Vincent's 4 Month Update!

Height/Weight: According to our home scale, Vincent weighs 15 lbs! And I finally got around to purchasing measuring tape, and according to it, he is 25.5 inches long. So he has gained about 1 1/2 lbs and grown 2 inches this last month! He is getting so big.

Daily: We don't really have a set routine anymore, but Vince has started getting tired around the same times every day; at noon, at around 3 and again between 5 and 6, which is generally when I put him down for naps unless we're out and about. He doesn't sleep for very long; usually between 30 minutes to an hour. On occasion he sleeps for two hours, but only seldom. And he has completely stopped sleeping on me - he hasn't in a month! He used to only nap on my chest and now, he won't fall asleep that way at all! I miss the snuggles, but at the same time, I'm glad he is getting used to his crib and falling asleep on his own. And it gives me time to get things done around the house and a little time for myself!
As far as activities go, Vincent is pretty much doing the same things as last month. We rotate between the Pack n' Play for tummy and activity mat time, my lap, the bouncy seat and the horse jumparoo. (I guess that's what it's called haha!) He has gotten SO much more patient on his activity mat! It used to be that he would lose patience after about 3 minutes. Now, he will go as long as 15 to 20! I don't like to keep him on it longer than that anyway, since I prefer him to keep upright as much as he can. But it encourages him to reach out for toys and move around a bit. Tummy time has gotten much better too! It usually lasts about 3-5 minutes, which is spent completely upright on his elbows. I also have him practice rolling over several times a day during tummy time. 
When in my lap, he likes to sit or stand, while holding onto my thumbs. When he stands up, he giggles when I say "Yaaaay!" and clap his hands together. :D 

Sleep: His bedtime is still 8, but can sometimes be closer to 9, depending on when his last nap was or when we finished dinner. Since Mike sometimes gets home pretty late, we're still eating dinner at 8. His bedtime routine has changed just a little: First I change his diaper and apply lotion while putting him in his pajamas. Afterward, I read him a story, swaddle him and nurse him to sleep in the dark. He then either sleeps in his crib or the swing, depending on whether or not he puts up a fuss. I do try to get him to sleep in the crib every night and during nap time though and use the swing as a last resort. His sleep has gotten SO much better! He has begun to sleep from about 9 at night to 2 or 4 in the morning, has a dream feed and goes straight back to sleep until about 7 or 8. It varies from night to night, but he generally has a very long stretch first, followed by a short stretch. I'm finally starting to feel like more of a person and less of a zombie, now that I'm getting more sleep! The longest he has gone between feedings at night this month was 9 hours!! :D He has just begun a pretty gnarly growth spurt, so he has gone back to not sleeping very well again, but I know it will pass soon. As far as swaddling goes, I plan to continue with it until he starts rolling from his back to his tummy. 

Eating: Vincent still continues to eat every 2-3 hours during the day. He really doesn't show hunger signs like he used to, so often I just feed him at the 2 hour mark, whether he seems hungry or not. He still seems to favor nursing on the left side. During the day, I often have to feed him in the football position if it's time to nurse on the right side, because he really fights it! I've gone back to nursing in the side lying position during the morning feeding, which gives Vince a little more shut-eye and a bit of time for me to wake up. It's nice and I get my snuggles this way. :)
Mike and I don't want to start solids until Vince is at least 6 months old. He has been gaining weight, growing well and seems very satisfied after feedings. I do look forward to introducing solids though - he is starting to give us curious looks when he watches us eat! In fact, watching me snack on popcorn makes him smile! 

Sizes: He still fits in some off his 0-3 and 3 month clothing, even though he is growing so much! The Carter's brand seems to make longer onesies, which are the ones he still fits in. They are getting small on him, but I want to continue putting him in it as long as I can, since we have so much 0-3 month clothing. I am trying to keep him out of 3-6 month until he is completely out of 0-3, just so I can continue to get good use out of it. I started putting Vince in size 2 diapers on the 11th of June. I can imagine he will just be getting into size 3 by 5 months old.  

Milestones and Changes:

• Vince is learning how to blow raspberries! It is SO cute. If I do it and wait for him, he will almost always blow them back! Sometimes with bubbles, sometimes without.

• He laughed for the first time! I was playing with him on the bed and he let out this giggle, so I set up the camera and he seriously laughed! He has only done it a few more times since then, but I try to make him laugh every day!

• He rolled over for the first time! He since then has only rolled over a few more times; he likes to roll onto his side and just stay there. He seems to fight rolling over a lot! It takes more effort for him to stay upright than to roll over.

• As speaking of rolling over, if Vince is lying on his back and I give him one of my fingers to grab hold of, he will roll onto his tummy!
• He can sit, just holding my finger with one hand. A few times, he has been able to sit upright without assistance for a few seconds, before slowly tipping forward. Hehe

• He found his feet! He is constantly grabbing them and pulling them up. Especially when he is on his back! It makes it difficult to change his diaper or swaddle him sometimes because of it.

• If I hand him his pacifier, he knows how to put it in his mouth! And if he doesn't have his pacifier, he likes to suck those same two fingers that he began to last month. 

• I believe he may be teething! He gets fussy when he doesn't have something to chew on, so I started filling his soothie pacifiers with water and freezing them. He will hold it in his mouth and chew on it until the ice melts. I also picked up some teething toys filled with purified water, that I store in the freezer for him. He seems to like them pretty well also.

• He is still very talkative and is VERY good at expressing his feelings! When he is happy, he coos and shrieks and when he is getting mad or impatient, he lets out these ridiculously long grunts and even has a grumpy cry! In the photo is the famous (and adorable) "I'm pissed off" pout!