Harrison: Four Month Checkup

Can you believe my little dude is four months old already?!? It seems like just yesterday I was staring at my six-pound peanut in the NICU, and now here we are, calling Harrison "the tank" because he's gotten so big! We had his four month checkup today, and here are the latest stats:

Weight: 15 pounds, 2 ounces--56th percentile for his age
Height: 25.5 inches--73rd percentile for his age
Head Circumference: 44.5 centimeters--95th percentile for his age

That last stat is no shock at all--Aaron and I both have huge melons. Heads, I mean, although I have rather large melons of the other sort as well. But that's another story.

So, our little man is growing quite nicely. He's also performing lots of really cool feats! He has started to roll over (from tummy to back--he hasn't rolled the other way yet). He is able to support his head unassisted and he has great control of his head. He is able to sit up with help. He bears all of his weight on his legs when he is standing (supported, of course). He smiles all the time (he's quite possibly one of the smiliest babies I have ever seen), he cackles and giggles, he squeals in delight, he coos and truly interacts with anyone who chats with him--ah, babyhood is truly magical.

He's eating right around 30 ounces of formula everyday and he has stretched his feedings out now from every 2.5 or 3 hours to every 3.5 or 4 hours, which is a welcome change. Our pediatrician wants us to wait until H turns five months before starting him on solids, but I don't know. I started Grace out on rice cereal when she was four months old, and she did a great job. I'll give it a couple of weeks and then we might go ahead and give it a shot.

And--I'm almost afraid to say it because it's too good to be true and I don't want to jinx it--Harrison is sleeping 6 to 8 hours at a stretch at night. He usually has his last bottle of the evening between 8:00pm and 9:00pm, and then he falls asleep and generally doesn't wake up until 4:00am or 4:30am. We'd love to see him stretch that to 5:30am or 6:00am, but hey, I'm happy with this for a while.

(L.W.W.B., you were right--it did happen very quickly. Suddenly, this past Monday night, he slept from 9:00pm until 4:30am for us, and he's been doing it every night since.)

I am truly, truly treasuring every single moment with my little boy, because I know from experience that this wonderful phase will pass far too quickly. I want to kiss those chubby cheeks as much as I can. I want to take in that heavenly baby head smell. I want to nibble on those little toes and ears and that little tummy. I want to hold him in my arms and watch him sleeping.

And the moment you've all been waiting for....the four month picture. Try not to go blind from the cuteness.