The Laugh!

First, let's get the facts out of the way. At 16 weeks, Ian weighed 15 pounds, 7 ounces (gaining 8 ounces this past week). My little boy is...not...little. We go to the doctor on Monday for his 4 month visit and I'll be curious what percentile he is in for height and weight.

Ian has been sleeping a little bit better at night. He goes to sleep very regularly around 7:30 pm now and is, more often than not, waking up only once to feed, usually around 2 am. (Of course, to prove me wrong, last night he woke up at 12 am and 4 am to feed.) The killer is when he wakes up needing his pacifier. We've had only one night since he was born where he didn't wake up at all for his pacifier. In general, he wakes at least 2-3 times per night needing that small piece of silicone stuck back into his screaming mouth. Sigh. He calms down immediately once he is sucking again, but I'm not quite sure what is bothering him enough to wake him up in the first place. We haven't made much progress with daytime naps. He definitely will not sleep in his crib and I'll usually only get 30-45 minutes from him in the bouncy seat. I like getting out of the house with him because he will nap in the car seat or stroller.

The really nice and new development is that we heard Ian laugh out loud for the first time this week. He LOVES being pulled up into a standing position by his arms and he was giggling like crazy. I also got him to giggle tonight right before I swaddled him for bed. I was tickling his tummy and chest and he was really loving it. I would do anything to just keep hearing that little laugh. It is music to my ears.

Today was the first nice day (no rain drops!) we've had in a long time. I took Ian in the stroller down to the center of town and ran an errand and then we sat in the park. Ian sat on my lap and I watched him while he watched everything. He stared at the kids playing and watched as each bird flew near him. He was so aware of everything and it was really cool to watch.