Dane is four months!

Dane reached another milestone this Sunday, with his four month birthday! He has a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, where he'll receive his four-month shots, will be weighed and measured, and we'll receive some guidance from the pediatrician about his eating and sleeping habits. This appointment is coming at a good time, as we unexpectedly lost the last ~month of breastmilk that I had pumped and frozen. Hence, a much sooner transition to formula. He had his first full day of it yesterday, and while he struggled with gas and kind of general unhappiness, we're hoping a few more days will allow him a little more comfort with it. He did better with the transition than I did, as I was really freaked out about losing all the hard work that I put into pumping and storing the milk, and knowing that even though breastfeeding didn't work out perfectly, at least he'd have breast milk until around 5 months. So, we're starting earlier than expected and it feels like just one more way God is trying to tell me that when things are out of my control, I need to focus on Him, not on how out of control I feel. But I'm also getting tired of this lesson; it feels like one we've been hit over the head with repeatedly the last couple years. We get it! At least I know God can take an occasional rant from me. That's reassuring.

We're very excited to see how Dane continues to grow (the weight and length today will be fun!). He's so much more aware of his surroundings, and starting to interact with things, pulling on his play gym, "talking" to himself in a mirror. He thinks he's one cute baby:)

I had my last day of work on Friday last week, which is both scary and exciting. Mark was on call that night, so I got home from my last day, and not long into the evening alone, Dane started to scream. Not just your average Dane cry either, but screaming, as if he were in extreme pain. He managed to continue this until around 9:40 when I fed him and put him down. Mark got a voicemail where I'm sure I sounded like I was losing it, saying "I don't think I can do this!" I felt like, in the words of Gob, "I've made a terrible mistake!" Mark came home around 1 pm the next day and Dane proceeded to have two wonderful days over the weekend. So, basically, those days make me feel better (or maybe it was just that I had Mark around).

I continue to look for projects and things to keep me busy. I'm working on starting an Etsy store (see more about this on my blog: larissanoel.blogspot.com), so that's an exciting proposition. I'm also heading back to Reedsburg on Wednesday this week, to have a good friend, Andria (prettiestteacup.com), take some pictures of Dane. She's an incredibly creative and crafty girl and I'm so excited to visit and see what she'll think of!

To close out this post, I'll add some of the latest pictures of Dane, the last being his four-month picture.


The swing - it's the only position that almost always quiets a gassy Dane.
Chillin' with Dad on the playmat. Dane has an incredible capacity for entertaining himself with this - sometimes for around 45 minutes!
Spread out on the Shelf.
Sleeping with his shrimp friend.
Happy Dane!
A contemplative four-month-old Dane.