Four months

Dear Callum,

Today you are four months old. That hardly sounds newborn-ish anymore. And you really aren't so newborn-ish anymore yourself. It's a little terrifying, but mostly awesome.


This month you took a break from rolling over for a few weeks, and when you started doing it again you had a whole new technique. Whereas before you just pushed with your arms until you rolled, now you lift your entire head and chest and twist them until they flop around the lower half of your body and you wind up on your back. It's very acrobatic.


You're also really into your arms and legs recently. You do quite a bit of arm-waving and leg-thrashing. You're just starting to notice your feet--just this past weekend I noticed you grabbing your toes with your hands for the first time ever. I imagine it won't be long before those toes find their way into your mouth. You also sit up with just a little bit of support, but you don't display a whole lot of interest in that position, so it may be awhile before you find the motivation to sit up on your own.


You love to talk. You babble and shriek constantly. Sometimes I'll call your grandma while you're hanging out on my lap, and when she picks up the phone, before I can even say hi you start chattering loudly in the background. When this happens, she always starts the conversation by saying, "Hi, Callum!" She and your grandpa are arriving later today for a visit, and I know they're very much looking forward to witnessing your baby talk in person. You're very social in general. You like to be held and you smile at pretty much everyone. But you reserve your most enthusiastic gestures for your dad and me--every time we come into your range of vision we are treated to a full-on display of laughing, squealing, and delighted arm-waving. It's a nice self-esteem boost, for sure.


The dog still ignores you, but by now the feeling is not mutual. When she walks by you turn your head to watch her, and we find you staring at her quite often. I'm sure it's nothing personal that she ignores you--but even if it were, it's likely to change soon, because we'll probably start giving you solid food sometime this month, and I'm pretty sure Montana will want to be present for feeding time as soon as she realizes what's happening. I personally still can't quite wrap my mind around the idea of you eating solid food, but I know your pediatrician recommends starting at 4 months. I've been researching the topic and plan to have a detailed discussion with her about this at your appointment later today.


You're still growing like a champ--90th percentile and above for everything, and wearing exclusively size 6-12 month clothing--and sleeping great. We weaned you off the swaddle last week, first by swaddling you with one arm out and then by giving it up altogether. At each step you woke up the first couple days at 6:30 a.m. before going back to your normal 8:30 wakeup. It was a surprisingly painless process, much better than when we tried this two months ago and you woke up at 1:30 a.m. three nights in a row until we went back to swaddling you.


You have sensitive skin, which according to your pediatrician is common in redheads like you, and so we are still lotioning you up twice a day, which seems to help. You get rashes and dry spots on your elbows, belly, and thighs. Your cradle cap is mostly gone, so that's nice, but we've noticed that if we ever put a disposable diaper on you, you develop diaper rash almost instantaneously. I had sensitive skin as a kid too, with a tendency toward eczema, so it looks like this is something we're going to have to be vigilant about with you.


You remain one of the most laid back babies I've ever encountered, but you do get a little bit fussy when things are out of the ordinary. We had dinner at a few different friends' houses this month, and each time you were a bit fussier than usual. You weren't sobbing inconsolably, but there were some angry shrieks and annoyed cries for no discernible reason. It seems like you've developed a sense of your surroundings and as a result we're seeing a preference for the familiar. And it seems to be specific to the environment, not the people--we left you with a babysitter for the first time this month so we could go to the U2 concert, and you were totally fine and not fussy at all. I guess you just like your own house! Nothing wrong with that... although we'd like to get you used to traveling sooner rather than later, if at all possible. I guess we should have you sleep in your Pack N Play at our own house a few times before we take you on the road, huh?


Things you're into lately include stuffing things into your mouth, toys that squeak or otherwise make noise, laughing when we kiss you, grabbing the blinds on the window over your changing table, sucking your thumb, your activity mat, and your dad. You love your dad so much. You squeal and laugh and wave your arms when you see him, and when he's moving around the room your eyes follow him everywhere he goes. You still look just alike, and seeing you together just kills me with sweetness, every time.


You already have so much personality, it's amazing. You just exude mellow happiness, and it doesn't take much to make you excited. I guess that makes sense when everything is still so new to you. You already seem kind of independent to me--you like to be held, especially when you're in a new place, but for the most part it almost seems like rather than specifically liking to be held, it's more that you don't mind it. I hold you as much as I can, but I envision that by the time you're a toddler you might not be the type of kid who's super into snuggling. Already when I cuddle you, most of the time you would rather look all around and flail than just snuggle with me. Even when I sing to you at bedtime, I've had to start lying you on my lap instead of holding you on my chest, because otherwise you look all around and bend over backward and generally get yourself totally stimulated and wide awake and not at all bed-ready.


You are still the cutest baby I've ever seen, and I say that with a complete lack of bias, as you can imagine. It doesn't hurt that you look like your dad and I think he's pretty cute too, but it's more than that--it's also the you-ness that radiates from your face and your mannerisms. You're already starting to grow up, and I'm totally OK with that because as you get bigger you make it clearer and clearer that your personality is just what this family needed. You fit right in, and we are so very happy to have you here with us.


Love,
Mama