Brandon - 4 Month Wellness Check!

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)

_________________

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!

ps. Funny, here we are a year later and I still owe people thank you cards from Brandon's baptism. I am SO bad at that and i am SO sorry.

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!
ps. If I owe you a Thank you card, i am SORRY i'm working on them. :o)
My mother thinks I am the WORST - and wishes I was more like Kathleen.

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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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