Charlie's Fourth Month

(written previously)
Charlie is over four months now! I can’t believe it! We are seeing some more cooing (more than just the typical whines) and more smiles.

Charlie went from being an amazing sleeper (there have been two occasions that our fire alarm has randomly gone off in the middle of the night...Jason and I jump to our feet in a dash to turn it off and cringe while we open Charlie’s door to find that he is still sound asleep. What? How does that happen?) to a terrible sleeper. Ever since he got that cold at the beginning of three months, he hasn’t been able to sleep through the night. He wakes up every two to four hours! I thought we were over this stage!

Just as frustrating has been his dislike of riding in the carseat and stroller. I can’t tell you how crazy it makes me when he is screaming in the back seat while I am driving somewhere! I can physically feel my temperature rising while I am sitting there listening to him scream. It is so nuts, because my emotions are so up and down... one moment I will be laughing at his crying because it is so ridiculous, and the next moment I will be crying behind the wheel because I just can’t take it anymore! Holy cow, talk about hormones! And then I finally get to the grocery store and he just cries even more while I walk down the aisles. It got to the point that I knew I just couldn’t take him anywhere with me.

However, if we are at home and he is not confined to a car seat, I have noticed he has become more and more enjoyable each week. He gets lots and lots of kisses from me and Daddy. He is totally a screen-lover! Loves watching the TV and computer. If he sees the iPad or my smart phone in my hand, he just stares at it...waiting for it to make some kind of sound or display.

He has really taken to sticking his bottom lip out when he cries. It is so adorable! Do we have a drama-queen on our hands?

Oh, and speaking of hormones...my hair has been falling out like CRAZY! After every shower, I have to unclog the drain...there is so much hair! And just when I think I couldn’t possibly shed anymore, another huge clump comes out onto my comb when I brush my hair. And THEN I spend the rest of the day, feeling strands of hair against my arms as they shed down my back. Jason is disgusted by the amount of hair he finds on the carpet. I am officially freaked out! But, apparently that is pretty normal while you are breast feeding. What a bummer...as if you didn’t sacrifice enough as a woman to birth and care for a baby already.

While we are on the topic of disappointments...as I mentioned in a previous post, Charlie sustained his first real injury at this age...a burn from a curling iron. Later that same week, he fell off our bed for the first time. We laid him on his stomach a little too close to the edge of the bed. I was blow drying my hair in the bathroom and felt like I should check on him since I had noticed he was a little too close to the edge. With blow dryer in hand, I peeked around the corner to check on him and saw his head leaning and back arching in the direction of the edge. I knew he was going to fall. I dropped the blow dryer on the counter and tried to turn it off as quickly as possible...but it was still too late. As I ran into the room I saw him rolling off the bed, as if in slow motion. It was so terrible seeing him hit the ground and topple over. Horrible! What terrible parents...two injuries in a matter of a week.

The last week before turning four months, Charlie finally started sleeping through most of the night. What a relief. He is able to stand in my lap pretty well while I support him under his arms. He is getting to be quite the strong little boy. He is finally strong enough to sit in the Bumbo, which has been such a fun change. He is also loving his new ExerSaucer from Aunt Erin (but only likes it in about fifteen minute intervals).

And now to the photos of Charlie from the fourth month:

Getting a better feel for the Bumbo:

Four Month Photo Shoot by Amy Stallings:

I love this little guy SO much!