We all went to Alex’s 4th month appointment today. Chloe is actually sick with a pretty bad virus so we had Doctor Stevens look at her at the same time. Alex seems to have managed not to catch it..yet anyway!

Alex is doing quite well. He is healthy and growing like a weed.

weight 15.2 pounds
hieght 26 1/4 inchs

He got his second rounds of shots, same as at 2 months

We learned a few things from the Doctor.

One is that we might be over feeding him, which could be leading to added reflux which in turn can cause secretions in the sinus region. He said we should not be giving him b/w 4-6 oz and we had been giving him about 7-8 at every feeding. Which could explain why he would spit up about 1-2 ounces after every feeding. So we switched him to slower nipples and he is eating much less and seems happy. It takes forever to feed him now, but he is not spitting up as much. We will see how that goes. Sometimes he just pacifies himself since we have taken away his pacifier temporarily. He had become completely dependant on it to fall asleep and would fight and scream with out it. it’s been 2 days and two nights now and he is already so much better and is now able to sooth himself with the pacifier. We intend to reintroduce it on an as need basis. But we’d like him to fall asleep on his own, and without our help. He did much better tonight and only cried for about 5 mins and I was able to sooth him a little by tapping him bum and singing to him.

Two the Doctor recommends we stay on the hypo allergic formula until he is 6 months. He feels it doesn’t hurt him to stay on it longer and if anything regular formula might make his ezcema worse and his stools worse. With Elecare, which we just switched too 3 days ago, he seems to have better stools. His Ezema is not too bad…but we can’t manage to keep his face completely clear. He Always has this one patch. Dr. Stevens said not to worry about that by 1 year it should be much better.

Other than that though, he is doing fine. He also confirmed that because he was born one month early, he would be behind one month until about 1 year of age. Which explains a few other things, like why he hasn’t really tried turning over yet, or why he has difficulty grabbing things and putting his hand to his mouth.

When he isn’t dieing for his pacifier, he is a very happy baby. He has the biggest smiles and loves to coo away. It’s definitly easier now that he is starting to grab things because he can entertain himself a little more.

We love you Alex!
love Mom

Alex is 4 months today!

He is doing well over all and has finally established some routines.

He now sleeps about 9 hours at night and can go through without any crying, but many nights he still crys out. He goes down around 10:00pm and sleeps till about 6:30 – 7am. Sometimes he is able to put himself back to sleep, but at other times we have to go in and turn on his aquarium and if that doesn’t work than we have to give him his pacifier. We have been trying not to give his pacifier at night anymore because about 4 weeks ago, just after I entered the last web log he started to wake up around 3am for his pacifier and then every 30-45 mins after that until 6:45am. It was not very pleasant. So we did a little research and found that perhaps letting him cry it out one night or two might help him not be so dependant on it. We have been trying that, and the first time we decided to let him cry it out, he did not cry too long, maybe 15-20 mins. But this still did not seem right. luckily that was all it took…for a week or two, but then I am not sure what happened, but it started all over again. This past week he has been waking up quite a bit. We started to give in and give his pacifier off and on. We will have to try crying it out again or limit the use of his pacifier and hope he starts finding his fingers or something else to help him feel better.

Right now sleep is not substantial and Chloe seems to be teething too which is making it a little hard one us. But despite all that Alexandre is just so amazing. When he is in a good mood, his smile will completely make you forget the sleepless nights. He has this glow about him , his face lights up when he is happy and he has the most adorable dimples!

He is very tall and is getting very big. He is busting out of his 3-6 month clothing. He will be going for his check up in a couple of days so we will know for sure.

His nap schedule varies and goes with the plan of the day. If we are out in the morning and he stays in his car seat he will probably sleep longer and not sleep as long in the afternoon. But normally, two hours after he wakes up, he is ready for a snooze. if we go on a play date or french class, he will fall asleep in his car seat right before we leave and wake up shortly after we arrive and part take in the activity. This is kind of nice because then he sleeps longer in the afternoon…maybe 2 hours. But never straight. He wakes up crying several times crying, but if you give him his pacifier he falls back to sleep. this is tricky though when you are trying to ween him off the pacifier!! Soon, very soon he will find his fingers I hope!

He loves to stand and push off with his feet. he hasn’t started turning over just yet, but he should get there soon. His favorite place is probably the bouncy chair when it is in the Kicthen and he can see me cook. Oh wait, he loves the bath too!! he loves to get changed on the counter and then look up at the light above the sink when he bathes. He coos quite a bit now too. THe saucer is getting a lot of use, but he isn’t able to reach everythign just yet. One thing I have noticed is that he is much more photo friendly and can laugh or smile on command. I think Chloe was a little more work at this age. I know later she became much more sociable. Alex will burst into a smile to just about anyone anytime! BUT when he is hungry or tired…watch out!!

Well that is all for now. ! We love you baby Alex, you are very sweet! Your big sister loves you too!

Love Mom