4 Month Checkup

Barrett went in for his four month check-up at the beginning of January.  Here are his stats:

Weight: 13 lbs, 6 oz (10th percentile)
Height: 26 inches (77th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16.7 in (68th percentile)

Compared to his two month stats:

Weight: 12 lbs (37th)
Height: 24.4 inches (90th)
Head Circumference: 16 inches (84th)


I took him back to the doctor again yesterday to make sure he was gaining weight.  We changed the way we were feeding him (bottles only now, supplementing with formula as needed) and wanted to make sure it was helping him out.  Sure enough, two weeks after his four month check-up, he has already gained almost two pounds!!  He now weighs 14 lbs, 14 oz (23rd percentile), and Mommy, Daddy and baby are all so much happier with our new system. Breast-feeding was becoming too much of a challenge for Barrett and Mommy, and neither of us were happy with how it was going. Now, Barrett is consistently eating 6 ounces from a bottle about five or six times a day; I am pumping every three hours (four hours at night).  Barrett loves his bottles, and Travis loves that he can help out with feedings more often.  Barrett tends to be hungrier in the morning, eating every 1.5-2 hours, but is able to eat every 3-4 hours in the afternoons.  He is sleeping like a champ again; on most days, he sleeps from 7pm - 7am.  He is also taking one long 2-4 hour nap in the early afternoons, usually around 12 or 1. If we don't get him into bed on time (between 7-7:30pm), he gets VERY cranky and irritable and let's us know he is mad that he isn't in bed yet!

Overall, he's a happy, healthy baby! :-)

4 Months Old!!

It's hard to believe, but Barrett is four months old today! People aren't kidding when they tell you that time flies...it truly does!

Here's our monkey picture for the month:

Life sure is busy here at the Daniels' household!! Here's what we are doing at four months:

Rolling over back to tummy...

It's official. This kid is on the move! He rolls over so easily and effortlessly now you would think he had been doing it for weeks! But, he just all of a sudden started doing it on Saturday morning (Dec. 31). I laid him down on his back, turned around, and when I looked back, he was on his stomach looking up at me. It completely shocked me, and I am still surprised every time I find him in a new position. (I'm sure this shock will wear off soon, but right now, it's pretty impressive!!)

Still sucking our thumb...

He only sucks the right thumb, but he will suck all other fingers of his left hand.  He has also started putting his left hand on his head while he sucks his thumb, so he always looks so chill and relaxed. :-)

Discovering our feet...

Not only has he found his feet, but he has also discovered that he can put them in his mouth...

He's quite the contortionist!!

Here's a video of him eating his toes :-)

Putting our hands together...

Instead of keeping one hand tucked underneath him when he's on his tummy, he is now able to bring them both to the front! He also likes to push his toys all around in front of him now, and he sent several flying across the floor this morning...

Holding our head up...

His head no longer flops around while it's up in the air. He is really stable and is able to look around the room at many different things while he is laying on his tummy!

Laughing, cooing, and giggling at Mommy and Daddy...

Everything we do is funny, and he particularly loves it when Daddy comes home and makes faces at him. He will turn his head towards our voices whenever we talk to him, and he loves to hold a conversation with us as well!

(I love this picture because I see the same expression on Travis' face as the expression on Barrett's face in the previous picture... It makes me smile.)

 Here's a little video of him cooing and babbling away!

Making the greatest facial expressions...

His expressions continue to be priceless! This is his "angry" face, and it's the first time I have been able to capture it on camera!! :-)

And, finally, our picture with the puppies for the month!

After Travis and I spent about five minutes trying to arrange this picture, we felt like we were trying to herd cats, so we resorted to bribery. Everyone in this picture is being bribed to sit still and next to each other - the dogs with beefy dog treats and the baby with a shiny rattle.

And, for your viewing enjoyment, some other choice photos of Baby Barrett from this month:

Fingers in the mouth, feet in hand...

After a week of visiting with and meeting all his extended family for Christmas and then a loooong 10 hour drive home, Barrett had a little trouble waking up the next morning!

Playing on our new toy from great-grandma Jerry

(He still needs a little help sitting up, but soon, he'll be doing it on his own!)

Cute as a bug!

I love sweet sleeping baby pictures :-)

A four month old cutie pie!!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!

To celebrate the new year, we headed out to a friend's house, baby in tow, with plans of putting him to bed in his pack-n-play in one of the bedrooms.  No such luck, of course.  All Barrett wanted to do was be where the party was, watch the New Year's Eve specials on TV, and smile at all the girls.  After multiple attempts to put him to bed, I gave up and let him join the party. We stayed until about 10:45 when he got cranky and irritable.  He screamed his lungs out when we put him in the carseat to take him home, but within 30 seconds of driving in the car, he was sound asleep.  He was so asleep, in fact, that after the five minute drive home, I was able to take him out of his carseat and transfer him to bed without waking him up.  He slept straight through the new year until 8:30am the next morning!!

So, Travis and I spent the last hour of 2011 watching a country music special on the couch and sipping on champagne while watching the ball drop in Times Square.  It was a great way to end the year!! :-)

As 2012 approached, we took a moment to reflect on 2011 and all the wonderful things that happened to us throughout the year.  Here's what we came up with (in no particular order)...

1. Barrett Stephen was born September 2nd and was probably the most exciting thing to happen to us in 2011.  I spent pretty much the entire year pregnant, and then we spent the remaining four months of the year getting to know our sweet baby.  He is such a blessing, and we are so grateful that he is a part of our lives!

2. We found out Travis' new assignment - AC-130s to Hurlburt AFB in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Although we won't actually arrive in Florida until almost the end of next year, we were pretty excited to find out what is next for us!

3. Travis was promoted to Flight Commander of Aces flight in March and has been a very successful leader.  He has been so successful, in fact, that he will remain in his position as flight commander until about two months before we leave Del Rio in May!  He also accumulated over 1000 of flight time in the T-6, a feat which earned him a patch and a pat on the back. :-)

4. I finished my Master's degree!  I also finished my second year of teaching at Del Rio HS and my sixth year of teaching overall. I'm taking some time off (...for several years...) to be a mommy!

5. We visited Harry Potter world in Orlando, Florida!

6. The puppies turned two, and we celebrated with a hearty steak dinner, complete with birthday signs and cone hats. :-)

Overall, 2011 was a very successful year, but we are happy to welcome 2012 as we look forward to enjoying the new adventures we will have with the Air Force, as well as watching our baby boy grow and learn about the world around him.

So, goodbye 2011, and hello 2012! To everyone, happy new year!! May God's blessings continue to abound for all of you and may your new year be filled with happiness, hope, and peace.

 

With love from the three of us :-)