Benjamin: 4 months old

Nicknames:  Ben, Ben-Bo, Ben-Bo Ken-Bo, Benjamin Kenjamin, Sleepykins, Hungrykins, Drool monster

Temperament:  Ben is so happy, relaxed, and cheerful

Item/Toy we love the most:  activity mat, teethers

Item/Toy you love the most:  chomping on your hands, animals on the activity mat, pacifier

Things we're loving most right now:  our smiles, laughs, and how happy you are to see us, your cooing noises when you are talking to your animals, your skill at sleeping, watching you learn to use your hands

Things you're loving most right now:  playing with Abigail, playing with your activity mat, starting to grab things

Eating:  Ben continues to be a good eater overall and has handled the transition to bottles at daycare very well. It took a little while to adjust to how much he was eating but he seems happy with 5 oz bottles.  He usually eats in the morning, has two bottles at daycare, then nurses right when we get home and before bed. He usually wakes up once overnight to eat around 3 and then goes back to sleep. There have been a few times near the end of the month where he has seemed more tired than hungry st bedtime so those nights have sometimes ended up with two wake ups, around 12 and 3.  He went through a brief period of being distracted and eating in very short increments but that seems to have passed.  Unfortunately I did get mastitis again at the end of the month which seemed to affect my supply, so I upped my pumping time and added an extra session in the evening and that seems to be working well!

Sleeping: Ben continues to sleep well and usually has one night wake up between 7:30 and 7 am. No complaints here. During the day he usually can't stay up more than two hours.  He still likes a longer nap in the middle of the day that sometimes stretches over two hours and he is usually able to take a longer nap at school. Sometimes he seems to get distracted by all the excitement there though and ends up with a shorter nap.  At home on the weekends he usually takes a third afternoon nap but sometimes this is harder during the week because we are picking him up around this nap time. He will take a power nap in the car some days but other days he just gets tired early.  

Playing:  Ben is getting so much more interactive and social. He loves back and forth "conversations" and repetitive games with some anticipation, like moving closer to his face while making the same sound. He has found his hands and is figuring out what to do with them, reaching for things and grabbing with much more purpose than the random swiping he was doing before.  We see a difference day to day in his coordination and ability to hold a toy and then immediately bring it to his mouth of course.  With the mouthing has come more drooling and biting but it doesn't appear that this is related to teeth, just to being 4 months old.

Ben still gets tired quickly at tummy time but is starting to get stronger. He is not rolling over yet but can get back to his back from his side, which seems like a step in the right direction.  I am sure he will figure it out when he is ready.

His favorite entertainment is Abigail. He loves to watch her dance and tell stories and gets very excited when she plays with him. When I am driving them to school and Abigail is talking to me, Ben looks at her intently from his backward facing car seat and sometimes chimes in with his "oohs" and "aahhs" to join the conversation.  Abigail occasionally can get to close to his face or play too rough but she is getting more used to what Ben can handle.  We are looking forward to them learning to play together more as they get bigger. 

Growth: Ben had his checkup right on the 11th. He was 13 lbs, 5 oz and 25 inches long. He continues to be higher in percentage on length (54th) than height (10th) but is growing well. He got his shots and handled them fairly well.

Ben seems bigger and sturdier and some of our favorite 3 month items are starting to get a little short, so we have been getting into some of the six month clothes, depending on brand.