4 Month Checkup and Rice Cereal!

Yesterday Natalie visited her pediatrician, Dr. Bubenzer, for her 4 month checkup and shots.  She got three shots (2 in one leg and 1 in the other) as well as an oral vaccine.  The doctor said she looks great and seems to be a very happy baby.  She was really impressed with how strong Natalie is for her age, especially in her legs.  The doctor really thinks she will crawl early!  Here are some stats:

Weight:  13 pounds, 12 ounces

Length:  25 1/4 inches long

I didn't get percentiles, but I think she falls right around the 50% range for both categories.  

Dr. Bubenzer also said we could start her on rice cereal twice a day -- spoon fed!  So tonight we stripped her down to her diaper, put on a bib, tried out the high chair for the first time, and went for it!  As you can see, she absolutely LOVED it.  She really got the hang of it and wanted more when she was finished!  By the time we were halfway through, she would open her mouth really big when she saw the spoon coming at her!  I think she'll do great with baby food too in a few weeks!

Just for Susan!

This post is just for Susan, who threatened me yesterday with the statement, "If I look at your blog and it says 'Backwards in the Bouncer' one more time...."  Haha.  So I guess I am seriously terrible at this blogging thing.  I do forget that not everybody sees Natalie all the time.  AND of course I'll blame a little bit of it on Derek, who "misplaced" the little gadget we use to upload pictures from our camera to the computer.  Hopefully we will either find it soon or just suck it up and buy a new one.  ANYWAY, here is what Natalie has been up to lately:

1.  She can totally hold her head up now

2.  She is a rolling machine when you lay her down (I love going to her crib every morning and seeing what position she has gotten herself into!)

3.  She smiles A LOT, and loves to smile back at you when you smile at her

4.  She is beginning to laugh out loud, but I still can't get her to laugh whenever I want her too.  It seems pretty random so far.

5.  She "talks" all the time!  

6.  She is definitely teething -- always chewing her clothes, passy, fist, my hand, teething rings, or anything else she can find to put in her mouth.  Baby OraGel is my best friend.  Her daddy has stripped her of the "good baby" title for the time being, as she is quite fussy these days.

7.  She is losing her hair, especially in the back where it rubs off on her carseat and in her bed.  I have to lint roll her sheets every day to get the hair off that she loses at night.  Otherwise, I'd have to change her sheets every couple of days

8.  She is wearing 3-6 month size clothes (nothing 0-3 months fits her at all!)

9.  She will be 4 months old on October 11.

10.  She goes to the doctor Oct 15 for lots of shots and a general checkup.  Hopefully the doctor will tell us we can add rice cereal to her bottle and even maybe start her on baby food in a month or two.

11.  She lays on her "play gym" and actually grabs and swats at all the toys hanging down.  Her favorite is the monkey.

12.  She is moving up to size 2 diapers in the next week.

13.  She is drinking 5-6 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours.  Still sleeping at night for about a 10 hour stretch!

14.  She is known as "nosy Natalie" at day care because she is always looking around at everything that is going on.

15.  She is excited about Halloween and is going as a baby giraffe.