Four months old!

Korri is four months old today. Times really does fly by. We meet this milestone with a bit of hesitation because we were told colic would be done by now, and that isn't the case with baby girl. We have her 4 month well-child appt on Wednesday, so hopefully her doctor has some suggestions.

From Gerber.com:
The continuing development of language basics is an important milestone this month. You’ll see that your baby can begin to understand and try to communicate with you. She'll try all sorts of repetitive, high-pitched giggles, shrieks, and noises as she shapes her mouth to change the sounds. [she changes her mouth shapes and tries SO hard to get noise to come out. It is cute to watch.] You'll start to hear her repeat sounds, such as “ba-ba-ba," over and over as she practices.

Early associations
Any day now your baby will realize that people and things have a name, such as "Mama"—a critical part of language development. If you call her by name, she may respond as she begins to associate herself with it. [she isn't doing this yet, but to her credit, we rarely call her by her name!]

Your baby’s growth
At 4 months babies usually range from 23 inches long and 11 pounds) (10th percentile ) to 25.5 inches long and 15.75 pounds (90th percentile). [we'll know exactly what she weighs after her appt, but our scale says she is right around 12.5 lbs, not sure how long.]

This month your baby may also:

• squeal and laugh with delight [she just starts laughing, which is so fun]
• make "raspberry" sounds with her lips [I think she does this by accident since she drools a ton]
• experiment by making new sounds [she is trying!]
• make sounds in response to you [for sure, we play "repeat" all the time]
• track moving objects as her head and neck development work together [she has been doing this for a while]
• roll over—usually from front to back—as muscles continue to develop [occasionally, but not consistently]
• raise herself up on straightened arms while lying on her tummy, looking all around as neck muscles strengthen [not unassisted]
• grasp a rattle with stronger hand muscles [she can, if we put it in her hand]
• bear weight on both legs [yes]
• start to sleep through the night [hmmm, she probably could/would, but I wake her up once for a feeding. I guess it depends how you definte "sleeps through the night."]
• begin to show interest in solid foods by reaching for mom and dad's food at the table or other food in her line of sight [no interest as of yet]

What you can do

• Spend time each day repeating words to her. Repetition is a great way for babies to learn new words. [she LOVES this]
• Place a clean blanket on the floor and watch her inch along. She may also raise her head and shoulders to look around. To help prepare her for sitting alone, practice pulling her to a sitting position from the floor.
• Give her toys she can grasp that also stimulate her senses such as crib gyms, brightly colored squeak toys, and soft, bumpy textured items with knobs, handles, and loops. [we need to be better about doing this]
• Expose her to contrasting natural colors, which are good choices now as her vision continues to improve.
• Introduce her to plastic pliable baby books she can grab and hold.