My Big 4 Month Old!

I have a really big baby boy - the biggest in the bunch

Luke got the  95^th percentile trifecta - in height, weight, and head circumference!

He is 18 pounds and 26 inches long

Brandon and Nicky were both about 15 lbs at 4 months

And we thought Brandon was our linebacker

Luke is so strong he already rolls over back and forth and hold his self up on his arms

He is trying to sit up with assistance and gets stronger everyday from the Bumbo

He can reach out and grab things and bring them to his mouth

He pulls his legs in and shows signs of early crawling

He is teething now, but we haven’t seen any teeth yet

By the same age, Nicky had 2 bottom teeth but Brandon didn't have any teeth yet either

He stuffs his whole fists in his mouth and tries to soothe himself from the pain

He makes lots of noises and coos and goos and yelps out in a cute little voice

He loves to play under his activity mat and listens to the sounds

He loves to watch his brothers play and the doggies fascinate him. 

The best part - he LOVES me. yay for me.

I forgot to post Luke's 3 month picture and here he is at 4 months.

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And the rest of the boys at 4 month....

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 Brandon had his 4 month check up and had a great progress report.  He is now 15 pds, 10 oz and in the 75th percentile in weight. He has the chubbiest little goishies (thighs) and I love to squeeze them and blow raspberry kisses.  He is 25 inches long and that puts him in the 55th percentile. He is in 3-6 months clothing and filling out all over. His head size jumped and did get bigger in the last 2 months and is now in the 50th percentile. Its neat to compare to Nicky at the same time. Both are 18 weeks at their 4 month check up. Both are 15 pds, and 25 inches. (But different percentiles! weird, I'll have to check on that. lol)  No teeth have pooked through yet, but the Dr seems to think it could be soon since his gums are a little swollen.

We tried a little food yesterday, but he hasn't gotten the hang of it yet. He is still a little wobbly and can't hold himself up for long periods of time. We practice our baby pull ups every day and he is getting better and stronger. He still gets up 2-3 times a night and its really taking its toll. I hope in the upcoming weeks we can move Brandon to his room and Nicky into his new room. Brandon is truly a happy baby. He smiles more than Nicky did and is starting to laugh outloud. He is content to hang out and is rolling over from tummy to back and ALMOST from back to tummy. Just a couple more days of practice. I took this from my friends blog so I could post some of his milestones.

Here are some of the four-month milestones and how Brandon is doing:

"By four months, your baby ... should be able to:
- on stomach, lift head up 90 degrees (yes)
- laugh out loud (yes and its the best sound in the world!)
- follow an object in an arc about 6 inches above the face for 180 degrees, from one side to the other (yes)

... will probably be able to:
- hold head steady when upright (yes, but kinda wobbly at times)
- on stomach, raise chest, supported by arms (yes)
- grasp a rattle held to backs or tips of fingers (yes)
- pay attention to an object as small as a raisin (no, i don't have any raisins)
- reach for an object (yes)
- squeal in delight (yes, very loudly too)

... may possibly be able to:
- keep head level with body when pulled to sitting (Yes! we love baby pull ups!)
- roll over one way (yes, from tummy to back. back to tummy is still a little hard)
- turn in the direction of mommy's voice (yes, he LOVES mommy)
- say "ah-goo" or similar vowel-consonant combinations (Brandon talks all day long).
- make a wet razzing sound (we're working on raspberry sounds!)

... may even be able to:
- bear some weight on legs when held upright (yes, he's so strong!.)
- sit without support (no, but spends lots of time in his Bumbo)
- object if you try to take a toy away (not yet)
- turn in the direction of a voice (yep)

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Below is an email I sent out back in Oct 08 when Nicky was 4 months old. 3 weeks later I would get pregnant with Brandon...so crazy!


Hello Friends and family!


2 weeks ago, Dan and I had pictures taken of Nicholas at 4 months old.

He loves the camera already, probably because I have taken 8,000
pictures of him! (no joke...) I included our favorite picture.  If you
are in Austin and want a recommendation, I highly recommend Bonnie
Berry. She is fantastic.


Nicholas is 15 pounds now, and has 2 teeth! Its crazy...and he likes
to put everything in his mouth. He is starting to sit up, and tries to
crawl like an inch worm. He LOVEs dogs.

Week 18 (sept 8 - sept 14) was a rough week for us. He was 4 months old this week; He is 15.1 pounds, 25 inches long. His weight is 60% percentile, height 75% percentile, and head is 40% percentile. He got his second round of vaccines. That night his fever spiked to 101.9. We were up all night with him, but he was better the next day. He still wakes up a couple times a night as he rolls over, but has now embraced the tummy sleeping. He is sleeping in his room now, and dan and I take turms sleeping in the guest room so we can be closer to him. I miss him in our room so much. He doesn't nurse as much now and I am very sad.
His teeth has popped through and he is still very fussy.
This week we met Dan's father at Cafe Blue on the Lake. We had a great week with some cool weather - our over 90 degree summer looks like it is coming to an end. we also did not get any rain from Hurricane Ike. 

 I hope everyone is doing well, and I'd love to see pictures of your
families - actually facebook has kept me up to date on most of you! ;)
Who else feels like a voyeur???! Ok, back to work and talk to you all
soon!
I posted week 20 pictures on Flickr:
http://flickr.com/photos/victoriaabeling/collections/
and the latest videos: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=viccifleming

Love, Vicci, Dan, and Nicky...Roxy  &; Eleanor too!

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I See Me!

Mr. Luke is a babbler, cooer, and raspberry blower. And he is so happy! He rolls all over the place, and loves to grab is feet. He is already teething and gnawing on everything in sight. Both Nicky and Brandon got teeth around 3-4 months, so I wonder if Luke will too. Just like his brothers, he also likes to look in the mirror and smiles at himself. I snapped this little video of Luke this afternoon.

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Happy 3 Months to Baby Luke

So before I get to it. Remember THIS post? well I take it all back. LUKE is...well he is just so incredible and EASY.  I keep pinching myself, because I wanted and DESERVED an easy baby. I  found him. I love him.

Ok so back to my update - Today Luke is 3 months and no longer a newborn, but considered an infant! And a BIG infant at that. He is probably close to 18 or 19 pounds, well over the weight both Nicky and Brandon were at this time. He is already in the 95th percentile, and continues to grow so it will be interesting to see his stats at his 4 month next check up.

All this weight really means is that my back and arms HURT from carrying him. :) But he loves it - and he is calm. which is a big difference than my other two

Luke has graduated to the 3-6 month clothes and he may grow out of them before he even makes a dent in wearing them! I have a couple outfits I have to get him in before he is tooo big! I finally moved all of Brandon's clothes into Nicky's room - Brandon will be moving into Nicky's room in the next month (although Brandon wants nothing to do with Nicky's room - he LOVES his crib. Still at just over 2 never really tried to climb out. fingers crossed. Not sure how we will do this transition.)

In the last month, Luke has had some significant changes: he talks a lot (coos, gurgles, boos, agoos, and lots of hiccups.) He can roll over front to back, but not back to front. He's upper body strength has been good from the beginning, so he's had about 3 weeks of solid tummy time, and arm work. He gets stronger every day.

We do lots of arm lifts, pull ups, and baby calisthenics. Our main goal is to keep his head ROUND (I do not want to do a baby helmet again. I think its really hard  to avoid the flat head for babies that like to be swaddled and can't move. I think this must have contributed to Brandon's shape, and now it is a HUGE effort for us to prevent it from happening to Luke. Nicky was a beast and never sat still - he didn't have time for a flat head. We invested in some pillows specifically made to help babies avoid flat heads, so I hope it works. He already has a tiny flat spot, so we have to keep an eye on it. A side note, for the pother 2 boys we used the Amby hammock. It was recalled. It worked so well for Nicky but not Brandon.

Between 3-4 months is also the time both N & B started teething. I wonder if it will be the same for Luke. He has started to gnaw on his hands and your fingers, and he can bring things to his mouth now. I haven't felt any sharp points, but I am prepared for teething! He actually loves his swing, his play mat, his bouncy chair, his bumbo. Its really neat to have a baby you can put DOWN. and SMILES!

Last time I wrote a 3 month update, Brandon was not sleeping, i was on the edge of my rocker, ready to jump off a cliff...I am happy to report that LUKE sleeps :) He is wonderful. I put him down between 8-9 every night, swaddled like a little burrito and he sleeps till 4:30-5. I get him up to nurse, we lay back down he starts to eat, and we are asleep. The next thing I know its about 7 and its time to get up because B or N are awake. He is so so so so so wonderful. I probably get up more with Nicky and Brandon then Luke. Which KILLS me. I cant believe at 3 and a half, Nicky still has as many problems as he does. And for all the greatness Brandon does by going right to sleep, he gets up anywhere between 1 - 3 times a night.

I HAVE NOT SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT IN ALMOST 4 YEARS. that's ONE THOUSAND AND SIXTY DAYS. wow crazy. And here is some more math for you. Since I got pregnant in August 2007, I have been either pregnant or nursing  42 of 48 months. So let me tell you all HOW HAPPY i am that i am DONE. you'd think i would get off my ass and work out. Maybe next week.

Ok so one last thing I have to say. If you know my boys, then you know that my boys are "daddy's boys". Yes I know they love me, but Nicholas and Brandon think Dan is their Hero, and rightly so. Dan is such a great father. I am so lucky to have someone who is so interested, so happy, so loving, so patient, so forgiving, and so involved with the boys.

But Luke...Baby Luke LOVES me. I feel it. I know it. He adores me. He smiles right when I walk into a room, when he hears my voice. I know we have a special bond already. I was telling one of my best friends this afternoon, that I am so proud of Nicholas - he is so smart, so beautiful, and so amazing, it takes my breath away. Brandon is my precious precious angel; I want to hug him and hold him and make sure nothing hurts him so I can protect him forever.

And then there is Luke - he's mine. I finally feel in my bones that I have a baby that I can agree when everyone says - Boys love their Mommys. 

Here is my attempt at taking a really cool picture with all different onsiesonsie. And will try to recreate this picture at 6 months and then at a year. Tomorrow i will have his "monthly onsie" picture. 

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Brandon is 3 months!

Brandon turned 3 months old on Saturday! My baby is no longer considered a baby, but an infant! 3 months has many milestones for babies and Brandon seems to be on track. Click here to see what a 3 month old is up to!

Brandon is about 14 pounds now and is starting to fit into size 3-6. I am still trying to get through most of Nicky's 0-3 stuff before I pack it away for Valerie. (But Val's having girls, so i don't know why I bother! UPDATE: AMY or ALEX too! I don't care, I just want some NIECES!!!)

Brandon's hair is starting to grow and he is not losing it like Nicky did. Unfortunately there still seems to be no sign of the Abeling tail, and it makes me a little sad. I love Nickys. BUT, I do see a small widows peak, like his Uncle Frank, so maybe the Abeling's are know for peaks AND tails. :) aren't they lucky?

This past week he rolled over about 3 or 4 times, but its still a great effort and I have not been able to catch the actual event on video yet!  He is wasting no time, and has accomplished front to back and back to front. He can hold his upper body up for long periods at a time, and has even spent some time in his Bumbo chair, albeit a bit wobbly at first. You can see him working very hard to sit up. I went back and checked and at the same time (13 weeks) was when we first put Nicky in the Bumbo too. We have started some baby calestenics and working on our sit ups.

Brandon is "talking" a lot now. He will spend 10- 15 minutes chatting and singing about his day when he is hanging out in your lap. He loves to sit facing you so he can see you. He is a very smilely baby and loves to stick out his tounge. He is learning to grasp and bring things to his mouth, and I belive he has started to teethe. I can feel some sharp points in his lower gums and all the drooling is making a gorgeous rash around his lips. Nicky's first tooth was visible at week 20, but he started teething right around his Baptism between 3 -4 months.  

Brandon is a little bit easier baby because he will hang out in your arms, on the floor, in a chair, or swing and let you get some things done around the house. He also likes to be carried around in the baby carrier after he is done crying. :)

Brandon is still not sleeping through the night which has been very difficult. He goes about 4 hours and then tends to get up every 2/3 after that. He loves to be swaddled and it comforts him so i am hoping ecentually he will catch on and start sleeping or Mommy will go crazy. He is still sleeping in his Amby and in our room. Until he can sleep through the night, he will stay with us.

Here is a side by side comparison of Nicky and Brandon at 13 weeks:

          

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