Nikolai's Four Month Well Visit

The doctor confirmed what we already knew: this little (or big, actually) guy is practically perfect!

These boys look so much alike, and both look a lot like their mama!

Sweet Nikolai is constantly smiling and laughing.  Even when he is crying, if he catches someone smiling at him, he can't help but to smile back, before getting back to his crying.

His sleep is not terrible.  He wants to be in bed by 7pm (I have tried extending this to no avail), and eats between 1am and 3am.  We have a decent bedtime routine, including reading a story, which he appears to be fully attentive to.  His favorite book is Hello Farm.  Sometimes he wakes up once or twice before demanding to be fed, but goes back to sleep with a pacifier and a back rub.  He still has a hard time between 4 and 6 am, as he has since the beginning.  This seems to be his witching hour when he is just hard to settle.  I tend to co-sleep during this time, and am able to doze in and out while trying to soothe him.

Alexander continues to be an incredible big brother.  He is always excited to be around Nikolai, and gentle enough most of the time.  He loves to include Nikolai in play and is never jealous of the attention Nikolai requires.  He truly is a remarkable little dude.

The cheeks on this handsome boy!

Milestones:
Nikolai rolled over front to back 5x at two months for big brother and me in one day, so we know he has the ability.  He doesn't do it regularly, but he will on occasion.  He spins circles in bed at night, often ending upside down from where I lay him, and usually rolls onto his side.

I think he is right handed, as he always gets his right arm out of the swaddle sack immediately.

We thought Nikolai was going to be quiet like Daniel, since he was a quiet infant, however he is now a Class A babbler.  He will sometimes talk for minutes on end without stopping, laughing at himself while doing so.  He thinks coughing is a way of talking, and fooled me into thinking he was catching a cold before I realized he was babbling with coughs.  He is happiest when some is talking with him, but does not require an audience for his chatter.

He is tall!  At his 4 month well visit, he measured
98th percentile at 26.9in
but only
37th percentile for weight at 15lbs
At home, though, I weighed him in at 16lbs two weeks ago
His is in the 61st percentile for head circumference at 42.1cm

He loves toys and his mobile, as well as all of big brother's TV shows.  He enjoys walks both in the baby carrier and the stroller.  When he is upset, he prefers to move up and down rather than back and forth.  This takes a lot of muscle!  Daniel is usually the one up for the job.

The pediatrician approved starting solid foods.  We are starting with baby oatmeal, but have let him taste quite a few things.  He loves grapes, oranges, and applesauce, but didn't know what to think of my tomato basil soup at lunch today.

We all got shots!

Alexander was due for his 4 year old shots, while Nikolai got one of his 4 month shots and an oral vaccine.  We will go back for the remaining in a week or two.  While I am a big proponent of vaccines, I prefer to stretch them out a bit.  I joined the crew by finally getting my flu shot.

Nikolai was a beast, crying only for a second.  Alexander cried harder before his shots than after, which is understandable being that his last shot was a steroid shot and I know those are awful.  He was scared, but overall did fairly well.

I am absolutely loving staying home and am amazed at how little I am able to accomplish.  I cherish all my days, those with just Nikolai, my days with both boys as Alexander only goes to school three days a week, and our weekends with the whole crew.  While I am looking to take on some work from home hours with real estate, I know that I am not ready to work out in the real world!

A major milestone that snuck up on me is Alexander growing out of his beloved nickname, Potatoes.  I don't know if it is because of our new setting, his maturity, or just the passage of time, but we find ourselves calling him Potatoes less and less, and now almost never.  I love hearing our Florida friends refer to him as Potatoes, because the name holds so much love.  I primarily call him Alexander now, while Daniel often refers to him as Bro and Brodie (or Brodie Man).  He has stepped into his role as big brother and maybe the name came with that role.

At 4 years old and 4 months old, this is the only time our boys will be the 'same' age!