Aurick turned four months on the seventh of February.
Four months is usually a tumultuous time for infants, what with sleep regressions, a fairly hefty Wonder Week, and other such upheavals. This post is written one week into Aurick’s fifth month, however, and so far we seem to not be rocked too greatly by these bumps in the proverbial road.
Sleep (and I hope I’m not jinxing myself by saying this) has not regressed very much yet–he is still up once a night or so. Once we’re through this month I will focus on dropping that last night feeding, but I am still waiting to see how we fair before tackling that. He naps very well, generally speaking. We do, however, have a bit of a hairy situation in the afternoons between his last nap and bedtime. That last nap ends just slightly too far from bedtime to make the afternoon totally painless. We’re always spending the last 30-60 minutes fussing and trying to not fall asleep too early. (Or really, I’m trying to keep him from falling asleep too early. He certainly tries his best to fall asleep. Sometimes I give up and let him have at it.)
His little face has gotten so round! When he’s on his belly, his cheeks hang down like the jowls of a hound dog. He reminds me very much of a baby Clive at the moment. In fact, after looking over some baby pictures, I’d say the answer to the perennial question of “who does he look like” is that he’s a perfect blend of baby Anselm and baby Clive–except, of course, for the times when he isn’t. Then he looks like no one except himself. (Naturally.)
His hair is growing all over in peach-fuzz fashion, and his eyes have turned that indecipherable grey color that the girls’ have taken on at about this age. He’s abandoned the sweet hoo, hoo coos of last month in favor of growling and gurgling. One of our favorite pastimes is growling at each other. Despite the ferocious sound of this exercise, it is actually quite enjoyable, so long as there’s not too much drooling involved. (His drooling, not mine.)
He has a limited appreciation for tummy time. He’ll last about two minutes before letting you know, in no uncertain terms, that he’s fed up with it. He does love lying under the IKEA gym that all the children have played with as babies. Most of all he loves if you will come talk to him while he is lying under the IKEA gym. That way, he can bat at the toys and growl at you at the same time.
(Ephraim adds: “Most of all he loves when Ephraim comes over, raises the toys, and talks to him in a weird voice. Then he is the happiest of all.”)
He’s generally quite happy, so long as he isn’t tired. Aurick will let you know very quickly when he’s ready to go to sleep. It is (other than tummy time) practically the only time he fusses. At this time, if you pick him up, he turns himself sideways, buries his face, and goes to sleep. It’s an absurdly simple process. (Hopefully any sleep regressions won’t disrupt its success too badly.)
Another favorite pastime is to kick his legs. He may be secretly taking tap lessons during the night–his kicks are quite flamboyant and expressive. He’s starting to shake his whole bassinet when he does it. Almost time to move this munchkin to his mini crib!
Leave a Reply