Lana turned 4 months old about a week and a half ago, but the girls and I were on vacation so I haven’t gotten around to updating ye old blog until now.
Here are the stats from her 4 month checkup:
- Height: 25.5″ (50-75%)
- Weight: 13 lbs. 8.25 oz. (50-75%)
- Head: 50-75%
Her doctor was again surprised that her height wasn’t in a higher percentile, but I’m sure she’ll sprout soon enough. She did say, however, that Lana is a perfect child, so I’ll take that. She thinks the bright blue eyes will stay, too, about which I’m thrilled.
This past month was a big one. We’ve dropped the pacifier (except for emergency public situations), seen her roll over from front to back for the first time and many times since, heard her first real laugh, and went on her first airplane. She’s also starting to string together multiple nights of sleeping all the way through, which makes me very happy.
I said she was getting more vocal in her 3 month stats post, but now she really has a lot to say. She still wakes up with huge smiles and usually just starts from there. Coos, gurgles, squeaks, shouts, na-nas… I love it. I say she’s telling everyone her “stories”. The best is when she gets so animated with her toys trying to get them in her mouth; she honestly shouts at them. Della says she’s talking to her guys when she does it, since that’s what I call the toys that hang from the arches on her playmat.
Her hands are constantly in her mouth, as is anything she can get in her hands. Squeaky balls, rings, chew rattles, you name it. She especially enjoys sucking on your finger. So if you pick up my baby, just wash your hands first, because there’s about a 150% chance she will grab your hand and shove it in her mouth. It’s hilarious, because sometimes she actually lunges at it like a little piranha.
I swear those blue eyes just keep getting bigger, too. She is constantly looking around; loves watching faces and mouths; and makes the cutest “biggie eyes” face you’ve ever seen. These faces are often accompanied by a constant drool stream, which is her new favorite accessory. I can’t see any teeth poking through in there yet, but all this drool might be a sign that they’re getting close. We are now in bib territory.
Her first (and second) airplane ride last week went better than I could have ever expected. On the way out to Tucson she took a bottle before takeoff, sucked on her pacifier (yes, i caved and gave it to her to prevent a screaming fit) for a few minutes after that, then slept on Grandma’s lap for the entire rest of the 4 hour flight. Hallelujah! On our return trip she was equally as pleasant. She was asleep in the carrier on me for takeoff and the first part of the flight, then ate a bottle, played with Grandma again for awhile, took another bottle shortly before landing, and didn’t make a peep the whole time. Whew!
She still can’t reach the floor in the jumperoo, so the throw pillow remains under her feet. She is, however, already growing out of some of her 3 month clothing – a lot of pj’s have returned to the attic storage, and a couple cute little outfits won’t be far behind. She is in the process of switching up to size 2 diapers, too. Growing like a little flower, I tell ya.
She is the cutest thing ever, and I just love how she smells. I can still get her to nap on my shoulder sometimes, which I cherish. Since ditching the pacifier, naps are still a little hit or miss, but she generally takes one during the early-mid part of the day (sometimes morning and afternoon) and almost always an evening one.
Bedtime is still usually anytime between 8-9, then I cross my fingers that she sleeps through the night. On vacation she slept through 5 out of 7 nights, but since we’ve been home she hasn’t had a repeat performance. I think she has had a little bit of a cold though, with some congestion and hoarse cries, so that could be the culprit. But I have cut out the diaper change when she wakes during the night, so if I hear her starting to squeak or cry, I just feed her and get her back to sleep as quickly as possible.
We’re still doing all breastmilk, which I’ll probably continue for a little while. She is very interested in watching you eat now, so I did try a little rice cereal the other night. She was much more interested in chewing on the spoon than actually getting anything to stay in her mouth, so I’ll wait a little bit before trying again. No rush for me on that one.
Her cranky spells are much fewer and far between now, which is a nice change. I say she’s mellowing in her old age. She is very content playing on the floor now, either on her stomach or back, as long as she has plenty of toys on which to chew. She’ll start to fuss and let you know it’s time to pick her up when she’s had enough or when she gets tired still, but it’s fortunately nothing like it used to be.
I think those are the highlights for this month. Here are the monthly comparison pictures so far – I swear she looks like a completely different baby! Her hair looks like it’s getting red in the 4 month shot, but it’s not really. It’s still dark brown, there’s just so much less of it now. I do love this one so, my sweet baby girl.
