Baby development

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Let’s talk about poop {and other parent-y things}

If you are a mommy… or a daddy, or read articles about parenting things, or sometimes think about reading articles about parenting things… then I have some questions for you:

1. Charlotte seems a tad constipated since we have been giving her tastes of various foods. I knew this was coming because my pediatrician warned us that her frequency may decrease as purees were introduced. Before purees, she was a ‘business every day’ kind of baby; very regular. But now her ‘business’ is very infrequent and she has been a grumpy baby the past few days. Is there anything I can do to give her some relief? She has only been eating green beans and sweet potatoes so far {and less than a 1/2 ounce each night, really she just gets a taste}. Tonight I gave her some pureed prunes {which she gobbled right up} so we will see if anything is different in the morning. I tried a high fiber cereal but she was not interested {have you ever tasted that stuff? Nasty!}. Just wondering if there is anything I can do to help her; I want my happy baby back! And will she always be constipated? Or is her tummy just getting used to digesting something new?

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2. We have a little piranha on our hands. Her toothy smile is super cute, but she is starting to bite while nursing! At first it was very infrequent, but the past 2 days she has chomped down nearly every single time she nurses and it is KILLING me! I swear today she chomped down because I wasn’t paying attention to her; as soon as I looked down at her she unlatched and gave me a big ‘ol grin. Am I making that up? She is teething as well, so I would then give her a teething ring thinking she just wanted to chew on something but she would refuse it and act like she was hungry. Is there anything I can do? Or just grin and bear it? How long does this last?

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3. Charlotte will roll over in her sleep now; we will find her on her tummy more often than not. I have read extensively about the risk factors for SIDS and we have done as many preventative measures as we know to do. Should I try to turn her over to her back again? I am afraid of waking her. She actually sleeps so much more solidly when she is on her tummy. She has fairly good head control {I think, though I don’t have anything to compare her to} I’m just paranoid and starting to lose sleep over it!

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I will be calling the pediatrician regarding all of these things as well, but was just curious what other moms and dads had to say about it. Sheesh, month 5 sure does bring on quite a few curveballs!

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An update on my 5 month old

Five. months. old. I cannot believe it. Every day I wake up and am in a pseudo state of ‘shock’ that I am a mom. There isn’t a moment of any day that I am not thankful for her; in the darkness of 2am, in the chaos of non-stop crying, in the poo explosion aftermath… every moment with her is precious. Even though I work with children every day {as a pediatric speech therapist} this is my first developmental ‘rodeo’ so-to-speak – For the first time I actually have a front row seat to watch the development of a child from start to finish. It is so amazing to see her learn. It seems as though I can actually see the wheels turning when she is exploring something and learning. Her personality is really beginning to emerge as well. I certainly try my best to take 10 billion photos of her a day in order to catalog every moment but I will admit it is getting harder and harder to get all of the shots I want to. She is quick like a fox and I am slow like a sloth when it comes to working my camera!

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Here’s a brief look at our girl at 5 months:

  • Has found her feet and assumes her new ‘roadkill’ position {as we have deemed it} as soon as you lay her down. Those feet have even found their way to her mouth a few times. feet up

  • Is sleeping through the night fairly consistently. Wahoo! {though this weekend she is definitely making me a liar because she hasn’t slept more than 3 hours straight the past few nights; the result of a growth spurt + teething combination. dagger!}.
  • Has two teeth. Yup, you heard me right – TWO teeth at 5 months. The first one appeared just after her four month birthday; the second on popped up just 5 days later. I guess it doesn’t surprise me; such an over-achiever!

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  • Is not yet sitting up; and frankly, I don’t think she cares to try at the moment. As soon as I prop her up she lunges forward into taco position to grab at her feet and give them a good slobbering.
  • Has discovered that rolling can actually get her places. Earlier this week I laid her on her play mat so I could work on some Christmas thank you notes. Next thing I know she had rolled 5 feet away from her blanket! Yikesabee! This means I need to a) at least baby proof the floors in our house, and b) start actually vacuuming on a regular basis. Sheesh, babies are a lot of work.
  • Is definitely starting to lose a bit of hair, especially in the back from rubbing her head back and forth as she falls asleep. Like mother, like daughter I guess because I am losing hair as well! It started right around 4 months postpartum because of hormone craziness {just like everything else in pregnancy} but hopefully my hair will come back bigger and crazier than ever!! Charlotte’s hair is getting longer as well, and starting to look more like a bad toupee with a comb-over in some areas and an exotic bird plume in others.
  • Is still loving bath time. Chris is a baby bathing pro.
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  • Really loves hanging out in her wrap. Thank goodness, or no grocery shopping would be done in this household.IMG_3148
  • Has tasted a few new foods {more on this in another post}; but so far she’s a green bean girl!

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  • She is really starting to express herself vocally; screeching, hollering, laughing, singing. It is amazing how quickly they learn that their noises are powerful and meaningful!

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Love you to pieces sweet girl! {even though it has taken me 3 days to write this post because you have been quite rebellious when it comes to your sleeping schedule as of late}. What will this next month bring? I am so excited to find out!

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Charlotte is 4 months!

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Charlotte’s 4 month well check-up was this week {See her sporting her first sticker? Cinderella, of course. That was always my favorite too!}. Chris was able to leave work early so he could join us. I was so glad to not have to deal with shots by myself again. I don’t know why it is so heartbreaking for me. It briefly upsets Charlotte but once you pick her up and give her your neck to snuggle in to she’s fine. I, however, turn into a mama bear and want to punch the nurse for hurting my baby {even though I know it’s her job and I DO appreciate all nurses… really, I do. Please don’t write any angry comments!}

At 4 months Charlotte…

  • Weighs 12lbs, 3oz. and is 25 inches long. She is now into some 3-6 month clothing!
  • Loves snuggles with daddy.

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  • Is able to sit with assistance, but is not even close to sitting independently yet. Thank goodness. I really have my work cutout for me to baby proof this house before she is mobile!
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  • Is frequently sleeping through the night. And I don’t mean the ‘six hours = sleeping through the night’ kind of sleeping; I mean around 10 hours some nights. It is really wonderful to get 6 or 7 hours of sleep again, though I will admit I miss those quiet moments in the dark hours of the early morning.
  • Is rolling over quite skillfully now. In case you missed it you can catch her in action here.64027_670408913438_370671819_n
  • Loves to be carried in a sling or wrap. I have several that I alternate between, depending on the task I want to get done. She is also good at sitting in her swing or laying on her play mat and entertaining herself, but any chance I get I keep her close so she can experience the world from a position other than on the floor at Baxter level.
  • Continues to blow raspberries and has found that shrieking gets quite a bit of attention from others, making that her go-to noise right now.
  • Has discovered her toes and loves to grab at them, though I am pretty sure she just thinks they are another toy and is not yet aware that they are ‘hers’.
  • Loves to make faces at ‘that other little girl’ in the mirror.
  • Is quickly becoming a drool queen. The pediatrician mentioned that she has a tooth just below the surface of her gums but that it could still be a month or 2 before it shows itself. WHEW! I am NOT ready for teeth yet.407351_670078575438_1761139326_n
  • Is really starting to love some teething toys, but is not really into her Sophie. I’m hoping she will change her mind once she really begins to get teeth {because it’s so darn cute and because I’d much rather her gnaw on something that doesn’t haveman made plastics or dyes in it!} but for now she just wrinkles her nose and gets a full body shiver when it goes into her mouth. I don’t know if its the taste {all natural rubber} or the texture {just like her mama, doesn’t like to touch certain textures}, or the smell {it has a fairly strong rubber smell}. We shall see.
  • Is starting to grab at everything – hair, necklaces, plates on the table, spoons, toys, etc.
  • Still has the blue vein on the bridge of her nose. I don’t know if that will fade as she grows or not. Some days it is almost non-existent and others it is so bright. Regardless, I give that spot a billion kisses every day!
  • Is really going through some sort of ‘stranger danger’ + ‘I only want mommy’ phase’. For the most part she is very social and loves to engage anyone who will give her the time of day; but occasionally if the timing is off {like if she is beginning to get hungry or tired} she only wants mommy and nothing else will do.

4 month collage

Sporting the ‘baby legs’ I made her from an old dress.
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‘please mommy, no more photos’4 months 3

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Houston, we have roll over!

Charlotte has been teetering on the edge of rolling over for almost a month now and I have been poised with my camera ready to capture the moment. I have about a billion photos over her perched on her side like the ones below but until now she hasn’t gone any further than that. Not that I’m rushing things… I just wanted to be prepared.

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There I sat with my camera, minute after minute, day after day waiting for her to make that next move and roll all the way over to her tummy. On Wednesday of this week {one day after  her 4 month birthday} she surprised Chris and I by completing the roll… and of course we both missed it! I was cooking in the kitchen {I know, right?!} and Chris had just looked away for a moment while playing with Charlotte on the floor. She’s a quick one! I was finally able to catch it on camera this weekend {with the help of Aunt Leah}.

The video is quite long, but completely adorable. brace yourself. Please ignore my “oooh, awww, oh, yay, oooh, oh no….” mommy commentary. and the clanking/tinkering noise in the background is Chris putting Charlotte’s highchair together {yay!}. Our pediatrician {who is awesome, by the way} gave us the go-ahead to start trying some cereal to help with the reflux so we are finally able to break out the highchair – won’t be long now before she is able to sit up in it all by herself!

Time, I command you to slow down!