Status report: Month 4

Chloe turned four months on Monday. I apologize for the lateness of this update; I've been sick, she's been sick, it was Thanksgiving, and so on. That's been pretty much the word this entire month, actually: I've been sick, she's been sick, and so on. Her first cold was quickly followed by a second, accompanied by a fever and some horrible choking noises that had us calling the doctor just in case. She's been coughing and snorfling ever since. So have I--only I've been a lot more bothered by it than she seems to be. Maybe when you can't blow your own nose you just accept that your breathing is going to sound loud and rumbly.

The big things this month have been sucking, vocalizing, and rolling. Well, that last one maybe not so much, since she did it once and then never again, despite our continual encouragement and occasional nagging. "You don't like being on your tummy? Well, you know how you could get back onto your back? ROLLING."


Everything goes in her mouth now, a change from last month. Her fingers are most often in there, but other things will do--our fingers, our knuckles, Tigger's tail, Ugly Bear's paw, the burp rag (which is especially convenient). She's not teething yet--we think--but I'm planning on pulling out the teething rings anyway because the soft toys are all matted and gross from her saliva. (However, she continues not to take a pacifier well, or long, though she does better than she did. I've decided I don't really care if she never really takes to them.) My hair often gets dried into stiff locks because she grabs it and stuffs it in her mouth. So does anything else within reach that isn't nailed down.

Food is also going into her mouth, in small quantities--rice cereal with milk mixed in. So far she's bewildered and slightly indignant that we keep trying to put this stuff in her mouth, but she may have swallowed a tiny amount accidentally. We're going to keep it up a while, once a day, and see how it goes. I'd hoped to give her a little yam to try on Thanksgiving, but she just wasn't far enough along and we forgot to have a small piece saved out anyway. I did dab a tiny bit of cranberry sauce on my finger before letting her suck it, but I'm not sure it was enough for her to have noticed. Today we tried giving it to her between R.I.N.D.S. units, and she seemed to understand that hey, this stuff is also food. We'll see if the lesson sticks.


We're both scheduling haircuts because it's at risk of a good yank if it gets anywhere close. (Well, that's why I'm doing it. Eric's got some idea that he has to look professional at work.) The grabbing ante has definitely been upped in the past few weeks; she's more interested in it and better at doing it. Board books, not paper books, are definitely the way to go for a while now.

Her bedtime is now where we want it, between about eight-thirty and nine-thirty depending on when her last feeding is. Her napping is not where we want it--it happens only if she naturally falls asleep, usually in the swing, which she's rapidly outgrowing, and not very often--but now that she's sleeping more at night she's not so egregiously overtired at bedtime. She's not sleeping longer at night, though. I get the occasional four-hour stretch, but mostly it's two and three hours now. The books say this can happen during developmental leaps forward, so maybe that's the explanation. Or maybe she's decided that she's been nice enough to me in the past and she's not going to bother anymore.


"Aaaaah" is now her constant communication. Especially at seven on a Saturday morning. She never seems to get tired of it. (Come to that, I only get tired of it at seven on a Saturday morning.) She's done "Hah" a couple of times, and "Gah" once or twice, but mostly it's "Aaaaah. Aaaaah. Aaaaah! Aaaaah..."

She's a very smiley girl. We took her to all-day gaming yesterday (well, it went all day; she didn't) and she passed out free smiles all day. Her smile starts slow and spreads exponentially until her entire face glows. It's the sweetest thing in the world. (Though the increased time between feedings is good too.)

New games

Chloë learned to blow raspberries the day before yesterday. Presumably from someone in daycare; she came home delighting in it and blew them all that night. It seems a little undignified for an evil overlord, but then, what do I know? I'm just a lieutenant.

She's also enjoying a new game: she says "Ah," or "Hah," or "Gah," and I repeat it back to her as part of a word--"Ahhhhh-damantite!" or "Hahhhhhh-rpsichord!" We've got a little magazine called "Playing with Your Baby." It's put out by some toy company and contains lots of advertisements for age-appropriate toys, but it also lists no-prop or minimal-prop games to play for different age ranges. One of them for three to six months suggests that when baby babbles, you repeat her syllable and add on other nonsense syllables, so baby says "Dah" and you say "Dah diddy blo wop." I think using long words works just as well or better. (I also throw in the occasional shorter word: apple, or hobby.)

Food!

Chloë had her first experience with cereal last night. We decided it would be nice to introduce her to yams on Thanksgiving if possible, which would mean getting her used to the idea of food from a spoon rather than from a R.I.N.D.S. beforehand. So, during the early-evening feeding, we mixed a little cereal with a lot of milk--I'm not even sure it deserved the name of gruel--and gave her some.

She did not seem impressed.


She didn't seem to have the tongue-thrust reflex, though, which is good, and she didn't absolutely refuse to have the stuff in her mouth. We're going to try again and see if it goes any better.

She's a natural

Chloe's first word appears to be "Ha." She said it last night, followed by "Ha Ha Ha Ha," just as an evil overlord should.

(Yes, I know it's way too early for her first actual word. It's not too early for her first babble, though.)

She's now really into grabbing at things. She's learned the "Throw the Toy on the Floor and Watch Mom or Dad Retrieve It" game, and appears to enjoy forcing us to do her bidding. And we have a little activity mat, the kind where she lies on the floor and little toys hang above her head, that my friend Courtney gave us because her son had grown too cool and mature for it. A couple of weeks ago she just lay there and looked, but now she reaches up and squeezes the little monkey in her hot fist and bangs at the little parrot, as if to say, "I’m the queen of the jungle."

Our little goomba

"Does this mean I get a 1up?"

We *really* hate tummy time, apparently.

We've known for a while that Chloë doesn't like tummy time very much. After a few minutes, she'll often get cranky about it--or fall asleep entirely.

Today, though, she decided she hated it enough to roll over onto her back. Yay for developmental milestones!

Paek il

(Today's post is a guest post by Dad.)

Today's the day! Chloë is officially 100 days old.

The Korean culture includes the months the baby spent in the womb when calculating age. 100 days after the birth is approximately 1 year from conception. The baby's first birthday.

The Korean word for it is "Paek il" and it's defined as the celebration of baby's first 100 days in which money and other gifts are given to parents for the baby.

After the baby is properly dressed, they are seated in front of a large table. And on the table you will find different types of food and fruits. You will also find threads, books, calligraphy brushes, ink, money, arrows or daggers, rice, needles, and scissors. After the baby is seated with the objects in front of her, everyone attending the ceremony waits patiently to see which object the baby will grab. It is believed that the object which is picked up first will foretell the baby's future. For example, if the baby picks up a calligraphy brush or a book, then it is believed that she will be a scholar. If she picks up an arrow or a dagger, she will be a soldier. Finally if the baby picks up the money or rice, it is believed that she will be blessed with wealth. If the thread is chosen, it is believed that the baby will have a long life. Guests usually bring gift of money, clothes, or gold rings. After the ceremony, the departing guests are given rice cakes.

Here are some facts about the Korean tradition:

1) In the old days, there were significantly high infant mortality rates and a baby surviving the first 100 days had a significantly higher chance for survival into childhood and beyond.

2) Traditionally, for the first 100 days, only very close family are to come in contact with the baby and the baby does not go outside at all.

3) When a baby girl is born, the birth is announced by hanging a white cloth (or a string of peppers for a baby boy) at the front door of the house. It tells visitors that there is a new baby in the house and it is respectful to refrain from visiting in fear of the baby's health.

4) Baby wears only white clothing during the first 100 days, because white cotton clothes are the easiest to sterilize by boiling. On the 100th day the baby wears colorful clothes for the first time and other adults can hold her.

5) On the morning of the 100th day of the baby's birth, either the mother or the grandmother (of the baby's parents) prepares rice, seaweed soup, and other white items and prays to the ancestors to bless the child with long life and good fortunes. Then the rice and the soup is fed to the birthmother.

6) Typically, the baby's hair is cut and tied in a lock and kept in safety until the baby comes of age (age of majority). The hair is returned to the grown child to remind her of the eternal love of her parents. The child would keep the hair as a reminder of the thanks to the parents bringing her into life.

7) Prepared white and other rice cakes are shared with as many people as possible to spread the blessing. People who share the rice cakes present gifts to wish happiness and long life.

8) Although the baby already has been given a name for the records, adults may see the baby for the first time and give her a baby name as a sign of adoration. Typically this baby name is used only inside the house.