The Treadway Chronicles: Avery is 4 Months!

Avery turned 4 months old on August 10th. The following Tuesday we went to the doctor for her 4 month appointment. Well, I guess I should have known that Avery was growing "well" since at 4 months old, little Miss Avery is already wearing 9 month clothes. My goodness. She remains in the 97th percentile at 16 pounds 6 ounces and 26 inches tall.

The doctor examined her and all is well. She is rolling over, so that's really the only "skill" she needs to have at this point. Otherwise she just asked about her habits and her attitude. Of course I said she was a sweetie, because she totally is.

She is getting up once in the night around 3AM and then goes back to sleep until about 6:45 or 7am. During the morning she usually takes a few cat naps and eats about every 3 hours. I have sort of worked it out that I can get her to take a long afternoon nap from about 3:30 to 6. It's especially nice if Connor is napping too. Yay for some Mommy time.

For naps and bedtime, we've weaned her off the white noise, which is nice and we've officially moved her into her own room with the crib. She seems to be adjusting well and hasn't had to do very much "crying it out" as she was already a pretty good little napper and could sooth herself to sleep alright as it was. We still swaddle her, but seeing as though she's so big and strong, it's hard to keep her from wiggling herself free. I'm thinking the swaddle won't last much longer. We shall see.

She is still only drinking breast milk, but I guess in a month or so we'll start her on rice cereal. I can't believe it is happening already. Apparently my milk is pretty fattening though, because she seems to be growing just fine. She is already getting cheeks like Connor. Of course Connor is the king of cheeks, but she's trying to earn the title of Miss Queen Cheeks.

She seems to really be moving more and more and getting stronger every day. Often, when I put her under her play gym she'll roll to her side or roll over, right away. She also has become a skilled "grabber" and will grab at anything in sight. She can't quite figure out how to put things she's grabbed, directly in her mouth, but she's working on it. Sometimes she'll pull her pacifier out and actually manage to put it back in. It's surprises her every time she does it. It's cute. She still kicks up a storm too.

She is still very drooly, but not nearly as spitty as Connor. She'll spit up after a meal, but doesn't continue to spit up all day. Thank goodness. She is drooling a lot though and her pediatrician thought her gums looked swollen, so we may have another early teether on our hands. Speaking of hands, her hands are always in her mouth if her pacifier isn't. She constantly wants to chew. I see teeth in our future, don't you?

She is also getting stronger as far as holding her head up and holding her chest up when she's on tummy time. I don't see her crawling in the near future, but she's working on the proper position. She also is starting to sit unsupported for a few moments before falling over. That is a 6 month skill, so she has plenty of time to work on that, but she's getting there. Since she can keep her head up, we tried her in the excersaucer and she did pretty well. She liked looking around at all the neat toys attached to it. I hope she continues to like that thing.

She is still very drooly, but not nearly as spitty as Connor. She'll spit up after a meal, but doesn't continue to spit up all day. Thank goodness. She is drooling a lot though and her pediatrician thought her gums looked swollen, so we may have another early teether on our hands. Speaking of hands, her hands are always in her mouth if her pacifier isn't. She constantly wants to chew. I see teeth in our future, don't you?

She is also becoming more and more social. Unlike her brother, "Mr. Serious", Avery seems to be a lot more outgoing. She will smile at strangers very often, something Connor never did and still doesn't do. We can also get her to giggle if she's in the right mood.

Of course Avery does have her fussy moments, but it's usually just because she wants to be held or is over tired. Typically if she is getting held, she is happy as a clam. What a sweet girl. I can't wait to see what's in store for us next month.