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

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!

This week in the Baker home…

Charlotte will be 4 months old in a few days. Ahh, I don’t even want to think about that! I will post her monthly update next week some time after I’ve had a few days to deal with how quickly time is passing. It’s just not fair!!! (Harumph! Crosses arms, stomps feet, etc.).

Ok, tantrum over. Here’s a quick photo update:

Charlotte has been trying so hard to roll over from her back to her tummy; no luck yet but I’m sure it will happen when I least expect it and when there is no camera in sight.laughing at dad

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Charlotte on tummy

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Yesterday Tiffany and Hunter stopped by for some snuggles with Charlotte. Tiffany also helped me with Charlotte’s christmas ornament which involved paint + 4 month old. Let’s just say I was so glad to have the extra hand and that baby wipes are the most wonderful and helpful invention. ever.
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In other baby news, my amazing black friday cloth diapers arrived in all their fluffy glory.

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That’s all for now. No time for anything insightful, though that sort of post is definitely on the horizon… there’s a lot going on in this noggin that I’ll need to purge soon!

Charlotte’s 3 month update!

I am trying to be diligent in writing Charlotte’s accomplishments down in blog post form so that eventually I can transfer them into a baby book of sorts. It’s much easier for me to jot something down on the computer than to write it in her baby book because a) I don’t have a baby book for her yet, and b) if I put it on paper then it would be lost in a pile of 2 billion other papers in my house and then eventually thrown away during a ‘purge’.

At 3 months, Charlotte…

– weighs… who knows?! We don’t have another pediatrician appointment until her 4 month check-up and we don’t own a scale so all I can tell you is it’s 10+ lbs {because she weighed 10 lbs at her 2 month check-up and since then has gained lots of yummy leg rolls}.

– can push herself up with her arms while laying on her belly (and has rolled over twice in the past week)!

– has great neck control and is able to hold her head up for a while {unless she has just woken up from a nap or is about to take a nap…then all muscles are apparently powering down and have forgotten what their job is}

– loves to chat it up with mommy or daddy but is otherwise very selective with who she will converse with {so if you’ve experienced it you should feel honored}!

– self soothes by rubbing her own head and playing with her hair {so cute to see} – this is something I know she got from me – the second someone touches my head or plays with my hair… instant calm and I’m out like a light!

– Can sit up {but with a lot of assistance from mommy, daddy, or chair}. I don’t typically leave her up so long that she falls over but I wanted to see how long she would last. Kaboom. She remained happy throughout the ordeal though, so I didn’t feel like such a bad mommy for letting her fall over.

– Is pretty much always full of smiles and snorts and will let out some infectious giggles every now and then.

– Is really starting to find her hands a lot {and frequently gives them a good gnawing while jamming them in her mouth simultaneously, causing a continuous drool flow}.

– Rocked her first cloth diaper experience {love them} – I’ll blog more about the details later but I love not having icky chemicals next to her skin 24/7 {I’m not totally cloth yet because I don’t have a big enough stash of diapers}!

– Has been such a trooper with mommy going back to work {and she LOVES staying with Aunt Melissa during the day}.

I just had to include these because I love all of the faces she makes. So much personality in that little nugget.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t believe it has been 3 months since I first saw her sweet face and awesome head of hair.

Love her to pieces.