A lot of things have changed in a month, good things and not-so-good things.
Nico's a lot more interactive and extremely awake and friendly in the mornings. Unfortunately for me, he picked up his dad's morningness and I can hear him chattering away to his stuffed lion while I try to catch up on sleep.
He also giggles especially when he hears laughter, and has now started to practice making sounds, which one day will turn into speech such as 'Dad where are the keys to your car?'.
We're now bathing him downstairs as he's outgrown the bathroom sink, so now we're using his baby bath all the time. The change table has also moved downstairs, and all that baby stuff is slowly taking over the house. Luckily he really enjoys his bath time, so this normally takes place without any fuss.
I've subscribed for PAFT (Parents As First Educator) courses, which are a great Ministry of Education initiative to educate and guide parents on helping their children's development. Every month or so, Lotoifale will visit us and give me some material and ideas.
And every Friday we go visit Oma for dinner, and every Wednesday we connect with Ba Ngoai on Skype.
Soooo, here are our milestones:
- Mastered skills at 4 months:
- Smiles and laughs. Check. We need to work on the timing though, as he really behaves like an angel when we have company, and an outright little devil when we're at home with just Mummy and Daddy. I constantly need to remind myself that even the most boring and mundane task to an adult can be a new exciting experience for a baby... Proof here (no it's not Nico in the video, we haven't got a camcorder. Yet.)
- Can bear weight on legs. Check. He's actually been doing it for ages, kicking away on his change mat and pushing up when we hold him with his legs touching the floor. I had a bit of a scare when I was holding him on my lap, lying on his back and his feet on my abdomen, and he decided to give a mighty kick, propelling himself outwards like a babycopter.
- Coos when you talk to him. Check. Sometimes he'll even try to respond back but our conversation isn't going anywhere. - Emerging skills at 4 months:
- Can grasp a toy. Semi-check. He's done it several times, but whether on purpose or accidentally I'm not sure. He certainly doesn't seem to miss when he tries to grasp my hair or my T-shirts.
- Rolls over, from tummy to back. Nothing here. Not from back to tummy either. What he does do though, is spin around on his mat, so he ends up perpendicularly from where he initially laid. But he only does it counterclockwise. Apart from that, he sometimes turns from his back to his side, but if placed on his tummy he's stay there. - Advanced skills at 4 months:
- Imitates sounds. Another semi-check. I'm pretty sure I heard him say 'Da' but just once. I'm sure it's the beginning of 'Da bestest mummy in the world is mine'.
- Cust first tooth. Not that I can see, although it's hard to see with all these fingers in his mouth. I hope it won't happen till real late, Sheryn said that the longer the teeth stay inside, the more time they have to mature and become stronger.
- May be ready for solid foods. He hasn't shown much interest in food. I used to try every so often to give him a sniff of things when I cooked, but stopped when I spilt beer on his blanket. Can't go around with a baby smelling of alcohol.
