Aiden :: 4 Months

Aiden,

You are such a joy, our sweet boy! You are growing so fast, and we can hardly believe that you are already four months old. I know I say this every month, but you are just such a happy baby! Your smiles and giggles light up the room, and they can make the most stressful of days so much better in an instant. We have discovered that you are actually ticklish! We can tickle your little belly or your tiny baby toes, and you just giggle and coo and just can't handle it haha. We can already see how you are itching to jump in and play with your brother and sister; you look for them when you hear them come near and start kicking a lot, like you're ready to go catch up with them. I fight the excitement of seeing you running around and playing with them and wanting to keep you tiny forever. We love you so much, and while we soak up all the tiny baby moments, we are excited to see how you grow and develop in the next month.

Love, 

Mama

AIDEN MICHAEL

Stats :: 18.5 pounds {according to your sister, you are "hebby" = heavy}

Clothing/Diaper Size :: you are wearing size 6 month clothes, and we are currently finishing the last of the size 2 diapers {probably a risky move}, but you really have already moved to size 3 {!}

Loves :: watching Eli and Maddie, bath time, giggling with Daddy

Dislikes :: getting dressed, waiting when you're hungry

Eat :: you were still eating on a random and different schedule every day at the beginning of the month, but once you started sleeping better, your eating schedule started to even out. your appetite has really picked up in the last week or so, so you're either going through a growth spurt, or are just starting to eat more on a regular basis.

Sleep :: for most of the month, you really seemed to struggle with this. we thought you were heading for longer stretches at night, but it lasted only a few short nights, and then you reverted back to waking several times a night. it got harder and longer to put you to sleep, so we decided it was time to move you to your own room and work on some sleep training. which also meant that you got to move into the Magic Merlin Sleep Suit {which, by the way, you are at the highest of the weight range for the size small and will have to move to the large suits pretty soon haha}. we took away the pacifier, and you only get it now if we are out and about and nothing else seems to settle you, which {so far} has been pretty rare. surprisingly, you don't seem to miss it at all. I was convinced that it would take some time to get into a rhythm with sleep, but you completely proved me wrong! you fussed for maybe 8 minutes and fell right to sleep with no problem, and you were sleeping 11 hours on night 2. your brother and sister didn't do that until almost 5 months! you still love those 30-45 minute naps, but if you are sleeping all night long, you can have those shorter naps, sweet boy! it took a little bit of trial and error, but it seems that you need/like to have about 2 hours of awake time between naps, and then you won't fuss at all when we put you down, going right to sleep. you really have made it super easy for us; I'm almost afraid to say that out loud because I don't want to jinx it... but we are so grateful!

Play/Development :: you have become very vocal, "talking" constantly. you discovered your tongue this month, so you are constantly sticking it out, and your hands are always in your mouth. or you're grabbing for someone else's hands to put in your mouth. you started rolling tummy to back, though I think the weight of your head carries you over most of the time haha. you are trying to roll back to tummy, but haven't quite figured that out just yet. tummy time still isn't your favorite, but you will tolerate it a little more now, and you have started to reach for toys in front of you while you're on your tummy. you "graduated" from your physical therapy, though we are still working on your stretches and turning to your left. your growth spurts slowed your progress, but you didn't have a regression, so you're right on track to having a nice, round head :)

Unique to You :: little man, you absolutely love bath time! you can be fussy, but as soon as you hear the water start to run for your bath, you are all smiles because you know what's coming! you have had the most stubborn case of cradle cap {your brother and sister had it too}, and it is just now starting to clear up. my absolute favorite time of day is bedtime with you...feeding and rocking you before bed, snuggled up close to me, tiny hand wrapped around my finger...it makes me want to pause time in that moment so I can hold you close forever...