Four Months Old

I think I start every monthly update by saying how fast time is flying by...but my goodness, time is REALLY FLYING BY! Four months already! Poor thing was sick on her 4 month birthday, but we managed to get pictures of her still.

Four months finds Madeline:

• Weighs 15.1 pounds (I would have sworn she was at least 18 pounds) (60 %tile)
• 26 inches long (90 %tile)
• We just started buying size 3 diapers, although she has not completely outgrown the size 2s yet, they fit tightly
• Wears 3-6 month clothes, can even wear her 6-12 month pants
• giggles and laughs (still mostly for her daddy, not so much for mommy)
• spits, blows bubbles, does a motor boat sound with her lips and mouth
• sits up in her bumbo chair and when propped up against something
• talks/babbles a lot (like when out to eat or during my Back to School Night presentation to the parents of our students...luckily most of them thought it was cute)
• she set a new record and slept for 5 hours straight in her crib (being sick has made her regress to waking every couple hours again...who needs sleep anyway?)
• reaches out to grab for toys, improved hand eye coordination
• puts weight on her legs when held up and steps like she is walking (see last photo)
• received 4 month shots
• rolls over both ways

      We started a parent child class through the local adult school and we missed the last class due to her fever. We have only been to one class so far and are looking forward to having Maddy make some friends in her age range, and for us to meet some other new parents. The class runs like a traditional school year calendar and so we will be meeting weekly with the same group until June. We chose to attend the night class so Mike could come with us too. Most of the other moms and babies came with their dads also.

      I made the decision to be ok with having Maddy drink some formula while being watched by Grandma Jane. I really wanted her to be 100% breastfed for the health benefits, but I just couldn't keep up with the pumping without completely exhausting myself and I think the stress of it was making my supply go down. So Maddy will get the milk I am able to pump and then have 1 or 2 bottles of formula each day that I work. Luckily I only work 2 to 3 days a week, alternating every other week. We did a formula tester bottle the night before she would get it the next day with Grandma Jane, she took the formula fine and didn't seem to notice the difference. We had to get the lactose-free kind because she is still allergic to regular milk. We were reminded of her allergy after I had pancakes last weekend....pancakes = made with milk. I didn't make the connection until I changed her diaper later that day, oops.

   This last Wednesday, Maddy developed a fever of 102 degrees with no other symptoms. The fever would go down to around 99 after giving her Infant Tylenol but would not go away. By Friday, when we had her 4 month check up, the doctor was a little concerned that there wasn't any obvious reasons for the fever. The pediatrician  checked Maddy's ears, eyes, throat, and nose for infections. Everything looked fine which was actually bad news. When a baby has a fever with no symptoms for days in a row, it can mean something internal is going on and the ways to find out are not very pleasant. The doctor had the nurses use a catheter to collect a urine sample to test for a UTI or bladder infection (lab work came back normal). Luckily (I say luckily, because I found out through internet research that a spinal tap would most likely be the next test ordered) Maddy started to develop a small rash on her face yesterday and I internet self-diagnosed her with Roseola. She has all the symptoms: fever for several days followed by rash. Luckily she  just had splotchy red marks and it was not an itchy rash. It traveled down her face, neck and belly. Her fever finally broke this afternoon, and I am hoping this it the tail end of her being sick. It's no fun holding your baby down while she is screaming to be poked and prodded :(

We love you Maddy, please stay healthy from now on!

(Monday night=Maddy's fever and rash are both gone!)