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We just had our 4-month well baby doctor's visit. Lincoln now weighs 7.34 kg (about 17 lb) and is about 65 cm (about 26 inches). He went from being in the 25th percentile for height and weight to being in the 75th percentile for both. I thought I had seen a visible, relatively sudden, change in the size of his head and I suppose I was right. He also got a couple of booster shots, which he took rather well. For those who had guessed that Lincoln is teething, you were right. The doctor peered into his mouth and pointed out that the bottom teeth are starting to erupt. It explains his sudden need to gnaw on my chin.
As Lincoln has gotten older, he has outgrown his sling and I now carry him in a Baby Bjorn. The Bjorn also affords him a view of the outside world, which he seems to enjoy. Since he is able to look out at the world, the world can now look back at him. People like to look at him and ask the usual questions, 'Boy or girl?' and 'How old is he?' Lately, I also get asked 'Ta de baba shi shei de ma?' (Who's his father?)
Here's a picture of Lincoln and Diana:
You can see that Lincoln doesn't look like a Chinese baby, despite his mother looking vaguely Chinese. I've been asked odd questions back in the U.S. but I don't think I'd get asked that question. The women who ask the baby-daddy question usually answer it themselves -- 'Yi ge waiguoren' (a foreigner) while nodding knowingly at me. The conversation usually ends with my being told I have a beautiful baby. I couldn't agree more.
Our curtains are not really all that exciting. Cream/tan color, light pattern woven throughout. So boring and nondescript, I don't have an actual picture of them, just incidental ones where they appear in the background. All the rooms have the same curtains. There is something about the curtains in Lincoln's room that entrances him. There are times when I am rocking him to sleep and, instead of laying his head on my shoulder and closing his eyes, he leans back to gaze at the curtains. His eyes open wide and he is alert watching them and even smiling and cooing at them. I've looked over my shoulder and I can't quite fathom what is so interesting or whether there is something else there. Maybe it's that they move slightly when the back of the rocking chair hits them. Sometimes they are so fascinating, Lincoln forgets about sleep. It's up to me, that rain cloud, to remind him that it's sleepy time.
It's things like the curtains and, lately, his sudden dislike for the Barefoot Portraits Studio where I have baby group and baby yoga, that make me wonder exactly what is going on inside his little head. We're going to try going to baby yoga again and if the place again provokes such a strong reaction, we'll have to forgo it.
Lately, Lincoln has been losing his baby hair. There was quite a lot on his bed sheet this morning. When he's a bit tired, Lincoln has developed the habit of sucking on his left thumb while he grabs his hair with his right hand. Perhaps that is part of the problem, though it's overall hair loss and not one particular spot. I'm going to get him a lovey (and a backup lovey) like his cousin Wes has his sleep monkey. I know that he likes having a blanket next to his face when he's falling asleep and likely would keep it in the crib if I let him. He must get that from his father. When we were first married, Eric would uproot all the blankets on the bed and wrap them around his head.
I've just put Lincoln to bed and kissed his plump little face good-night. He is in such good health. I can't imagine being one of the Chinese parents who have to stand in line at the hospital and wait to have their baby tested for kidney stones and other ailments due to the recent discovery of contaminated baby formula.
It seems that once we got to month 3, Lincoln changed a lot. Lately, everything must go into his mouth. When I hold him in order to get him to take a nap, his mouth is wide open and my face, especially my chin, is soon covered in baby slobber. He is learning to blow raspberries and can grab things with a greater degree of accuracy, which he can then stuff into his mouth. It seems that every week he discovers a new way to contort his face. For a while he would purse his lips to make 'ooh' sounds. Then he figured out that he could keep him mouth closed and make 'mmm' sounds while compressing his lips. This is his latest face.
He's also discovering volume. He's really a delight.
So much change in such a short time. These 2 outfits are the same, but different patterns. Looks like I forgot to inflate my infant in the first picture.
