Four Months

Well, well, well. Mister Hugo M. Bear turned four months old. One month and eight days ago. So, time for that four month update? (Oh geeze. I’m the worst at this stuff. Maybe one day I’ll get to this in a timely manner, but don’t hold your breath. Odds are not that good.)

::Growing::

Hugo weighed 7.8 KG at his four-month check up. Towards the end of his third month I had experienced some supply issues after catching a nasty case of Indo-belly, and because i am a professional neurotic, I asked the doctor, should I be concerned about his weight gain? Is his growth all right? And then the doctor laughed and laughed and laughed because hello, gigantic baby, 90+ percentile in everything, and, PS, have you gotten a look at those elastic band wrists and triple thigh rolls? 

::Learning::

I think Hugo might be learning his name. Is that possible? I mean, four months seems a bit early, and maybe I have my pride glasses on pretty tight, but I think so? He looks (sometimes!) when I call out Huuuuuugo. Aaaaaaannnd, our neighbour happens to share the same name, so when his mum is scolding him for being an adorably rambunctious three-year-old running down the hallway, baby Hugo’s like, what, what did I do, WHAT?????

::Mastering::  

So, guess who can sit independently for about 30 seconds?? In the last week of being a four-month-old, Hugo figured out how to be an upright baby. And boy-oh-boy was he ever proud. His achievement was marked by a 24 karat smile and gleeful giggles because SITTING! I’M A OFFICIALLY ON MY WAY TO BEING A LEGIT BIG HUMAN PERSON NOW!!!  Also, this is my favourite millstone, because sitting babies playing with toys are the cutest, and also it opens up the possibility of the back carry on the Ergo which is a major improvement to my standard of living.

::Moving:: 

Hugo is not really rolling over He can get to his side, and sort of pivot using his head as an axis and his feet to move around. But rolling? Not really. He’s probably just too rotund. I mean, 7.8 KG! That’s a lot of weight to move around. Come to think of it, Stella who was also gigantic (even more gigantic than Hugo, believe it or not) and she didn’t roll till like seven months or something. So. Yeah.

::Eating:: 

Hugo continues to be a skilful consumer of breastmilk. He easily and (usually) happily takes a bottle, which frees me up for such per suits as spending hours in traffic going to CrossFit and doing the groceries. I’ve taken to pumping a bottle for him in the morning, and feeding it to him in the evening as a little top up. This has worked wonders for curbing that 5 PM arsenic hour. 

::Sleeping:: 

Okay. So. Ummmm, I hate to complain because SOMEONE was a whole lot worse *sideye first-born child*, but four months was not the greatest stage for sleep. Night wakings became frequent, about every couple of hours. He’s not waking to eat, really, just to coo a bit, and ask for his soother to be replaced. 

But still, Hugo Bear, when the clock strikes midnight and  mama has already awoken three times, you can be sure that the fairy godmother will transform her into a dragon come three o’clock the next day. 

But. BUT! Guess who’s got two thumbs and is sleeping in his own crib the whole night through (usually, that is, unless his mother falls asleep feeding him.) THIS GUY!!! 

Like most things with this child, the transition was totally drama free on his end. I, on the other hand, started freaking out about “WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WHEN WE’RE ON HOLIDAY AND STELLA NEEDS TO SLEEP IN BED WITH ME AND I ALSO HAVE HUGO IN THERE AND OMG MY PARENTS ONLY HAVE THE TINIEST OF GUEST BEDS I’LL NEVER SLEEP AND BE SUFFOCATED BY CHILDREN FOREVER  AND SEE ABOVE RE. DRAGON!!!” and so then one night, I jus said, “That’s it! You’re graduating to the crib.” And he was like, yeah, sure, okay, no problem, zzzzzzzz. And that was that. 

While night sleeps were not ideal, I can still count on three solid naps of 45-60 minutes. These naps require nothing more than a soother in the mouth and a soft place to sleep, be it a bed, a crib, a stroller, a loving pair of arms. All are equally acceptable. And you guys, do you know how life changing this is? Seriously!

::Loving:: 

His sister. Still. Obviously. When she’s around smiles are brighter, laughs are louder, and things are pretty great.

Hugo is turning into quite the water baby, which is a good thing as we basically live by the pool. Now that he’s requiring less assistance in maintaining an upright sitting position, an whole new world of bath time fun has opened up. He loves splashing and kicking his legs in the bath (and by bath I mean bathroom sink because I’m not about to invest 50 dollars in a baby bath thankyouverymuch Indonesia where everything is like a million times more expensive than it needs to be.)

I’ve taken him into the pool a few times, and boy did that ever go over like gangbusters. He actually gets angry when he sees his sister swimming and he’s stuck on dry land with his mother who is all like, meh, don’t want to wash my hair so no swimming for me today, sorry baby boy. 

::Loathing::

Dirty diapers. Four month injections (ohhhhh boy, was he ever miserable. Poor boy seems pretty sensitive to these shots.) Not being allowed to splash in the water. Being hungry. Being tired. Sitting in one place for too long.

::Enjoying::

Four months is a great time. We’ve got a nice rhythm to our days, but are able to still be flexible, miss a nap or stay up late without the world falling apart. I like that. 

Hugo is still baby enough for me to take him along on our adventures easily, but he’s developing a real personality, a sense of humour, a love for his people, and a sense of fun. He’s just a really great little guy to get to hang out with. 

Four months! Four months is pretty great!