4 Months and Counting

Our little guy is well over 4 months old, and I thought that his fans far and wide really deserved an update on him. I think that how he's doing, in my mind, is all tied up with our transition, and, ultimately, how I'm doing. Julian is, all in all, a very healthy and happy little one. He's had some challenges, chiefly his eczema, which I think has been harder for me because of the general lack of control and stability that I have felt in the last couple of months. It has also been much harder for me to get a handle on what he needs in terms of routine, which is always a challenge with a new baby, but is also a function both of our high level of transition since his birth and simply the fact that he was born into an already bustling family.

In his first three months, the child went to Disney World and traveled internationally to 3 major cities (one of these days I should post some Europe pictures...), and he's visited both the mountains and the beach in Thailand in the month and a half since we've returned! All of this has been great fun, but I have a pretty high need for routine, and believe that structure is good for little ones, so I've resolved to buckle down for the next week and not go anywhere that will inhibit Julian's daytime sleep, so that he can begin to establish some more regular patterns of sleeping and eating that will allow him to get the nourishment that his body needs. I know that it's unrealistic to think that he won't ever miss a nap, and I'm not that highly structured, but I think that in general he needs what he needs...

So, on to more interesting matters. At his 4 month checkup, our baby was 27.4 inches, which is off the charts for height, and 15.3 pounds, which is at the 50th percentile for weight. This is a drop in his weight percentile, so we're monitoring that closely, and solid foods are just around the corner.

Julian is nothing short of a joy, ready with a smile when it's asked of him and a constant source of amusement to his brother and sister. He drools in unbelievable quantities, and goes through 5 or 6 onesies on most days because they're so wet. He's beginning to take more consistent naps during the day and his night sleep tends to consist of a stretch of up to 6 hours, with one or two wakings to eat. I was reading a journal recently and read that Asa was sleeping 12 hours a night at this point! To each his own, and for the most part I'm happy to meet Julian's needs (okay, I might occasionally be just a little grumpy as I stumble to his crib at 3 am...), and I know that my other marathon sleepers were not necessarily the norm.

His eczema has been a constant source of concern (and many trips to the doctor!) and has caused me no end of consternation. I've eliminated dairy from my diet for the past two weeks, as his pediatrician thinks there could be a milk allergy involved, and we've been hydrating his skin constantly. He actually looked MUCH better today, which was very good for my spirits, and that gives me hope that things might be better ahead. We'll see. When your little one looks like a wee burn victim day in and day out, it's a bit disturbing. And, as I already said, add in all of my transition and lack of control issues, and it's put me fairly off my rocker. Today we received a shipment of some new laundry detergent we're trying that is supposed to be really great for sensitive skin (and cloth diapers), so I'm hopeful that it might prove a help, as well. By the way, all of these pictures were taken on Mother's Day, when his skin looked amazingly good, a lovely gift for me:).

All in all, we simply cannot imagine our family without our Julian. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

And finally...I have a number of pictures I love that I thought I would share here and there. Here's one taken during an early spring romp in Georgia...