Cooper: 4 months

Apparently we are sticking with monthly blog posts for the time being! I always have the best intentions of blogging more often but by the time we get the boys down for bed all I want to do is snuggle up with my hubby and watch some TV. That said, let's talk about what we've been up to the past month (and more specifically, what Coop's been up to).

Doctor Updates: He is developmentally right on track and the doctor was impressed with his desire to stand and just how strong he is. Something tells me we might have another early walker! 

We also got the ok for sleep training and starting solid foods. We are waiting for both until after our next trip but after we settle back in we are going to start working on sleep and getting him into his room with his brother! 

We were also a little worried that Coop might be allergic to Nana. While the doctor said it is a bit premature for allergies, he said getting him out of our room (where she sleeps) and into his room should be helpful. We can also start Claritin at six months. 

One shot this month and he barely whimpered! He is such a trooper and spent the rest of the day as happy as ever!

Happiest baby ever!

Height & Weight:

15lbs. 10oz. (45th percentile) 

25.5in. (55th percentile)

Head: 44.7cm (99th percentile!!!!) 

Hello blog friends!

Eating: This was a big change this month. After tormenting myself over it, we decided to introduce one formula bottle daily for Coop. With all of our obligations over the next month or so I needed to be able to store more breastmilk. The trade off was giving him formula for his last bottle of the day. I was a mess leading up to the decision but once he gobbled up his first bottle it was like it was never a big deal. He still breastfeeds all day (and night) and I have a healthy stock of milk in the freezer for when I have to be away. I actually think that this decision could lead to a longer nursing relationship for us as I feel so much more free and relaxed about it all. 

Whew, beyond where his food is coming from, he is eating like a champ. We nurse on demand throughout the day and he eats anywhere from every 2-3 hours. I am much more relaxed with this this time around. With Noah, I would be baffled if he was hungry before he "should" be. This time, I just feed him whenever he feels so compelled and we are both happier for it!

Couldn't you just eat him up?!

Sleeping (naps):  I don't think Coop even knows what a nap is. His nap schedule is anything but. We pretty much just go with a morning nap about an hour after he wakes up and then he sleeps again throughout the day after about 2 hours of being awake. It's definitely hard to establish a routine with pick ups, drop offs, errands, and Noah's activities! I imagine when he is old enough to go to 2 naps a day we will settle into a routine.

Napping at TT's on the floor. Totally setting a routine, right?!

Sleeping (at night): Coop goes down for the night at 7:30pm (after bath and bottle) and typically sleeps until 2am. Then he makes it to 5am. Then 7am. We had a little fun with a four month sleep regression where he wanted to wake up at 11, 12, eat at 2, and generally just be held all.night.long. I think we have turned the corner on this but it was a rough few nights.

Noah loves his brother more and more each day. Coop is completely obsessed with Noah! It makes my heart so happy to watch this bond grow.

Clothing:  My giant baby is in 3-6 month or 6 month clothes. This is such a difference from Noah as Noah was always (and still is) behind his age in clothes. I swear I get new clothes out and he is too big for them one day later. I absolutely love it!

Noah on the left, Coop on the right. Same outfit, two months difference in age!

New this month: Formula. Almost rolling over! First airplane flight.

These boys were both amazing flyers!

Cooper likes: Chewing his hands! He always has his hands in his mouth and is becoming a bit of a drooler. He also just loves people, especially his brother. The thing that makes him the happiest is having someone to goo and gah at!

I got this while I was getting ready for Kate's wedding. Fun to have some grown up time but so hard to be away from this face!

Cooper dislikes: Not much. He is a really, really happy baby. I think he is like most babies (and adults for that matter) in that he doesn't like being hungry or tired! Otherwise, he is a pretty even keeled guy.

Ok, I am going to commit to another post to talk about our St. Louis trip! It's definitely a trip to remember so I am really going to try and get that post written ASAP!