Arden's four month well check was Monday, and it went, well enough. She got two vaccines which she hated, but was soothed with just some snuggles, and the rotavirus oral vaccine, which I'm hoping she didn't spit up too much of. But the main take away from this appointment was that the little miss is dropping on the growth charts. Arden weighed in at 11lbs 7oz (4th percentile) and was 23.8 in long (21st) percentile. I can't find her print out from our weight check that was done at like 10 days, but at 4 days old she was in the 29th percentile for weight, so in my head that isn't THAT far of a drop, even though I know it kind of is.
There are so many variables that are contributing to whether or not her slow weight gain is actually an issue. She spits up. All the time. Right after a feeding. An hour after a feeding. As soon as she wakes up. Hell, during a feeding. But she isn't really upset about it so thus far it hasn't been an issue. A laundry issue, and a we always smell like sour milk issue, but not seemingly a health issue. She has also developed some eczema. It was noticeable shortly after I finished my Whole30 (so reintroduced a variety of foods), but became awful when the weather warmed up and especially when we went to Disney World. So that could be food sensitivity or intolerance, or simply environmental. But there is also the fact that my sister is only 4 foot 11. Both Chris and I lean towards the short or average end. It is possible that she'll just be small, or have a huge growth spurt somewhere along the lines. So far, overall, she is still gaining weight and growing so we'll just keep on keeping on.
Right now Arden is in 3-6 month or 6 month clothing and size two diapers. We did put one 6 month sleeper from Carter's on her, that must be marked wrong or something, because it was almost ridiculously huge. Still haven't really ventured into her wearing shoes. And since it went from being winter to summer in a matter of minutes there isn't much of a reason to keep her feet covered, except for maybe sun protection. But we have a pretty large pile of cute shoes so maybe I should throw some on just for kicks. I have actually been putting her in real clothes most days (I should use the term real very lightly, I've been doing just one piece rompers. Two piece outfits happen almost never) so it wouldn't be ridiculous to put on a pair of shoes.
We had a good run of Arden sleeping 10-11 hours at night, but in the last two weeks those nights are few and far between. She still isn't a terrible sleeper by any means, usually only waking once in an 11-12 hour stretch, but I can tell we're going through some sleep changes. I won't do any formal sleep training until six months, so I'm hoping we can hang on to decent sleep until that point. We haven't transitioned out of the rock 'n play or the swaddle, so I'm guessing it is going to take some sleep training to make it happen. Arden has mostly been taking three naps a day, sometimes four if a couple of them are pretty short. Really she has no schedule and I just let her do her thing. For the most part it is working well enough for us. She is usually up for about max two hours before she is ready to sleep again.
Arden still has yet to roll in either direction, but she does roll to her sides now. And naturally she is rather adorable when she lays on her side. She can get her head and sometimes her chest pretty high while doing tummy time, but for the most part she just gives up and rubs her face all over the floor. Her head and neck are pretty strong, but overall I don't think she is as sturdy as the other girls were at this age. She is gaining more and more control over her hands and arms and has been reaching out for toys, and starting to swat the ones on her play mats. She has also been grabbing her toes which just makes babies seem so much older.
The sound track to my day now includes this really awesome high pitched screeching noise. It is rather lovely. Ha. It can be cute, for sure, and was definitely funny the first day or so. But occasionally I actually want to hear what the other girls are saying or try to have a conversation with someone and Arden is just LOUD! :) Another habit she has picked up, is rubbing/scratching her head when she is tired or nursing. We've been putting the little newborn mitts on her to keep her from completely destroying her face, but she has still managed to get a good slice in her scalp here and there.
Her smile is so sweet, and she is fairly quick to give it out. She intently watches her sisters move about the house, I'm sure trying to discern what on Earth they are doing most of the time. They're crazy. She likes to be carried facing out so she can see what is going on. She smiles when I sing to her. Bottles still aren't her thing. Really she is just a content little baby, who hangs out and goes along for the ride.
Arden's big adventure this past month was to Disney World! Go big or go home right? She had her first airplane ride, first big trip, first time at Disney World, all before turning four months old. I was worried that the trip would be miserable because she doesn't love being worn, but all things considered she did really well. There was a fair amount of crying when she'd get tired and not really want to be in the carrier, and we had to stop several times to nurse, but she slept well at night and spent a good deal of time just hanging out. She got to ride the Teacups, Peter Pan's Flight, Dumbo, the Little Mermaid ride, A Nemo ride, Frozen Ever After, Jungle Cruise, go on a safari, probably a couple more I'm forgetting, and watched a few shows. We never made it back into the park in the evenings because I always felt bad about strapping her in anymore, but ultimately we were very happy with how she (and the other girls!) handled the trip and the straight up exhaustion. We'll definitely have to go back when Arden can enjoy it too.
Best baby, I love you so. Thanks for putting up with your crazy family, and being so easy going.
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