Week 17 video and photo story: Eat, sleep, play

You've hit 4 months now! It's a big milestone because you're not technically a newborn anymore. I can see you're developing your motor skills and cognitive skills now. You're also able to see further and more colours.  I can't feed you in the nursery or in the living room anymore because you get so easily distracted by light and shadows. You'll feed for a bit and then hear a noise or see some dancing light and immediately turn to investigate. It's cute for a while but then quite tedious because it takes sooo long to feed you. Now, I only feed you in the bedroom, lying down. There are no distractions and the added benefit is you fall asleep after your feed. Which sounds wonderful, except you want me to be lying down right next to you while you sleep. If I leave the bed, you'll often wake up within 5 minutes. All the books say the routine should be: Eat, Play, Sleep but I have it a bit back to front. You Eat, Sleep and then Play. I've tried it the traditional way but it doesn't seem to work for us. So for the time being, we'll stick with this routine until you're 6 months and then we'll do some nap training. I've read that hitting 4 months is quite overwhelming because you're teething, developing so quickly and learning so much. Throwing in sleep/nap training as well will just be too much for you.

This morning while you napped, I decided to take a video of you to remember all your baby mannerisms that you may soon grow out of. I love watching you sleep. You look so peaceful and calm. I look at your long lashes and your bow lips and it makes me smile. I've taken so many photos of you sleeping but not a proper video. So here it is. A video that somehow perfectly captured the way you move your mouth in your sleep, as though you were still feeding; the way you stretch your arms out and wake yourself up; and the way you look over at me when you wake up and give me a sweet smile.

I've noticed you've started reaching out to touch and grasp your toys. Soon you'll be able to hold the toys and start playing. I love taking photos of your little hands. It just amazes me how small and perfectly formed they are. Here is a photo series showing your burgeoning dexterity.