4 Months Old

Our handsome big boy!

Man these past 4 months have flown by!! I think the biggest area of development for Ayden this month was in the social department. He smiles at random people who talk to him and will now tolerate, and even sometimes enjoy, being passed around at gatherings. He has made steady progress in all other areas as well but I personally think social takes the cake this month.

4 months old!
Click to see: 3 months, 2 months, 1 month

Even though I may vent about my exhaustion and Ayden's sleep "troubles," the average baby his age actually doesn't sleep through the night and it can take up to two years to establish predictable and consistent sleep patterns. Though at 2am I may dream about him being ahead of the curve in this area, I am not concerned that we'll never get there.

Here are the screen shots from the Baby Milestones App that I've been using as a reference.

 Like I always say, I only use milestone lists/charts for reference and to guide our play.  It is important to remember that all babies develop at their own pace. That being said, aside from the sleep section (he takes 3-4 one hour naps, give or take, and we all know what his nighttime sleep is like), Ayden is doing everything on this list!!  He has even rolled back over, though this is not yet a consistent skill. He is also scooting on his belly which is a pre-crawling skill (I do have this on video but in it, he's diaper free and I will spare his future self by not posting that on the internet). Some of our favorite developments this month were him starting to vocalize to get our attention, his adorable cooing/babbling and the fact that we can truly tell that he knows us in a crowd. He also holds onto our arms when we hold him which is adorable. It feels like he hugs us back sometimes and it just melts our hearts.

Another big development, which goes along with his social strides, is how much attention and contact he needs. We've always kept him with us and talk to him and play with him, heck, I have him strapped right to me half of the time; but we used to be able to let him hang out in his bouncy seat or on his playmat for a bit while we got ready or completed some sort of task or chore. Now his patience for such things is greatly decreased. He wants to be in on the action and wants to be played with and talked to all the time. This is so wonderful for his development and is definitely something we are enjoying , but now we have to tweak our routine to still get all of our daily to do's done while also entertaining Ayden more often. I have heard that this stage is tricky because babies this age are ready to become more involved with their world yet they aren't yet sitting up on their own or mobile which can be frustrating for them (and tiring for parents).

Like I've said before, life with our little boy is a one way train and our only choice is to go right along and enjoy the scenery as we go. We are so proud of Ayden and are excited to see what his 5th month has in store for us!!

~Sarah