4 Months Old

Our boy is 4 months old! :) I feel like Elias has grown so much over the last month. At 14.4 pounds, we're having to readjust how I hold him in the baby carrier because he's just too heavy for some of the positions that we started with. He's also strong enough to break out of the swaddle, not matter how nicely I wrap him in it. :) But beyond his size, he's growing in his motor skills and overall awareness as well. He's always been pretty alert, but now he is able to follow my voice or Ryan's voice if he hears us, look for us if someone else is holding him, watch us as we leave his room for nap time, etc. Along with that alertness comes the ability to get bored. haha. He gets restless if we leave him in the same spot or with the same toy for too long. Speaking of toys, he is getting much better at holding objects and pulling them to his mouth. And he really chomps down on whatever goes in there. I know because it often ends up being my knuckle. ;) We haven't seen any teeth break the surface of his gums yet, but they're definitely in the works. 

Elias loves being active and seeing activity. If he is laying down, he's kicking his legs, waving his arms, and usually talking up a storm. He prefers to stand or sit up as much as possible though. I've been setting his Bumbo seat up on the counter so that he can watch me do dishes or put dinner together. I'll also wear him as I'm taking care of stuff around the house and he just looks around and takes it all in. :) It's fun. The only down side is that because he likes watching everything, he is more easily distracted now. I have a harder time getting him to finish his bottle if there is a lot going on around him, and he can't just fall asleep anywhere anymore. I've got to close off the world for him a little bit in order for him to relax enough to fall asleep. :)

hmm...I think that's about it. Here are some pictures from month 4! :)

Standing up on those gorgeously chubby little legs of his. 

Doing some afternoon reading with mom. 

Chomp, chomp, chomp!

Being crazy with cousin/BFF Derek. :)

Enjoying some pool time in Palm Springs.

Elias' first hotel stay! He liked looking at the room service menu with daddy. ;)

Doing some chores with mom.

Little escape artist - three limbs out of the swaddle! haha

Hanging out at the park with his lady friends. ;) I love that we know so many babies his age!

He's such a happy boy. :)

Baby Must Haves - Months 1-3

I've realized and embraced something about myself over the last year or two. I'm a salesperson. When I find a product I like, I will tell people why I like it, how to use it, and how much they need it in their lives. lol. Having Elias has opened up a whole new world of products, which has been awesome! :) I know that there are a lot of new moms and moms to be that follow the blog, so I thought I would share a list of my personal Baby Must Haves for months 1-3, in no particular order. :) I'll include links for where you can find the items if you're in the market for such things. 

A compact changing station. The specific one that I use is an Eddie Bauer change kit that I picked up from Target, but I know there are other brands that have compact options as well. I love that this doesn't take up too much space in my diaper bag, and that everything I need to change Elias is all centralized in one location. No digging around for wipes, no carting the whole diaper bag to the bathroom at restaurants, I just grab this little baby and I'm good to go. *find it here

A compact bath. Notice a theme already? lol. We don't have much storage space in our home, and my wonderful sister in law was kind enough to take that into consideration when buying this bath for Elias. :) This is a Summer Infant bath that folds up nice and neat. It's small enough to throw in the bathroom cabinet with room to spare! We also like that the bottom is inflated so it's nice a soft, not a hard plastic or rubber surface. It's an all around win! *find it here

Snap closure jammies. This seems like a basic thing that maybe some people don't even develop a preference for. But I just wanted to throw out why we prefer snaps over zippers. We don't have mid night changes anymore since Elias sleeps through the night now. But when we did, I liked that I didn't need to completely unzip Elias' whole outfit multiple times a night for diaper changes. It was cold! I liked the ability to just get his little legs out, and keep his upper body warm in the jammies. I also found that the zippers bubbled up and always ended up poking him under his chin, which just seemed uncomfortable to me. *find some here

Dr. Seuss board books. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know by now that I am a Dr. Seuss fan. However, some of the traditional books can be long or would be more fun to read with older kids. I really love the Dr. Seuss Nursery collection board books. They're quick, simple reads that I think helped me get into the habit of reading to Elias regularly. The Sleep Softly Book is our favorite. :) *find it here

Tommee Tippee formula dispensers. These things are awesome when we're on the go! They allow us to have his bottles ready without taking up extra space in the diaper bag with the formula container. You fill the bottle up with water and scoop the formula in the dispenser to store until you're ready to shake it up and feed baby. *find them here

A baby carrier. I have a wrap, a sling, and a soft structured carrier. Right now, we're specifically in love with our Sakura Bloom ring sling. Whether we're shopping, eating out, having fussy/clingy days at home, whatever, we use our sling pretty much every day. I don't use a stroller anymore. There hasn't been a need to deal with it and the heavy carseat when I've got a linen piece of material that does the same thing while allowing me to be hands free. It's ergonomic for both of us- Elias is fully supported and it distributes his weight evenly across my torso. I can hold him a variety of ways and he can either see and interact with his surroundings, or sleep like a dream. It's breathable and lightweight. AND it folds up nicely to fit inside my diaper bag. Seriously, ladies, you need one. lol. Below are just four of the ways that I use it so far. :) *find it here

Fisher-Price Rock n Play. We used this as a bassinet in our room for the first couple months, and we still use it as a bed when we're on the go. It folds up flat for easy storage and portability. Lightweight, compact, comfy for Elias, it's just plain great. *find it here

Well that's it guys. I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of our favorite things. :) If you have any questions about any of the items mentioned, feel free to ask away!