20 Weeks

Isla had her 4 month appointment with her pediatrician last Wednesday. She weighed in at 12 pounds, 15 oz (25-50th %) and was 23 ¾ in long (25-50th %). She got 2 shots and another dose of the oral roto vaccine (which she threatened to choke to death on last time…this time she kinda liked it. She also seemed to really enjoy the Tylenol I gave her before the appt…) According to her doctor, she's in perfect health and right on track!

Apparently we have ourselves a “waxy” and a “foldy” baby, according to our pediatrician (new medical terms maybe??). Translation: the girl has loads of wax in her ears (which is genetic—not from me!!—and will have to be cleaned out at each appointment) and she has tons of rolls (folds) which house lots of yummy stuff like moisture, hair, lint and fuzz. I learned a great trick for her neck fold though: rub cornstarch in it to keep it dry/eliminate redness--it works!

We have had an awesome week as far as sleep goes. At least I have. Graham might beg to differ but I'll get to that. We had a good conversation with our pediatrician about Isla's frequent night waking. She has always told us "sleep begets sleep" and so, though it may be counterintuitive, the trouble at night may be due to inadequate sleep in the day and therefore, an overtired baby. She explained to us all about baby's natural circadian rhythms (the cycle of being awake/alert and asleep) and that if ever we notice Isla yawning, rubbing her eyes, fussing, then it means we have waited WAY to long to put her down and have missed our window for a good long sleep. So, we've been trying to put her down well before she shows any of the above signs (we notice her kicks slow or her degree of play fades slightly). She's started napping at least once a day for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, which is a record. We also determined that the girl doesn't need to eat as many times during the night that she has been (once is okay if it's been 6 or 7 hours). I mean, let's be honest, she has a few extra stores (folds anyone?) So our doctor said the trouble is, when she wakes and mama comes in with the groceries, she's gonna get frustrated if she's not fed. Enter grocery-less Graham. He's responding to her at night now and would you believe it, she's only eating once a night! And....drumroll please....there was one night where Graham got her back to sleep and she went 12 1/2 straight hours without eating. Hallelujah! The funny thing is, a while back, someone asked us if we were taking turns with Isla at night. Graham answered "yes" at the same time I said "no." I gave him "the look" and he went on to jokingly explain "Yes, Kelsie gets the first 6 months and I get the second 6 months." Graham, I'm afraid you are now eating your words.

Isla is getting more and more active. She has started arching her back and squirming when she is placed in a semi-reclined position (like her bouncy seat or carseat). She seems to want to be completely flat or perfectly upright.

I forgot to mention this last week but she has become a very social and distracted breast feeder over the past couple weeks. She likes to eat, check out her surroundings, eat, coo at me, eat, smile, eat etc. Sometimes it's a wonder she gets anything at all!

Isla LOVES looking in the mirror now. She instantly starts shrieking (happily) when I hold her up to take a peak.

I left Isla in the nursery at church voluntarily for the first time on Sunday (she's been in twice before but the first time she was just with me while I was helping out and the second time was because I was leading worship with Graham and she couldn't be on stage with us).