Four Months

Dear Angel Baby,
This had been a wonderful month full of social changes for you. It has been such a joy to watch you develop and grow.

Stats
We just got back from your four month appointment with Dr. Thomas. You are fifteen pounds even and are 25 inches long! Your head measures seventeen inches around. You wear 3-6 month sizes but sometimes the pants are a little tight around the middle or the onesies are a little short.

Sleep
You are still co-sleeping, although after a couple of rough nights in a row I got that bug up my butt to change your sleep habits. One night you slept two hours in your crib! These attempts only lasted two nights and you were back with us. Although now, I pass you off to Daddy when you wake too soon to nurse again and you've been sleeping with him a lot more.
You've been sleeping longer night hours. Usually from around 930 pm to 8 or 9 am. Since I stay in beef with you, I don't mind.
Your daytime naps are shorter and less predictable as you are learning to express your desires about wanting to sit up and look around. Usually, you fall asleep after nursing and only stay asleep for about thirty minutes every time. If we're home, you'll sleep for longer, typically in the morning.

Eating
You're still nursing full time.
We aren't sure, but you could be just starting to teethe. You drool a lot, which we don't mind - it's really rather cute, and you like to gum things. This could also just be you trying out your world.
We've been giving you licks of things off our fingers to try new tastes and sensations like hot or cold. You particularly liked froyo and leaned forward as if asking for more. We also gave you a bell pepper slice that had been grilled for fajitas and let you suck on it. Other than your suck being a little too powerful for Daddy's preference (he said you were going to suck it right out of his fingers!), you seemed to like the taste.
You put anything in your mouth. Anyone whose hand you hold, you desperately want their fingers. You especially like to bite things - your favorite item to bite is a washrag.

Social and Practical Changes
You smile like crazy and I absolutely adore it! You especially like to smile at me. Over the month, you smiled more and more.
This month we heard your laugh for the first time! It was more a chuckle - so your dad says - and it happened in the bath. Your daddy had you perched on his chest while he laid in the tub and he would squirt water at you from his mouth. Any time it hit you in the face, you laughed! You've laughed only a few more time since then - mostly for Daddy and mostly in the tub. He tickled your feet with the washcloth and you thought that was grand! I made you chuckle once when I was pretending to eat your tummy - I said "NOM, NOM, NOM," then nommed your tummy and you chuckled. Such a wonderful sound!
You've been practicing your speech. You'll scream and wail just for fun. I always say, "Loud!" or "Gabriel's loud!" You enjoy stuffing pieces of fabric into your mouth and wailing around them. In fact, you enjoy talking with anything in your mouth! When you're disgruntled and you come to my breast, you'll even mutter to yourself while you eat. So adorable!
You've started making intentional eye contract and focusing on faces - especially mine. You search out the eyes and will lift your head to look up at someone.
You will turn your head toward a sound, especially the sound of a voice - especially the sound of my voice. You also find someone in a room, like me, and track them. You really like to watch Rocky.
You can intentionally bring your hands together to grasp a toy. And you hold my finger to look at it and intentionally place it in your mouth.
You've begun holding my breast in place so you can better latch. Also, while nursing, you work on you're grasp and pinching, which is often my skin. I've started wearing long necklaces so you can grab them instead.
Your vocalizations are obvious attempts at communication. Your cries are very distinguishable and you rarely cry for no reason - I would even go as far as to say you never cry for no reason. This backs up my notions that the beliefs that "babies just need to cry sometimes" and "it's good for babies to cry sometimes" are false. If you respond to your baby's cries, they will learn that the vocalizations mean something and can get their wants (needs) met.
You play better on your own. As I type this, you're laying on the floor (with Rocky) on a blanket, talk to the ceiling fan, eating a cloth napkin that came home with us from Thai Taste. We still stay near you, but we're trying to allow you time alone as well. (You just yelled really loud!)

Events
We circumcised you this month. In hindsight, we would have done it sooner. It happened in Dallas and involved your first hotel stay and trip to a Galleria. The Galleria trip was just for fun, and had nothing to do with your circumcision. You can read more about the event in a later post.
You met your Great Aunt Jeanette and Great Uncle Bob. Jeanette is Grandpa Dennis' sister. She is ten years older than he and lives in Tennessee. I hope you get to see her a few more times in your life and can really know her. They are interesting people.
Jeanette and Bob were visiting Oklahoma and staying with Grandma and Grandpa Dennis. So we went home to see them.
We try to go home to Oklahoma once a month. We're so sorry we cannot raise you near our families just yet, so to make up for it, we see them as often as we can. It's a long ride and you are not partial to it. We've begun traveling over night, so you'll sleep most of the ride. It's also cooler then and our little Honda Civic doesn't have rear air!
You attended your first political event - we went to Support Chick-Fil-A Day and stood in line for an hour to show our support of the first amendment and freedom of speech/belief. One day, when you can read about it, we hope you'll agree with our political beliefs, but we want you to determine on your own where you stand.
You also attended your first surprise party. My friend's husband planned one for her 31st birthday. You thought it was grand fun until we all yelled surprise suddenly. Oh, it scared you to death! I felt so bad. But once you nursed and calmed down, you had a good time.
We take you to church every Sunday and everyone always comments on how well behaved you are. You don't participate in the children's program yet, instead going to Sunday school and "big church" with us. Usually you nurse and nap, but sometimes you sit up and listen.

I cannot wait to see what this coming month has in store for us. You're growing so quickly and I'm loving getting to witness every minute of it. You're so blessed to have such a hardworking and talented Daddy who earns enough money for Momma to stay home with you. And I'm so blessed to have such a smart, strong, sweet baby boy.

I love you,
Mommy

Three Months

Dear Gabriel,

This week you turned three months old! I cannot believe the time has passed so quickly. However, there are days that seem to never end. You weigh fourteen pounds and are a little over two feet long! You wear anywhere from three month to 3-6 month clothes. I can't believe you're that big!
We call you many names. Obviously the standards like Gabriel, Gabe, and Gabey. I also call you Gabey Baby, Lovey, Lovey Bear, Chunk, Chunkers, Chunk-a-licious. I'll sometimes refer to you as Porker. :)

You are nursing exclusively and I hardly remember a time when you weren't. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's such a special time for us to spend with one another. Just this month you started the most darling thing: in the past when you were done eating you would just fall asleep. You still do that, but sometimes you make eye contact with me and smile. Every now and then, you'll coo and laugh. That's the most wonderful thing. The struggle to nurse - the pumping, the bottles, the sore nipples - were completely worth this outcome.
We nurse whenever you want. Sometimes you want it a lot, often, and sometimes you will go hours without being near me. I believe in nursing in public so I nurse wherever we are. I refuse to nurse you I'm a bathroom - would I eat in a bathroom? Never!
I also stopped using the nursing cover. It's so hot here in San Antonio right now, you would just get so frustrated. So far, I've had no negative experiences with people being offended by my brazen display.

Very temporarily we went through a phase of trying to manipulate your sleep. It had to do with this idea I got that surely there was someway you could be getting better sleep. It's not like you were getting bad sleep. I just, for some reason, thought you could stand to get better/longer/deeper sleep. After a week or so of failed attempts to fulfil this idea - which involved lots of tracking of your habits, lots of frustration with you, with me, with Dad - I decided it wasn't the route I wanted to take. This tired, frustrated person was not the parent I wanted to be. I blamed you for not sleeping like all these other people thought you should.
Instead, I brought you into our bed. You sleep with me and it's been the most wonderful thing. You fall asleep in my arms, nursing, and I just roll you over and we face one another while we sleep. I wake when you stir, wanting to eat or having fussy dreams or gas, and I get to comfort you or nurse you. I also get to wake up next to you. Each morning when you finally open your eyes and look at me, you smile. I say, "Good morning! I love you! I missed you while you were asleep!" And we lay in bed and smile and play with one another.

Then I change you diaper, dress you, and put you in the bouncer while I shower and get ready. You like this most days. I always make sure the bouncer is placed so you can see me and I'll talk to you and dance around to entertain you. After I'm ready, we head downstairs where we play while I eat breakfast. When I'm done with breakfast, you eat your breakfast and fall asleep for your morning nap.
If we stay home in the morning, you'll usually sleep until around noon. Sometimes we do our errands in the morning. Often you'll sleep while I grocery shop and drive around, but lately you've been staying awake when we're out and about. You're super interested in what's going on around us.
Daddy comes home every day at lunch and he plays with you while I eat. You nurse down soon after he leaves. You wake up around four and we talk and play together before Daddy gets home at 5:15. Daddy plays with you much of the evening and we go for walks most nights. You and Daddy take a bath every night before bed - it's one of your favorite times of day.

You started smiling like crazy this month. It has made all the hard work from the first two months worth it. We've even gotten a couple of chuckles out of you. You think things are funny, which means much of our time is spent trying to get you to smile and laugh. You love when Daddy whistles at you and when I sing to you. You particularly enjoy "Daisy, Daisy" but I sing it "Gabey Baby."
You've become super alert and will look around and watch what's going on around you. You just started getting to where you can play alone. We got you a play mat and a jumperoo to bounce and you love them. You watch the dancing lights and grasp and bat at the little toys. It's a great advancement.
When we go shopping the afternoon, you won't take your afternoon nap. You insist on looking around the whole time and taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. Your dad and I joke that you believe people only exist to smile at you and tell you you're adorable.
And that's pretty much true. :)

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy