Four Month Checkup

On Monday we went in for Judith's four month checkup (can she possibly be four months old already!?!). She's 14 lbs, 11 oz, and 24.5". (So she's gained 2 lbs 5 oz, and grown 1.5".) Both measurements are 75 percentile for her age. I was a little surprised at her weight, because I was expecting her to weigh more like 16 lbs - mostly because she's moved up into size 3 diapers, and the listed weight for those is 16-24 lbs. Maybe she just has big thighs :-).

We asked the doctor about the rash on her chin, which she's had for almost a month. He diagnosed it as infantile eczema, and gave us some Aquaphor samples to put on it. It's very reassuring to have a diagnosis finally, and it looks like it's getting a little better. Aquaphor just says it's for "dry, cracked, and irritated skin" though, so I think once the sample runs out we'll just switch to calendula lotion, which is for the same thing, and is all natural.

The "rash" on the back of her neck is just broken capilaries. He said she's probably had those since she was born, and we just didn't notice.

She had five shots again. And the nurse (same one) once again said "boy she's really tensing up" as if that would be a surprise! I wonder if she says that to all the parents! This time we were ready with the homeopathics (rescue rememdy, thuja, and ledenum) as soon as the shots were given, and Judith calmed down more quickly than last time. She's also not reacting as much this time--I don't know whether that's because she's older or because of what we've given her. Either way, I've been pleasantly surprised to not have to deal with a cranky baby for the last few days.

Thanksgiving

I should have blogged this a few days ago, but it's really the time of year where everything gets away from me!

Grandma Judi and Grandpa Ron came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. Grandpa hadn't seen Judith since she was a week old! To make up for all the time he didn't get to spend with her, he spent as much time as possible with her for the few days they were here. Grandma only got to hold Judith a few times!

On Thanksgiving morning, we (Barbara, Lance, Judith, Ron and Judi) met Uncle Tim and Lance's nephew Brad to walk in the Run to Feed the Hungry. It's something that I've run every year since 2005, and I've always wanted to do it with family. According to the Sacramento Bee, almost 30,000 people participated this year, and Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services got approximately $750,000! With that many people, it was extremely crowded! It took us about 45 minutes to get to the parking lot--and we had to park about a mile away. With the 5k race and the mile-each-way that we had to walk to the start/from the finish, we walked 5 miles! Judith did very well being in the stroller for so long. Lance pushed her, and Brad periodically leaned in to entertain her :-). She talked (loudly!) for almost the whole race, and people kept turning around to find out what was making the noise. Because it was so crowded, the walk took us about an hour and a half - and Judith was very hungry by the end! I jogged the last mile back to the car so that I could feed her. She really enjoyed moving so fast in the stroller - every time I had to slow to a walk to catch my breath or wait for a slow group in front of me, she would yell, and wouldn't stop yelling until I was jogging again. But that doesn't mean I'm going to start jogging again...it's too hard on my body.

On Thanksgiving evening, Ruthanne (Rhone) Maschenko ( a friend from childhood that I've recently reconnected with via Facebook) came for dinner with her eight-year-old daughter. Originally her husband and one-year-old were supposed to come along, but they were home sick :-(. We still had a great time reconnecting!

Then, on Friday, we went to Tim and Sandy's for the whole, huge dinner. There were about 20 people. Judith did just fine being passed around from person to person, and she even fell asleep after dinner when I put her in the front pack and laid the blanket over her head.

Tummy Time

Lance is very good about playing developmentally with Judith. One of the things they do together is tummy time (as recommended!). Originally tummy time took place on our bed, but he recently switched to using a exercise mat on the floor covered by a blanket. It works a little better because it's a firmer surface and Judith can push against it. She's gradually getting used to it (depending on her mood/level of tiredness). Lance "distracts" her with some of the toys (they're finally getting used!), but, as this picture shows, there comes a point where she really wants nothing more to do with it. Of course that's probably when the most development happens, because she begins to move her arms and legs in an effort to get out of the position we've put her in. It certainly looks like a prelude to crawling!

chew toys

It seems pretty evident that Judith is at least starting to teethe - the drooling continues to increase, she's occasionally pretty cranky, and she loves to gnaw on anything she can. So yesterday we got out some teething toys for the first time. She needs quite a bit of help getting the toy to her mouth (although the big circle thing is a lot easier for her to manage than the teething duck), but once it's there she really chews. There's no evidence of teeth yet, but I understand from reading and from friends that teething can happen for quite awhile before any real teeth show up. We tried giving her some homeopathic teething tablets for the crankiness this evening, and they seemed to help a little. (I don't know if that confirms the teething diagnosis, or if she was just ready to be un-cranky for a while.)

Darth Vader or the Baby Whisperer?

Judith is continuing to experiment with making noise. Her latest efforts have resulted in a very gravelly, growly breathing. We've been discussing whether she's making a Darth Vader sound (new nickname Darth Judith) or whether she's trying to whisper. Probably the answer is neither - she's just playing with her vocal chords - and either way, it's a pretty funny noise!

Growth Spurt

Judith is definitely going through a growth spurt today! She's been eating every two hours and sleeping quite a lot. I'm just hoping the 3-6 month clothes are big enough that she won't grow out of them by tomorrow! :-)

Wine Tasting Trip

For the past two years, Lance and I have gone wine tasting (I drive) with some friends of ours in Amador county. This year we didn't want to miss it, and so we decided to try taking Judith along. Especially after her not-so-fun time in the car on Tuesday, I was a little concerned that she wouldn't do very well, but she couldn't have been better!

She slept in the car on the way there and on the way home. During all the driving around the wineries she was just fine in the car (maybe having people next to her the whole time helps keep her entertained?), and she had no problem being in the front pack each time we went into a winery. This time I tried her facing forward in the front pack, and she enjoyed it (so much to see!). To feed her, I stayed behind in the car a couple times while the other three went into a winery, and that worked quite well. Judith ate as much as I expected, and she wasn't upset about eating in a new place. The one thing she didn't really do was nap, but after Tuesday I wasn't really expecting her to, so I wasn't disappointed :-). We did try, during dinner at our friends' house, to get her to go to sleep on the bed, but she wouldn't - and so she slept in the front pack for about 1/2 an hour. I really need to try to get her to sleep other places than her crib, or our two days in Tahoe in December are going to be a nightmare!