Happy Four-Month Birthday Tyler!

Happy four-month birthday to you
Happy four-month birthday to you
Happy four-month birthday dear Tyler
Happy four-month birthday to you!

Many more birthdays to you
Many more birthdays to you
Many more birthdays dear Tyler
Many more birthdays to you!

Wow! Where does time go? Tyler is already 4-months old! Memories of being on bed rest in September seem so long forgotten yet still so vivid in my mind. When I look back at pictures of him from the early days or when I see a newborn baby, it's so hard to fathom that he was ever that teeny-tiny!

Tyler has really changed a lot this month, both physically and developmentally. We took Tyler to his 4-month well-baby check-up today and were shocked to hear he weighs 15 lbs even (placing him in the 50th percentile) and is 24 1/2 inches long (placing him in the 45th percentile)! His pediatrician said you wouldn't even know he was a preemie because he's all caught to where he should be! The formula just doesn’t seem to be cutting it anymore for Tyler (he wants to eat 6-8 ounces every 3 or 4 hours) so the doctor gave the okay to start giving him cereal. We are anxious to see how he does with a spoon! We'll be sure to have the camera out for his first real meal! Developmentally, we’ve really enjoyed watching Tyler hit many milestones this month. He has now discovered that he has hands and that he can explore his world and learn with them. He is putting his hands together, putting them in his mouth and grasping objects placed in his hands. He has also started reaching out for things he wants to hold. Tyler has finally started to enjoy his tummy time, which led to his first time rolling over on January 27th. We also got to enjoy his first time sleeping through the night on January 31st with a repeat on February 15th. He continues to smile and laugh constantly when we're being silly with him or for no reason at all. From a speech pathologist's standpoint, I am pleased to say he has started vocalizing some consonant sounds (/b/, /m/ , and /n/ mostly) and he's starting to string them together with vowel sounds to make some beautiful baby babble! He is also gurgling and blowing raspberries to express his delight!

I've been posting more pictures this month so I don't have many to share today. I have been saving this one to share because it's my favorite from the month! I have this picture on the bulletin board right above my desk at work. When I look into Tyler's big blue eyes, I feel like he's saying "Hurry up and finish your work Mom, so you can come play with me!" I just love it!