Emma at Four Months

Let's be clear here: Emma turned four months more than two weeks ago.

Whoooooops.

It's the end of the semester up in here, folks. Mary (or somebody. I think it was Mary.) warned me that it would feel like single-parenthood. 

It's not quite that bad, but hear this:

I will never ever ever ever ever plan spring cleaning during the end of the semester while caring for a baby ever ever ever ever again.

It's just hard to deep clean your shelves and floor cracks and kitchen cupboards during not-completely-dependable naptimes, you know?

And it sucks to hear a supposed-to-be-sleeping baby crying for her pacifier when you're up to your elbows in pinesol and dust and you have to climb out of a cupboard then wash your hands eight times so you don't get chemicals all over your baby's paci. You know?

Or maybe you don't. Well, you've been told.

Anyway. Now that we're clear.

Every day, I think to myself, I can't believe how big she's getting.

I love those moments when she seems still so tiny... like when she's curled up asleep in her crib, or when she's sitting on Eric's lap.

Emma turned four months old yesterday, which seems insane to me. We've had her with us for that long already? It feels more like four weeks. 

Size: 

We visited the doctor a week ago for her four-month shots (eep!), so this is how big she was according to the doctor. Who should know.

birth weight: 7 pounds 1 ounce

four months: 13 pounds 8 ounces (almost double!)

birth length: 20 inches

four months: 27? I think.

Talents and Skills:

Being incredibly adorable. No, but really. Strangers tell me that she should do commercials, and I'm all, oh, okay, okay, right, I know (more more more compliments FOREVER please).

Sitting up...almost! With support. If you take your hands off her abdomen, she topples forward at an alarming speed.

Rolling over...same as last month, but she's just about able to turn over from her back to her front. She doesn't seem very motivated to learn this, though, which is a bummer. She's moved past the shocking stage of rolling over -- the oh snaps how did I get here bit -- and if you put her on her belly, without batting an eye, she flips herself over and looks at you like, you thought it was time for tummy time, what? wrong. I decide when I want to be on my tummy.

Making noises. Emma is so communicative with her sounds. She coos, she gurgles, she babbles, she yells -- oh does she ever yell... it's her newest toy. 

She has zero inhibitions (hello, she's a baby) about letting you know how she feels. Last weekend was really hot -- 95 degrees, so we walked down to Starbucks to get some iced coffee. She was pretty listless until we got into the air conditioned store, where she suddenly started giggling and cooing and squeaking happily. It was pretty cute. As soon as we went outside though, and left the air conditioning, she gave off this massive grunt -- gggrrrruuuuuurrrrrgggghhhhhh, and continued grunting until we reached the park and pulled her out of her stroller and put her in the shade.

AND SHE LAUGHS NOW. BEST SOUND EVER.

She likes to feel like she's talking to you -- she really likes to lay on her back and look up at me and gurgle in response to my brrrrrrrbbbbrrrrrbbbrrr -- you know, that sound you make when you blow air through your pressed-together lips?

(you just made that sound, didn't you?)

Putting everything in her mouth. 

Look, Emma, this is your bear! 

IN MY MOUF.

Look, Emma, this is your monkey!

IN MY MOUF.

Here's a finger for you.

IN MY MOUF.

You look so pretty in your dress, and look! you can pick up your skirt!

IN MY MOUF.
Emma, tummy time in the grass!
FACE PLANT SO GRASS IN MY MOUF.

You cam hold this diaper while I put this clean one on you.

IN MY MOUF.

Emma, this is called a leaf.

IN MY MOUF.

... you get the picture.

Using her hands. Big time.

Trials, Troubles, Tribulations:

Emma is a pretty good sleeper, for a four-month old. (Post on sleeping still to come, by the way.) This past week, though, she's really been struggling with her naps (gone from 4-5 hours per day to under 2), and has been waking up more frequently at night and needing her binky. This, along with some increased general fussiness, her incessant drooling, her chewing (and chomping! and clamping!) violently on everything, and her constantly having her hands in her mouth, lead us to believe that she's teething. Which is a terrifying thought. The average age for cutting the first teeth is 6-7 months, so she's early, but babies supposedly often show signs of teething quite a while before the first tooth makes an appearance. So we'll see.

Likes:

Daddy. Duh.

Making noises. See above.

The park, especially laying on her back under a tree and looking up at the leaves.

Being outside in general.

Putting things in her mouth.

Chewing on things.

Sucking on things.

Certain toys -- her rattle, her tiger, her burp cloth, her green sock monkey (his arms are the perfect size for her to wrap her hands around, as well as the perfect size for -- surprise! her mouth!)

Attention. Constant. Attention.

Bathtime, especially splashing, which is a new thing. Our kitchen floor gets very very wet.

Music, especially when we sing to her.

Laughter. She gets a kick out of us laughing, especially when she laughs, which makes something of a beautiful laugh cycle.

Wearing dresses, because she can pick up her skirt and -- uh, shove it in her mouth.

Dislikes:

Being left alone.

Not getting her daily walk -- or spending time outside.

Not being able to fall asleep.

Waking up and not being fed immediately.

Feeling left out of things.

Not having something in her mouth.