4 Months

I wrote this post several weeks ago, but didn't take the pics until a week after he turned 4 months old, and then it's taken me this long to edit the photos. So, a week before he turns 5 months old, here's his 4 month post.

Ocean is so chubby and solid. He loves his milk :) At his checkup his weight percentile went up from  the 85th to the 88th percentile and his height stayed in the 50th. Once he starts moving that will change though. For now, he just sits on our laps or lays on the floor with his toys. No rolling over yet, so I think we've got a while before he starts crawling and walking.

snuggle brothers

He's developed a couple eczema patches that I think are probably related to something I'm eating. I suspect chocolate since he tends to spit up more when I eat too much chocolate. On the one hand, getting rid of chocolate is a sad prospect, but on the other it would be good for me to eat less sugar. I've been working on decreasing my chocolate intake, but I need to take the plunge and stop eating it all together. Dairy could be an issue as well, so it's definitely time for me to buckle down and get serious about being more careful about what I eat.

puckering up to blow spit bubbles

Ocean is very talkative and makes the cutest cooing and gurgling noises.

We've been trying to decide who he looks like, and after I looked at this pic I totally saw my younger brothers in his face.

His newborn hair is almost completely gone. He's got a tiny amount of fringe at the back, plus his tuft in the front, which is thinning. The tuft is still more than Sunshine had (hers consisted of 8 hairs), but less than River's tuft. New growth is coming in all over and he has a fuzzy little head. His hair isn't as dark as River's, but is darker than Sunshine's was at his age. Hers has darkened as she's gotten older, but she was a lot blonder when she was younger.

sticking out his tongue

blowing bubbles

Ocean's eyes are changing from newborn gray to brownish, but we're still not sure if they will settle on brown or hazel.

He's such a ticklish little guy and giggles so easily.

drooly baby

frothing at the mouth :)

He blows lots of spit bubbles and raspberries, which is even funnier when he blows milky spit bubbles after eating.

Ocean had his hearing checkup. His right ear was fine but his left was slightly off, which is a flip-flop from before, and his eardrums are still stiff so he was referred to an ENT specialist to see about clearing up whatever's going on behind his ear drums. That appointment was a week after his hearing checkup and the ENT just wants to wait and see what happens. Because of how mild Ocean's symptoms are he's not worried about Ocean's hearing but wants to check him again in a few months. We'll go back in the beginning of March for another hearing check and to see if the fluid has drained.

posing with sister

He's starting to go to bed earlier, but still stays up late on some nights, so we're not completely on an earlier schedule. Even so, it's much better than the midnight bedtime he's clung to for so long.

thumb sucking while snuggling Larry

He alternates sucking his thumb and the pacifier. In some situations he wants his thumb and in others he wants the pacifier. It's kind of funny and it'll be interesting to see which he decides to stick with. Also, he sucks his right thumb, while River sucks his left thumb. Since River is proving to be left-handed I'm guessing Ocean will be right-handed.

snuggling with mommy while I tried to sew halloween costumes

Ocean still likes to be held a lot. This has resulted in him spending time strapped to me as I walk on the treadmill because he doesn't think he should be sitting in the bouncer. And this is part of why I don't spend more time on the treadmill. I can't run on the treadmill while he's in the carrier, and timing my run with his nap is frequently unsuccessful. He also wanted to be held while I sewed our Halloween costumes. That was a bit trickier, but I managed it.

the Han Solo smirk I caught while taking his 4 month photos