All Smiles

I just can't get enough of Nathan's smiles. He has been such a happy baby lately. He wakes up in the morning with big smiles which makes getting woken up so early in the morning a whole lot easier for me, especially considering I have never been a morning person. His smile makes it all worth while. He has also started babbling all the time. He'll just start "talking" to whoever will listen whether it be me, one of his toys, or his own reflection. It's fun to carry on a conversation with him and to see his responses. He loves it when you repeat his babbles. I think it probably makes him feel like you really understand what he is trying to say.

PEPS

Nathan and I have been in a PEPS (Program forEarly Parent Support) group since the beginning of December. It is a mom's support group that meets once a week with all the members being from the West Seattle area. We have two group leaders who organize where we meet and which topics we will be discussing each week. They have also arranged a few speakers to come and talk to us about various topics. I have learned a lot from attending these meetings, and it is a great source of support for me. It's been really fun to meet other moms in the area and to get to know their babies too. It's amazing to see how much the babies have grown in the last few months. I wish we would have taken a picture at one of the early meetings, but it will be fun to take another picture in the future and compare it with these. All the babies are around the same age, ranging from 3 1/2 months to 5 1/2 months old.

4 Month Check-up

Nathan saw the pediatrician for his 4 month check-up on Saturday. He got a clean bill of health. He is doing all the things he's expected to do for his age and is a healthy little guy. He did get another round of immunizations which was not for for Mom, but I was thankful Steve was able to come with me for moral support. Nathan did fine with it all, I think it's harder for the parents than it is for the baby. He did cry, but I fed him right away, so he quickly calmed down and forgot all about it fairly quickly. After he got his shots, he was really sleepy and took a good nap, but later it the day he was quite fussy. I don't think he was feeling very well, so we gave him some tylenol as directed by his doctor and that seemed to help a lot. So, here are his stats: 17 lbs. 8 oz (91%) and 26.75 inches (95%) long. He is definitely growing really well!

One thing we have been having a hard time with is Nathan's sleep. He is definitely not the best sleeper. He has his good nights, but then he has some not so good nights. The pediatrician gave us some pointers to try to help the situation. She suggested letting him cry it out for a little while as long as we know he is not hungry. It actually seems to be working, but we have to be willing to stick it out through his crying which is not easy. Usually, he will fall asleep within 15-20 minutes which is really pretty good, but it feels like so much longer when you want to pick him up and comfort him. I think it will get easier if we stick with it, or at least I am hoping it will get easier.