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Wow, writing that title seems a little bizarre.  Is my little girl 4 months already? On one hand it feels like we just brought her home from the hospital, but on the other it feels like we have been to see so many different doctors and specialists in these first 4 months that she should be way older.  I don’t really know where to begin, and I could talk about her for days but I will try to keep this as short and sweet as possible.  Caroline had her 4 month checkup yesterday, she weighs 9lbs 0.5ounces, and is 22 inches long.  Her pediatrician and geneticist are extremely happy with her growth.  She is growing at the average rate for weight, above average for height, and head size is actually on the normal growth curve, around the 3% mark.  She has thus far gotten all her vaccinations on time, and other than being a little sore and grumpy for the first 12 hours or so after, she has taken them like a champ.  Medically Caroline is doing great so far.  She has been diagnosed with grade 3 kidney reflux in her left kidney, and she had some trouble with keeping fluid behind her ears for the first couple of months after she was born, but at her checkup yesterday the doctor said there is no fluid behind her left ear and only a small amount behind her right ear.  We are still scheduled to see an ENT when she turns 6 months to discuss possibly doing temporary tubes to help with fluid build up.  She is currently on a daily antibiotic for her kidney reflux, which they suspect has probably helped with her ears as well. She also had her first EEG done around 3 months, which came back normal.

Developmentally she is about a month delayed.  We had her initial assessment with Early Intervention done at 3 months, and have been having a therapist come once a week for 30 minutes to work with her on all areas of development.  She also has a PT that comes with the therapist once a month to reassess her and let us know if there are any new things she needs to start doing.  She has been smiling and cooing since she was about 2 months old.  She smiles all the time and is overall a very happy baby.  She doesn’t coo or “talk” as much as other kids her age, but every now and then she gets turned up and she is so cute to listen to.  She is extremely strong and has really great muscle tone.  We have been working with her mainly on stretching and getting her muscles loosened up in therapy, since she still tends to hold her arms close to her at times.  She pushes up with her arms when on her stomach, and her therapist believes she could be rolling over by now if we can get her arms loosened up a little more.  She also loves to try to sit on her own.  She has actually been able to hold herself up for a few seconds when you place her in a boppy pillow.  She loves playing on the floor and batting at toys, and we have began to work with her on holding toys in her hands.  Right now she will hold onto rings and is beginning to show an interest in playing with others toys and has started batting at them.

We also got the go ahead from her doctor to begin solid foods with her.  We have decided to hold off on baby food for a couple more months, but have began giving her a taste of rice cereal once or twice a day to try to get her use to the consistency and having food in her mouth.  I was very surprised at how much she enjoyed eating from a spoon the first time I fed her (which was just about an hour ago). Like every baby she spit most of it out, but I laid her spoon down on her tray at one point and she tried to grab it as if she wasn’t ready to stop eating and wanted some more.

Overall, no matter how much I say about her, and I could go on for days, above all she is just a complete blessing to our family.  When we were given her diagnosis I really had no idea what to expect, and mentally I think I prepared myself for the worst.  So when she does these things that are so standard for other babies, they are a major celebration in our home.  She grows more and more everyday, and God willing she will continue to progress the way she has been, but no matter what her future holds, she will always have a family full of supporters that love and think the world of her!

Eating rice cereal for the first time!