4 Months Old!

I just realized that I totally didn’t do a 3 month update for our little nugget! Although I will say that I think his official 3 month birthday was a couple of days after his 12 week update…so we’ll just count that as both, OK?

 

This past month has brought so many small, subtle changes that have added up to a newborn officially becoming a baby. Austin is seriously so much fun and brings so much joy to our little family. Every day presents new challenges, but (as my friend Megan put it) it feels like I’m not always in survival mode all the time these days. We’ve started to have a little more routine with feedings and naps, to the point that I can kind of plan what our days will look like with a little more ease. At the moment he’s eating about 5-6 times a day with about 4 naps in between. He’s sleeping about 8-10 hours at night, which is incredible.

 

HOWEVER.

 

We still haven’t been able to get him to sleep in his crib all night. He sleeps just fine in there for naps, but it’s like at nighttime a switch flips and his crib is the worst place in the world. He’ll eventually end up downstairs in the rock & play, but he’s nearing the weight limit for that thing. As I type this he’s happily sleeping in his crib, so I’m hoping that maybe (?) he’ll last the night up there?

Other than that we have no problems though! He gets cranky at the end of the day, but so does every kid, and there’s the occasional boycotted nap, but that’s normal too. Austin is also getting super chatty these days, testing the volumes that his sweet little voice can reach for any reason under the sun. He’s also only happy when he’s standing, which is exactly how his big brother was at this age too! It’s been really fun to see how they’ve developed similarly so far, even though they are both definitely their own little people.

 

Austin is rolling over with ease, resting on his little forearms, holding his head up like a champ, and loves bopping around in the exersaucer. I know around this age we had Wes in a Johnny Jump-Up but I haven’t done that with Austin yet. I think we’ll get it out sometime in the next couple of weeks, though, as his head control continues to improve. He’s also grabbing at everything and bringing it up to his mouth, and yesterday he grabbed his toes for the first time! When he does stuff like that I just can’t believe how quickly time has gone. Feels like just yesterday Wes was doing the same thing!

It’s crazy to me that when Wes was this age we were about to get on a plane and fly to California with him. I can’t imagine doing that now, although my thought process includes doing it with two these days. Maybe some day, right?

 

Can I be honest? I’ve mentioned it a lot before in passing, but having two kids is hard work. I wouldn’t trade a single second for anything, but trying to balance their needs and give them both the attention they need and deserve leaves me exhausted beyond belief at the end of the day. Right after having Wes I think I told Nate I was ready to have 6 kids, at which he looked at me like I was crazy, but now I’m thinking two is more my speed unless the Lord decides otherwise. I pray every day that He fills in the massive gaping holes of my parenting and that these boys feel fully loved every moment of every day.

So that’s the 4th month of life with this little dude! Tired as I am, I just love getting to see his little face every day, feel his little hands, and love that I get to nurse him. Those are some of the sweetest moments – when his little body is snuggled up close to mine and I can hear him breathing and drinking and getting stronger every time. Amazing. And I can’t wait for this next month to come!