Charlotte turned 4 months old on the 24th, we visited the Dr on Monday for her wellness visit and vaccinations. She weighed in at 13lbs 14oz (50% ile), 23 1/4" in long (10% ile) we have a shortie, and her head circumference is 41cm (60% ile). She is up 3 lbs from her last visit at 2 months old, which is great! She had to get 2 shots and and drink. She cried hard, but recovered quickly thankfully.
This last month we have seen a lot of changes in Miss Charlotte.
Eating:
We are unsure of what was upsetting Charlotte's stomach so much; if it was reflux, or a lactose sensitivity, or just having immature stomach muscles. Whatever the case may be we have found that the following works for her: soy formula mixed with a little rice cereal to thicken it up so that is stays down better. Thankfully we found a generic soy formula at Target that she is ok with, because that stuff is expensive! She was taking zantac, but we stopped that at 3 months and she has been fine. She has recently started drinking 6 oz at a time (sometimes even 8 oz! ) which is great because it means she can sleep longer. She is a drool monster, I keep expecting to see a tooth pop through-but nothing yet. She loves to chew on her hands, your hands, her bib, really anything she can get into her mouth.
Sleeping:
At 3 months Charlotte was just coming out of being swaddled, she had started rolling over while being swaddled, so we didn't think it was safe to continue. She had been sleeping in the bassinet attachment of her pack and play, which we also had to discontinue due to the rolling over. While we were in Houston on vacation she slept in this (which was great)
But as soon as we got home she held a baby rebellion and would only sleep in my arms. Her startle reflex was starting to go away, which is what usually makes sleeping on your own, unswaddled so difficult, so we decided it was a good time to start sleep training. However, it was a lot of change all at once to go through losing the swaddle and the bassinet at the same time, so we knew it might be a challenge. We started a bedtime routine at 8pm of bottle, book, song and laying her down in her crib, (which was at a slight incline to help with the stomach issues) in just jammies and a sleep sack. We would let her cry 5 minutes and then go in and soothe her without picking her up, then leave the room and wait 10 minutes before going in again to soothe her. She instantly did pretty well, usually only crying around 8-12 minutes. Now she only cries a minute or two, sometimes not at all. She was still waking up at least 2 times during the night usually around 11:30 and then again around 4:00 to eat. But sometimes she wouldn't eat that much, so we started trying to ween her off of the 11:30 wake up. Throughout this whole process she decided to make life more challenging by sleeping completely face down. Not just on her stomach, which already makes me nervous, but then with her head mashed down into the mattress, straight down. Breathing yes, but still not how you want to see your baby. You never really sleep well when you are constantly going in to check on your baby and trying to turn their head to the side. Babies don't really sleep well when they are constantly being interrupted and having their heads turned to the side. It was a rough couple of weeks with lots of anger on Charlotte's side and a lot of frustration/worry on our side. This made the whole sleep training process take longer than I think it would normally have taken. She has now thankfully made the transition to sleeping with her head to the side, and I worry much less. She is a very active sleeper, she moves all over her crib. We decided to take off her sleep sack because it seemed like it was just getting bunched up and frustrating her. She rolls around, scoots, gets herself mashed up against the bars, sleeps sideways, and almost every sleep cycle wakes up at some point crying because she has a limb stuck in between the bars. We have to frequently go in and free her from being stuck and re-position her in the middle of the crib. This is when I wish bumpers were safe to use. She is starting to sleep for longer periods of time at night and I hesitate to say it because I know it could be a fluke or a growth spurt but she has slept 10-12 hours straight the last 3 nights. We'll see if it holds up- I hope so!
Movement:
Charlotte started rolling over consistently from her back to her stomach just after 3 months, but she still cannot roll from her stomach to her back. She is enjoying sitting up more with assistance. She sits in her high chair, her little green chair "bumbo", and supported by pillows. She likes to be down on the ground when ever Anabelle is playing nearby. She is really loves watching her big sister play and when Anabelle comes over to play with her, she is thrilled! Charlotte doesn't like to lay on the floor. She will tolerate it if Anabelle is with her, but most of the time she is very fussy on the floor. She can bear a lot of weight on her legs and loves to "stand". It seems that she may be on the earlier side for walking and climbing.
Play:
We are seeing more and more of Charlotte's personality as she gets older. She can be very serious at times, but when she is happy she is very happy. She has a great smile and really loves when you sing to her, read to her, dance with her, when ever Anabelle talks to her, standing, and chewing on anything :) She is very happy whenever she is in the baby carrier (facing out). I am using it way more with her than I ever did with Anabelle. Charlotte can be very fussy at times especially in the evening and it is the only way I can get things done (like cook dinner).
Here are some pictures from the last month:
A rare moment when she slept on her side
Hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's
Laying on our bed playing with her rattle.
Sitting up in her bumbo chair.
1st time in her high chair, not so sure about it yet.
Propped up with some pillows.
Saturday morning at the park, 1st time in the swings. She was very serious about it. No crying, but no smiles either. Just taking it all in...
On the 24th I tried to snap some pictures of her throughout the day. I often feel that pictures just don't do her justice, she is sooo much cuter than she photographs. It is also hard to catch her smiling, it seems like she stops right when you get out the camera.
Happy 4 months Charlotte! I am loving watching you grow and develop into a fun little baby!
