Four Months Old

Wesley was born four months ago.

We love him. He's sweet and playful. Here are some things about him.

Smiles & Laughs
He's full of them. He smiles when he first sees us. He smiles if we make little noises at him, his favorites being "boo" and other short one syllable sounds. Sometimes when we're walking around, he'll just start laughing and it's hard to figure out why, other than that he's in the mood to laugh. He is so delighted when we look at him if we have been occupied with something else (like cooking dinner). He sometimes smiles at strangers when they say hello to him.


He is full of laughs when one of us is holding him and the other entertains him. He loves to watch us dance. He laughs at his reflection in the mirror, or at our funny acts in the mirror. He likes to be tickled. His ribs are particularly ticklish. Raspberries on his tummy can also throw him into fits of laughter.

Grabbing Stuff
Wesley grabs everything he can, and tries to grab even more. He's pretty adept at grabbing anything that is skinny, and he still scoops many other things toward his mouth. He grabs things with his feet, such as toys if they are out of arm reach. He can manipulate things and hold on to them tightly using his feet.

His use of his hands has greatly improved but is still not perfect. Large, bulky items sometimes get blocked by a hand on the way to his mouth, or are dropped on the first few attempts. Pretty much everything he grabs goes directly into his mouth.


He loves to grab our faces, clothing, and especially my hair. He is quick! He can reach out and grab something (including hair and earrings) before we see it coming. Before he falls asleep with us, he grabs onto a security object, usually either our hair, clothing, or finger. It is precious.


Rolling Over and Tummy Fun
He rolls from tummy to back (which he did last month) and from back to tummy (which is a new thing). He doesn't like to roll from tummy to back as much as he did before, it seems as though the trick is now of little interest. He reaches his arms out into a full extension in front of him, grabs toys, and sometimes pushes up a little bit with straight arms.


He likes to lay on his tummy and play with his toys or look at his books propped in front of him. He is content to play by himself with his toys. He gets tired after awhile.

Recognition
He watches us enter and move around the room. He will smile upon sight of us, even if we aren't looking at him. He recognizes his Moby and smiles when he sees it. He anticipates diaper changes as we go into the back room.

Play
One of his favorite games is during outfit changes. When we try to get his arm in or out of his sleeve, he will curl up toward it, put his fist in his mouth, and squeal with delight. He thinks this is a really fun tug of war game to see who can get control of the sleeve/hand. He is right, it is hilarious.

He often comes up against his physical boundaries. He wants to keep playing with his toys, but gets tired on his tummy and can't sit well, yet. He strains to scoot or crawl forward. To help with this, he likes to be held out hovering over his toys or supported in the sitting position while he plays.


He often wants to keep playing though he gets overwhelmed by an object or his inability to properly manipulate an object (i.e. get it in his mouth). Also, he will start crying if we take away his play toy. This includes my hair, when it is being used as an object of play.

He gets excited and smiles, and his entire body dances with anticipation at a toy is shaken in front of him. Then he grabs it.

He also adores playing airplane.


Language
He's a talker. He babbles to himself, he talks to his toys, he often talks on walks when he's looking at stuff. His volume increases and noises get more throaty when he is more tired. He has happy-talk noises and displeased-talk noises which have distinctly different tonalities. His language changes rapidly with new sounds entering the scene every few days. He plays with the spectrum of lip smacking and raspberry-blowing. He talks to get our attention and can get upset if we don't notice him from across the room if he is talking to us. He is especially vocal in the mornings and at night.


What will be in store for Month 5?
Sneak preview: This week, Wesley scooted!

We were playing on the bed (I think the bed gave him a little added traction) when...
He rolled over from his back to his tummy. Then, he scooted the length of the bed toward me.

This is how it went:

He put his arms down by his sides.
He buried his head in the bed.
He bent his knees and stuck his bum in the air.
He pushed forward like an inchworm.
He scooted right up until his head was in front of my face.
I moved back and he did it again, for the length of the bed.
He gave the sweetest laugh and smile upon reaching me each time. Very proud of his accomplishment.

Do all babies scoot like inchworms?