Claire Talk

Claire's vocabulary has just exploded lately. I just love her sweet little almost two-year-old voice.

Some of my favorite things Claire is saying these days...

• "Garaff" - Giraffe. Claire's favorite.

• "I getch you!" - I'm gonna get you! Momma's favorite.

• "Ephan"- Elephant

• "Funneee!" - Pronounced correctly and usually when other people are laughing. "Mama, funneee!"

• "Happee!"- Love this one. Usually a request for "If You're Happy and You Know It."

• "Klay" - Claire

• "Momma sit", followed by "Dadda sit", "klay sit." Claire is nothing if not equal opportunity. Everyone has to do everything every time. (Also interchangeable with "Momma sing" or "Dadda eat".) Sometimes even "Graceeee" and "Tannuh" get turns. 

*No, I'm not going to even acknowledge the lapse in blogging over the last few months. I have a toddler.

claire tidbits - 14ish months

Just a few things I want to remember about Claire at this exhausting fun age (14 1/2 months)...

...Dog is absolutely her favorite word. Although she says it like "Doeg." Precious. And most any creature is a dog. She also says Dada (repeatedly), Uh-oh, Dis (This) and we've heard Duck a few times now. Her daycare teacher says she can say Ball but we haven't heard that. She'll occasionally bust out with a Mama, but usually only when she's upset that I took something away or walked away. Claire also tries to repeat Thank You when we say it first, but I think only we can understand that one.

...Speaking of school...it took a few weeks for Claire to get used to her new school, but she is loving it now and so are we. She walks in each day like she owns the place! And I think she might...her teacher seems to love her as much as we do!

...Claire is loving her Loveys these days! Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be attached to any one in particular - she just likes to drag whichever one is nearest (or both of them) around with her and sleeps with one every night. I think I am going to order an extra of my favorite just to have on hand - we already lost one at Kohl's when visiting Grandma and Grandpa.

...Claire has stayed with Grandma and Grandpa twice this year already, most recently while we went on a cruise for a week. It took her a few days to adjust, but I am100% certain that she missed them when we got her back. In particular, she bonded very well with Grandpa. They loved playing piano together.

...Claire likes to brush her hair and play with her toothbrush. She's let me "brush" her teeth, but mostly she just plays with it.

...Reading is So. Much. Fun. Especially the same books over. and. over. again. I could recite Llama Llama Red Pajama in my sleep. Board books are our favorite. We could use a few new ones...and a bookshelf to store them on.

I could just eat that little belly up.

...Baby girl weighed 20.5 lbs at her appointment last week. She eats, but she's still so petite. She wears 12 month jammies and 9 or 12 month outfits. I'm not buying any more 9 months, but the 12's are too big still. She definitely grows out of the pants (length) first. 

month by month

Here it is...in hard evidence...the proof that my little baby is no longer a baby. I am so glad I did these. It really is amazing how they change in just a month.

Cross-eyed Claire and new to this photo taking with a bear thing.

I got it now, Momma.

I think months 4 and 5 are my personal favorite. 

All of a sudden, she looks like a big girl in month 7. 

Too cool to look at the camera in month 9.

I'm ONE!

claire - twelve months old!

Claire at twelve months - December 24, 2012

Claire's last monthly update. Wow, that was fast.

Weight/Height: At her one-year appointment, almost two weeks after her birthday (holidays!), Claire weighed in at 18 lbs, 8 oz and is 28 1/4 inches long. She's lost a little weight since her (unofficial) weigh in at 11 months, but since the Dr. is not worried, I won't be either. She's consistently around the 10 - 25 percentile for height and closer to the 10th percentile for weight. It's official - she's petite.

Clothes: Claire is still in 9 month sleepers and is pretty solidly in 9 month clothing elsewhere. She can fit in a few 6 month and, likewise, a few 12 month things but I'd call her size 9 months. She'll be switching to 12 month jammies as soon as Mommy can buy some. Let me tell you, Mommy almost had a meltdown at Target and TJ Maxx when I couldn't find any footie jammies in 12 months. Thankfully, I looked online and they still come in size 12 months, because I am NOT ready to put her in 2 piece jammies.

Eating Habits: Right before her birthday, we made the switch to whole milk. She's tolerated it okay. She won't drink it cold yet, so we're still warming it and it seems to have upset her tummy a bit, but it's hard to tell if it's the milk or other things she's eating.

We don't feed Claire much baby food anymore b/c she won't let us! She prefers to feed herself, so we try to make things she can eat too.

Sleep: Claire still sleeps pretty well at home. At school and away from home? Not so much. On a good at home weekend, I can expect her to nap twice during the day from about 1 - 3 hours. She goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 and sleeps til 7:30ish if I don't have to wake her up for school. On school days, she naps a stretch of about 1 - 1 1/2 hours and then, sometimes, for 30 minutes to an hour when we get home.

Teeth: Claire finally has her first teeth! The bottom two front ones have come in and her little toothy smile is precious!

Biggest accomplishment: The day before her first birthday, Claire took a couple of steps. It's a complete fluke, and she hasn't done it since then, but we're still proud!

Likes: 

• Dancing
• Food, especially bread
• Her musical seahorse
• People watching when we're out
• Bathtime- LOVES bathtime
• Her red rubber duckie
• The puppies - and, specifically, patting the puppies. 

Dislikes

• Having her nose cleaned
• The end of bathtime when Mommy pulls the rubber duckie out of her hand and leaves it in the bathtub
• When Mommy or Daddy leaves the room 

Favorite Moments: So many this month. Claire's first birthday and party top the list for sure. Visits with family. Time spent together as a family at home.

Doctor's Orders:At her one-year checkup, we were given instructions on dropping the bottle and switching solely to a sippy cup. Mom and Dad are THRILLED about this. 

Other Tidbits:

• The delay on this post is reprehensible. I'm not sure if it's because I am in disbelief that my baby girl is 1, or if it's that I'm just tired of doing these. A little of both, I do think. I know I will be glad to have them one day though.

Comparison:

claire - eleven months old!

Claire at eleven months - November 24, 2012

I can't believe my sweet girl is going to be 1 in less than a month! Enter Mommy denial, pronto...
 
Weight/Height: I weighed Claire yesterday on our bathroom scale and she came in at 19lbs 6 oz. I haven't a clue how tall she is, but all of her pants are becoming high waters so I'm thinking a growth spurt has taken place!

Clothes: 9 month sleepers are still comfortable, and Claire's 6 month pants are rapidly becoming too short. Momma needs to go buy some new 9 month pants, but it seems like I just bought these! Claire can still fit in most 6-9 month onesies and outfits. She's getting taller, but still has the cutest little round belly. I just love that belly!

Eating Habits: Mid-month, Claire wasn't eating as well and wasn't finishing most of her bottles. She's made a turnaround now and sucks them all dry! 6-7 oz, 4 times a day.

Claire mostly eats anything and everything. She eats some homemade and some store bought baby food, along with bits and pieces of anything we can find to give her. She still makes a big mess, but she's learning!

And, when she's hungry, the kid will eat. But when she's not, she won't touch a thing. Good habit to form, I know. 

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well. There are spurts of fussy nights but I can attribute those to teething - or a lingering cough. She sleeps from 8 - 8:30 pm til I wake her up at 6:45 am on weekdays. She gets up between 7:30 and 8 on the weekends. Claire will occasionally wake during the night and mostly puts herself back to sleep. If she can't, a quick paci hunt can solve the problem. I've woken up several times to her musical seahorse playing. It's so cute to see her find him in the crib and turn it on.

Teeth: Sigh...still no teeth. I keep telling Bob that I'm expecting a full mouth of teeth when these babies finally pop through! For all the drooling, sucking, biting and fussing she's doing - more than one better make an appearance. And soon, please!

Biggest accomplishment: Completely pulling up. Claire is also trying to "walk." She pushes her little car around the kitchen. She only gets a couple of steps before she falls, but she's still trying.

Claire is also mimicking us. It's fun and funny. She'll echo words that we say in a sing song voice, and she loves to make the "uhhh" noise with her daddy.

Likes: 

• Clapping
• Gerber Puffs and Veggie Sticks
• Her musical seahorse
• People watching when we're out
• Bathtime
• Her red rubber duckie
• Driving her car around the kitchen
• The puppies - new this month. Claire really has seemed to take notice of Grace and Tanner.

Dislikes

• Having her nose cleaned - oh, the fights we have to clean out boogers.
• The end of bathtime when Mommy pulls the rubber duckie out of her hand and leaves it in the bathtub
• Her carseat - I think this has passed. A new carseat seems to have done the trick. But when Claire is ready to get out, she lets you know.
• When Mommy or Daddy leaves the room - this has really upped this month. I think a little separation anxiety has set in. Especially with Mommy. Clarire still does fine when we leave her at daycare but if we get out of her sight for a minute at home, she lets us know that she misses us. And loudly.  

Favorite Moments: Claire's first Halloween! She was a marshmallow (as part of our s'more family) and a duck. Visiting with her boyfriend Neil and Mommy's friends, Aunties Chelle and Shannon! Claire's first Thanksgiving on the farm with Alli and Pop.

Doctor's Orders: No doctor's visits this month! Thank goodness! We've maxed out our coverage for the year and are now paying out of pocket, so we're trying to stay healthy for another month.

Other Tidbits:

• Momma is in party-planning mode! Claire will be celebrating with a "Winter ONEderland" on December 15th. More to come on that...
• This little girl has stuck her tongue out from day 1 and is still doing it. It gives me a little complex thinking she's going to go to kindergarten with her tongue stuck out, but it's also pretty adorable.

Comparison:

claire - nine months

Claire at nine months - September 24, 2012

Ahhh, I'm so behind. Claire is going to be TEN months if I don't post this soon!

Weight/Height: Little chunker is 16 lbs, 12 oz now. Still so petite, but I love it! Claire is 26 1/4 inches long - short(er) just like her parents.

Clothes: 6 month jammies (but not for long!) and mostly six months for everything else. We can get away with a few random 3 month dresses, but mostly those have been packed up.

Eating Habits: Usually she has a 6 oz bottle first thing in the morning (7ish) and 4 6-7 oz bottles during the day (9-10 am, 12-1 pm, 3-4 pm and 7-8 pm). We've continued to introduce solid foods, including meat, this month. She eats the pureed stuff pretty well, but really likes when we give her bites of things to eat in her highchair while we eat.
Sleep: Still sleeping great at night. She goes down between 8 and 9 and sleeps til we get her up arund 6:45. At least once this month, she gave us a treat by sleeping til 8 on a Saturday morning. Napping? Not so much. She gets great naps at home on the weekends, but is way too distracted to sleep at daycare.

Eye Color: Brown

Biggest accomplishment: Claire is crawling now! It's fun and scary at the same time. We've had a few more bumps on the head and a couple of topple overs, but she is on the move!

Likes:

• Clapping
• Gerber Puffs
• FOOD!

Dislikes

• Being hungry
• Sitting in  her high chair for too long...though she does great when we're out to dinner usually.

Favorite Moments: This month was really a blur for us with traveling and being sick. Highlights include Pop and Alli's visit, Grandma and Grandpa's visit, Mommy and Daddy's weekend trip and a family trip to DC! Oh, and some Daddy/Claire time while Mommy was traveling for work. It was a big month

Doctor's Orders: A quick (yeah, right) visit to the doctor this month showed that Claire is healthy as can be. What we thought might be an ear infection was only teething. Her nine month visit went great as well. Claire is right on track and growing. She got a flu shot and orders to keep up the good work!

Comparison:

 

claire - eight months old!

Claire at eight months - August 24, 2012  

Weight/Height: We don't have another doctor's appointment til next month, but from my scientific weighing on our bathroom scale, she weighs 16.2 lbs. (Update: 16 lbs 2 oz as of Sept. 5)

Clothes: Daddy said to stop putting her in the 3 month clothes, so I guess that means we're in 6 months now! But, I think jammies must just run small or shrink b/c it won't be too long until she's in 9 month jammies. To be fair, some 3 month and a lot of 3-6 month things still fit (especially dresses), but onesies and rompers are a struggle now and have been packed up.

Eating Habits: Claire has pretty much dropped the sixth bottle, unless her feeding times get out of whack and she needs a little bit before bed to tide her over. But usually she has a 6 oz bottle first thing in the morning (7ish) and 4 6-7 oz bottles during the day (9-10 am, 12-1 pm, 3-4 pm and 7-8 pm). She is definitely on board with the solid foods now and has had squash, zucchini, carrots (not a huge fan), peas, avocados, bananas, rice cereal, oatmeal, applesauce, peaches, sweet potatoes, corn and pears. She also tried her first "Puffs" this month and although she was confused at first, she's come to enjoy those as well (especially in her high chair while we eat dinner).

Sleep: I love this kid. I may not have another one b/c this one sleeps so well. Kidding. But really. She sleeps from 8-8:30 pm til 6:30 -7:30 am. Sometimes she wakes up around 5:45-6am (I think she hears our alarms), but can go back to sleep with her paci and some music from her seahorse. I should add here that we finally stopped using the Woombie to swaddle her. Seems like everyone I know "broke" the swaddle much earlier, but I never saw reason to when she liked it so much. I made a comment to Bob about it, and he decided that since she was rolling over that that was the night. And it was. I was nervous about it, but, like she always does, baby girl did just fine. She now sleeps in a sleep sack.

Eye Color: Hazleish

Biggest accomplishment: Little-big girl can sit up! I love it! She sits up for long periods of time til she gets a little top heavy and down she goes.

How We Spend Our Day: Pretty much the same... I think I'll remove this category next month. Unless something crazy happens, our days are going to remain basically the same.

Likes:

• Toys
• The song "If you're happy and  you know it..."
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Mickey is on TV! Seriously, the first time we put it on, she squealed and looked at us like, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!" 

Dislikes

• Being left alone (to be fair, we're not leaving her alone, we're just, oh I don't know, using the bathroom or preparing dinner
• Getting a diaper change

Favorite Moments: So many good moments this month- Claire went to her first baby shower (that wasn't for her!) and celebrated Cousin Will, finally was able to meet Aunt Mary and her other cousins, and spent time with both sets of grandparents. But above all, my favorite moments have been at night, when Bob and I play with her on the floor before she goes to bed. It's so fun to watch her discover all her toys and hear the pure joy in her laugh.

Doctor's Orders: No doctor's visits for us this month!

Comparison:

 

claire - seven months old

Claire at seven months - July 24, 2012 

 Uh, I have a seven month old? How is that even possible? She was JUST born!

Weight/Height: I took Claire to the dr the day before her seven month birthday and she weighed in at 14 lbs, 8 oz! Little girl might FINALLY be catching up - I am so proud of her!

Clothes: We are definitley out of the 0-3 month clothes and mostly in 3-6, but some 3 months don't fit either. Claire graduated to 6 month jammies, but still fits in 3 month onesies and shorts.

Eating Habits: Same as last month as far as bottles go. Claire has now had rice cereal, squash, zucchini, carrots, peas, green beans, applesauce and peaches. She's a good little eater! Which might explain the weight gain. She has three "solid" meals a day now: rice cereal and applesauce for breakfast, 2 cubes of vegetables for lunch and 2 different vegetables or fruit for dinner. By far, Claire's favorites are zucchini and squash. She merely tolerates the rice cereal (with applesauce mixed in only) and peas.

Sleep: Claire is still a rockstar in the sleep department. 8:30p to about 6-7a most days. Some weekends, she sleeps longer. Her sleep has been interrupted a little bit lately due to a persistent cough, but she's such a good girl and goes back to sleep as soon as she gets those coughs out.

Eye Color: Mostly brown, but I still a see a hint of blue if she's wearing the right colors. It doesn't fit in this category, but I  have to record for posterity's sake that this poor child has a bald tiger stripe on the back of hear head. I can't even count how many people have commented on it! Here hair is coming in nicely on top and is long in the back...except this one area where she lays her head down! It's hilarious, but I also can't wait for it to grow in.

Biggest accomplishment:

• The aforementioned eating habits are a big step. 
• She's also trying harder to sit up - she sits up for about a minute before she topples over, and she is trying to pull herself to the sitting position now (but can't quite get there).
• Claire enjoys her time in the exersaucer now. It's so cute to watch her jump around and really play with the toys. We usually put her in it while we eat dinner, and she jams the buttons so they play her favorite songs over and over.
• Claire started rolling over very consistently at the beginning of the month and actually seems to enjoy being on her tummy now.
• We think we've heard Dada a few times - though never directly to Bob.

How We Spend Our Day: Pretty much the same as last month as far as weekdays go.

On the weekends, we continue to take little girl anywhere and everywhere, but if we're home she naps for long stretches in her crib.

This is what happens when we try to pose with Mr. Bear!

Likes:

• Sophie the Giraffe
• Rolling
• Laughing

Dislikes  

• Being interrupted while eating (notice a pattern here?)
• Not being the center of attention

Favorite Moments: This month we took Claire to the beach for the first time and really enjoyed seeing her interact with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Danielle and Uncle John. Unfortunately, we paid the price when we got home b/c she was s-p-o-i-l-e-d for a week! Other than that brief time, she's been so much fun this month - really growing and acting like a little person! In fact, Bob and I often comment that she's such a "little person" now and we can't believe it!

Doctor's Orders: I took Claire to the doctor for a persistent cough right around her 7 month birthday. Fortunately (or un, depending on how you look at it), her ears look clear and so does everything else so no medicines to clear it up. We're waiting it out a bit longer, but we're all tired of hearing little girl cough so hard - most of all Claire!

Comparison:

claire - six months old!

Claire at six months - June 24, 2012 
(Please ignore the dog hair on my furniture. Ugh.)

This month's pictures were by far the hardest to snap. Claire's into everything she can reach now and is constantly putting her hands in her mouth. She is also the Queen of Drool, which explains the shine on her face. After a few minutes of photos, we were both over it. 

Weight/Height: 13 lbs, 1 oz and 24 1/2 inches long. Which puts her in the 5th percentiles. I'm still having trouble with how small she is, but Dr. B is happy, and I keep trying to remind myself that she's healthy - just small.

Clothes: 0-3 months; however, I'm happy to say that I think she is growing out of some of them. Finally. Dresses are still roomy, but rompers and sleepers and some onesies are starting to get too short. I feel confident that we'll be moving up (at least in the sleepers) in the next couple of weeks. Some 3-6 month outfits are fitting now, especially the little bubble outfits. And Claire is still in Size 1 diapers. Thankfully, since we were lucky enough to be gifted a couple of packages, and I want to use those up!

Eating Habits: Bottles are pretty much the same as last month: 7ish am (4 oz.), 9:30 am (6 oz), 1 pm (6 oz), 4 pm (6 oz), 6:30 pm (6 oz) and 3-4 oz right before bed (usually around 8:30 pm).

The big news is that we've introduced solids this month. Rice cereal first, to mixed reaction and this week we've added squash to the mix. At first, she really liked the rice cereal - even leaning forward and saying what sounds like "Mmm" to us. But she tired of it. We started mixing applesauce in it and that helped. So far the squash is a big hit. Must be b/c Bob grew it in our garden, and I steamed and pureed it. :) Not going to lie...it's a big mess when she eats, but a pretty cute mess!

We have learned, though, that it's best to feed her solids when she's not hungry for a bottle. If we give her the solids before the bottle, we have a ticked off little girl on our hands - especially if she sees the bottle. We're trying to time her meals in between bottles to help with that a little.

Sleep: Claire is still a rockstar in the sleep department. 8:30p to about 6-7a most days. Some weekends, she sleeps longer. Her sleep has been interrupted a little bit lately due to a persistent cough, but she's such a good girl and goes back to sleep as soon as she gets those coughs out.

Eye Color: Blue some days, blue-brown others.

Biggest accomplishment: The aforementioned eating habits are a big step. She's also trying harder to sit up and enjoys her time in the exersaucer now. It's so cute to watch her jump around and really play with the toys.

How We Spend Our Day: Pretty much the same as last month: Momma wakes up at 5:30 and gets ready for work. I wake Claire up around 6:30, she eats and then we head out the door around 7:15. After dropping her at school, I head to work. Depending on the day, Bob or I pick her up around 5:15ish. She usually takes a bottle soon after getting home, before Bob and I eat dinner. She hangs out with us while we eat dinner and then plays or snoozes afterwards. Then it's time for bath, jammies, bedtime snack and bed. Then Momma and Daddy straighten up the house, fix bottles for the next day and pack our lunches. Our time together passes very quickly during the week, but we make up for it on the weekend!

On the weekends - she sometimes sleeps a little later. We run errands, play, and if we're home, she takes a long (3 hours) nap over lunchtime. I think the weekdays wear her out b/c it's hard to sleep with all those babies, so she makes up for it on the weekends.We take Claire anywhere and everywhere and as a result, she's able to nap anywhere.

Likes:

• Playing with Molly Dolly
• Being told she's beautiful
• Laughing at Mommy and Daddy's silly faces
• Putting anything and everything in her mouth

Dislikes  (funny that these all revolve around eating)

• Eating solids when she's hungry
• When the milk doesn't come out fast enough
• Being interrupted while eating

Favorite Moments: Claire's little personality has really come through this month. Both Bob and I really enjoy the times that we can just lay around and make her laugh. It is the sweetest sound. Everyone tells me that they just get more fun as they get older, but I sure love this stage. We also enjoyed Claire's first trips to the lake and to the pool.

Doctor's Orders: Momma had the stomach flu this month and while it kept me down, it only hit Claire a little bit and she was a real trooper. I was so proud of her for being such a good girl while I was sick and Bob was out of town. She's still having a little trouble with her eye, but Dr. B wants us to keep up the drops and says that it's a clogged duct that will clear up as she gets older. We are also to add a third meal of solids each day in the coming weeks and work with Claire on sitting up more.

Comparison:

claire - five months old!

Claire at five months - May 24, 2012

Weight/Height: I'm not exactly sure, but my arms are certain she's packed on some weight this month! I'd guess maybe around 13 lbs?

Clothes: Claire is still styling in her 0-3 month outfits, but I can tell those days will be coming to an end before too long! Onesies are starting to get a little shorter, but she's still very comfortable in the rompers and has a lot of room to grow in dresses. Speaking of which, dresses on infants are adorable...but a pain. Remember this for future babies, Val. :)

Eating Habits: We quit nursing mid way through this month, so Claire is now 100% formula fed. 6 bottles a day: 7ish am (4 oz.), 9:30 am (6 oz), 1 pm (6 oz), 4 pm (6 oz), 6:30 pm (6 oz) and 3-4 oz right before bed (usually around 8:30 pm).

Sleep: I'm going to hold my breath on this one. She continued to sleep very well this month, except this past week. Either baby girl knows her daddy was out of town and wants to tease her Momma, or her sleep patterns are changing. She still goes to bed around 8-8:30 but she's been waking up around 2:30 to babble a bit (but fall back to sleep without help from us). She's also moved her wakeup time to 5:45 which is horribly inconvenient for this working Mom. She's still as sweet as ever when we go to get her up though, greeting us with a huge smile and a bat of the eyes.

Eye Color: Still blue-brown. Still not real sure how they're going to end up.

Biggest accomplishment: Claire is trying to sit up a little, but most definitely trying to STAND up. Sometimes, she won't let you sit her down so that she can stand on your lap. She's a long ways from pulling up but I can tell she likes that position much better.

How We Spend Our Day: Pretty much the same as last month for the weekdays: Momma wakes up at 5:30 and gets ready for work. I wake Claire up around 6:30, she eats and then we head out the door around 7:15. After dropping her at school, I head to work. Depending on the day, Bob or I pick her up around 5:15ish. She usually takes a bottle soon after getting home, before Bob and I eat dinner. She hangs out with us while we eat dinner and then plays or snoozes afterwards. Then it's time for bath, jammies, bedtime snack and bed. Then Momma and Daddy straighten up the house, fix bottles for the next day and pack our lunches. Our time together passes very quickly during the week, but we make up for it on the weekend!

On the weekends - she sometimes sleeps a little later. We run errands, play, and if we're home, she takes a long (3 hours) nap over lunchtime. I think the weekdays wear her out b/c it's hard to sleep with all those babies, so she makes up for it on the weekends.We take Claire anywhere and everywhere and as a result, she's able to nap anywhere.

Likes:

• "Talking" and being talked to
• Laughing at Mommy and Daddy
• Being kissed on her neck
• Playing with her seahorse rattle that Aunt Danielle gave her

Dislikes

• Waiting on a bottle - so, she takes after her Mom!
• Being interrupted while eating

Favorite Moments: We've had some special times this month. Claire was baptized on my birthday, May 5, which was wonderful. She was also able to meet her 90-year-old Great Grandpa on his road trip of the Southeast. That was such a blessing for us b/c it kept Bob and I from needing to make a trip to NY later this year. We would have, but it would have been difficult.

Doctor's Orders: Claire had her first "sickness" this month - she got a little eye infection. No biggie, but we did get some drops to keep from spreading it around daycare. It lasted about 5 days, but didn't keep her down!

Comparison: She's starting to look like such a big girl!

claire - four months old!

Claire at four months - April 24, 2012

Weight/Height: Big girl weighed in yesterday morning at 11 lbs, 7 oz! That is definitely an improvement. She's still smaller than most of the babies I know, and is only hovering around the 10th percentile, but we're all happy with her weight gain.

Clothes: Claire is still in 0-3 month old clothes and will be for a while, for the most part. The sleepers fit her perfectly, length-wise, but are a little big in the body. Onesies fit perfectly, and pants are just starting too. She's still too little for some of her 3 month dresses, but Momma's making it work! I've learned my lesson and am now buying a size smaller for those things I buy ahead of time.

Eating Habits: Since I've returned to work, Claire is nursing when she wakes up and right before bed. She takes a 5 oz bottle of pumped breastmilk at school, along with 2 5-6 oz bottles of formula. She has another bottle of formula at home.

Sleep: Claire is a champ in the sleep department - she must take after her daddy. She falls asleep between 8 and 9 p.m. each night and sleeps until I wake her up at 6:30 a.m. We've been surprised to find that she slept until 8 a.m. last Saturday morning. Keep it up, baby girl! She doesn't nap as long during the day, but that's okay.

Eye Color: Still blue-brown.

Biggest accomplishment: Claire is officially rolling over from her belly to back now. She has done it spuratically before this month but in the last two weeks, she had figured out that she can get off her belly just by rolling. Little girl does NOT like to be on her belly. 

I have a cute little video of my brilliant girl, but I can't figure out how to upload it from my phone to here. :(

How We Spend Our Day: With the end of my maternity leave and the beginning of full-time "school," our weekdays are pretty structured. Momma wakes up at 5:30 and gets ready for work. I wake Claire up around 6:30, she eats and then we head out the door around 7:15. After dropping her at school, I head to work. Depending on the day, Bob or I pick her up around 5:15ish. She usually takes a bottle soon after getting home, before Bob and I eat dinner. She hangs out with us while we eat dinner and then plays or snoozes afterwards. Then it's time for bath, jammies, bedtime snack and bed. Then Momma and Daddy straighten up the house, fix bottles for the next day and pack our lunches. Our time together passes very quickly during the week, but we make up for it on the weekend!

Likes:

• "Talking" and being talked to. Claire engages in "conversations" with everyone around her now!
• Toys - she is much more aware of her toys now and tries to hold them, shake them and stick them in her mouth.
• Speaking of her mouth, Claire likes to put EVERYthing in her mouth now. She is drooling a lot and usually has to have her clothes washed purely from the amount of drool she lets out!

Hello, Mr. Bear

 Dislikes

• Being interrupted while eating to burp. Little girl squeals until we give her her bottle back! - Claire is still not a fan of being interrupted while eating.
• Sitting still for too long. Claire wants to be up and doing something!

Favorite Moments: While I do not enjoy dropping Claire off at daycare each day, I do enjoy the smiles we are treated to upon our return. It makes this Momma's heart smile to see how happy she is and hear the teachers talk about what a good baby she is. Just yesterday, Claire accompanied me to two doctor's appointments (hers and my own) and was the hit of both doctor's offices, especially mine. She was passed from nurse to nurse and smiled for each of them...despite just having her four month shots! Bob and I comment often on how lucky we are to have such an easy-going girl. When she gets mad, she lets us know, but most of the time she is her adorable, giggly, smiley self. We just love her so much.


Doctor's Orders: I'm adding this one, mostly so I can remember what Dr. B tells me. Claire should be getting around 30 oz of milk per day, so we will be upping her bottles a bit. Between now and her six month appointment, we are to start introducing solids. We will probably wait closer to five months, but then start with rice cereal or oatmeal mixed with formula. We'll add a meal a week until she gets three solid meals per day, in addition to her bottles. After rice cereal, we can try veggies/fruits - each for about 3-4 days to check for allergies.

Comparison: