LoLo's Life: 4 Months

Height: 25.75 inches (74th percentile)
Weight: 16 pounds 11 ounces (79th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17.25 inches (84th percentile)
Milestones: Ryan smiles and laughs all the time now and i will do *anything* to get this to happen. It's true, parents do and say some seriously weird things just to coax out one of those little baby laughs. Ryan is also a bouncing fool, and when you stand him up on his legs he will stand up for several minutes at a time. He is no longer content to lie on the floor and play by himself, he wants to be involved in whatever is going on around him and is very vocal about this. For example, if you leave him playing with his toys and walk out of his sight he will soon start whining or fake coughing until you reappear...at which point he gives you a HUGE gummy grin and goes back to what he was doing (but looking back to make sure you're watching him of course.) He talks alllll the time and he wants to be heard...he's even been known to make a phone call or two just to talk on the phone. He is also starting to put everything in his mouth (i already pulled out a piece of cat litter) and grabs hold of whatever his little arms can reach (mainly my hair).
Favorites: Ryan loves to bounce...and bounce...and BOUNCE in his jumperoo. Jake thinks he's going to skip crawling and just start walking one day because he always wants to be on his feet.
Sounds: Lots of "ooooohs" and "aaaahs" with a couple "g" and "b" sounds thrown in. He talks a LOT.
Foods: Similac Advance formula, and we've gotten the green light to introduce baby foods. Of course Grandma Susie already let him have sweet tea and Papa gave him some cheese...
Hours I Let Mommy Sleep: On New Years Eve little Peanut went 10 whole hours without a peep. So from then on we started just pacifying him instead of giving him a bottle if he woke up at night. Well....i guess it was just a fluke because he started needing to be pacified 5 times a night. So now he'll go about 4-6 hours, suck down a bottle while still asleep, and then sleep the rest of the night until 9am (for a total of 10-12 hours). He's a pretty great sleeper now, even with naps. It's such a difference from just 2 months ago when we were struggling with every nap and every bedtime. Now he'll sometimes pass out before he even makes it to the bed!
Other News: Ryan's freaky-fast growth spurt has now slowed down. I think he might actually last close to the 5 or 6 month mark in the 3-6 month clothes! He's still increasing his percentiles on height, weight and head circumference though (they all increased ~5% since his 2 month checkup).
I was actually starting to relax about SIDS since Ryan is now 4 months old...until i found out that 2 of the babies from my September Moms forum have died of SIDS recently. I'm glad i chose a video baby monitor because it's much easier to just flip on the "baby tv" and make sure he's breathing instead of having to sneak in his room and stick my finger under his nose every 5 minutes. But i found myself checking the monitor much too often, so i ordered the Angelcare movement monitor. It's basically a square pad that goes underneath the mattress and can detect even the tiniest of vibrations. I was skeptical as to how it could possibly sense the slow, deep breathing of a sleeping baby all the way through a mattress....but it totally works! I've only had it a couple nights but it gives me peace of mind and i don't check the monitor as often. The first false alarm is going to scare the crap out of me though.
Peanut has been spitting up a bunch lately, so if you're visiting and want to hold him i suggest you bring a poncho.
Ryan has recently discovered: Sophie the Giraffe. She is a natural-rubber teether that looks and sounds just like a dog's chew toy. But he LOVES her. He will munch on her for hours! We've also been introduced to the "Silly Sandra" books (Sandra Boynton) by the Sandlin Family. They are AWESOME, and our favorite is the Belly Button Book. Her illustrations are so cute.

(Visit my blog laurenbolton.blogspot.com to view the videos)