Zachary Update - Month 4

Look who wiggled half off his play mat?

(December 31, 2011 - 4 months, 1 week old)

Can you believe it? My little man is four months old (as of December 23rd). The fact that four months have gone by is shocking. I remember those first few weeks, when Zach wasn't sleeping and then when he was losing weight, and I remember thinking that if one more person told me to enjoy these moments because they go so fast, that I might be arrested for assault. (Because let me tell you - nothing goes by quickly when you're waking up every 2.5-3 hours to feed a baby. And it's even worse when you can't "sleep when the baby sleeps" because your toddler thinks that baby's nap time is the perfect time for one-on-one playtime with mommy...) But here we sit - my little buddy is four months old. Amazing.

Zach had his four-month well-visit with the doctor on December 30th, and the news was good. Heck, the news was amazing! Zach weighs in at 16 pounds - this puts him in the 50th-75th percentile for weight and marks a gain of 2.5 pounds in the last month. (Considering the doctor said most babies gain a pound a month at this age, our Zach is definitely an overachiever!) Zach is also 26.25 inches tall, which puts him in the 85th percentile for height. So yes, my little baby who was losing weight uncontrollably at 3 - 4 weeks old is now wearing 6-9 month clothing at 4 month because he's so big. Praise God for His healing of my little man!

The doctor said that all else checked out well, too. Zach is doing great with his head control, and he absolutely loves spending time in his exersaucer. He's still not a fan of tummy time, but I do push the issue every day in the hopes that he'll learn to like it. He's rolling from his back onto his side A LOT, so we're waiting for that first complete back-to-front roll to happen. He's getting much better at reaching out and grabbing toys. Of course, everything that makes it into his hands inevitably makes it into his mouth and gets covered by drool, but it is exciting to see him making such progress and doing things he couldn't do just a few weeks ago.

Sleeping and eating are both still going well. The doctor okayed us to begin cereals with Zach and then move on to fruits and veggies if he shows no adverse reactions to cereals. I remember the photos we have of Abby's first few tries with cereal, and I can't wait to see how Zach does with his first solids. Zach is still sleeping through the night - about 10 hours a night, and he gives me either two or three naps during the day for a total of about 4 hours of daytime sleep. I know the sleep is good for him, and I love that Abby and I have that one-on-one time together in the morning and the afternoon.

Abby is still in love with Zachary. He's incredibly alert and will watch her whenever she's in the room, even if she's just sitting on the couch. Zach smiles all the time and he's started to laugh within the last month. Abby loves to do things to make him laugh, and I've located all of his ticklish spots so I can coax a laugh out of him, too.

Love that serious face!

Another month of growth. Another month of development. But most importantly, another month of gummy smiles and belly laughter and His great blessings for our little family, all thanks to this growing boy.