'Sup with Dre: 4 Months

Better late than never! Finally, here is our boy's 4 mo update. 

Dre's 4 month stats (11/17/11):

Height: 27in (95%)

Weight: 16lbs 7oz. (75%)

Head Cir. : 42.5 cm 

This month brought more fun days with Dre and more growing! (He was over 17lbs, but before his 4mo appointment he got sick for a week and so I suspect that is why he was down when we weighed him there.)

Spitting (making "raspberry" sounds) is our little guy's new favorite thing these days, as well as gagging himself with his exceptionally long fingers. So he's a slobbery sweet buddy - typical boy, so I'm told!

(another slobbery common occurrence: the sneeze)

(sneezing is scary.)

 We laugh at how different our kiddos are/were at this age. They say that you can tell early some signs of personality. With Eva, she was perceptive, emotional, cautious, and clean; Dre seems more physical, verbal, and dramatic. For him, every action he does is bigger, every noise he makes is louder, when he's upset, he's bellowing or sticking out that lip sulking. Yep, we laugh often. And, as I mentioned above, he's a drooler. Puppies and babies, always damp. Eva is regularly "horrified" by how messy her little bro can be, "Ooooooh, buddy! No, no, no, no, no." ("Little mother" wipes his face) I just tell her, "Honey, he's a boy. They're just a little more messy sometimes."

 Each day, Dre is participating in family life more and more; when Mummzie or Daddy speak, he turns towards our voices, and he just loves Sissy's awkwardly adoring company. No really, he likes her, he just blinks a lot when she comes running up excitedly to plant a kiss. He's actually more nervous when he feels a breeze blowing, go figure.

In this shot he was noting the breeze. Daddy says he needs to out-grow his fear of breezes before 6months if he's going to grow into a real man someday.

 Also new this month is trying some cereal. He's maxed-out his bottles with four 8 to10oz feedings each day, and Mummzie would like to avoid buying larger bottles, so we're jumpin' in. Yummy! (and more slobber!)

One thing that kinda troubles me, is his very dry patches of eczema on each cheek. I "butter" him THICKLY with gentle moisturizing lotion or pour on the olive oil, cocoa butter, and even neosporine to keep him from getting chapped and bleeding. He goes to bed with band aids on his sweet face every night. : ( Any ideas, girls? I've tried a lot of things, but I'm always open to more help. A couple girlfriends of mine who are black have told me that eczema is just a part of life for this color of skin, and I don't wash him with soap or use store-bought laundry soap. I've wondered too about whether he'll get better if his diet changes away from so much dairy, but I just thot I'd ask and see if you all had any other ideas. Thanks!

UPDATE: Thank you, girls, for your ideas and encouragement! His doc gave me some strong hydrocortisone ointment that has, in 24hrs, turned his whole demeanor around and his skin is MUCH better looking. Praises!