ESP: Lucky Number 7

Another month older ... and wiser.

Another pound bigger ... it's about time!

WEIGHT: about 12 pounds (officially 11 pounds 14 ounces at her doctor's office weigh-in, but at some point this weekend my scale indicated 12 pounds)


CLOTHING SIZE: Still wearing 3 month clothes, but I've started pulling out the 6-month stuff!


EAT

We have not had much luck with solids.  The rice cereal caused constipation and gas.  Waited a week. Tried bananas, at the pediatricians urging, but those caused vomiting.  Honest-to-goodness puking ... for like three hours.  Waited another week.  Gave oatmeal a try because a few moms suggested that oatmeal is easier on the tummy.  Well, it never actually made it to CJV's stomach because she absolutely refused to open her mouth.  And, so my hopes of a decent growth spurt - caused by the introduction of solids - didn't happen.

SLEEP

Someone set Charlotte's internal alarm block to 6:30 am - sharp!  Every single morning, she wakes up at 6:30 ... no matter what time she goes to bed, how dark her room is, how quiet the house is, ... she's awake.  But not for long.  I usually snuggle her in bed with me, nurse her a little, and get another hour of slumber.  Then she hangs out while NHV and I have breakfast before going back to bed for an hour or so. She also takes a great afternoon nap; usually 3 hours or more.  And then she would like to go back down for 45 minutes in the evening, but that pushes bedtime back.  But if I keep her awake, she goes down at bedtime, wakes up 45 minutes later, and won't go back to sleep for an hour.  This is a habit I would very much like to break.

PERSONALITY | PLAY

Charlotte loves bathtime! Just the mention of the word "bath" gets her kicking and smiling!  Her tub is up on our double vanity, which may have to change soon because she splashes so much!  The entire counter and mirror ... and bath-giver ... get completely soaked.  She splashes with such a determined look on her face that I can't help but laugh.

Charlotte is also enjoying her toes!  Her right foot is in her mouth (or close to it) about 75% of the time!  This is my favorite "baby" milestone.  There's just something so fascinating about this discovery ... those appendages have been there all along, but she just now figured that out.

Her favorite toy appears to be Jangles, a Discovery Toys Giraffe.  He hangs from her car seat handle, and she adores him!  The Rainforest Bouncer and Jumperoo also get a lot of smiles and squeals!

Charlotte continues to be quick to smile.  People comment on this all the time, "Oh, she's such a smiley baby."  "She smiles with her whole face."   If you smile at her, she's more than likely going to smile right back at you!

MILESTONES

She is still not sitting up but can hold herself pretty well in the Bumbo and tripods with some encouragement from me.  She pulls herself to a sitting position whenever I put her on my lap ... no more laying back when there's a whole world to see!  She can roll from her tummy to her back but doesn't always bother ... sometimes she just lays her head down and fusses instead.  She is so close to being able to roll from her back to her tummy; Natalie was about this age when she mastered that skill and dislocated her elbow.  Charlotte laughs a lot and verbalizes when the mood strikes.