Learning to Be 31: Obadiah Ryker: 4 Months

So much has happened in this past month!! Little man is becoming his own little person. He is talking more and more, entertaining himself for short bits of time, standing (with assistance) as much as he can, and changing every single day.

He also got to meet his family in Michigan! 6 more aunts and uncles and 7 cousins...he was surely loved. And Aelah loved showing off her baby brother. We did learn, however, that he doesn't like to travel. Sleeping in the car is a no-go for this guy. Maybe, and I mean, maybe we would get a 45 minute stretch (at home he'll sleep almost 3 hours)...and then he was pretty fussy while he was awake. We turned an 8 hour trip into 12 - with about two hours of that being intentional "stop and stretch" time. Definitely a couple of long days - but glad he got to meet the rest of his family.

How am I growing?

He's definitely a small little guy. And we love that about him. Some of his 3-6 month stuff is still too big! His official measurements for this month are 14 lbs 2 oz (33rd percentile) and 25.5 inches (68th percentile). Under weight and a little tall. At this point, Aelah was in 6-9 month clothing and weighed over a pound more than he does now! Here's a comparison photo. For everyone who thinks he looks like Aelah...I think you might be right....

What's New?

He rolled for the first time (back to front) just days after turning 3 months and not shortly after that he rolled the other way (belly to back) but he forgets he can do that from time to time. Belly time is still the worst - if we make it two minutes without a melt down we're doing great! We also dedicated Obi to the Lord this month. It was a great day - perfect weather for a patio lunch after church and time with all of our favorite people (missing just a few).

How am I sleeping?

We definitely hit the 3-4 month sleep regression shortly after turning 3 months. It was rough. I felt like everything we had accomplished had gone out the window. He was no longer able to self-soothe and was waking more often than ever. After a crash-course refresher, I was reminded that it's right about this time that sleep cycles actually start to occur. It isn't all deep sleep all the time. Plus there's a ton of development. And, apparently, Aelah did the same thing about this time. So, instead of what I thought I should do - make bedtime later, I actually did the opposite and made bedtime earlier. It worked! Bed between 6:30 and 7, up once to eat, and then wakes for the day between 6:30 and 7. Plus two solid naps during the day. It isn't always perfect. But we're finding some sort of rhythm. And I'm glad for that.

Now for some pics!