It feels like just yesterday I was waiting to hear if they would be inducing me. It feels like yesterday that I was in that hospital bed, hooked up to the iv and monitors, so excited to meet my baby yet slightly nervous about how he was going to come out. It feels like yesterday that I held him in my arms for the first time, my tiny 5 pound baby with scrawny arms and legs, a big head and big hands and feet with the perfect blonde hair.
Yesterday was my sweet babe's four month birthday. He is such a delight to have in our family. He is so smiley and doesn't reserve his smiles for any particular person, he gives out smiles like candy at the parade :) He is completely calm in new/busy situations and seems to be content just watching. He's still not sure what to think about his big sister Kacee but tolerates her daily kisses. We are definitely those first time parents, obsessed with every tiny thing he does, and I'm completely okay with that. I cherish the few moments that he will fall asleep in my arms these days and still love kissing him all over. I've always been a lover of the newborn stage but this kid has me realizing that each new stage is just as great! Happy four months McKai, we love you to pieces!
Weight: 12 pounds 13 ounces (6%)
I really thought he was going to be lots bigger than this! My guess was 14 pounds at least because he has grown right before my eyes the last two weeks. But, apparently he is still my little guy and I'm completely okay with that :)
Length: 23.5 inches (2%)
Head: 16 inches (14%)
Our family is always commenting that he has a big head. I'm biased and think he's perfect so I never thought so. Looks like it is slightly bigger than the rest of him but not by much! Phew... :)
Diaper Size: One.
Clothes Size: He still fits in 0-3 month and 3 month clothes but we didn't have very many warm clothes in that size so we started putting him in 3-6 month clothes as well.
Nicknames: stinky man, "urp" monster, handsome, baby boy.
Health: He still likes to throw up (hence the nickname), some days are better than others. I think he may be growing out of his reflux. I think this month we will see if we can get him off the zantac. I got a pretty bad cold a few weeks back and he ended up with a bit of a cough and stuffy nose but it only lasted a couple days for him and could have been much worse!
When McKai was maybe a month or two old, my mother-in-law noticed for the first time that his left pupil was sometimes bigger than his right pupil. We don't know if it had just started or if it was just the first time we had noticed it. We started to track it and it mostly happened in dimmer light but it always happened at least a few times a day. His pediatrician referred us to an ophthalmologist and we finally had our appointment. Because I only noticed it in dim light, I thought maybe the problem was with the right eye because it was always smaller and your eyes should dilate in less light. The pediatric ophthalmologist seemed to think that his left pupil is always a little bigger than the right pupil it's just easier to notice in the dim light. She didn't see any signs of vision problems and dilated his eyes to make sure they were healthy but everything checked out! The biggest concern was that it could be Horner's Syndrome which is often a sign of neuroblastoma. She doesn't think it's that, she thinks it is just physiologic anisocoria, thank goodness! Though it does sound like she will follow him for at least the first few years of his life. We'll have an appointment every two months until he is a year old and then less frequently after that.
Overall, he is our healthy and happy little boy and we are so grateful for that!
Sleep: I don't even know anymore. It's hard to keep track now that I'm not always here at night (and Tristan thinks if I ask too many questions about when he is sleeping, eating and pooping that I'm being controlling :). I think most of the month he stuck to the same schedule... 10-11 pm to 4 am, 7 am then up at 10-11 am. But the last few days have been brutal. We are back to every 2-3 hours so I'm hoping it's just a growth spurt. Though I am worried it's because we haven't been as good at a routine since I went back to work... we'll be working on the sleep training thing this month. He still loves to be swaddled to go to bed at night though most nights he ends up with both arms out and above his head. Some nights he even works his legs out so that the blanket is just wrapped around his torso by morning.
Diet: Breastmilk.
Likes:
- the new sailboat toy that I added to his play mat
- his green o'ball rattle
- being the center of attention so he can talk to everyone
- when he pees all over
- laying on his changing table
- the bumbo
- drooling and blowing bubbles
- shower/baths with dad
Dislikes:
- the wind
- being put in his carseat- he sticks his hands under and tries to keep us from tightening it.
- driving in the car at night because he can't see his mirror
- being hungry or tired
- soda - if mom drinks dr. pepper at work because she NEEDS the caffeine, he throws up the next few days :( looks like no more dr. pepper for this tired mom...
Milestones: This month has been huge as far as growth and development goes. He went from my little infant to a big and capable baby. I'd work three days in a row and by the end he'd be a completely different boy. He giggles more and more, it's my favorite thing in the world. He learned how to roll from his tummy to back and is getting closer to rolling back to tummy. He grabs at everything and anything and loves to bring things to his mouth. He discovered his feet but doesn't put those in his mouth yet :)
He is still my chill and happy baby! Though he has started fussing more this month, not that I can complain because he really is an angel. But man, those hysterical cries break my heart in two, every single time.
Things I don't want to forget:
- the way he announces his sneezes! when he was younger he would end a round of sneezes with an adorable coo. and now he starts a round of sneezes with a coo, cutest thing ever!
- he flirted for the first time... oh no! my mother-in-law used to tell me that Tristan would flirt when he was a baby and I never fully understood it until Tristan brought McKai to show to the girl that does my eyelashes and he was legitimately flirting with her! it was slightly adorable but man, I'm in trouble.
- the way he opens his mouth when we go to give him kisses.
- his papa likes to call him stinky man but one night when papa called him his stinky man McKai made the saddest face.
- mckai loved the movie inside out! he talked to it and made faces in reaction to the things that were happening. I couldn't believe it!
- the way his eyes go wide when he notices something new.
- at church one week, three different people told me he looks like he is getting taller.
- one saturday when his dad was working on our backyard, I took him outside to show his daddy his cute outfit and he just randomly giggled for the first time! up to that point we had to work so hard for every giggle.
- when I'd get home from work at 7 am, if he hadn't eaten recently I would go feed him before I went to bed. when I pick him up, he never really wakes up, he just lays his head on my shoulder and it is just the happiest moment for me after missing him for so many hours.
- the way he has started sucking on his thumb + pointer finger.
- the time I was getting him undressed for bath time and he peed all over himself, the mirror, and the counter. he thought it was the funniest thing in the world and just laughed and laughed for at least 5 minutes.
- the way he recognizes me. nothing makes being a mom more rewarding than when I walk into the room and the second he sees me, he gets a giant grin on his face.
^love those toesies and chubby, roll-less legs^
^the birthmark on the back of his head and neck^
^the way he looks at things with such concentration!^
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