The DeVore's: 4 Month Update

Clothing: 6-9 months

Bedtime: 8:30 - 9 pm

Eating:

Duke LOVES to eat (hence the Popeye arm rolls). He would eat all day if I could produce that much milk. He usually eats every 3 hours, but as he's getting bigger, it's about every 2 1/2 hours. We are excited to get him started on oatmeal to help quench his appetite. He just eats breastmilk, and is really good at drinking out of a bottle (in case I have a busy day and pump a bottle).

Sleeping:

He takes a 45 minute nap every time after he eats. It's funny because it's exactly 45 minutes, not a minute after. It's sometimes tricky to put him down for a nap, he just wants to stay up and play, but I've learned the hard way that as soon as he starts showing signs of sleepiness (rubs his eyes, shakes his head back and forth like he's saying "no"), I need to put him right down. Otherwise, he gets over tired and it's so much harder. We have started a nap routine, where I rock him in his rocking chair and read him 2 stories, then lay him in his crib and walk out. He usually cries for a couple minutes, but then he is usually out.

Before bedtime, I like to play with him for a good hour (tummy time, playing with toys, nursery rhymes, etc) to get him worn out, then I nurse him until he falls asleep. It's seriously the easiest way to put him to bed. He usually will sleep a good 6-8 hours without waking up before he wants to eat again. So depending on what time I actually put him down, he will sometimes go all night without waking up, which is so awesome! I don't mind when he does wake up to eat because it's usually around 4 am and I always love seeing my happy baby in the wee hours of the morning ;)

Development:

-He found his toes this month, which is so cute. Whenever I change his bum, he holds his toes, which makes changing diapers a lot easier!

-He now knows how to reach and grab onto things. (quick story: Chad walked into the kitchen while holding Duke, and suddenly a vase of flowers tipped over. We were both confused how it got knocked, and we looked over and Duke was holding a flower. He managed to pull the flower out as Chad was walking by and held onto it with a firm grip for a good 5 minutes. It was so funny!)

-I think he is starting the teething process because he is constantly drooling and loves to chew on anything he can put in his mouth. He loves the teething toys and is always trying to suck on my fingers.

-His first roll over (from stomach to back) was on 5/12/15. He did it a second time on 5/17/15, and we have yet to see it again. It was a fun surprise!

-He is laughing a little bit more which is my absolute favorite. His laugh is the cutest!!

-His eyes are officially blue!! The color is really starting to pop and it's so cute!

Likes:

-to stand/sit

-Patty Cake and Humpty Dumpty nursery rhymes, I can usually get him to laugh pretty good

-LOVES Bruno. If Duke is being fussy, the easiest way to calm him down is to call over Bruno. He immediately smiles and starts squirming with excitement. Bruno loves to lick Duke's face (which I don't let him do) and Duke loves to pet his back. They make a great team ;)

-to be carried in the Baby Bjorn. It's so nice putting him in it while we go shopping so we don't have to push a stroller around.

- ^ loves to flirt with everyone while he's in the Baby Bjorn. His smile is so contagious and we get a LOT of compliments about it while we are out and about. He is quite the charmer and we are doomed when he's a teenager ;)

-to be tickled

-when daddy gets home from work. He always lights up and has the biggest smile.

-car rides and being in his car seat. He is really good at napping in his car seat while we are out.

-LOVES mirrors. You're guaranteed a genuine smile if you show him a mirror.

-Bath time

-a lot of attention!

-when daddy sings to him
-music, especially the piano and Jack Johnson

Dislikes:

-tummy time. Thankfully he is getting better at it. He can last about 5 minutes before he starts to cry.

New This Month:

-Can stand really well (with our help, of course)

-Moved up to size 3 diapers

-Rolled over

Statistics:

Weight: 17.37 lb (87%)

Height: 26 in (87%)

Head: 17.72 in (99%)

Mommy Update:

-Last semester of school until I graduate!

-I started reading "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" while I nurse and I am officially hooked. It's a book all about cleaning and getting rid of junk. I am half way through it and have already thrown out 4 bags of junk! I would recommend it to everyone!

Daddy Update:

-Chad's car broke down, so we have been living off of one car. It isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Luckily he is able to catch rides to and from work from my brother, Sean, who also works at Unkubed.

Here are some pics from the last month: