4 Month Stats

Marielle had her 4-month well baby visit with her doctor on Friday and she's doing great - growing just the way she should be:

Length (or height once she becomes a vertical creature instead of horizontally prone) 24.5" - 58th percentile


Weight 13#12.5oz - 52nd percentile


Head Circumference 16cm - 39th percentile (she has a little pin head!)


She is rolling over back-to-tummy, very comfortable on her tummy and can sit with minimal support. She tracks well with her eyes, reaches out for, and grasps, toys - even bringing them to her mouth! She has a smile that is contagious and almost splits her face. No sign of teeth, but drools like a faucet.

She adores her big sister and her daddy and that love is returned in spades. We all feel very lucky to have such a sweet, mellow little girl thriving in our midst.


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Training wheels

Last fall Corinne received a tricycle for her 2nd birthday, but she was a little too short for it - her feet couldn't quite reach the pedals. So, we stored it in the garage over the winter and, come spring, we found that her legs had grown just enough that she could reach with her tip-toes. Brett worked with her on her steering and by summer she was zipping up and down the street.

Imagine my surprise when we went over to Memaw & Papaw's house to pick her up and saw her riding in circles on a bicycle with training wheels!



She's a natural! Had a bit of trouble at first with getting the hang of pedal-brakes, but she's got it down now.

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Discipline

Corinne gave Cookie Monster a timeout.

Marielle was fussing on our ride home from school the other day so Corinne gave her the little blue guy to calm her down and cheer her up. But it didn't work. So, Corinne took him back and put him in timeout. Because he didn't listen - he didn't stop her sister from fussin'

Two minutes. No talking, no toys.

But apparently he didn't listen because a few moments later I heard her explain to him again why he was in timeout and reiterate "two minutes; no talking, no toys"

About two minutes later I heard Cookie Monster ask if his timeout was over...she said yes. He apologized and they played together the rest of the way home.

Marielle fell asleep amidst the behavioral correction.

Rockin' and Rollin'

Marielle rolled over (back-to-tummy) for the first time on Monday! So, I had the video camera ready Tuesday evening when I took Corinne up to the park to play and set Marielle up on a blanket in the grass:



She tends to always roll over her right shoulder, bit she will go over her left shoulder if I manipulate the situation so that she's looking for me or a toy on that side. She will prop herself up on her arms with her chest off the ground for 3-5 minutes before she starts to fuss and asks to be flipped back over.
She hasn't flipped tummy-to-back yet, but with her core strength I don't think it will be long before she is rolling all over the place and chasing Corinne around!

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Introducing

Born on April 25, 2011 at 8:09pm
Weight: 7 lbs, 1.25 oz
Length: 20.5"
Eyes: blue (mama is hoping they stay blue)
Hair: blonde!

The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and she was having some trouble breathing so she spent about 12 hours in the NICU before rooming-in with mom & dad for the remainder of our hospital stay.


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The 7th Month

Bad about posting the last few weeks, but good about taking weekly pictures. Here's a visual update:
31 weeks
32 weeks
33 weeks (sorry about the dark clothes, I didn't realize how much it would hide the belly in the head-on picture)

34 weeks
And now you are all caught up! Baby looks great and remains head-down. My ribs are sore from probing toes, knees and bottom. I try to take it in stride and remember that the little one is feeling just as squished as I am, but I know my family is probably getting tired of hearing me groan and complain.

On the recommendation of my care-providers I am taking a daily regimen of 5 different pills; my pre-natal vitamin, a calcium/magnesium supplement, bio-flavonoids, evening primrose oil, and an iron supplement called Blood Builder which is made completely from plant sources so it's not binding (yay!). Even after taking the iron supplement, my hemoglobin was only at 10.5...we want it to be up to at least 12.

I have always leaned toward the anemic side and have been unable to donate blood a few times because my iron levels weren't high enough. Taking the information I have learned from those experiences allowed me to make 2 important adjustments to my vitamin schedule

• I am taking the Blood Builder in the morning with a glass of OJ. Calcium and Iron use the same binding site in our bodies when it is absorbed into the bloodstream so I wasn't doing myself any favors by taking it at the same time as my pre-natal and my Calcium/Magnesium.
  
• Vitamin C promotes the absorption of Iron so I switched from taking it with water to taking it with OJ.

After a week my hemoglobin is sitting right at 12. I think everyone was surprised at how quickly I was able to bring my iron up and I have been told to "keep doing what you're doing." I also did a food diary for a week and after the first 3 days Brett sat down with me to review my progress. He was appalled and vowed to get involved. I am supposed to be consuming 80-90 grams of protein every day and I wasn't anywhere close! The next 3 days of my food diary show significant improvement and hopefully Brett will keep me focused with plenty of palatable, simple options. With the baby taking up so much space, I really don't have much of an apetite so it is going to be tough to fit everything in, but with Brett's help I am making better choices about prioritizing which food groups to include in my meals and what actually goes in my mouth.

Our goal is a healthy baby!

30 weeks - A comparison

I don't have very many pictures from my pregnancy with Corinne. That makes me sad, but there really isn't anything I can do about it and so I've tried to learn from that experience and have more pictures of myself from this pregnancy...not a lot, but more. When I was about 29-31 weeks along in my pregnancy with Corinne, Brett & I went to Arizona to spend some time with his parents and I have several pictures from this vacation. I've included a front-view comparison and a side-view comparison below.
I don't see a huge difference between the pregnancies, do you? With Corinne I was able to take advantage of my relatively light responsibilities and rest as much as I felt I needed; I would come home and take a nap after work most days. With this baby I don't have quite as much freedom; I can't exactly expect Corinne to fix/feed herself a healthy dinner or give herself a bath in the evening! The down side to this is that I am exhausted and put myself to bed shortly after Corinne goes down in the evening. The upside is that I seem to be staying in pretty good shape! I gained exactly 30 pounds over the course of my pregnancy with Corinne. Currently, I am on track to gain 20-25 pounds with this one.
With my first pregnancy, I worked right up until the week Corinne was born. I plan to do the same with this pregnancy. Wish me luck!