The cereal goes IN his mouth...right?

At Brody's 4-month appointment, the doctor said he was fine to start on some rice cereal....maybe once or twice a day. I looked at the doctor and laughed. My first thought was "have you SEEN how chubby this child is?" He told me it didn't matter and that as he grows, he will need more in order to keep sleeping through the night. The doctor said that once he is good on the cereal for a few weeks, I can start introducing the fruits and veggies. I definitely didn't start him on the cereal as I thought he was perfectly fine...but sure enough...2 weeks later...he started waking up between 1 and 2 AM to eat! I was not about to let that start all over again.

So at about 4 and 1/2 months, I gave in and bought the rice cereal. I had NO idea what to do. The first few times I kept adding formula, then cereal, then formula, then cereal...until the bowl was almost full! I knew he couldn't eat that much, but I only ended up giving him a few spoon fulls and then throwing it out. It was terrible. Poor Brody had NO IDEA what to do with that spoon! Possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. He would stick his tongue out immediately and giggle. He thought it was a game. I did end up sticking to it, but only after calling the doctor's office and asking how much to give him. Now I give him about 2 tbspns mixed with pear juice (constipation is terrible after the cereal!) and a little formula. Brody likes the cereal thicker and he eats it better that way. However...this is how it goes: Spoon in, thumb in, spoon in, thumb in. He sucks his thumb after every bite...and he ends up looking like....well...see above:) One side effect of the cereal, he's getting so chubby! Yes, I know he was chubby before, but he needs to start crawling soon to burn off some of those calories! hahaha

He sure is cute:)

Thankful

Today I am feeling extremely thankful. Every now and then I will feel really overwhelmed with that feeling of thankfulness when looking at Brody. Today I am thankful for...

Chubby fingers on my neck, slobber kisses, cheeks so chubby that his eyes squint when he smiles, smiles...and lots of them, his nasaly giggle, the way he laughs when I put him in the air or nibble on his neck, the way he needs me, the look out of the corner of his eye and smile when he wakes up in the morning, the way his top lip curls when he's concentrating, the way he babbles in the backseat, his sweet chubby legs, the way he adores Taylor, and most of all, the way I love him. And so, so, so much more.

I never knew a love for your child could be this intense. It was there when he was born, but has absolutely grown each day. I love this age. I love that we can interact. He is the funniest person in the entire world to me. Taylor and I just sit and laugh at his faces and his sweet grins. I get sad when I realize how fast he is growing! I mean...can he really almost be FIVE MONTHS OLD!!!! I know I will adore each stage of his development...but this time is just perfect. Just thought I would take a moment to say how thankful I am for a beautiful, healthy son!

The nursery...my sanctuary...

Maybe that's a bit much, but that's how I feel. Brody's nursery is my absolute favorite place in the house. A lot of people feel the need to have a massive, over the top nursery. To each his own. I love that it's simplistic, classic, clean. Blue walls, white and blue bedding, black furniture. I don't know what it is, but it calms me. Plus, the invention of the glider is the best thing in the entire world. The older Brody gets, the more he fights sleep at night. He used to fall asleep in my arms and go right down. These days, we tend to put him down when he's getting sleepy and he goes to sleep on his own. Tonight, he was whining in his crib so I got him and rocked him. There is just nothing like that sweet, chubby hand on my neck...the other holding his thumb in his mouth. I rocked him just a few extra minutes to soak it all in. I guess every now and then I'm a little overwhelmed with his sheer cuteness. There is nothing like a chubby baby!

If only he would have continued sleeping as he did the past few months. Now...possible teething is waking him, not to mention all his little milestones that make him too excited to sleep. These are my personal thoughts. We are considering the rice cereal this week if he keeps waking up once to eat. He went from sleeping 12 hours to waking around 2...I need him to go back to the endless sleeping!:)

Giant Baby

So, I've seen those children that are postively massive. The kids that you look at and think are two years old and turn out to be 3 months. I've seen them...I've thought to myself how can a kid be that big...yes...I've done it. My child is not that huge, but I'm surprised at EVERY doctor's appointment how much he weighs! Taylor always throws out what I think to be an astronomical number, and yet, he's always close to the actual weight. I guess since Brody is so long, I never think he looks that big. To me, he looks like a perfect, chubby baby. Of course, Taylor is LOVING every minute of it. He loves to say how Brody will be some big football player...we shall see.

All of that to say, we went for Brody's 4 month check up (yes my little baby is FOUR MONTHS OLD!!!!). This was a MUCH better appointment as Brody smiled and giggled at every nurse and doctor he saw. He loves to be a little show off. He is 26 inches long, which is 3 inches taller than his last appointment at 2 months...and he is SIXTEEN POUNDS...12oz. I couldn't believe it. He has doubled his birth weight! But I love every perfect little ounce. So he is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight, and 75th for head size. I asked the doctor if he thought he weighed too much (yes I worry about these things), to which, of course, he said absolutely not. He told me never to worry unless my son is losing weight, but the fact that he is in the same percentile for both height and weight is a good thing. He's well proportioned.

Aside from his stats, Brody is giggling constantly, shrieking...yes...his new favorite thing, rolling from front to back, pulling himself to a seated position, and standing with help...his ABSOLUTE favorite thing to do ever. Every time he is sitting on my lap he wants to stand. He's such a happy baby...loves to be active! I think he is teething, but just can't be sure. He is chewing his hands constantly and chewing just as much. I adore this child more EVERY DAY! More to come...much, much more:)

(pic of Brody at 18 wks)