Claire: 4 months

Age:   4 months

Height:  25.5 inches

Weight:  17 pounds 4 ounce

Milestones: She's developing her fine motor skills and gotten really good at pulling things towards her mouth. She's really getting good at finding her fingers and thumbs and either sucks or chews on them.

Sleep: She's sleeping in her own room now! I'm sure she was probably ready for it sooner but I wasn't. It just happened by accident. She went to the sitters house for the first time when I worked one day and when she came home she was wiped out. I put her down in her crib for what I thought would be a nap and she didn't wake up until 2am. I figured she'd done good so far so let her finish her nights sleep in there and that's how it's been ever since.  One of my favorite things about her sleep habits, is that she tends to sleep in until about 10 everyday. I hope she keeps that up :)

Worst Moment: Probably any of the 3 times she's pooped in the tub! Seriously, how does she go for 3 months never pooping in the tub and now it's like her favorite thing to do!?  Now instead of trying to bathe her around the same time every night, I just bathe her after she poops. Oh, actually, there's another moment that tops it: All her cloth diapers washing or almost dry so I thought, let me just stuff her diaper area of the onesie with some newborn prefold cloths. They're way to small to fit all the way around her anymore so I thought I'd just fold up a few of them and stuff them in there. She had just pooped so I thought if anything, she'll just pee and that should be sufficient to catch it. I put her and her rigged up "diaper" in her swing and was doing some work around the house. She was happy and "talking" and I was getting stuff done. Great! Well, when I went to pick her up a few minutes later, I noticed poop EVERYWHERE! Not cool Claire. Taking apart the swing and washing all of that was no fun.

Health: Still healthy as far as I know. She's gaining weight, growing, and thriving. An update on the eczema: After a full month of going dairy and gluten free, her eczema is nearly gone. There's still some dry areas that are manageable with my homemade coconut & essential oil cream but not nearly as bad as it was. Glad my baby's soft skin is back!

  

 
Eating:  A lot less spitting up now with my diet changes. She's eating well. I think she's taking about 3-5 oz at a time. I'm not really sure. The only time she drinks out of a bottle is when I'm working. This picture was right after she turned 3 months - showing off for daddy and holding her own bottle! Big girl. She's also getting to the point where she's easily distracted while nursing. She likes to eat a little, look around, eat a little more, look around...

Teeth: None but still tons of drool, chewing on everything, and making funny movements with her mouth. Some days we go through several outfit changes because they're drenched in drool, despite wearing a bib.

Likes:   She loves to be sitting upright. She still enjoys splashing in the tub. She's gotten a little crazy with it and I usually end up soaked.  She likes interacting with people and playing patty-cake type games. Loves chewing on things, especially Sophie the giraffe teether. Also enjoys being outside. And, though we casually try to avoid it with her, she loves the TV screen! She will zone in on that thing and ignore everything else.  We got rid of cable and typically don't watch TV when she's awake but now that baseball season has started, it's going to be tough.

Dislikes: Laying down on her back is not her favorite. She doesn't hate it but gets bored quickly when I lay her on the play mat. She'd much rather be sitting up.
 

Other happenings:  

We went to the Woodlands to watch Matt and his coworkers run in a marathon.

 Great grandparents, Pa & D, came to town to visit and got her that cute giraffe. 

She went to the sitters for the first time.

Each month is getting more fun and more busy. This next update will have lots of fun firsts. I love my growing girl! She's a joy.