4 months

Theodor is now 4 months and the feelings of love I have for him are immense. I am so happy that he is part of our family and that I get to be his mother. He is absolutely amazing and I am still in awe that he has only been with us for 17 weeks. I can no longer imagine my life without him.

In some ways I am happy that he was fussy and difficult and sometimes still is. He forced me to put all of my energy into him and that brought us together in a way which might not have happened if I had been able to put him down during the first months of his life.

Now things have changed. He is getting bigger and loves to interact with the world around him. He is rolling constantly from back to stomach and then kicking his little legs as hard as he can in the hope that it will get him somewhere.

He also giggles. His giggle is the most wonderful thing to listen to. He is just so happy when he does it that you can't help but feel the same. He loves to giggle when we fly him over our stomachs as an airplane. He also loves to giggle when we make certain noises. It is too too cute.

Solids are a big hit.Pumpkin is his favorite and yesterday he ate almost a whole jar of pumpkin and potato. I didn't think he would get the hang of it so soon. I've already picked out an awesome highchair to order as it looks like it is time.

Theodor also makes me honor and appreciate my mother even more then I did before. I am alone with Theodor for 12-14 hours a day most days and I so look forward to the break I get when I can hand him off for a little bit to my husband. My mom is a single parent and never had that. I honestly can't imagine dealing with all of the frustration, tiredness, elation, excitement, fear and the myriad of other emotions that come with parenting alone. She is truly my role model in all of this. I just love my family so much and feel so lucky to have them. My life is truly wonderful right now.

Classes

I am one of those moms who loves baby classes. I often find myself at a loss for ideas after an hour alone with Teddy and the classes give me great ideas and a good reason to leave the house.

We do,
Baby massage- Teddy thinks it is boring, as admittedly do I- although I am pleased he doesn't cry the whole time like some of the babies.

Pekip- (prager eltern kind program) A parent and baby class where the babies are naked! It follows the baby through their first year and is really wonderful. We both love it.
Mother and baby fitness for after birth- This is helping me get back in shape after the baby, but it focuses on exercises to help the pelvic floor, not my saggy stomach. Teddy likes being with the other babies, and it is fun to watch them become more and more aware of each other. I like spending time with other moms and slowly getting back into shape.

Baby Swim- This starts in August and since Theo seems to love water I think he will really like it. We also will be doing some music and movement classes in the fall as well.

One of my favorite parts of the classes is getting to spend time with so many other babies as well. They are all so unique and it is fun to compare (in a nice good way!), commiserate, and see what I have to look forward to. Also fun to find out that Teddy is very vocal for his age. He coos and makes lots and lots of adorable little noises like he is talking with us. None of the other babies at my classes are that vocal yet which just shows me that I have the most special unique snowflake of all. LOL :D :D

Food!

We started with parsnips... man do those things taste terrible. Teddy wasn't impressed. I think I will do pumpkin next as that at least has some flavor.



But the goal right now is just for him to get familiar with the spoon and all that jazz so it doesn't matter that he ate less then a baby spoonful. In Germany they recommend starting with veggies at 4 months. They used to encourage waiting until 6 months but the allergy rates didn't decrease so now they are back at 4 months. Teddy is 17 and a half pounds now and clearly wants to be eating with us so I am happy to start slowly introducing purees and porridges.



He also loves to drink water from a little cup. He sticks his tongue in and laps at it like a dog LOL. I'm hoping that he will be able to really eat purees for one meal a day in about a months time. I'll let you all know how it goes:)

Stinky feet

Teddy has them.

Once Thomas and I were standing by the bed wondering what in the world could smell so strong. Turns out someone was sock free.

Not only are they stinky they are also cold, clammy and moist most of the time. Apparently this is a genetic thing and some babies luck out so to speak when it comes to the feet lottery.

Of course they are still the most adorable things ever.