4-month Check Up & Sleep Training

Lucas is 4-months old and what a happy baby he is. He recognizes his family members and loves to exchange funny facial expressions now. He is very ticklish on his legs so diaper changing is total belly laughing session. He's really growing up and showing all signs of being a second child--1) he's resilient to his sister's abuse (meant as affection) 2) he likes constant noise and wants to be in the mix.

At the Doc's Office

During bath time, I used to wash Lucas in the sink and supervise Olivia in the tub, but now he's big enough for the bath chair and sits right beside his sister to enjoy the show and she LOVES the company.
Last week Olivia leaned over and gave Lucas a hug in the tub and said "My best friend Lucas, best friend. Aww. God is great. God is good. Amen. Luh you much." Needless to say I got a little teary. I told Charm City Daddy about it later and his response was, "Wow, we must be doing our jobs babe." What a great feeling. I know they will bicker when they get older, so I'm really enjoying these moments where Lucas is completely entertained by his big sis and she adores him.

Here are Lucas' stats from his 4-month check-up:
Height: 26 in.  (82 percentile)
Weight: 15 lbs 6 oz. (49 percentile)
Head Circumference : 42.3 cm (72 percentile)

Now that we are concluding our last week of nursing and starting rice cereal, we are in full sleep training mode. It was a ROUGH start--like he was up 2-3 times a night---but now he is doing MUCH better. Last night he only woke up once and went right back down.

Sleep Training in Progress - screaming baby.

I try not to let him get too upset and escalate his cries so he doesn't associate his crib with solitary confinement. But he does sleep well after a good cry. :) I'm also finding that without nursing he's a much more independent and self-reliant sleeper. I stopped nursing Olivia at 10 weeks so sleep training was a cinch--particularly because she loves sleep and still tells us when she's ready for her nap. Lucas is already very different, but we will press on and make him love sleep too!

We start Stage 1 food next week! YEAH--one step closer to real food!