4 months, two weeks old

You rolled over today! You’ve been working on it lately, but this morning I was sitting with you on the floor, and you somehow launched yourself by kicking off me from your back almost totally onto your stomach. Boy, were you surprised! For a few days now you’ve been able to rotate your bottom 90 degrees or so by wiggling around while on your back. I bet once you can roll over reliably you’ll be so excited you can finally get around a little bit on your own.

Your godmother B gave you the best toy for Christmas: it’s a little baby gym. In that thing you love to kick at this beach ball with a bell in it, and look at yourself in the mirror, you little narcissist. The little fishies with crinkly flippers interest you, too. You also like plastic rings, anything with bells, and anything with a mirror. Stuffed animals have yet to entice you.

Did you know we don’t call you by name? Never ever. We call you Baby. You have no idea what your name is! I keep thinking we should starting calling you by name, but you are the one and only Baby in our lives, and so far, that’s your designation. Other people can never get your attention by calling you by name because you never hear it!

Longer, fuller hair is growing on your head, and your eyes are a lighter blue than at birth. It actually was several weeks before you kept your eyes open enough for us even to see your eye color. We kept guessing what color they were; they even looked dark purple for a while.

You’re doing so many new things all the time now. Your father says every day when he comes home you have some new skill or interest. I’m so lucky I get to spend all this time watching you grow!

Christmas wasn’t so fun for you. Lots of activity in largely unfamiliar places (Grandmama’s and Papa J’s) with unfamiliar people (Grandmama, Papa J, Granddaddy, Lala) kind of wear you out. But you certainly got lots of wonderful presents that you will enjoy with time, from books to toys to clothes, to your new favorite toy, rattle socks (from Mommy and Daddy). You have disovered how fun it can be to grab at your feet and move them around, so the rattle socks came at the perfect time!

We love you, Baby.
Mama

Pumping is ruining my body!

So I have red patches on my areolae, some kind of nipple irritation. Baby never latched often enough to do this to my nipples so it’s definitely the pump.

I had it in my head it was ringworm (I am alarmist) on my areolae so I saw a dermatologist who said it was just irritation from pumping and prescribed some cortisone cream for me which I never used, not wanting to worry about taking it off/applying it between pumps. I’m still trying to increase my supply but when I (maybe someday) cut down on all the pumping maybe my nipples won’t be so upset. Doesn’t hurt at least.

I also have super dry hands from all the pump part/bottle washing, and carpal tunnel from bottle holding and the washing of pump parts. It especially hurts during breast compression. Sigh. This baby better turn out well.