Levi is Four Months Old

Age of Baby: 4 months (given he's actually 5 months old today, I figured I better post this now...)

Size of Baby:

• Weight: 15 lbs 11 oz (down to the 56th percentile), +1 lb 2 oz from last month
• Length: 25.5 inches (up to the 66th percentile), +2 inches from last month
• Head circumference: 16.5 inches (up to the 59th percentile), +1 inch from his 2-month appt

Levi has been wearing a size 2 diaper most of the last month. He is wearing 3-6 month clothes and a size 2 shoe.

Immunizations:

• DTaP
• Hib
• PCV13
• Polio
• Rotavirus

Doctor's Visit Summary:

Levi's visit went very well. He is ahead developmentally, with the exception of rolling over. He's so close, but hasn't quite made it over yet. His weight has dropped just a bit in percentage, but he's still a hefty little guy. ;) Since his last visit, I had started taking pancreatic enzymes at the suggestion of the lactation consultant. Levi still has some cradle cap and a pretty significant amount of eczema all over his body, so she was thinking dairy in my diet was the culprit. We started by me eliminating all dairy for a week and starting the enzymes. I gradually added back in cheese and yogurt, but have continued to avoid milk and ice cream. It seems to be doing the trick fairly well, but he still occasionally has flare ups. We're going to try moisturizing multiple times a day to see if that helps. I'm sure the winter and the dry gas heat in the house haven't helped either though. Overall, the doctor was very happy with his progress, and we'll be back in 2 months for another check-up.

Picture of Baby:

Here is Levi's 4-month picture in the 12-month onesie. His eyes are still looking blue so far and it looks like he is trying to grow back some of the hair he's lost on the top of his head!

And here is a comparison of all four of the boys at four months, just for fun. Levi just squeezes past Noah to win the prize for heaviest of the four, but comes in 3rd for height. Ethan was 26.5 inches long and weighed 14 lbs 8.5 oz. Noah was 25.75 inches long and weighed 15 lbs 8 oz. And tiny little Amos was just 13 lbs 8 oz and 25.25 inches long. I still see a lot of Noah in Levi at this point. His head isn't quite as round/full, but he has his nose and fuller lips, I think.

Accomplishments this Month:

• Grasping objects
• His first antibiotic
• Playing in activity center
• Sitting up in the bumbo seat

Levi is really interacting well with us and his surroundings now. He can't keep his eyes off his brothers if they are in the room with him. Watching them is one of the easiest ways to keep him entertained! He loves "talking" to us, too. He has also started to play with the toys that are attached to his bouncer and his carseat. He'll bat at them and grasp them to hold them now, normally trying to pull them to his mouth. ;)

As you can see in the video, he really loves hanging out in his new activity center (thanks Grandpa and Grandma Seeley!) and being right up in the mix of things, sitting in his bumbo seat. He's quite the little supervisor while Mommy tries to get things accomplished. ;) We also got the high chair out for him. Though he hasn't started eating yet, he likes sitting at the table with the rest of us as we eat. He does sit there and drool and make eating motions as he watches us, so it may be time sooner than later to let him start! Haha!

Sadly, Levi has taken his first round of antibiotics already. All 3 of the other boys have been sick on and off with colds, ear infections and strep throat this winter, and it seems like Levi caught something. We didn't test him for strep, but he had been running a low-grade fever for awhile and was just super sleepy and out of it during the day, so we tried a round of antibiotics to see if that made a difference. It did seem to perk him up pretty quickly, despite the fact that he hated the super yummy pink medicine!

I wish I could report that Levi was sleeping through the night, but he's still not consistently. He'll sleep anywhere from 2.5 to 11.5 hours straight though! He did hit a new record of 11.5 hours near the end of January. I wish he could have kept that up, but it was short-lived! Sigh. I've continued to nurse him every 2-3 hours during the day for 15-20 minutes, and that almost always puts him to sleep, so that's when he naps!

Life is a bit slower now that we're through the holidays and Ethan's birthday, so maybe I'll actually get his 5-month update done at a reasonable time?!?