4 months

Grace is four months old today and I truly can't believe it! This recap will be brief, Grace had a rough day and we're all tired. Daddy took Grace to the doctor today and she weighed in at 13lb 6 ozs and 24 inches. She is in the 25-50 percentile for both of those...right on target. She has a huge head though, thanks to the Zier side! She is in the 75 percentile for head circumference. She had four shots today and was alright until later this afternoon. She was really fussy and ran a very small fever. But, no on paniced and I'm sure she'll be fine tomorrow. She is now fast asleep. I'll add more info and pics tomorrow!

Ok, I'm back. Unfortunatley, Gracie had a reaction to her shots. Yesterday she had a fever of 101.7. Despite the high fever, she was very calm and not fussy at all. The doctors advice and some cherry baby tylenol did the trick! Today she stayed with her Mom-Mom and she is doing so much better.

Gracie had a great check-up and we've been given the ok to start a little rice ceral at 5 months and then onto "food" at 6 months. I can't believe she's already eating; well almost. She has been drooling like a champ and putting her fingers in her mouth constantly (note picture below). Dave asked the pedi about it and she said that Gracie is teething! Yippee!!! I'm sure that'll be fun. She continues to sleep through the night (7:30-6:15AM when I have to wake her up) and is getting used to her new morning routine. I wake her up and snuggle, pass her off to her papa who feeds, changes and plays with her and then it's time to hit the road!

Daycare has been a true nightmare. the day before she was to start, my sister and her fiance' brought Grace by to see it and to drop off her stuff. I met them there. There was nothing "wrong" with the center but I didn't get a good feeling about it. When we left, I was in tears saying that I couldn't leave her in that place. My sister calmed me down but I knew I had to start looking for other centers. This one is about 5 minutes from my school but that is honestly the only positive about it. Monday night (8-20) I started calling other centers. Of course, they all had waitlists until December/January. To make a very long story short, we were backed into a corner. Tuesday morning I began making more calls in the car on my way to drop Gracie off. There was one school in particular that I really loved and we were waitlisted with them until December (ridiculous considering we put our name on the list in MARCH people!) but I figured I might as well give them a call and see where we were on the list. My mom had agreed to watch Grace for a couple of months if need be and I was beginning to think that would happen. I called the center and, to my complete surprise, they actually had a baby move and had one space avaliable starting Sept 6. I cried (trust me people, when you have a baby, there is mucho crying involved)! It's about 25 bucks more a week but who cares! Gracie will be so happy there.

So, for the next week, she will go back to the center I hate. I must stress that she is in no danger. The caregivers are following the rules to the letter, I just don't like the place. It's hard to explain, call it mother's intution or something like that.

What you've waiting for...here she is and she's not happy:

Gracie Needs one of these!!

So I'm back to work!!!

And the blog is suffering! I promise that I will post some pictures of Gracie tonight when I get home! Dave and I took Gracie to the pool this weekend and she didn't love it as much this time! It was so chilly that the lifeguards were all wearing sweats! I wanted Dave to see how much she loved being dunked under and you know what? That little Diva made a liar out of me. But she's still as sweet as she can be and adjusting well to waking up at 6AM! My sister has been watching her this past week so it's made the transition a lot easier for me; and maybe for Grace too. She starts daycare on Wednesday. Oh well, I'll post some pictures tonight.

And here they are:

At the pool, again! Although this time it was chilly and she didn't like it !
The exersaucer is getting more use

She likes it!

She's a Water baby!

Today we went to the pool for the first time and Gracie loved it! I dunked her several times and she thought it was so cool!

Gracie's Baptism

Gracie and Dave before the service, in the beautiful dress handmade by MomMom

Some finishing touches are made to the dress before the ceremony begins!
Gracie and Reverend Cobb. She was a perfect angel for the entire ceremony.

It's a JIP!!!

Ok so yesterday Dave and I made another trip to BabiesRUs to get the latest and greatest baby toy. I wanted to get Grace an exersaucer. It is suggested to start using this product at 4 months but, like with the Bumpo, I figured we could start it a couple weeks earlier to get the most out of it. Like so many of these cool contraptions, there is a very limited time that the babies can fit/use these toys. After looking at the pictures of the girl on the box, the choice was clear. We purchased the Baby Einstein Discover and Play. There are so many neat activites for the babies to do, noises, even a mirror! I was soo excited about it...we put it together (by we I mean Dave) right away. Well, I want my money back. You'll see why. Please note Exhibit A: The girl on the box:

Please note Exhibit B: My baby:

Using it to suck on! Ok, this might be ok. If I can keep my head up! Nevermind, this isn't working!

The difference is clear!

I know she is still a bit too young for the exersaucer (her feet don't even touch the ground!)and I'm sure when she's old enough she will love it!!! Dave has to remind me that Grace was a month early and she therefore is 4 weeks behind other babies her age. The pedi assured us that by one year old, she will no longer be "behind" other babies. I don't know why I'm in such a hurry for her to grow up.

But, she is. This morning I took out the inserts in her car seat. Grace was thrilled!

She is also crusin' in the Bjorn, facing outward. She loves it!

Best Friends Forever

I think they're really growing on each other!

Nordstrom Bathroom

The mall yesterday was interesting. When I arrived, Grace was ready to eat. My sister and I a pretty patheic in that we have a serious mall routine. We meet in the food court, I feed Grace while Jen goes to get her lunch, Jen continues to feed Grace while I get my lunch, we all finish eating and then head to Nordstrom to change the baby. Those of you with children or a serious problem with public restrooms will understand this. Nordstrom took some serious time designing thier bathrooms and just as much time keeping it clean. I really don't like to change Grace on those nasty old plastic changing stations. My dear baby's derriere is placed on a squeshy soft sofa (of course I use a changing pad but you get the idea). Also, I do realize that at a certain time (when baby #2 comes along) that my discerning bathroom tastes will be tested and I will change my baby on any old nasty poop stained changing table. Ok, back to yesterday. Jen changed the baby and she was cooing and everything was totally fine. Then, out of no where, she started wailing! Ok, she just ate, had a two hour morning nap, and was just changed. What is going on. I held her, kissed her, shh-ed her and finally Jen suggested that she might be tired. Honestly people, she had probably only been awake for a total of an hour all day (is was about 2PM) but I decided to swaddle her. Well, it worked. I gave her her binks and put he in hr stroller and she fell fast asleep. And she slept for the remainder of the shopping day. Phew, we felt much better. Oh, and kudos to Nordstrom. I should send a thank you letter; even though we had a bad experience there yesterday, we have spent many a days hanging out in there!

Last night, Dave and I got quite a scare. He put the baby to bed as normal without any issues. Then around 1AM, she started crying. I went to her and put the binks in her mouth. She was fine for a few minutes and then started crying again. It might not sound bad but she has been sleeping peacefully for the past 2 months so this was a surprise. Dave freaked out. "Oh my God, what if she doesn't sleep anymore!? What are we going to do??!! I thought she was taking after me. Turns out she's just like you!!!" I ignored the last comment and told Dave to give her the binkie. He went in, reswaddled, reset the binks, and we didn't hear another peep until 6:45. Again, phew.

So, thank you for the advice about Gracie. I really think she may just need to get into a routine. I will attempt to put her down for a nap this morning (yesterday it worked well, but I did haveto wake her up to go to the mall. I know, it was stupid!) and again this afternoon. Hopefully that will help.

On a good note, she is the sweetest baby first thing in the morning. I love to talk and play with her during this time. We do love her so much!!! Enjoy!
She has discovered her image in the mirror and she likes it!
See Mom, I can still smile!Look at me holding up my head! (With a little help from the pillow!)
Mom, time for a diaper change! (I know its not the classiest pic but how cute!)