Scarlet's Four-Month Check-up

Scarlet is four months now! It's crazy because I feel like I *finally* know what I'm doing with her and what she's like. I don't freak out about every movement and hiccup and frown and sniffle. Don't get me wrong--I'm a long way off from experienced--but it's nice to not be guessing and stressing out all the time. We sort of have a groove now.

So I took her to the pediatrician's for her second round of immunizations. She is such a trooper with those shots. The first time I took her I thought she would be traumatized and cry for hours, and then I thought I would be traumatized and cry for hours, but we both behaved very well. She cried for four or five seconds and then stared around. Today, she cried while the needle was in her thigh (less than two seconds) and then stopped. She is a rock star.

She sported these two little bandaids on her legs (I had to hold her legs apart to take a picture of the the two bandaids) for a day or so and the tiny scabs healed over in a couple of days.

The nurse came in while I was holding Scarlet and she asked if Scarlet was asleep. I said no, she was just cuddling into me. The nurse was so sweet and sort of gushed about how lucky I was to have a cuddly baby. Then she went out to get the shots and came back in after the doctor had seen Scarlet. The nurse asked again if Scarlet had fallen asleep. I reiterated that she was still just cuddling and the nurse started all over again with affirmations of my great fortune. I do feel lucky, though--cuddly babies are the absolute best.

In other news, the doctor said she can start being introduced to real foods if we want to, but Josh and I agreed we'll wait just one more month. It'll be amazing to not have to get everything done in two-hour increments in between feedings, but she's just way too young to think about weaning her off nursing entirely. When she is five months, we'll start trying her out on some fruits and vegetables for fun. The doctor said when we pick a food we should let her body adjust to that one food for a few days before trying a new food item. By that measurement, it'll take her like a month to try five new things, but that's okay because she'll probably be nursed for at least another six months anyway. We can take it slow with the food things.

She's now too big for her 1-3 month clothes and I'm devastated. When did she get so big? Will she really never fit into that adorable dress again? My heart is broken and my only consolation is that she has some pretty cute clothes lined up for the next segment of growth as well. There's just so much to look forward to with this baby!