4 months old (or so they say)

People seem a little astonished when they ask how old Jameson is and I say "four months." Between his size and his strength, its easy to see why it can be confusing. But, I birthed him so I'm quite sure he's only 4 months. Apparently, he just doesn't know it.

As my sister said the other day, he's a 4 month old in a twelve month body.

At his 4 month appointment, he weighed in at 17 1/2 pounds and 26 3/4 inches long, 93% in both length and weight. Just to have a comparison, here was Cheyanne at 4 months. Long story short on size alone, Jameson has 3 pounds and 4 inches on Cheyanne at this age. Ah, Wood boys.

He is also a rolling boy these days. For a while, immediately after lying him on his back, he would roll over, get stuck on his belly and cry until someone came and saved him then do the whole roll and cry thing again. That was a fun couple weeks. Thankfully, one day Big Boy swung one leg back over and has been rolling 360s every since. He is rolling all over the place now.

Jameson is a charmer and a flirt. Although he is always happier in my arms, he loves flashing his sweet smile at any face that will smile back. Tickle his chin or cheeks and you'll get a full hardy laugh. Tickle him pretty much anywhere and you'll get that good reaction. He loves to be startled which I think is fantastic. He thinks it hilarious when I surprise him or say "boo!" in his face.

He's a drooler, boy is he a drooler.  Its a sweet drool, but Lord its constant. I'm just praying that this is not the beginning of teething. He's too young, right? I'm hoping because I'm nowhere near ready for that challenge yet. I need him to stay baby just a little while longer (and my boobs just don't need that right now!). He loves his hands and has them in his mouth constantly which seems to contribute to this.

This picture cracks me up. That face.

• Asleep by 6:30pm, up to eat at 2:30am, then back down until 6 when you are wide awake. Takes a while to get you back to sleep until 7:30ish.
• Adores his sister. She cracks him up.
• His favorite is when we all go down the stairs together. He gets hysterical with laughter watching her "boom" on her bottom down the steps on her own.
• You probably could start food but I don't think we're there yet. I'm holding off an indefinite amount of time. I'll decide at some point when it seems necessary but for now, you just love momma's milk.
• First beach trip was to Isle of Palms. I'm pretty sure your pale skin never touched the sunshine thanks to Daddy and his tent making abilities.

I'm sure there is tons I'm not putting here right now, but I'll add to it as I think of more. Four months is so much fun. We love you Little Man, or "Brother" as we typically call you.

Honey, we have a roller

Long gone are the days of a stationery baby. I can barely remember the last time I laid Jameson down somewhere to return to find him in the same spot. He is a roller and a mover. Once he started, he has never stopped. One day last week, from the minute he woke up he started his rocking and rolling from side to side. Trying all day long, grunting and fussing. It was finally about an hour before his bedtime and I turned to look at him and sure enough, there he was on his belly. He's learned to do something that most babies don't do until 5-6 months. He doesn't last more than 3 seconds on his back before he flops over to his belly now. And from his belly, he can now turn and scoot himself to face any direction. He especially loves to do this when his sister is doing something entertaining and he needs to see. I showed you awhile ago how he's moving around on his back HERE.

Now, this is what I find.

As excited as I am that he has gained this new found ability to roll and move, it comes with its GIGANTIC problems. For one, when he cant get himself back over to his back, he cries. That happens a lot. So, there is a lot of going back and forth when busy doing things to put him back on his back only to have him flip back over and go through it all again ALL. DAY. LONG.

Problem two, he's a swaddled baby. The last month, I have been letting him keep one arm out when swaddled because the boy loves his fingers. That was working great for him. Well, now that he rolls, I was stressing out at night and during naps about the fact that he rolls to his belly and may not be able to support himself off of his sheet with only one arm. Terrifying.

Problem three, I have ditched the swaddle (last night) and moved on to the sleep sack which is quite the adjustment for him. Even if he wasn't rolling though, I would have had to lose the swaddle soon because he barely fits in it anymore. But not being swaddled, he's so used to being tight at night, its his cue for sleep.  But now he wakes himself up with all the arm freedom. I haven't figured that one out yet. Advice? Anyone? I still stress about him sleeping on his belly and check his face 5 times before I go to bed to make sure he's on his cheek and not face. But, since its only been one night, I'm hoping things get better with the sleep.