G2 Four-month Status Update and Sleep Deprivation

As G2 closes in on his 5-month birthday (tomorrow), it's maybe a good idea to post about his 4-month checkup. In defense of my belated post (and man, do I have a lot of excuses), I don't think Hollie and I have gotten less sleep at any point in our lives than we've gotten in the last four weeks.

What started as a typical 4-month sleep regression--waking up two or three times per night instead of one--has morphed into a waking nightmare of getting up every 10 to 30 minutes all night long .

It. Is. Not. Fun. At. All.

As awful as it is, I don't feel quite as stressed out about it as when similar things happened with LG. Because if we learned nothing else from her early days, it's that nothing lasts. This too shall pass. But if this could pass a little more quickly, I'd really appreciate it. This morning, I mentioned to Hollie that the lack of sleep has led to a general feeling that my brain is swollen, taking up more space in my head than normal. I think I've given her a complex.

Anyway. Doctor visits!

G2's weight is straight-down-the-middle normal. He clocked in at 15.11 lbs three weeks ago, good for 47th percentile.

His length, on the other hand, is a bit crazy. He's 27 inches long, or 95th percentile.

What's sort of amazing is that, by percentile, that's almost exactly where LG was at four months: 50th and 95th, weight and length.

What's even more amazing, to me at least, is the difference between those percentiles for girls and boys.   At four months, LG was 13.44 lbs and 25.5 inches long. In fact, at six months, she still wasn't 27 inches, and only outweighed G2's 4-month weight by about 3 oz. That's a lot of numbers, but suffice to say it's no coincidence that my mom lifted G2 this weekend, and was amazed by how much baby is in that baby.

I'll just repeat my common refrain: Kryptonian DNA.

And this, of course, is the finest in Kryptonian formalwear

Though it still doesn't explain the crappy sleep patterns. Come on, buddy. Any less sleep, and my brain is going to show through my skull.

And I have a hard enough time finding hats that fit as it is.

They Grow Up So Fast

Four months and three days ago, I had a toddler. A single kid, who was very cool, but very much a toddler. Now, I have two kids. And somewhere along the way, the toddler disappeared. I don't know how it happened exactly, but with all the accomplishments she's racked up in four months, she no longer qualifies.

What accomplishments, you say? I shall answer, as ever, with a list.

1. She's potty-trained.

I didn't think it could happen, but it did. There were moments when I was sure she'd never be potty trained, and yet, months later, here we are. (Side-note: Do not let anyone tell you that you can potty train a kid in a couple of days. Those people are dirty, dirty liars.) I won't get into the details, because all of you who have young children in diapers will get there soon enough, and I don't want to spoil anything for you. Suffice to say, it's a super fun time. (It is not a super fun time.) But now, if she needs to use the bathroom, she tells someone. It might be five minutes after I put her to bed, or halfway through the grocery store with a cart full of perishables, but she tells me, and more importantly, holds it 'til we can do something about it.

2. She's in pre-school

After several months in the older toddler room at daycare, someone decided that perhaps the child who talks circles around all but one of the other children (and several of the teachers) should be moved to the pre-school room. I was apprehensive about this, because she'd already been through a bunch of changes in a short time (new bed, new brother, new teacher in the room she was already in, the list goes on). But the only other kid in her class who could carry a conversation moved away, and during the summer the pre-schoolers get to go in the pool every day. That basically sealed the deal, and she's been doing great. She comes home every day with some new piece of information, like the day of the week or the town she lives in, and another story about splashing in the pool. Speaking of which...

3. She swims under her own power (with the aid of a PFD)

I'll let the video speak for itself.

4. No more plugs
I'm not sure if it's been made clear in this space before, but our pet word for pacifier is "plug." The reason should be self-explanatory. A few weeks ago, she slept without one for the first time. Taking the cue (maybe earlier than was necessary), we made the decision that plugs would go away. We boxed 'em up, and told her that since she was a big girl, we were sending them to a little kid who needed them. As is her custom whenever presented with the possibility of a new friend, she asked the child's name. We briefly panicked, then said the kid's name was Sally. This was a mistake. She then decided she needed to meet Sally, and we would need to make this happen. (Lesson to parents: If you say you're giving your plugs away, pick a young child who actually exists. Your kid is smarter than you think.) She eventually forgot about Sally, and after a night or two of general fussiness, she is now plug-free. If only all addictions were that easy to kick.

5. She is extraordinarily kind to her baby brother
This may not count, but I've got to say, we have been so surprised at how well she's adapted to having a younger sibling. There were some growing pains, to be sure, but she has never been anything less than loving and kind to G2. (She's thrown an extra fit or two her parents' way, but that's another story.)

This is a good hug, I promise.

Not to be outdone, G2 has been knocking down milestones at a steady clip. For instance:

1. He rolls over!
The day before his four-month birthday, out of the blue, the kid rolled over, not once, but five times. He rolled over so hard, he knocked the horizon 180 degrees out of whack. For those keeping track at home, he beat his sister to the punch by at least a couple of weeks.

2. He eats solid food
Okay, so he eats rice cereal, and "eats" may be a bit overstating it. But we put rice cereal in his mouth with a spoon, and at least some of it doesn't come back out again. LG even gets in on the action.

Although 2 seconds after the last picture, LG sneezed into the rice cereal, and the meal ended.

And in case you're wondering, yeah, I got the sneeze on video.

It's a cliché, but they do grow up fast. You can get sentimental about it, or you can be grateful you only have to change one set of diapers. I think I know which way I'm leaning.