sweet charlie, four months
I had fully forgotten how much a baby changes in four short months. All the newborn-ness has melted away, quietly slipped between my fingers. Now he's an infant, taking in the world, wide-eyed and intrigued. He watches his brother with delight and fascination, huge beaming grins for his every action. He reaches and grabs with some semblance of purpose -- the toys dangling from bouncy chairs and playgyms are being firmly tugged and are subject to some excited babbling. In fact, many things are falling victim to those grabbing fingers, including the crumpled-up paperwork I returned to the receptionist at the doctor's office yesterday.
We're seeing hints of things Henry never did -- thumb-sucking and wanting a "lovey." His hands are in his mouth almost constantly (he must be getting close to cutting a tooth, we think) and although there's lots of fist-gnawing, occasionally it's just the thumb. He loves to hold his burp cloth, moving it around in his fingers and getting it up in his face (and into his mouth, of course).
Like Henry, Charlie drools buckets -- soaking through multiple outfits most days and leaving puddles on anyone in his wake. Also like Henry, he has made quick friends with "Sophie Giraffe." He happily gums on her horns and ears and then yelps in frustration when he drops her. He willingly mouths the other teethers we've offered (wooden rings, cloth dolls), but Sophie seems to be the favorite. He's also taken to sucking on any skin that gets near his mouth, with a special fondness for my neck and shoulders. He gets down to business fast and has given me hickey-like marks before I can intervene. He's done the same thing to his own forearm, leaving a big, menacing-looking, red, oval mark. Consider yourself warned, lest your tasty skin is in his reach.
He has an ever-increasing repertoire of sounds and happy babbles. He chortles and chuckles -- sometimes in response to tickles and nibbles, sometimes in response to seemingly nothing. He's a chipper baby, indeed. Quick to smile. When I flash him a big grin, he can't help but reciprocate, his eyes lighting up and crinkling with happiness.
We've experienced a big, glorious, 360-degree turnaround in his opinion of the carseat. One day we realized that we hadn't had to crank up the radio static in awhile. And, wow, he's even fallen asleep while driving a couple of times. Once again, car rides are peaceful and mostly stress-free. Thank goodness.
When one thing gets easier, I suppose it's only natural that something else deteriorates a bit. Car = easier, sleep = notsomuch. During the day, he's awake way more than a four-month-old should be. He takes tiny little catnaps and seems to think that's all he needs these days. He's been a bit tricky to get settled for the evening and sleeps restlessly many nights. A few times I've even resorted to the dreaded deep-knee-bends that were de rigueur for perennially sleepless Henry. But, despite lack of sleep, he continues to be mostly cheerful. And I expect him to come back around to his previously sleepy ways anyway, since he's probably just victim to the four-month sleep regression right now. So, it's all good. And as I know from experience, it could be much worse.
We'd been getting many comments from people about how long Charlie looks for his age (and how long is arms are, how big his hands are, how big his feet are ...) -- and his measurements at his well-check confirmed this. The boy takes after his 6'6" daddy. He's in the 96th percentile for length: 27 inches. Weighing in at an even 17 pounds. He's one big, lanky, squishy, delicious bundle of perfection. We are blessed.
