an eye on his butt crack because it is hairy.  He obviously has alot of hair, but his back and butt crack have always been hairy too.  She said we would keep an eye on it.  She said before it is almost like God is pointing and saying "look here."  Well this time she was checking his butt and noticed that it is also looking a little crooked which could mean his spinal cord is tethered.  So just to be safe, we are going to get an ultra sound and check it out.  It isn't that big of a deal if it is.  Just a little simply surgery when they are little.  If it goes undetected and isn't noticed for a long time then he could have long term side effects from it, but that is why we are looking at it now so if it is tethered, we can fix it now.

In other news, Ramey has gotten so good at grabbing things and putting them in his mouth.  Everything goes straight to his mouth.  Sometimes he thinks he has a good grip on something and tries to bring it up to his mouth and it is just his hand and he gets pissed.  But he does like to suck on his hands during most of his waking hours.  

Like I said earlier, he still sleeps alot.  He goes to bed around 8:00pm.  I dream feed him at 10:30 and he will sleep until 5 or 6 then go back to sleep after I feed him and not wake up for the day until 7:30-8:30am.  Then he will be up for about an hour to an hour and a half then go back to sleep for 1.5-2 hours when I wake him up to eat again.  He will normally take another good nap after his next feed but then the other nap or two may or may not happen.  It kind of depends if we run errands or not and what is going on. But even if he doesn't sleep he is just the happiest little guy!  He can miss his morning and first afternoon nap and still be smiling and happy- but with really red eyes and eyebrows.

Still no rolling over for him though.  He will roll to his side from his back and if I start to help him roll over from back to front or front to back he will do most of it on his own with a little push, but hasn't done it himself yet.  I have a feeling it will happen soon, but he hates to be on his stomach so much and spits up almost every time I put him on his stomach, he just doesn't do alot of tummy time.  He will lay on my stomach and has great head control and loves to stand up and sit on my lap but does not like tummy time.     

We try to read lots of books (we could definitely do more though).  Here is a picture of Ramey "reading."  We got this cute little book in one of my Citrus Lane boxes that I was talking about in my last blog post. You put your finger in the little puppet in the middle and it goes through to each page, if that makes sense. Ramey loves his Little Spider book because it is really easy to put in his mouth.

Here is a picture of us reading at my mom and dad's house.

Here is a picture of Ramey holding his bottle.  He is still exclusively breastfeed but we put breastmilk in a bottle occasionally so he knows how to drink out of a bottle and so I can be gone for more than 3 hours if I need to be.  So far I haven't found a nipple he won't take.  But I've only tried 3 different kinds.  But as long as he will take one kind, I'm good with that.  We had just bought a few different ones before he was born in case he was picky.  Which he is not at all.  Same with pacifiers, he will take whatever paci you put in his mouth.  He is a pretty laid back and easy going guy.

We went to the pumpkin patch in Piedmont a couple of weeks ago.  We didn't need a big and fancy pumpkin patch- plus the one I wanted to go to wasn't open on Tuesday when we wanted to go.  So my Aunt Shelley suggested the Piedmont Pumpkin Patch.  There were really cute photo opps and it was free and the pumpkins were priced really well.  Cheap if you ask me!  And they had some great huge pumpkins!!!  Harry had gotten allergy tested that day so he came home and we went!  Mom came with us and Dad met his there.  Aunt Shelley came to and brought my god-brother Landon.  Then my other god-brother (her other son) got dropped off there after school.  My Aunt Linda heard we were there so she came and then Uncle Scott heard we were there so he came too!  It was a great time!

People still ask where Ramey got all of his hair or who does he look like?  Well we finally got a baby picture of Harry and it explains alot!

                  This is Harry.  I don't know the age.    This is Ramey.  Almost 4 months in this pic.

Here is our monthly Ramey sheet.  Harry and I make this list together on the night he turns a new month older.  It is more for us than you guys, lol.  Once he is 12 months, I am going to take his month pictures and these facts and put them into a shutterfly album.  That is why some info is repeated from earlier in the blog post.  Just fyi.

4 Months

October 25, 2012

Weight: 13.3 lbs- 25%

Height: 24.5 inches- 31%

Head Circumference:  41 cm- 15%

He loves to blow bubbles with spit.

Loves waking up in the morning.  Is very smiley and happy!

Has stopped pooping every day.  Will go every other day or more days without going!

Loves when Daddy blows on his tummy.  Laughs very hard then gets hiccups!

Loves to play “Pretty Mama” with Mommy.  I take his hands and rub them down my cheeks and say “Pretty Mama” and he laughs.

Has started bouncing in his Baby Einstein activity center.  He really likes to play with the toys on it too.

Loves chewing and holding Dottie. (Sophie the Giraffe)

Likes to hold books and try to put them in his mouth.  Especially his Little Spider book.  He sucks on the spider. (Daddy thinks the spider looks like a penis)

Still cranes his neck to watch the tv.  It can’t be on at all during the day.  Sometimes Mommy has it on when nursing, but has to turn it off once Ramey realizes it is on and would rather watch tv than eat.

Gets very upset when there is no more milk left in Mommy.  (I started to take more Fenugreek pills and even made some "Lactation Cookies."  They have some ingredients that make you produce more milk. Now he is a happy boy again when he eats.  He was going through a growth spurt and just needed more milk!)

Likes tummy time if he is looking at Ellie or the tv.

Watches Ellie wherever she is.  But if she moves to fast, it scares him.

Still likes his activity mat.  We have started doing tummy time on there with some of the toys hanging above him because he can keep his body more upright and can actually grab them while lying on his tummy.

Sleeps until 5am or 6am for his middle of the night feed.  Then gets up between 7:30-8:30.

Did great for our family portraits.   They were in the middle of naptime and he didn’t sleep a wink on the ride to Norman.

Does great during baths and now gets his hair washed while he sits in the tub.  Tonight, he decided that he wanted to sit up while Daddy tried to wash his hair and got a face full of water, which he didn’t love.

He plays with a toy turtle when Daddy washes his hair.

Still sleeps in his swing or on someone during the day.  But mainly in his swing

Loves grunting and blowing bubbles.

Grabs any and everything and puts it in his mouth.

Still loves Jack Johnson and Edith Piaf.  

(I'm trying to get him to like Taylor Swift too, so we can get the new album!)

Hates to be hot.  He would much rather be cold.  If he even gets a little hot, he will complain and then is fine once you remove his pants, socks, or blanket.  I guess I'm going to have a hot natured child.  I'm always cold (except when I was pregnant... maybe that is why he hates being hot! lol)

I think that is all for now!  Have a great week and thanks for reading!

And I'll post some pictures after Halloween!

One more picture.  This is Harry's favorite picture of Ramey so far!