4 Months Old!

I can't believe my little boy is 4 months old already!! Tonight I just rocked and held him for a little while after he fell asleep. He is so precious and is already losing some of those "new baby" mannerisms, like the little back arch and stretch that he used to do after every feeding. But, that makes room for new and exciting things that he's learning.

 Here are some of my current favorites from his four-month phase:

•  When he touches and grabs my face during a feeding (the hair, not so much. That's a little more painful.)
•  When he smiles so wide that his eyes get squinty
•  Picking him up at school and watching him smile so wide when he sees me that the pacifier drops out of his mouth.
•  Watching him concentrate REALLY hard on something like the sound his toy makes when he kicks it

We had his four-month appointment on Friday, August 5. Jesper is a big, healthy, happy boy. He weighed in at 17lbs 1oz (90th percentile) and is 26 3/4 inches long (95th percentile). Our pediatrician was also very pleased with his smiles and eye contact.

We asked the doctor if we could start solids now at four months and he said yes. I'm struggling slightly with my milk supply, so starting solids now will help alleviate a little of the pressure to produce so much every day. Jesper is drinking solid 6 oz. bottles at nearly every feeding. Josh and I went to Babies R Us immediately after the appointment to pick up rice cereal, oatmeal, bibs and spoons.
 

We gave Jesper his first cereal on Sunday night (we went to La Crosse from Saturday - Sunday). He did so well! He really seemed to like it, although I'm not sure how much he actually ate versus how much ended up on his bib. :) Now he gets about 1-2 Tbsp. of cereal every night after his 6pm bottle (I'm still not sure how many calories he actually gets from it, but he's getting better every meal).

That weekend, we got to spend some time in La Crosse. It was Jesper's first longer road trip and our first night away from home with him. It's always so fun to hang out with Brian, Nissa, Grace, and Walker. On Saturday, we went downtown La Crosse and walked around the town for a while. Later that night, we had a campfire.

This last weekend, my best friend from college, Lara Sanders, came up to visit and meet Jesper for the first time. Every time I hang out with her, I'm reminded why she's such an amazing girl. :) We had a great time catching up! It was a beautiful day, so we drove down to the U on Saturday and took a walk around campus. So much has changed already since we went to school there!