The End of the 4th Trimester

Beckett - 4 months exactly:

We've made it out alive!  The 4th trimester is over, and as far as I know, there is no 5th.  Beckett isn't a newborn anymore.  I have mixed feelings about this.  I miss my tiny eight pound baby.  I miss his squishy face.  Unintentional smiles.  The way he'd get milk drunk after an intense nursing session.  Really, really small onesies.  It goes by so fast.

But at the same time, those first three months drag on... and on... and on.  Every minute of listening to a colicky baby scream feels like an hour.  Juggling two very dependent babies all day long turns into an Olympic event.  The reflux is awful.  10 poopy diapers a day is insane.  Four non-consecutive hours of sleep night after night will make anyone crazy.  All a true test of patience.  So coming to the end of the 4th trimester is truly a bittersweet thing for this Mama.  I'm glad it's all behind us, but I already miss the good parts.

The face he's grown very accustomed to making:

Beckett has changed from a squirmy baby into a little guy, especially within the last month.  He has become very chatty and laughs a lot when people talk to him.  Tonight, he was doing a ridiculously adorable screaming laugh every time I said "hi" to him.  I wish everyone thought I was that entertaining.

The kind of smile that a whole face can get into:

He has definite preferences for people.  And by that, I mean he is a certified Mama's Boy.  Beckett tolerates his dad most of the time.  But he will choose Mom first every time.  He seems to like everyone else besides his parents equally as much.  Meaning at any given time, he could either deliver a laugh, or wrinkle his face and scream like you've never heard before.  Over absolutely nothing.  

Oh here we go again:

He is curious about his environment and loves people watching.  Don't get too close, he might cry, but from a safe distance (and in his Mama's arms), he loves watching things happen around him.  He loves watching his big brother play, and it seems that Ben almost has a soothing effect on Beckett.  If Beckett is somewhere besides my arms, losing his mind, sometimes I'll send Ben to his brother's side.  Ben will go to his brother every time, and Beckett has been known to be comforted by this.  And it buys me some time to finish whatever it is that I'm doing before picking him up for more cuddles.

Beckett's new obsession is sitting and standing.  He wants to do both.  Always.  When he is in a lying down position, I can see his little shoulders trying to lift up, but to no avail.  If he is sort of reclined, sometimes he can pull himself up a tiny bit.  When I prop him up into a full sitting position, he puffs up his chest and feels big.  Same thing with standing.  If those little feet are flat against something, he is totally happy.  But being barely four months old, he tuckers out quickly and crumples.  And then cries.

Being adorable:

He is still not sleeping through the night.  Every time I report on this, the pattern changes, but we are basically up 2-3 times a night, at varying times, for snacks.  He's moved out of our bed for the majority of the night.  He sleeps in a little mini-crib in our room for the first stretch of the night, and almost always makes his way into the big bed by 4 in the morning.  It's been nice to have the best of both worlds - a short nap alone and a little bit of cuddling.  He adjusts well where ever he's put down for bed.  And doesn't require too much of a ritual to fall asleep.  So that's been pretty awesome.  We're not schedule or ritual people.  

Our next doctor appointment is at the end of the week.  More shots have Beckett's name on them.  And he'll be weighed and the scale will say something more than 16 pounds.  He's a really big four month old, rocking Ben and Jack's 6-12 month clothing already.  His size is actually throwing a bit of a wrench in my perfect plan to have my 2nd child in the same season as my first.  Being in Ben's 6-12 month clothing, we are inching into his summer collection.  The bigger the clothes get, the shorter the sleeves.  Luckily Jack was also born in September.  And was also a big boy for his age.  So we're covered.

We are a quarter of the way through the first year.  I can't believe it.  Time flies with your first baby.  Time REALLY flies with your second.  We're right back in the month we were in when I found out I was pregnant.  And if I blink, I'll be at Beckett's 1st birthday party, wondering where all the time went.  

Beckett's Apartment - 10 weeks:

10 months, 4 seasons and *ahem* pounds later:

 Love you, baby boy.