4 months old!

Jackson is 4 months old today! The time continues to fly, and we continue to be delighted by our sweet "little" boy.

Jackson has grown so much this past month developmentally. He is so interactive now, and is so fun to watch as he watches and learns every day. He loves to grab things with his hands now, which makes play time fun! He is constantly chewing on his fists or anything else he can get to his mouth. He drools a lot, too. We think he's working on cutting some teeth, although we can't see or feel them yet. He sure is working hard, though. He still "talks" and babbles all the time! He's a very vocal baby, and has really gotten into a sort of growling thing lately as well. He'll especially do it when he's really tired. He still is happiest when he's being held, and has spent a lot of time lately in the Moby wrap. He loves facing out like this, where he can see the world. And, it's a great way to hold him while still being able to get things done (well, not everything, but some things, at least!). He also really loves playing with his daddy...

...and with his sister....


Lately, whenever he's laying on his back, he lifts his head up like shown in this picture. He wants to sit up so badly, but can't quite hold himself steady enough yet. He does sit for about 20 seconds before toppling over!

He's getting very strong, and can lift his head all the way up when on his tummy. He doesn't roll over very often, but has done it several times. He's also working on rolling from his back to his tummy. He's gotten about 96% of the way there. One more little kick and he'll make it!


What a cute smile!


Jackson still is not a great sleeper. We have been working on more of a bedtime routine and time with him, and he does go down earlier now. Our typical day looks something like this:
Wake around 8:00.
Nurse sometime, depending on the night/early morning.
Get Kathryn from her bed, change diapers, play.
Breakfast (Jackson in bouncy seat).
Clean up kitchen (still in bouncy seat).
Play all together (Jackson on floor, sitting in my lap, etc.)
"Nap" sometime between 9:15 and 10:00. This usually lasts anywhere from 15-30 minutes.
Nurse.
Play. Lunch (Jackson in bouncy seat). Play.
Kathryn's nap. This is a sweet time with both kids, where we go up to Kathryn's room, she picks out several books, then we sit in her rocking chair with both kids on my lap and read books. Jackson sits for at least 10 minutes for this and pays attention to the books. He really seems to enjoy this time together. Then we lay Kathryn down and head downstairs.
Nurse.
"Nap" sometime around 1:30ish.
Play with mommy till Kathryn wakes up. (The goal is to have them both napping for a significant time in the afternoon together!)
Nurse.
Play with sister and daddy (when he gets home) until dinner time. Sometimes he naps a little during this time too.
In bouncy seat while we eat dinner.
Nurse.
Then bathtime with sister (he loves this, and so does she!), bedtime routine with sister, then downstairs to play a little bit before bedtime for him.
Nurse.
In bed sometime between 8:00 and 9:00.
Dreamfeed one more time between 10 and 11.
This is where it gets tricky. He's been waking up at least every 3 hours to eat. He was sleeping much longer than this for at least one part of the night, but ever since Christmas, he has been waking up much more frequently. We're praying that as we work on some sleep training with him, this will be corrected soon. So, at this point in time, he wakes up at least 2-3 times each night to eat, before waking up finally for the day around 8:00. The nursing times are also a rough estimate. It depends on the day as to when exactly he nurses in that schedule. He is starting to stretch to about 3 hours between each feeding, although sometimes he'll want to eat a little more frequently for a couple of those times. He also still loves the swing and spends a good bit of time in there during some of those play times. It's a good way for him to be sitting up some, and we can put toys on the tray in front or in his hands and he watches Kathryn play while playing with his little toys too.

We still swaddle him to sleep. I am trying not to swaddle him for naptimes, to get him used to not being swaddled. However, I have recently been giving in, thinking that if I can get him into a good nap schedule, that's more important first. Then we'll work on breaking the swaddle habit. When he isn't swaddled, he does like to hold something near his face. It seems to help soothe him, and keeps his hands a little more calm. The whole sleep thing has been tough for me, honestly. Please pray that we can get his sleep improved very soon...we're very tired!

He is scheduled for his checkup on Wednesday, so I'll post all the latest stats then. He is still big for his age, but he's not chunky at all. I think he's just a big boy all around! We love our sweet boy, and can't believe another month has passed!