4 month appointment

4 month stats:
Weight: 14 lbs, 4 oz (25-50%)
Height: 26.5 inches (90-95%)

We have one tall baby!! Everything else is great with him. I was concerned about his back because his spine seems curved, but the doctor said it's the muscles and he'll outgrow it. If it's not better by his 6 month appointment he said he can do x-rays to make sure it isn't scoliosis, but he's pretty much positive it isn't at this point. That's a big relief to me because I was really worried that Evan had it, especially since I do. But infant scoliosis is very rare, only 1% of babies have it.

I'm not sure what I'm doing with my blog these days. Obviously I haven't been posting! I'm wondering if I should keep trying to post, if I should just quit but leave it up for others to see, or if I should completely take it offline. I don't know...

I enjoy blogging, but I don't have time anymore. I'm super super busy. I joined a playgroup back at the end of November and since then I've been meeting with them a couple of times a week. I've made some great friends through the group that I also get together with a couple of times a week. Then I have things like appointments, shopping, hanging out with our families, etc, that also take up my time. I can't remember the last time that I spent a day at home (I thought that I would on Wednesday, but then my mom called and asked if I wanted to go shopping with her, so I ended up going out for a couple of hours then too).

I mostly enjoy being so busy, but sometimes I wonder if I should slow down. My house is a wreck. When I come home in the evenings I have no energy to clean. If I have free time at home that's the last thing I want to do. I've noticed the past couple of weeks that I feel really down in the evenings once we're home. I wonder if I'm burned out and it doesn't set in until I'm at home. I don't know.... So part of me wonders if I should stop doing so much and then once I have more time at home I can blog regularly again.

Speaking of feeling "down," I realize I never really updated about my anxiety that I posted about in November HERE. It's a lot better now! I still have attacks every once in awhile, but not as often and they aren't as bad. I talked to my chiropractor about it and he wasn't as helpful as I had hoped. He didn't seem to get that I had this problem before pregnancy and childbirth. I told him that, but all he said is that I should make "me time" and relax and let someone else watch Evan while I go out shopping or read a book or something. I said that Matt does watch Evan most evenings and I get a break, but he said I need to completely get away a couple of times a week. haha. Anyway, not so helpful. My bad dreams have also declined, thank God. I still have them every once in awhile, but not every night like I was a couple of months ago.

We started Evan on rice cereal today! He was such a good baby! He did really well with eating it. Towards the end he started getting a little antsy like, "okay, let's get back to the real food," but he ate more than I expected. He also wasn't as messy as I thought. He only spit some out a couple of times and I think it's just because he had too much in his mouth. Anyway, this coming up Friday I'm going to start making baby food for him. I've decided to mostly use organic homemade food for him. I'll still use jarred food sometimes for when we're out or I don't have enough time to heat up the homemade food. I'm excited about it! I'll definitely write a post about that after we try it next week.

Firefly hasn't been doing so well and last night we finally discovered the source (I won't go into details, it's kind of gross). Matt took her to the vet this morning and she has a UTI. She's on antibiotics. We also need to restrict her diet because the vet said she's overweight. She weighs 14 pounds, 6 ounces! More than Evan! Anyway, I'm hoping the medicine will work and that she'll be okay.

White Christmas

Our trip to Arkansas went very well! Evan was great, didn't fuss at all. We stayed on our schedule really well the entire time. While we drove we'd stop at a fast food restaurant when it was time to feed him. I'd nurse him and then we'd put him on the table on his blanket and play with him for awhile. Then Matt would either order us a meal (since Evan's eating times line up with our meals) and we'd eat while Evan stayed on the table. Then we'd hold him for a little bit and then pack him up and go. By then it would be his nap time. His afternoon feeding wouldn't line up with our meals, but then we'd do the same thing except just order a snack or milkshake instead of a meal.

Evan also did really well while we were staying with my grandparents. He napped better than normal and he was really laid back. I was afraid he'd be super fussy like he was when we visited my mom's parents back in October, but he wasn't. The trip back wasn't so smooth, we had to make some unplanned stops (including pulling over on the side of a back road in the middle of nowhere in Alabama to change his diaper in the car!), but it could have been much worse.

Evan experienced his first snow and his first Christmas on the same day! How cool is that!? I couldn't believe that it snowed while we were there. The day we arrived it was great weather, very warm. But of course the temperature dropped that night and it rained the entire first whole day we were there. That turned to snow overnight and on Christmas morning there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground! I am not a snow fan AT ALL, but it was a fun experience for Evan's first Christmas and while we were on Christmas break since it didn't interrupt our everyday lives.

Evan received lots of presents of course. I can't even list them all, but most of them were clothes, little toys that he can play with now (and put in his mouth), and sippy cups (he got 3 of them, lol). Some other fun things were traditions that my mom started for him. My parents made a donation in his name to an organization that purchases and gives things to 3rd world countries. So Evan donated 5 ducks to a family in Africa. My parents are going to do that in place of a present every Christmas. He received his first Christmas ornament in his stocking from Nana. Every year he will also receive a Christmas book from Nana. :-) My parents also bought him an exersaucer that we have yet to assemble. I think he's about ready for it though, he's holding his head up really well.

Things that have been going on with him lately......

• His eyes are changing. At first I thought they were turning green in the middle, but now I think they are a light brown. The brown(green?) color is expanding and taking over more of the blue though! I'm so excited to see what they end up looking like!
• He is rolling over from his back to his tummy. He did it for the first time yesterday. :-)
• He is standing. I still hold his hands so he can balance, but he supports all of his weight. He can't do it for very long, but he just did it yesterday for the first time.
  

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a merry Christmas!!!

We're traveling to Arkansas...we leave in the morning. Wish us luck and pray for safety as we embark on such a long drive!

Grabbing

Yesterday was the first time I noticed Evan actively grabbing for things that he sees. Before he'd grab his toys, but usually only if you put it near his hand. He's grabbed his caterpillar toy on his own before though, but it was more because his hand accidentally happened to touch it. But yesterday I held his rattle in front of his face and he reached with both hands to grab it, purposefully. And then it went straight to his mouth! I also put his little bear snugglie toy on his chest and he grabbed it and pulled it to his face so he could slobber all over it.

What are some good toys for babies his age, especially for putting in his mouth? The toys he has now are a little big and I had bought some cheap plastic teething rings, but he has no interest in them. He seems to like soft things.

Nap time & cry it out

What do you do before you put your babies down for naps? Like, do you sing to them, rock them, play music, put a pacifier in, etc? For awhile I was just sticking Evan in his bassinet with a pacifier. He'd go to sleep. However, I read that one reason some babies don't take long naps is if they are put down to sleep without any "prelude" to the nap. That you should have a routine that you go through before every nap. Also, he has now become dependent on the pacifier to go to sleep. That isn't so bad in my book, but I think that might be the reason he wakes up after 30-45 minutes. I think the pacifier falling out wakes him up. So I'd like him to go back to taking naps without the pacifier and see if he'll sleep longer.

Right now I hold him and walk around with him while I softly sing a song or two. Then I just jiggle him and "shhh" him for a couple of minutes. Then I put him in his bassinet. I've been putting the pacifier in, but this time I didn't. He cried for about 10 minutes. Now there's silence...I'm hoping he's asleep!

This is also the first nap he's taking in his crib in the nursery. A few weeks ago I tried getting him to nap in the nursery, but every time he'd spit up all over himself. I'm not sure, but I think it's because he was flat on his back. His bassinet mattress bends slightly under his weight so he isn't completely flat. Anyway, it seems like it's working...oh wait...nevermind....he's starting to fuss again.

*sigh* I've been trying to let him cry it out the past week. I think I'm finally to the place where I can handle it. Several times he's cried for about 5 minutes and then fell asleep while going down for his naps. However, since starting to let him cry it out, he's started amping up his crying halfway through with this horrible gasping scream (only sometimes, not every time). It was new and so I was always going to comfort him when he did it until this morning. This morning I was in the shower when he started that kind of cry. Plus, I've become used to it, I know it isn't a pain cry or a dirty diaper cry or an uncomfortable cry. I think it's a mad cry. So I let him cry it out since I needed to finish my shower before my chiropractor appointment. He cried for about 10 - 15 minutes and then fell asleep.

For those of you who have tried this (cry it out), whether successfully or unsuccessfully, i'd love to hear about your experience. Did it work for you? How long did it take before your child would go to sleep on a regular basis without crying? Does your child still cry while going down for a nap or bedtime? Do you let him/her cry it out if they wake early from their nap? If cry it out didn't work for you, I'd like to know too. Was there a specific incidence that made you stop letting your baby cry it out? If you don't want to leave a comment you can email me at: christmasinmarch {at} gmail {dot} com.

Okay, he's quiet again. I think he might really be asleep this time since it's lasted several minutes! *fingers crossed*

Growth Spurt

I'm not going to go into details about the growth spurt now, but it was a rough week!! It's over now, but today he has hardly napped. So even though I'm not feeding him every 2 hours, he's still waking up and fussing unless I put him in his swing. He's never been great at napping, but it's been worse the past couple of days.

I'm actively working on fixing this "problem." It might not be something that can be fixed or even should be fixed, we'll see. At this point I'm trying to keep nap time as nap time, even if he isn't sleeping. I either keep putting his pacifier in while he's in his bassinet or I put him in his swing (he still doesn't sleep in his swing, but he's quiet). One thing I need to start doing is putting him in his crib for naps instead of in his bassinet in our bedroom.

Speaking of that, I still haven't started putting him in his crib for nights. :-( I think I'm ready though. It's been hard for me to think about him being in another room at night. Right now his bassinet is right next to my side of the bed. I leave the bathroom light on so I can see him at night. Not that I've been looking at him at night though. After I go to bed I don't look in because he rarely makes a sound at night. So it's getting easier to imagine him not being right next to me at night.

Oh well...I am tired and have a headache. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. I've found a playgroup and have been doing things with them. Tomorrow is the first time I'm going to someone's house for a playgroup meeting and it's 30 minutes away. Then in the afternoon I'm meeting a friend who will then come over for a movie night at our house. So I'll be busy from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed.

We decorated our tree on Saturday:

Baby Games

Some games I like to play with Evan:

• "How big is Evan?" "SSOOO big!" (and spread his arms out)
• "This little piggy went to market"
• the airplane game (where I put his belly against my shins and lay down and lift my legs so he's "flying" in the air)
  
• pretending to steal his nose (this one's his favorite by far, it gets the biggest smiles and even some laughs...don't ask me why. lol)
• holding his toys up and moving them so he can bat at them and follow them with his eyes
• putting his rattle in his hand so he can shake it...or put it in his mouth

3 months old with his rattle

THIS is his favorite toy. He'll lose interest in his other toys, but he's always ready to track this one with his eyes and try to grab at it. This is also the only toy he'll grab on his own, without us holding it against his hand first.

2.5 months old with his caterpillar (yes, Daddy is responsible for making it look like the hungry caterpillar ate through Evan!)

What games do you play with your child and how old is he/she? Any more ideas for games to play with 3-4 month olds? It's always hard for me to think of things to do with Evan during his play time.