I'll have whatever you're having.

H-bear the drool-machine has been super interested in whatever we're eating or drinking, we recently gave her her first taste of rice cereal. She really seems to enjoy it, but still has trouble swallowing any of it. Babies have a very strong reflex to spit things out of their mouths, but eventually she will outgrow that. We've been working on it a little everyday.

The video of that first feeding will be posted soon. We took about 7 minutes of video, and you don't need to watch all of it so we're editting it down a bit.

Like I said, she's also been very curious about things we're drinking. I gave her a cup to play with, which she really enjoyed. Check out the tongue...

A few weeks ago she started rolling over from her tummy to her back. That was pretty easy, and she's gotten pretty quick with that.

She just recently started going from her back to her tummy. That took a little work. The arm kept getting in the way. For a few nights in a row, she woke us up crying and we found her rolled over part-way, and too tired and frustrated to go back to sleep on her own. Within a few days she got the hang of it, and now she is sleeping all night again, and most mornings we find her sleeping on her tummy.

She has come a long way recently in sitting up. She can sit up unassisted now for 20-30 seconds or so before she falls sideways or backward. As long as she has a toy or something in her hands to occupy her attention, she does pretty well.

I gave her a new toothbrush to play with the other day. I'm not sure if she liked it or not.

We bought her first shoes the other day! Two pairs, actually. Before she was born I always thought it would be pointless to buy baby shoes before they can walk. Well, having a baby changes your opinion on a lot of things...and they're so cute!

Not much else is new. She continues to surprise us with her strength and curiousity, and her ability to show preferences for certain things. We'll get that video up soon!

4-month measurements

Height: 25 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 14 lbs. 4 oz. (61st percentile)
Head circumference: 17.5 inches (99th percentile!!)

H-bear did very well, and showed Dr. Arensdorf how well she can hold up her head, and bear weight on her legs. Then she got her second round of shots, and didn't like them any better than the first. :(

We got the green light to try some rice cereal, but nothing else until she gets used to swallowing solid (or at least mushy) cereal. So no more peaches for awhile.

4 months and 3 days

H-bear was so cute this morning. I was in her room refilling the humidifier (she's not coughing anymore, but we're still using it as a preventitive measure) as quietly as I could, and she kind of halfway opened her eyes. I said, "Hello, H-bear! Good morning!" but then her eyes slowly drooped closed again and her mouth curved into a little smile, and she was asleep again.

I was thinking about the first few weeks of her life. When she couldn't do anything but eat and poop, and squint her eyes at the cold air and bright lights. She couldn't smile, or babble to us, or grab a toy and chew on it, or do any of the things that make up her little personality. She was a little stranger who needed every minute of our attention and love. Now she's starting to tell us her likes and dislikes, and show that she wants every bit of independence she can get. It's only been 4 months, but it feels like years. Yikes!

She can grab her feet while laying on her back now...and even get them into her mouth. It's pretty impressive!

She is not sitting up on her own yet, but I got out our high chair the other day, just for fun. She can sit in it by herself by holding onto the bars (with the tray removed). She seemed to like it. :)








We have been letting her sample a little of our food lately. Very carefully, of course. We hold onto it, and make sure she can't chew off little pieces or anything. The first few things, I think they were cucumber and watermelon, which she did not like at all! She gave them both a little lick, and just grimaced. Apple slices she liked a little better, but peaches were the big hit.

Unfortunately she also showed a lot of interest in D-husband's bottle of beer. She could just smell it from the the top of the bottle, and seemed very intrigued (and tried to eat the bottle).

Here are some other new pictures:

Sitting up in the Boppy pillow

Yes, they're baby sunglasses. :)

I tried to get a picture of her yawning, but I just got the very end of it. What a goofy face!

Big smile!

Warning: Sticky subject

There has been an abrupt change in H-bear's poop habits. She has gone from pooping two or three times per day to pooping every other day. We expected this as a normal part of her developement. Of course, the amount of poo every time she goes has increased significantly. WOW.

In my online wandering I found this remedy for diarrhea that I just wanted to keep for my own future reference:

The "BRATTY" Diet
Bananas
Rice
Applesauce
Toast
Tea
Yogurt