A taste of oatmeal

Yesterday while we were getting a few groceries at the market, I picked up some whole rolled oats so I could make some oatmeal for AnnaBeth. I really want to hold out until 6 months for solids but I didn't think some oatmeal would hurt =) So today I blended up about half of the container until the oats became a fine powder (it looks just like the stuff out of the box of baby cereal). And tonight I cooked it by adding it to some boiling water and whisking it for about 10 minutes. When it was done, I added some breast milk to it and made it pretty runny since it was her first time with solids. She seemed to really enjoy it (was jumping with excitement in her exersaucer) and more stayed in her mouth than I expected!

A baby's love for her doggy

In the last couple of days, AnnaBeth has become very interested in reaching for Bondo's face and trying to pet him. In response to this, he tries to lick her hands and face as much as possible. We normally don't allow him to be successful in his efforts but I decided to give in and let him have his way this afternoon.

4 Months

AnnaBeth had her 4 month checkup this morning and she is doing wonderfully! She is now 25 inches (up from 22 at her 2 month), 13.5 pounds (up from 10.6 at her 2 month), and her head circumference is 16 inches (up from 15 at her 2 month). That puts her in the 55th percentile for height and 30th percentile for weight and head circumference. Her doctor was impressed that she is rolling from back to tummy so well (she even demonstrated). She noticed that AnnaBeth's right thigh was a little thicker than her left. She said that sometimes that can mean there's a hip problem but said that her flexibility seemed fine. She also commented that her legs seemed to be the same length but did say that they'll be keeping an eye on her thighs and leg length (nothing to be worried about at this point). AnnaBeth had her shots today too (I gave her Tylenol after she was weighed so it would already be working by the time she got them) and boy did she cry!! Well, it was more like screaming after the initial "not breathing until my face turns red and then I'll cry" reaction. We felt so bad for her and holding her wasn't comforting her at all. She continued her bouts of screaming until we got in the truck, then she fell asleep right away and is still in her car seat asleep in her room. Today will be a day of her not feeling well but hopefully a visit from her Nana and Papa later will help make her feel a little better. Here's a few pictures I took a couple of weeks ago on her 4th month birthday.

It's Never Too Early...

To start brushing a baby's "teeth" so last week I picked up this little tooth and gum cleanser set. Today was the first day I used the little gum cleanser with AnnaBeth and she really seems to like it!! She smiles when I start "brushing" her gums, not sure if its because it feels good to her or if it's the squeaky clean sound that it makes on her gums. I have no use for the toothpaste since she has no teeth to use it on but I fully intend to make the gums brushing part of our daily routine.

And I forgot to mention in my earlier post that it seems she has reached the point in her life where pooping doesn't occur everyday. She hasn't had one since Tuesday and while its been nice to not have to change a dirty diaper once or twice a day, I'm left wondering when her next poop will actually be and how big it will be. I guess only time will tell with this one!

From Swing to Crib and More

Since I've been off work this week to stay home with AnnaBeth while Kent's parents are in FL (his dad is attending a homicide seminar), I thought it would be the perfect time to transition her from her swing in our room to her crib in her room for night time sleeping. She's already been taking most of her naps here at home in her crib (and all of her naps in a crib at Nana's) so I was hoping that sleeping in it at night wouldn't be that big of a deal for her. Turns out, I was mostly right. She's actually done surprisingly well with the switch! The first couple of nights, she woke up in the middle of the night wanting to eat but went back to bed right away without much of a fuss. The third night she started to wake both times I got up to pump but putting the bink back in her mouth put her right back to sleep and she woke up half an hour earlier than normal during the week. Last night she got to bed 2 hours late since we went to Wayne and Julie's for dinner but she didn't make a peep until 530am! We've not used the swing since Sunday and I'm pretty happy that our D battery purchases are going to significantly decrease! I may need to move the swing to the living room (as if there isn't already enough big baby things taking up the little space we have) so she can have one more place to be instead of either the exersaucer or activity gym when she's having "independent time."

All week it seems like she's been eating like its going out of style! She's been taking 5oz every 3 hours on the dot. She can sometimes take 5 1/2 oz but that last 1/2 oz seems to sometimes be a bit of a struggle for her. Not only is she taking 5oz a feeding, she's taking the WHOLE 5oz before burping! I sat her on our scale today and it said she's 12.2 pounds which is 2 pounds heavier than her 2 month checkup. She'll be 4 months on the 19th (although I think technically she was 17 weeks yesterday), but she won't have her 4 month checkup until August 1st. Now that I'm back to work, I can't just take her to the doctor any day I please and I wanted a Saturday appointment so Kent can go too (I had to do her 2 month shots by myself and I don't want to have to do it again!). I can't wait to learn how much weight she's gained and how many inches she's grown since her last checkup.

AnnaBeth has also been doing a lot more interacting with the toys that hang from her activity gym. For awhile she was just kicking at the monkey and not doing a whole lot with her arms. Then she started batting at the alligator and penguin but still mostly kicking that poor little monkey. Well now she's grabbing at the alligator or penguin (and sometimes the monkey if she happens to be under him)! The alligator has a little clear, rotating ball in hands that has little fish in it and it rattles when you spin it around. That's what AnnaBeth has been grabbing specifically when she reaches for the alligator. And when she does, she seems to be trying to pull it closer to her face so she can fully inspect what's inside. More and more things are going into her mouth these days (her baby Einstein radio got quite the slobbering earlier this week!). Since she's figuring out how to put things in her mouth, she's also learning how to put her bink back in her mouth after she pulls it out. She's not usually 100% successful, but she tries :) She's also learning how to spin herself in her exersaucer. She still really doesn't try to play with the toys on it but maybe that's because she's still a tad short in it and its probably uncomfortable to get her arms up and over the top of the seat to reach the toys.

She also has quite the strong little legs! She seems to be able to stand on them (with support from us of course) for longer periods of time now before her knees give out and she has to sit down. I let her stand on my lap quite often to help her build the muscles but I'm sure she gets plenty of muscle building with all of the kicking that she does! AnnaBeth has quite the feet of fury so watch out boys, she's probably going to be a good shin kicker :)

Video of AnnaBeth Rolling Over

She was most of the way over by the time I got the camera (she's pretty quick at getting onto her side) but I did manage to get the final oomph of her rolling over for the second time :)

Just A Couple Cute Pics

Ok, so a few more than just a "couple." I can't help it, AnnaBeth has been doing so well with tummy time that I just had to take a bunch of pics of her showing off :)I see something up there....Oh! It's a penguin!Watching the colors flash on her Baby Einstein radioMaking some serious eye contact with the turtleSo let me get this straight, I push this button and music plays?Showing off her long eye lashes and beautiful blue eyesGetting a little love from her brother Bondo (as you can see, he's taking extra care with being gentle)