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| f o u r m o n t h s |
somehow my baby turns 4 months old tomorrow! isn't it crazy how someone can grow and change every day right in front of your eyes and you can't even see it? the other day Mark and I watched videos of Clark as a newborn and I cannot believe how tiny he used to be! he seems so big these days and in another three months I'm sure I will look back and be amazed at how small he is now. I feel the days slipping by and precious moments becoming memories and I just want to stop time and cherish every second with my babe before he's all grown up.
we had so much fun this month! and the fun is just beginning because f a l l is here! crisp autumn air, the crunch of falling leaves, caramel apple spice, pumpkin everything, all things creepy and crawly, cookies baking in the oven, scented candles galore, turkey for days, and all the time with family...and then CHRISTMAS!!! it's a good time indeed :)
okay back to this babe's fourth month of life. this month Clark made his first (girl!) friend, survived his first cold, started laughing, and officially became a mama's boy. :) he is still going dairy free and sleeping about 10 hours at night. hates to nap, loves to eat and is long and lean!
four month stats:
weight: 14 lbs. 10.6 oz (37th percentile)
length: 26 in. (88th percentile)
head circ: 16 in. (35th percentile)
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f i r s t s
♥ mosquito bite - we somehow made it three months with no mosquito bites but this month Clark got bit for the first time...inside the house! yeah! we always find mosquitoes in the house and it's the most annoying thing ever! he has since then been bit probably a dozen times (he got 5 bites on our walk today!) but they don't seem to bother him. we can start putting insect repellent and sunscreen on him now...just in time for fall, ha!
♥ Target run - he loves this place and who can blame him?! the first of many Target trips!
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| that face! |
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| toy aisle! |
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| "hey I know you!" |
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| nom nom nom |
♥ ward BBQ - it was a bajillion degrees and they ran out of brisket but we had fun anyway.
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| cool cats |
♥ friend - Clark & Addison have hung out like 3 times now so they're totally BFF.
♥ cold - wish we could have skipped this first altogether! I got sick first and a few days later Clark started sneezing and coughing. it only lasted a week but it felt like a lifetime! we went out and bought a humidifier, saline nose drops, a snot sucker and baby cold medicine but ultimately there was nothing we could do but wait it out.
I felt so helpless every time Clark was eating and had to unlatch because he couldn't breathe. or when he would wake up gasping for air because his nose was stuffed up. but the worst part was actually trying to help him! he hated despised the saline drops and snot sucker (which work best when used together) more than anything! each time I tried to put drops in his nose, he held his breath and jerked his head from side to side (which means it took me three times as long) and then when I'd stick the snot sucker in his nose and try to suck the boogers out he basically couldn't breathe again. even after a successful round of snot sucking, he would be so upset that I felt like maybe we shouldn't have even bothered! I just hope he doesn't get sick again for a long time...at least until he's big enough to blow his own nose!
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| best thing about a sick baby...lots of cuddles! |
♥ laugh - Clark started laughing a few weeks ago playing one of his many games with grandma...
this game is called pulling grandma's hair! hahaha, he loves pulling my hair too but I don't usually throw my head in his face giving him free range!
he also laughs all the time with daddy! when he's changing his clothes they play this game of "where'd your arm go?" and daddy pretends to look for it.
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| this picture kills me! playing "giddy up!" |
another favorite game of theirs is "let's go fly a kite!"
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| Clark's the kite. |
grandad discovered Clark is ticklish! and so the tradition of his torturous tickling until we cry begins...
f a v o r i t e s
♥ going places - the library, grocery store, restaurants, the mall...Clark loves getting out of the house! he is such a curious little babe and is amazed by anything and everything.
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| Chik-Fil-A |
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| church |
♥ Peter Bugs Rabbit + Teddy - Clark has two lovey's and he hasn't really picked a favorite yet. so we have one upstairs and one downstairs. he loves sucking on both of them and rubbing his bunny's ears on his face.
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| Peter Bugs Rabbit (bum up) |
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| Teddy |
♥ blankets - Clark doesn't really have a favorite blanket...they all taste equally delicious! haha, he looooves to suck on his swaddle blankets and rub them on his face. he actually loves to rub everything on his face! when Clark's nursing he loves to grab my shirt and put it over his face. I've started throwing him in the middle of my laundry fresh out of the dryer while I'm folding it and he lays there so calm and content, grabbing warm clothes and rubbing them on his face, until I grab the last article of clothing out of his hand! my mom tells me he gets this from me and I totally remember loving the feeling of my yellow satin blanket in between my fingers and toes and on my face.
♥ putting things in his mouth - anything + everything Clark gets his hands on goes into his mouth! at first I would freak out about if whatever he was holding was totally clean but eventually I've just accepted that we can't sterilize the whole house and as long as there's no visible hair on it, it's okay ;)
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| exhibit a: eating his shirt |
♥ winkel color burst toy - we haven't bought Clark any toys because he has a million and one hand me downs and this one is his favorite! I found out it's one of the top rated toys for infants and it's no wonder. bright, colorful, rattles, easy to grab and best of all, easy to chew!
♥ being around other children - Clark is already such a little people person! whenever there are other children in view, Clark is so alert and watching their every move. he loves primary (and my kids loooove him), storytime at the library, and running errands because we're bound to see other littles. he still hasn't had an official playdate yet but we will have to do one soon!
♥ the fountains - we've only just discovered these fountains 5 minutes from our house. I always knew they were there but for some reason we never walked to them until this past month. (probably because it's been too hot to walk anywhere.) there are two shaded circular paths with a little lake and fountain in the middle of each one. big pelicans can often be found grazing near the water and there's lots of benches set just off the path...perfect nursing spots! we love to spend our mornings here relaxing by the water.
one day we took daddy to the fountains with us and he loved them too!
♥ holding hands - lately Clark loves holding my hand while nursing, riding in the car, laying on his playmat...pretty much all the time! it's my favorite and I always hate to let go.
♥ when mama sings - I've been singing to Clark since he was in my tummy and even then he used to bump into my hand and stay pressed against it as I sang. whenever I sing to him these days, he just stares at me in awe the entire time and usually falls asleep. he especially loves disney princess songs, mom's specialty ;)
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| ♥ |
♥ bathtime - such a water baby! the water instantly calms him and now that we've introduced bath toys, he's in heaven! he's pretty much outgrown the puj tub so now he gets to kick back in his big kid tub and watch mom and dad kneel and maneuver around to get him clean.
♥ bright starts safari walker - he still can't reach the floor and only fills up half the seat but Clark already loves his walker! Xela likes to follow him around in it and steal a lick or two when no one's looking!
♥ screens + elmo - okay so I was totally against letting my children watch tv before they were two years old (I learned in a childhood development class it's bad for their developing brains) but since we are currently living with my parents and my dad completely disregards that rule (because there is nothing more important than turning Clark into a Minnesota Vikings fan!) we have discovered that Clark looooves tv, whether it's on a phone, tablet, computer or big screen. there must be something about the bright lights, rapidly moving objects and loud noises that he finds enthralling, haha! on a whim, I showed him the intro to elmo's world, wondering what his reaction would be if I combined two of his favorite things, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head! I only show him like a couple minutes a week but I'm pretty sure Clark thinks tv is the greatest thing ever. uh-oh.
e a t
I'm happy to report breastfeeding is still going strong and is one of our favorite things to do! I have nursed Clark all over town...restaurants, parking lots, church, parks, the mall. thanks to my
milk snob cover, we can nurse anywhere at a moment's notice! it's a good thing too because when Clark gets hungry, he is not very patient. he takes the phrase "feeding on demand" to a whole new level!
at 13.5 weeks Clark went through a growth spurt and bumped up his feedings from every two hours to every hour! it only lasted a few days but I felt like I never left the couch. he even started waking up once through the night to nurse and I could hear his stomach growling! thank goodness he's back to normal. those growth spurts are a true test of endurance.
I think Clark had one bottle this month. I got my nails done with a friend and I actually was just going to feed him right before I left but he woke up later than usual that morning and wasn't ready to eat yet. so in a mad scramble Mark set up the pump for me and I pumped both sides simultaneously while finishing my make-up.
honestly, I feel like bottles are more trouble than they're worth. they're so much more work and if I give him one I still have to pump so I don't see the point. I'm really never away from Clark for more than a few hours at a time and I like it that way. I keep wondering if I should be building up a freezer supply of milk but until I foresee a need in the future to be giving him bottles frequently I just think it will be a waste of time. we'll see what happens once he starts solids, which we plan to introduce closer to six months. why increase his poopy diapers (currently one a week!) sooner than we have to? ;)
s l e e p
Clark is still sleeping 9-10 hours at night!!! the magic hour of putting him to sleep when he's sleepy but not overtired is right around 8:30. usually he will sleep 8:30-6:30. sometimes we're lucky and he sleeps until 7:30 but other times (usually weekends when we stay up late of course!) he's up around 5:30! we find the further we get from this magic hour of 8:30, the worse he sleeps. one night he seemed exhausted so we put him down at 7:30. up at 5! another night we put him down closer to 9:30 and he still got up around 5 (but went back down after eating).
our bedtime routine is pretty consistent. around 7 we make sure the lights are dim and our activities get more mellow. around 7:45 he gets a bath (every other night) with nighttime sing-along songs, we read a story, Mark swaddles him, and then I nurse him. he used to fall asleep at the breast and then sometimes would wake up on the way to his crib but go right back to sleep. now he has started doing this thing where he unlatches and stares at me when he's ready to be put in his crib! when he first started doing this, I wasn't sure what he wanted so I would keep getting him to re-latch and he would suck a little, unlatch, suck a little, unlatch, gradually sucking for less and less time until finally he wouldn't even fully latch before he'd turn to look at me. it cracked us up until we finally got it. oh he wants to go to sleep?
p l a y / d e v e l o p m e n t
Clark is so curious! he loves to be carried so he can see everything and constantly moves his head back and forth on either side of the person who's carrying him, trying to take it all in! he is so in awe of the world around him and wants to touch (and suck on) everything! whatever I'm doing...brushing my hair, getting dressed, eating, brushing my teeth, folding clothes...he is watching my every move in fascination. he is definitely going to be getting into anything and everything in just a few short months. I can't wait!
some milestones this month include grabbing toys and putting them in his mouth, taking out and putting in his paci, lifting the flaps in his books, putting his hands together and laughing! he is getting better at tummy time and can push himself up on his forearms. he talks all the time to whoever will listen and his coos are the cutest! I love the sound of his little voice.
one of his favorite sounds to make is this crackly "ahhh," all drawn out, without taking a breath. once he does take a breath he repeats it. Mark and I think it's hilarious! he usually does it in the evenings before bed, when he's all calm and relaxed. on Sunday he did it (loudly) through a really long prayer, haha.
Clark is getting really good at standing (with help) and loves to stand on a variety of surfaces...the table, kitchen counters, grandad's desk. sometimes I just carry him around the house and let him stand on every surface. he loves it!
at four months, I've really and truly started to become obsessed with you. sometimes I am overwhelmed with so much love for you it makes me ache. whenever you cry or are in distress, like when you were sick, I hope you know that I'm only trying to help you and do anything I can think of to make you happy again. not because I don't like the crying but because I can't stand to see you sad. I wish you could understand that. my love for you is a love unlike any I've ever known. it's a need, an absolute need for your complete happiness and wellbeing. you are a part of me, the most perfect part and I love you unconditionally. my sweet little Clark.
