Our Rainbow: Four Months!

I think I say this at every milestone but wow, she is growing so fast! Sunday, May 20th, Rose turned 4 months old. A lot has been going on in our lives in the past couple weeks which has kept me from my computer but I'll save that for another post.

I'm amazed at how much of a difference 4 months can make. We have an entirely new baby on our hands (well, sort of). She has started teething for sure now-still no teeth poking through the gums, but it is evident that they must hurt-and as a result she has many more 'fussy' moments compared to months 1-3.

Rose is so talkative now. It's cute how many new sounds she makes and how impressed she seems to be with herself when every now & then she lets out a big 'roar' in the mirror, almost scaring herself. Lots of gurgles, giggles, bubbles and coos. Sometimes it almost sounds like she's saying "hi".

She's becoming a pro at using her cries to her own advantage. They say in the books that you can't spoil a baby the first year and that they don't start to use manipulation this soon either, but I have my doubts about that. Where it used to be clear that she either needed a diaper change or a bottle, her cries now also include being tired and "pick me up, dang it!!". She used to be so content just hanging out in her swing, on her play mat or bouncer. She still likes the play mat but hasn't used the swing in a long time and the bouncer she only tolerates for short periods (long enough to jump in the shower quick). Just the other day I put her in the bouncer so I could shower and I told her, "be a good girl, mommy's going to shower now". She went from a big smile to sticking out her lower lip. I laughed and told her to put that lip away and she gave me a huge smile back. Yep, she's totally playing us now.

Since she no longer hangs out in her swing we decided to invest in a high chair so she could sit with us at the table. We also bought her an exer-saucer which she likes so far, but only for a short while. It was funny the first time she sat/stood in it. Talk about over-stimulation! She kept looking at all the objects making noise and was trying to figure them out.

We started giving her some rice cereal the other day. Right now it's only once a day & a 'soupy' consistency. She was a bit unsure of the spoon at first but eventually was all *messy* smiles. She probably didn't get much in her belly but it was a start.

Rose has been turning over from back to belly for awhile now but the instances were few & far between. That is, until this past week. She finally figured out how to quickly flip over and now every time she is put onto her back she immediately flips. Unfortunately for us, she hasn't mastered flipping over from belly to back. This makes for an 'interesting' night. She flips to her belly & gets frustrated and cries until we come in and flip her back over. There have been several sleepless nights lately. She needs to learn this quick, so she can turn on her own!

She went in for her 4 month shots last week - poor girl! As usual she was happy until the nurse came in with the shots. This visit the nurse had Rose's legs hang down over the table and she put her body against Rose's legs at the knee to keep her from squirming away. I felt so bad!! She had a shot in each leg and she freaked out after she was startled from the first needle. Her face turned bright red and she held her breath for what seemed like a minute but was probably more like 15-20 seconds. I picked her up right away and tried to console her. She was NOT happy. :( We gave her the rest of her bottle and she was fine. I have a feeling with each visit as she grows older and more aware it will be more of a struggle and she'll have more fits. I can't say I blame her - I've never been a fan of getting shots myself.

Four Months

Weight: 13 lb 7 oz (43.18%)

Length: 24.5" (56.88%)

Head Circumference: 16.73" (85.78%)

Diaper Size: Size 2

Clothing Size: 6 months

Milestones: Quickly turns over from back to belly, 'talks' a lot more, tries to crawl when pushing feet against something (more like scooting/army crawl), starting rice cereal.

Rose with Rose the elephant at 4 months