4 months already?

Elliott is already 4 months old, which is just ridiculous. Mommy's time home with him is going faster than summertime! In August! (Teachers, you know what I'm saying)

Size

Yesterday was Elliott's 4 month appointment. He was 13 lbs 15 oz, 24 in long, and his head is 15.4 in. The doctor (our usual doctor is on maternity leave) is concerned, as he is not growing as she would expect. At his 2 month appointment he was close to the 50th percentile and now he's at the 18th. being that Elliott has chubby little cheeks and thunder thighs, I could not understand it as she was telling me he hadn't gained enough weight. At first I was upset about it, but then I looked at his brother's weight gain. From birth to 1 month, Riley gained about 3 lbs, Logan 2 lbs 5 oz, and Elliott 2 lbs 4 oz. From 1 mo to 2, Riley gained 2 lbs, Logan gained 2 lbs, and Elliott gained 2 lbs 3 oz. From 2 months to 3, according to our home scales, Riley gained 1 lb 3 oz, Logan 1 lb 11 oz, and Elliott 1 lb 3 oz. Then from 3-4 months, Riley gained 13 oz, Logan 13 oz, and Elliott 9 oz. At the time of weighing, Elliott was just about due for a feed. I'm thinking maybe its genetic and he's just falling into his growth pattern. I guess we shall see - he has a weight check in 3 weeks. As long as he stays on the current growth pattern and doesn't drop down we should be good. I am a little worried that his head is smaller than projected, but am hoping that number is off due to his flat spot. His is right in the back of his head, as he sleeps facing the ceiling with his hands up by his head.

In clothing he still fits in 0-3 onesies although the few we still have are getting snug. He wears 3-6 month everything, but has started growing out of the smaller sleep and plays. i think that's really just because sizing is so incredibly inconsistent, especially across brands. Koala baby stuff is cute but super tiny! 

Eat-Sleep-Play

Elliott continues to breastfeed every 2-3 hours during the day, and get a 4-5 oz bottle of breast milk around 8:15. He then falls asleep soon thereafter. He very much recognizes the pattern and starts crying for his bottle immediately after daddy dresses Elliott in his pjs. He then sleeps until 6am. Somedays he wakes up on his own (5:50 this am) but most days we wake him so that mommy can feed him and pump before getting his brothers ready for school. On the weekend, he typically wakes up between 6 and 7. He has had 3 days this month where he woke up in the middle of the night to eat, but he is generally a fantastic sleeper. We still don't have a nap schedule during the day. He typically takes a nap at 9, and I've recently started trying to put him in his bed for that nap. Its not going well. I know I shouldn't let him sleep in my arms so much, but I cant help but enjoy it while I can. Some days he barely naps, but they are always followed by a "sleepy day".

He loves his toy firefly the most these days, although he still likes the turtle and likes Rusty Robot. He's not as into the swing as he used to be and is hit or miss with the activity gym. He likes it, but only for short bursts of time, kind of like tummy time. What Elliott loves most is being held. By mommy. He is such a mommy's boy and already will go from full out hysterical crying to smiling just from being handed to mommy. He really loves watching his brothers and tends to nap more easily when they are around. He finally noticed Penguin, which is pretty cute. Elliott loves to play. Peek-a-boo, singing songs, being tickled, he loves the attention. He babbles way more than before and at times sounds like he's telling full stories. He has also reached new levels of grabby-ness. Mommy has given up on necklaces, as Elliott is constantly grabbing and pulling her hair, shirt, face, and skin in general (and he has razor sharp claws no matter how often we cut his fingernails!)

Personality

Elliott is the happiest baby ever. He is always smiling and laughing for his family and makes strangers so happy when he smiles for them. Mommy gets stopped every time she does out with him. He still rarely cries, and seems to like getting his picture taken. He is not fussy, but is happiest when held. He prefers his hand to his pacifier and drools like crazy!!! Like soaks his shirt! He also seems to get a bit bored if we stay home all day and seems to enjoy getting out of the house. He is a curious boy!

Likes:

Mommy!!!! Sucking on his hand, eating, his pacifier, Freddie the Firefly, being held, laying on his side, having his diaper changed, being talked/sung to and played with, sleeping with his arms by his head, watching his brothers, and napping on mommy.

Dislikes:

Waiting for food, his chair, being alone/no one paying attention to him, and the car. This is new, but he now cries a lot of the time he is in the car.

New this month:

Noticing Penguin, massive amounts of drooling, increased amount of babbling, making eye contact, and rolling from belly to back.

Other fun pics!

3 months old

Elliott is 3 months old already! Time is really flying by, and I'm in my second week of just Elliott/mommy time. He is such a cuddly baby and I'm trying to enjoy it as much as I can.

Size

According to our scale at home, Elliott is 13lbs 6oz. Definitely quite a bit bigger than his brothers.  The 0-3 Carters onesies still fit well, but he grew out of everything else that's 0-3 about 2 weeks ago. He has long limbs and his pants looked like capris and shirt like 3/4 sleeves. plus some of the pants were too tight around the belly. 

Eat-Sleep-Play

I'm over the moon to say that Elliott has not gotten any formula in the past month. He is breastfed all day, usually about every 3 hours, and we give him a 4 oz bottle of breast milk between 8 and 9. He then falls asleep between his bottle and 10 and sleeps until sometime between 5:30 and 7am. He has been doing this for about 3 weeks now and its pretty awesome. He is slowly starting to fall into a nap schedule during the day. On the weekdays, sometimes he doesn't go back to bed after eating (I wake him up to eat at 6), and sometimes he'll sleep until I have to take Riley and Logan to the bus stop. He usually takes a nap around 9 or 9:30. Then he catnaps the rest of the day.

He loves his toy turtle and his swing. He goes crazy grabbing things and kicking chimes in his activity gym, but he never seems to want to stay in it for more than about 5 minutes. What he really loves, more than anything, is playing with mommy. Singing songs, patty cake, gingerbread man, he loves it all. He's so happy and smiles and laughs at mommy. He likes to watch everything, especially his brothers.  Like his brothers at 3 months, he will hold anything we hand him at this point and grabs hair, jewelry, shirts, and even skin.

Personality

Elliott is a happy, smiley kid. Its easier to get a smiling photo of him than his 5 year old brothers. He coos when he's happy and makes the cutest little noises. He loves, loves, loves attention and rarely cries. While he is less fussy than Riley and Logan at his age, he is a bit more demanding, as he wants to be held a lot more. He will fall asleep in his car seat or swing, but to go to bed at night wants to fall asleep in mommy's arms. He is such a mommy's boy. He will stop crying from just hearing mommy's voice. 

Likes:

Mommy!!!! Sucking on his hand, eating, his pacifier, his turtle, the swing, the car (except when he doesn't), being held, laying on his side, having his diaper changed, being talked/sung to and played with, sleeping with his arms spread out, watching his brothers, and napping on mommy.

Dislikes:

Waiting for food, his chair, being alone/no one paying attention to him, and tummy time.

New this month:

Laughing, holding/playing with toys, grabbing objects, and sleeping through the night.

Penguin LOVES Elliott. Whenever he is laying on the floor, she insists on laying next to him. And I mean right next to him. Like  touching. She likes to lick and sniff him and doesn't mind at all if mommy leans Elliott against her while she is laying down.

 Elliot has been all over the place this month. The funniest was his first time in Mema and Pepa's pool. Mommy was holding him and he must have been pretty relaxed, because within 5 minutes, he was asleep!!

She tries to cuddle him so close one day she ended up half on top of him.

He took his own pants off...just like Riley used to.

Is there any sound better than a baby giggling?

2 months old

 Elliott turned two months old yesterday. I can hardly believe it. He has got to be the most easy going baby ever.

Size:
We cant believe how big Elliott has gotten! At his 1 month appointment, he weighed 10 lbs even. At yesterday's 2 month, he weighed 12 lbs, 3 oz, and measured 22.5 inches long. He is at the 48th percentile for weight, 26th for height, and 19th for head.  He seems so huge, since he's so much bigger than his brothers were at this age. He is so stinkin' cute though. Elliott fits well in 0-3 month clothing, but has started to grow out of some of the sleep and plays  due to his length.

When he was a few weeks old, we had to start supplementing with some formula. After a growth spurt ended, things somehow managed to right itself, and now he gets little to no formula. I'm pretty excited about that. He typically only gets formula either when we are somewhere I can't feed him, or when he is extra hungry, about 0-4 oz per day.
.

Fussiness:
Again, there is no fussiness. Elliott is awesome.
He still doesn't really cry, except when he is hungry or has a poopy diaper. He loves to cuddle, especially with mommy. He has a particular way he likes to be held (on his side, facing mommy and holding onto her shirt) and relaxes immediately when held that way.  His sleeping had regressed for a while and he was waking up every 2-3 hours, which was pretty rough. In the last few days he's been sleeping 3-5 hours, which is awesome!

 Appearance/personality:
We call Elliott chubby wubby because he has chubby cheeks and chubby little limbs. His hair is coming in nicely and we still aren't sure what color his eyes are (a brown grey color) although I think eventually they will be brown. He has fantastic neck control and  loves to look around. He has been cooing and had his first social smile yesterday. He has been laughing in his sleep a lot lately. It is so crazy cute. He really is the happiest little boy


Likes: Eating, cuddling with Mommy, the car, being in daddy's carrier, his pacifier, lights, and moving in general.
Dislikes: Being hungry, being cold.

Riley and Logan are still loving on their baby brother! They insisted in getting in his 2 month pictures!

Elliott is one month old!

Today is July 11th. That means that Elliott is already one month old! Time has really been flying by! The past month has had its ups and downs, but honestly they have been mostly ups, because Elliott is a really good baby!

Size:
Elliott weighed in at 7lbs 12 oz when he was born, but then lost weight, as all babies do. Thing is, by Friday he was still at 7lbs 2 oz, so we had to start supplementing 3-4 oz of formula a day. Then he picked up some weight, and started wanting to eat more. After being a slave to his eating demands for a week, we decided to start supplementing more, so now he gets a mix of breastfeeding and formula. He seems pretty happy about it and according to our home scale he has been packing on the pounds and is about 2 lbs heavier than his birth weight! We cant weight to see how he measures in at his 1 month appointment Friday.
     Elliott started out in newborn clothing, but grew out of the sleep and plays in a week and a half due to his length. He was longer than the others to start and any sleep and play without feet looked like capris from the day we took him home, so it wasn't surprising that before long he couldn't straighten his legs in the footy ones. He has grown out of most of the newborns onesies (and gerber 0-3), but some of the 0-3 clothes are a bit big.

Fussiness:
There is no fussiness. Elliott is awesome.
He really doesn't cry, except when he is hungry and we are not fast enough, or when he is cold from a diaper change or bath (or sometimes diaper changes in general). He is very chill and likes to cuddle, although there are times that he just wants mommy. He sleeps well in his crib although we haven't quite fallen into a sleep schedule yet and that is messing with mommy's sleep.

 Appearance/personality:
Elliott has much darker hair than his brothers did and is starting to rock a mullet - he has significantly more hair on the sides and back of his head than top. Like his brothers, the furrows are plentiful when he wrinkles his brow and he has good neck control. His hands are always up and when held, he holds one hand up to his face like he is getting a glamour shot. One major difference between him and his brothers is that he definitely is far more aware of his hands. He is super grabby and was sucking on his thumb when he was less than 24 hours old. His control isn't always good, and sometimes his hands get in the way, but sometimes he puts his pacifier back in his mouth.

Likes: Eating, Mommy, the swing, the car, being in daddy's carrier, and moving in general.
Dislikes: Being hungry, being cold, diaper changes, baths, being swaddled

Riley is in love with his baby brother. He loves to kiss and cuddle him, hold him, have Elliott grab his finger, and help out by getting mommy and daddy supplies or being on "pacifier duty" in the car.

Logan told us for months before Elliott was born that he only likes puppies and not babies. I'm happy to say that he has since adjusted very well. At first he liked to look at him and to have Elliott grab his finger, and to tell people to wash their hands and whose turn it was to hold him. Then he became very protective of him and started admitting he was cute (although not as cute as a puppy). Last night he asked to hold him and today he put pictures of Elliott in his room! He also loves to be on pacifier duty, when Elliott looks at him or holds his finger, and helping out mom and dad.

Penguin is not phased at all by the additional to our family, although she does prefer to sleep with Logan or Riley rather than with Mommy, Daddy, and Elliott.

Mommy and Daddy are in love with their three boys!!!