Dear Oliver,
A few days ago, I went back and re-read
the letter that I wrote to your big brother when he turned 4 months old. I couldn't believe how similar you are to him when he was 4 months old. You 're pretty much the same baby! Honestly, I could copy and paste the text of his letter right into this letter, and no one would know the difference. You are so similar! But I won't do that to you. You're special enough to get your very own letter from your mama. :)
You continue to be the world's sweetest baby. You are so patient. You never complain about anything and just go with the flow. You are smiley, calm and happy all the time. Your dad and I really need to follow your example more because you are so awesome. We are very lucky to have you in our family.
Your hand/eye coordination has improved a lot this month since we've been giving you toys to play with. You love toys, but become very attached to them while playing with them. You grasp them tightly in your little fists and bring them to your mouth to slime. You will suck on them until you lose your grip, and then when you drop them, you cry out in frustration. You get very emotional about your toys, and you are pretty noisy until we hand them back to you.
You are still spitting up a ton, you poor kid. I bet you only keep 70% of what goes in. The other 30% comes out as lots of slimy, curdled milk. It's gross, dude. I feel bad for you and don't really know why you do it so much. I wonder if something I'm eating doesn't agree with you. I've tried cutting dairy out of my diet, but it didn't really seem to make a difference, so I went back to eating it. Yum!
We've been struggling with your sleep schedule this month, both morning and night. You still aren't sleeping through the night, which is a major bummer. You usually get up once in the middle of the night to eat and once in the early morning just to fuss. If we switch you from your crib to your swing, you'll sleep for a few more hours. Most of your naps during the day are taken in your swing. The problem with your naps is that they are really short. You're a cat napper, just like your brother was. It's rare for you to sleep longer than a half hour or 45 minutes. Your dad and I think it's time for a little sleep training, aka crying it out! Sorry dude, but the time has come! You'll learn soon enough!
You pretty much have no hair, which is adorable and funny looking at the same time. You had some seriously dark hair when you were born, but it all fell out and the peach fuzz that's growing in looks pretty light. I hate to say it, but I think I might have two blonde boys! I always pictured you with really dark brown hair like your dad, but I don't know if that's going to happen. You might have inherited my blonde locks!
We've gone through a rough couple of weeks with nursing because of how distracted you've become. Pretty much everything is more interesting to you than eating. It doesn't help that it's practically impossible to feed you without Eli coming into the room to add to the distraction. You look around the room, arch your back, and turn your head in the direction of any sound or colorful object that catches your interest. I'm glad you are discovering the world around you, but I wish you wouldn't do it while I'm trying to feed you! We've had a few days where you've been so distracted and have nursed so little, that I've had to pump in the middle of the day because my breasts were going to explode from all that uneaten milk!
Just like your brother, you won't take a bottle. I am so mad! I tried so, so, so hard to get you to take a bottle from the time you were just a few weeks old, but you just won't do it. It doesn't even matter if you're totally starving, you still won't take it. So alas, I give up. I have no freedom. I can't leave you for more than a few hours at a time so that I can nurse you. I love nursing you, but it definitely ties me down too.
You've started doing this funny thing where you'll make eye contact with me and start vigorously sucking the air with this wild look in your eyes to let me know that you want to eat. Like right now. Like you can't wait another second! Instead of crying like most babies, you give me the signals in such an adorable way that I can never deny you your request. It is so cute!
In all, you're the best baby we could have asked for. So sweet, patient and happy. I'm honored to be your mother and learn from your example. Thanks for the light you bring into my life every single day.
With love,
Mama
4 Month Stats:
Weight: 16 lbs, 9 oz. (85th percentile)
Length: 25 3/4 inches (80th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16.5 inches (45th percentile)
