First, after 12 short weeks John had to go back to work. His stay at home dad gig is over. His first day back was Jan 4. We found an awesome Nanny for William. She is the mother-in-law of one of my co-workers. Both her and her husband are very nice. William gets dropped off by Mommy in the morning and gets picked up by Daddy in the afternoon. We've developed a good schedule for him by now. He took to Lola and Lolo very easily. Taking him at such a young age makes it an easy transition. No crying for Mommy when I drop him off, which makes it easier on me as well.
William has made a lot of Firsts this month.
Food:
William tried formula for the first time this month. The first kind we tried he did not like! He kept moving his face to the side and fighting it. Then when it passed through his body, he hated it even more! We switched to a formula for sensitive tummies and he likes that one alot. It makes it much easier to feed him when we're not at home.
Toys:
William became interested in his toys. He is reaching and grabbing for things now. He is working on opening his hands and grasping things. Small things can be grasped easily, but thicker things are much harder for him. He is still very uncoordinated and reminds me of a little ape when he is trying to pick things up with his closed hands. He'll scoop the floor or put his hand behind the toy to pull it close and bring it to his mouth.
Teething toys are his favorite, which we showed a movie the last blog posting. They are easy for him to grab and easy for him to bite and suck on. But he also has shown a tremendous growth in his interest for his bouncy toys. At the beginning of the month he kind of just hung out in his toy. Now he bounces around and actually plays with the toys attached to it:
And then he really likes it when Daddy is swinging him :)
Here is William trying on Eebee's colorful bracelets:
William is exploring all that his body can do:
He started sucking his pointer and middle fingers:
William has found his feet. It is the cutest thing ever. He can't get enough of them. By the end of the month, he was able to reach his feet to his mouth and suck on them. It works great to relieve his gas and he really helps me out when changing his diaper. I can leave him on the floor with his feet and he is good for a long time. No need for toys when he has his feet.
Due to William's drooling, he started coughing occasionally. He decided coughing is fun and he coughs all the time now. It sounds more like he is clearing his throat. It is really cute.
William can now sit up on his own. Mid-month we started sitting him up and he would fall over in all directions....even forward on his face. But that was a huge step that he could sit up for even a second on his own. By the end of the month he is sitting completely on his own for long periods of time...even playing with his toys. We still have to be careful. He'll lose his balance and fall over so he still has to be under constant surveillance when sitting. For this purpose, the Boppie comes in really handy! It provides padding on all sides of his body.
Jan 21:
Jan 28:
(Only one week later. Amazing how quickly he changes.)
We thought that sitting up meant that we could try putting him in the stroller, but he's still too small for that.
We're still working on crawling. William at least likes to be on his stomach again, so that is helpful. We try putting him on all fours to start off with so that he gets a feel for crawling. Sometimes he'll hold that position, or push up and down getting a good workout. Other times he just drops to the floor and sucks on his hands the whole time. This video is from New Years when we first started trying. It is so cute.
William is beginning to laugh more often....mostly at his Daddy. John makes him laugh hysterically all the time. Here is one of Will's favorites, peek-a-boo:
We started reading to William for the first time in January. His favorite book is Spot Loves Mommy. He likes the bright colors. When he's crying, we can distract him with this book.
Here is William and Daddy being silly, pinching eachother's cheeks.
We caught Will and Leia hanging out on the floor again. Compare to when he was only a few weeks old. He is now bigger than Leia.
We also had a photo shoot with William in some of John's old clothing. He is almost to big for the clothes.
Here is John 3 months old on his Dad's 29th birthday (01/22/83):
Here is William 4 months old (12/31/11) with his Dad holding him at 29 years of age in the same outfit:
And the shirt was a little small on him so his belly was hanging out.
Sephira doesn't think he is too heavy though.
Here is another of John's outfits...but a little small on William. We almost waited too long to put William in it.
Here is John's sweatshirt:
January was a big month for us! Can't wait to see what February brings us!!
