4 month update

Well Gregory is your typical adorable 4 month old! He giggles and smiles all the time (almost) and is really starting to interact with the world around him. He went to the dr yesterday and actually weighed quite a bit less than I thought - 13 lbs 3 oz. He is still doing fine for his age and height and as you can see in the pictures, is far from malnourished! I just thought he was more because when we were last in ND we weighed him on Grandma's scale and it said 14 lbs, and that was a month ago! Must have been off, but I'd say thats good news for Grandma! Anyway, he has been working hard at learning to roll over. He gets pretty good at it sometimes, but seems to have a hard time remembering his technique from one day to the next, so its back to square one... I'm sure it'll start sticking soon! Funny thing, he seems to be much better at it when he's naked! Rolling and all kinds of other movement as well - when I set him down for some fresh air time, he wiggles all over the place and ends up off of his blanket, but if he has clothes on, he seems perfectly content to lay in one place... Maybe being naked gives him extra body awareness, I don't know?? I have been trying to catch his skills on video, but I don't think he would appreciate me posting footage of his nakey-ness on the web - with the rolling you inevitably get views of his personal areas! Pictures of his chubby buns, on the other hand...well thats just too cute to not share! I did want to figure out how to post a video though, so here's one of him not rolling over - he makes a lot of noises though!

I thought I'd take this opportunity to give an update on how the Montessori stuff is going too, since we thought so much about it before he was born. The nursery is working out fantastic! He loves the mirrors and the mobile and I love the floor bed! We are also increasingly grateful that we decided to go with all natural toys. My latest issue of Mothering Magazine just arrived today and guess what the theme is? Natural toys of course, with a huge article on toxic plastics and dangerous chemicals. Not to mention all those awful toy recalls. Of course, we didn't have any of them in the first place! So we will continue to stick with natural toys - wood, cloth, safe metals, etc. And in Montessori fashion, we'll try to have things that are as realistic as possible, so he can learn about the real world. Kids really have no capacity to understand the difference between real and imaginary until they are much older - like first grade!

Soon we'll need to start thinking about some dishes and cups for Gregory too since he may want to start trying out some solid foods in a few months - I think we'll go with wood, glass, stainless steel, or enamel for those as well. I already have a great stainless steel water bottle that you can put a sippy cup adapter on! Next we need to get a baby-sized table and chair for him. I think we'll also get a nice wooden high-chair - the kind you pull up to the table - they used to be called "junior chairs" - so he can sit at the big table with us as well. Wow, eating will be a whole new adventure...good thing we won't really think about that until he's at least 6 months.

The one thing we have been doing is combining a lot of Attachment Parenting philosophy with our Montessori approach. Some things seem a bit contradictory, but you gotta do what works. For example, we carry Gregory in a sling or wrap a lot (very AP), but when we're home and he's in a good mood, we do set him down to play on his own (more Montessori), which some days ends up being several hours altogether. Also, we have resigned ourselves that he is just not one of those kids who you can lay down drowsy and they'll drift off to sleep on their own...no, he needs a lot of help! But, we do lay him down once he's out, and he has been doing a lot better sleeping in his own bed for naps. He still sleeps with us at night, but he is starting to kick and wiggle a lot so I am starting to think of transitioning him to his own bed. That is a huge step for me because only a few weeks ago I couldn't imagine ever wanting him to sleep anywhere other than next to me. Those tiny toes digging into me are slowing changing my mind! Of course, we won't force it and will continue to do whatever allows all of us to get the most rest. Anyway, the goal of Montessori is to help kids develop at their own pace and to grow in self-confidence. AP has the same goals, but sometimes somewhat different ideas of how to reach those goals. I do believe that the more securely attached children are to their parents, the more confident and independent they can be because they have trust and security. I think both philosophies are working together quite nicely for us...

Enjoy some pics - mostly of playtime...