Saturday, May 29, 2010

How Old Are You, My Pretty Little Miss? How Old Are You, My Honey?

Four months have passed since little Liddy Bug entered our lives. It went by so fast, yet I don't remember life before her. Strange, this thing they call parenthood.



I took her to the doctor for her four month checkup and learned that she is in the 95th percentile for height. At her two month appointment she was in the 75th percentile. I mentioned to the doctor that she has been waking up to eat more and more in the night and he said that he wasn't surprised since she's been growing so much, and that we should try giving her some rice cereal. I know he was telling me to give her more calories, but in my mind flashes were going off and bright signs were blinking "SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT! SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!"



You'd better believe I went straight to the grocery store from the doctor's to buy her first box of rice cereal. And...

she LOVED it. She ate one serving and still wanted more so I gave her a whole other serving. Well, she didn't sleep through the night, but she sure slept better than she has in weeks. And so did I. I'll take it.


Funny thing though, she hasn't wanted it again since. I'll wait a few more days and try again. Thoughts?


The poor little dear also got her shots. A necessary evil, in my opinion. She was a brave little soul though, and only cried for a few seconds. Then the nurse put a pretty band aid on her chubby baby thigh.
It's so fun to see her personality emerging. She is such a happy baby. I spend most of her (and my) waking hours trying to make her laugh. Oh, the sound of that chunky baby chuckle makes everything right in the world.


She also loves to dress like a bug for bath time.


And then there's the snuggling. She loves to snuggle when she first wakes up, and will love on anyone who is lucky enough to pick her up. She especially loves to snuggle with her Grandpa K.

I have to admit, I have been trying to think of things to post on that aren't all about my baby. But, funny thing, she's pretty much all I think about right now. So this is what you get.
You got a problem with that?

12 comments:

heather said...

No ma'am. Not a problem at all. It was quiet lovely in fact.

turleybenson said...

Yes, I remember this one! It's called the 4 month sleep regression and yes, it sucks. It is most likely related to a growth spurt at that age, and in my opinion, there ain't nothin' you can do but ride it out. It'll get better in a few weeks.

As for the food, just try every week or so. Slow is better, IMHO.

Kimba said...

i know we've been chattin, but dude, pictures are always better. not better than the real thing mind you, but better. :)

there's so many opinions out there, across the board, across generations...so i'll again just insert the canned phrase, you'll both figure it out. :) like i said, wy never loved the rice cereal, so i just let him eat what he wanted until we switched (to oatmeal). i've always found that things worked best when i was just letting him lead in the food area. i'm still doing that, sticking to the mantra that i get to choose what to put in front of him, and he gets to choose how much he eats.

but like ms. turleybenson, i never saw a correlation between food and sleeping through the night.

and ditto on the sleep regression. that one was the worst by far, he started at 3 months and it felt like it lasted forever, but it didn't, and one day he just started sleeping better. or at least as well as he was doing before. :)

she's just a doll, abby. and i'm a bit jealous that she's a cuddler! i was just telling my friend how much i missed that today as i held his little three week old - the cuddling. wy was never a cuddler. pretty much, can i just fly up again and hold her for a week or two? :) maybe give her thighs a squeeze or two? :)

Jessica and Reece said...

Oh my goodness that baby of yours is delicious! Lola was not a fan of rice cereal, so we tried the baby oatmeal and she seemed to hate it less. But let's face it, my kid will eat anything. Except avocados.

Also, I went through a similar blog-identity crisis after Lola was born. But I've since learned to embrace the mommy blogging, because nothing else in my life is as interesting as my girl. And rest assured that as much as I love your writing, I crave pictures of Lydia like I crave Diet Dr. Pepper.

So post more please.

Jocelyn Pehrson said...

Try using really hot water when you make the cereal, because it cools so quickly, that way it is a little warmer. And try adding a little sugar...WHAT? GASP!!
I know, but come on people! It is just a little sugar...And it didn't screw up Tals food training..he loves his vegetables (well .. after a few days trying).

ANd for the more important part......your baby is scrumdiddilyumptious!!! SO stinking cute! I want to hold her!!!! I love the cuddling too, isn't it fun? I love your blog posts of Lydia and also crave pictures of her adorable little self. Keep them coming.
p.s. this last week Tal has been sleeping through the night. It used to be on and off, but I think it is for sure now. So maybe Lydia will, in 6 short weeks, start sleeping through the night as well. CROSS fingers!

Jocelyn Pehrson said...

Forgot to mention, I also add a little formula to the rice cereal as well as use a little sugar and Hot water. Tal loves it!

Chelsea said...

She is such a doll Ab and SO SO big!! They grow so fast huh-
i liked to add fruit to the rice cereal- but I can't remember if you have to wait until she is older or not to have fruit. also some like to add milk to the cereal instead of water- blake never liked it with milk though! Usually they eat it better when they have it before their milk- give them their solids then top them off with milk... just keep trying-its a totally different texture than they are used to- over time i'm sure she will love it

Leslie said...

Yes. I have a problem! You are too far away for me to come snuggle little Liddy! I am DYING to see the both of you! She is seriously beautiful! Just like her mama.

I can't believe she is 4 months old! I have been wanting to see more pics so keep em' comin'!

As for the rice cereal, WHY didn't anyone tell ME about the sugar? Duh. I probably should have figured that out. 4 kids later I learn a very useful trick.

I would add some formula and a little bit of applesauce to mine. Better than sugar but it is better to start that after she gets used to the plain old cereal. Her tummy might not be able to handle it right off.

I love all of your pictures. Especially the last one with all three of you. Beautiful little family.

Mellanee said...

Belina, whatever you mix with Liddy's cereal DO NOT add honey. It seems to me that bananas was the first fruit we were advised to introduce after the rice cereal. I mixed bananas with the rice. That worked well. Babies usually really like bananas. As for mixing with milk, I'm not sure it's a good ideas to give babies cows milk until they are past one year. Might want to ask the doc about that. WMS, Mom

Abby said...

Thanks for all the advice, guys!! Her pediatrician advised that I mix the cereal with breastmilk, which is what we did. I didn't think to try mixing in sugar or bananas. I will try that soon.

I did have a thought: she has been a little fussy and not nursing well since a few days after her shots (a normal side effect) so I was thinking that maybe she didn't want her rice cereal anymore because she had a drop in appetite. She seems to slowly be coming out of it, so I will try the cereal again in a few days.

Thanks again for all the advice, guys!

The Kilpacks said...

Too stinkin cute, and I love the picture of you all lying on Grandma M's. popcorn quilt!

Anonymous said...

Serious adorableness all over the place. Those cheeks and those thighs! Agh...I promise I'm not baby hungry...not one bit :)