4 Months

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Cillian turned 4 months old. It's really shocking how fast it goes with the second baby. Like, really shocking. It's weird to think of Cillian as 4 months old because he just doesn't look like he is - he is still so so so tiny. He is growing though. He was 11lbs 11ounces at his 4 month check-up and was 23 inches long. These two measurements are just below the 2nd percentile. Dr. Hirsh said she's not worried because he's consistent and he's growing  - it's just that he's a peanut (to use her term). Dr. Hirsh said that he's thriving to me and that I'm doing a great job. It's always nice to hear that. I'm not going to lie - some days, when he's on his third round of constant crying and refusing to calm down or sleep, refusing to eat, etc. I cry too. It's not okay - I should pull it together really but some days it's just like - okay, for the next 5 minutes, I'm going to surrender and cry. Then I pull it together and we get through it.

BUT PEOPLE - OH PEOPLE - we have seen the LIGHT! There have been periods of calm, smiles, laughing, playing and just a total absence of screaming and crying. We have seen the promised land. It's within our reach. And believe me, we are ready for it! :)

Since Cillian's schedule is so off during the day with the daily commute and the daily construction (YES this is STILL going on) he usually collapses around 3:30/4pm and wants to sleep through the night - problem is, he wakes up once, goes back to sleep after eating but then wakes up at 4am thinking it's time to begin the day. It is not. So, we wake him up around 6 to stay awake as long as he can and eat once more before the big sleep. We turn a light on in his room, undo his sleep sack, leave the door open and let him wake up "on his own" and it's so cute - he'll outstretch his arms and his little fists go up and down - Doug calls them Harley hands - it looks like he's revving up a motorcycle. Harley Hands. I love it.

Cillian is still in size 1 pampers swaddlers and is still very comfy in size 3 months clothes. He loves his ....... FINGER. Ug. He sucks and chews and bites and gnaws on his pointer finger of his right hand. Like, LOVES this finger. It is in his mouth all the time.

Cillian is starting to mouth attack everything. If something comes near him, he moves his head back and forth and puts both hands on it and shoves it into his mouth. His favorites are his snuggle bear and Sam the Octopus Pirate. His name is Sam because of an I'm exhausted and have resorted to creating songs song - I'm an octopus pirate yes I am ... I'm an octopus pirate my name is Sam.

Cillian now can grab things that hang on his play mat which is great. He battles the Octopus that holds the fish on his mat every day. It's really fun to watch him work so hard - he gets pretty worked up. It's cute. His little cheeks flush sometimes - he works so hard! We have sat in the bumpo people! His little head wobbled around a lot the first time, but we've been working on our muscles and we're getting better and better and more sturdy each time which is great.

Cillian is on his play mat a lot ... here he is with Dad :)

Also ... this is great news that I thought we wouldn't get. Dr. Hirsh said we could start Cillian on solids. I was so excited. I thought that because of his head wobbling, we wouldn't get the green light - but we did!!!! She said to just have him sit in the reclining baby seat. I asked Dr. Hirsh about the whole arsenic in the baby rice cereal and she said that she's been telling parents to just do the baby oatmeal but with a looser consistency. So we did! Not too shabby for our first time! Way to go Cillian! Here are some photos of the first time of oatmeal and also of Big Brother feeding Cillian :)

First Bite of Solid Food Ever :)

 James feeding Cillian - James was very proud of himself and I was so touched he wanted to feed Cillian - overall, just a great experience :)

 

I think this is the most sophisticated anyone could look with a mustache of oatmeal on their face

 



Cillian has an activity that he loves to do. I did it by accident once - I was holding him all the way up with my arms outstretched while I was sitting on the couch after a feeding and I noticed his eyes were just completely fixated on outside. Then he just was completely captivated and calm. He just kept looking - looking everywhere. Raising his eyebrows to open his eyes as wide as they could go - just scanning. He can see outside. He can see the best this way. Now, after/before/during every feeding, he grunts and kicks his legs to swing his body up - his way of saying, seriously Mom, lift me up so I can see! He loves it. He loves it the most at night with all the lights in the park and from the cars on lake shore drive. It's adorable to watch his face.

 

 

 

 

One night there was a fender bender on Lake Shore Drive - nothing serious but firetrucks and ambulances always come to the scene just in case - I called to James and Doug who were doing bath time and this is what followed - a very intense examination of the crash site by my two boys.

 

Speaking of eyes, we had an appointment with Dr. Z as well. She said he is doing better! She noticed that his eyes were opening a bit more, that there were lines developing on the eye lids and that there were lines developing on his forehead. I told her what I had been doing - raising his eyes by pushing up the skin on his forehead. Here's our conversation that followed.

Dr. Z: You're creating muscle memory for him

M: Yep. Even though everyone keeps saying there's nothing I could do, I had to do something, so I did that.

Dr. Z: Well, it's good, keep it up

M: I'm so glad to hear it's helping. I will keep it up. I would probably keep doing it even if you told me it wasn't helping though.

Dr. Z: smile

M: Type A

Dr. Z: bigger smile

So, Dr. Z also told me that Cillian will have to have an interim surgery before his big surgery at age 4. This surgery will be putting in sutures in each eyelids to help him opening them more. We go back to see Dr. Z at the end of January - she told me that she didn't want to ruin our Christmas. And with that kind of statement, who can wait until January?!?!? (sarcasm a plenty). Oh well. Hopefully it won't be too painful for our little guy. I am confident in Dr. Z though. I asked her about all of these various horrible side effects I read about courtesy of Google and she just confidently and simply said, "Not when I do it." So there's that. I'm putting faith into that.

Also, if any readers are moved to do so - I'm doing a Novena for St. Lucy the patron saint of eyes. Her Novena is here . After this one, I'm doing a Novena for St. Odillia who is another patron saint of eyes. Her Novena is here. St. Odilia is the one both my grandmothers prayed to and St. Lucy is the one Father Paul told me about. I thought I would do both.  Thank you to any of you who keep sweet Cillian in your prayers.