16 Weeks 2 Days Old (4 Month Checkup)

We had a very interesting doctor's appointment yesterday thanks to some very bad weather! The storms started up in West Tennessee around late morning. By the time we got out of the car at the medical clinic for Christopher's appointment at 3:30, our city tornado alarm was going off! Apparently, a tornado was spotted right above the Church Street overpass of I-24! Thankfully, though, nothing touched down! We got as far as waiting in the exam room for the doctor (measurements had already been taken) when we were instructed to go down to the basement. Poor Christopher was in nothing but his diaper! After getting downstairs, I proceeded to put his clothes back on when we were given the okay to go back upstairs (where I undressed Christopher AGAIN). We were only downstairs for about 10 minutes at most. The worst that we got was some large hail, which didn't damage anything of ours, thankfully.

Okay, here's Christopher's stats and other pertinent info:

Weight: 14 lbs 4 oz. (50th percentile)
Length: 24.25 in. (50th percentile) - Yay! He's finally caught up!
Head: 41 cm (50th percentile)

Of course, there were more shots. It's so hard to have to hold your child down for those! What made me feel even worse was that he was in such a good mood beforehand! He's been doing okay with them. Surprisingly, he hasn't been cranky at all. When he's awake and not sleepy, he's been in a really good mood. He's napping right now, so we'll see if the trend continues this afternoon.

The doctor has given the okay to start cereal. Since Christopher won't actually be 4 months old until April 15 (next Saturday), I'm going to wait another week or so. As for fruits and veggies...she doesn't like to start those until around 5 1/2 or 6 months, so we're waiting another couple of months for that.

I think I'm going to make our own babyfood. It doesn't sound hard at all...just cook the veggie and puree it, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it, then store the cubes in a freezer bag until ready to use. It will also end up being much cheaper, too. I meant to talk to the doctor about it at yesterday's appointment, but with all the excitement, forgot about it. I'll bring it up at the next appointment, which is his 6 month checkup in June.

15 Weeks 4 Days Old (Rolled Over!)

Christopher rolled over for the first time last evening!!! He rolled from his stomach to back. We're still working on back to stomach. We were at church when it happened, but Shad was at home, so didn't get to see it.

Another accomplishment is that he's started napping in his crib! I don't know what it is about his swing, but he's been on a strike and won't nap much in it. I tried him in his crib for the first time on Friday and now again today. So far, so good!

I'm at a stand-still right now on the Bank of America job situation. I was told that someone from a branch in another town interviewed and that the manager will probably hire within first. The lady I've been talking to, though, is wanting to move to full-time, which would leave another part-time position open. There's also a position opening up at another branch across town. I'd prefer the one close to my house, but I'd be willing to drive a little further if it meant getting the job.

We went to visit Shad's grandparents in West Tennessee on Friday and Saturday. It's the longest car ride for Christopher and his first overnight trip away from home and our routine. He did okay in the car...slept a while, fussed a while and ate once. I ended up having to sit in the back (1)to feed him by bottle and (2)to entertain him. Getting him to go to bed on Friday night wasn't any fun! For one thing, we got to his grandparents' house around 9:00 (thanks to some very bad weather!). By that time, he'd been asleep, but woke up to all the ooh's and ahh's from his great-grandparents. He was pretty wide awake after that. For another thing, the house was so HOT! I had poor Christopher stripped down to just his diaper and he was still red! After trying for an hour to get him to go to sleep, he finally conked out around 10:30. He woke up twice in the night: once around 1:30 and another time around 5:45. We ended up getting up around 7:30.

The car ride home was a little easier. I didn't have to sit in the back at all. I was able to feed him by reclining the front seat. He slept quite a bit the rest of the time. After stopping by Shad's dad's house to let him get his baby fix and to pick up Brinkley, we arrived home around 9:45 (10:45 with the time change). Surprisingly, with as much sleep as Christopher got in the car, he went right to bed! He ended up waking up around 1:30 and 6:00 again (new time). Shad and I were both exhausted on Sunday!

Thankfully, Christopher did a LOT better sleeping Sunday night! I put him down at 9:30 and he slept until 7:00 am! He even slept through some VERY bad storms (tornado warnings included!). I was very surprised! I might try putting him down around 9:00 tonight to see how that goes. Some nights I want to move his bedtime up earlier, but other nights, I'm fine that it's not until 9:30.

Well, I've given Shad the okay to go on a mission trip with our church to New Orleans June 23-27. I figure I'll be okay to handle things on my own for a few days when Christopher's 6 months old. I sure hope I don't regret it!

Christopher has his 4 month check-up this Friday. He won't actually be 4 months old until April 15. I'm pretty sure the doctor will have me start him on rice cereal. I'm excited to see how much he weighs and how long he is now!

This weekend will be pretty full for us. Friday night, we're going to watch my father-in-law in his church play. He wants to show Christopher off to all his friends, so we agreed to go. The down-side is that his church...VERY BIG CHURCH...will NOT be having childcare. WTH?! I guess his church does things a little differently than our church! We always have childcare for extracurricular activities. I know because I work a lot of them when I can.

Saturday, we'll be going to the Lascassas Fish Fry. We went last month for the first time and really enjoyed it. They have AYCE fish, chicken, hush puppies, white beans, coleslaw and french fries. It's a fundraiser for the volunteer fire hall that's held monthly. It's not cheap, but the food and cause makes it worth while. We'll be meeting our Sunday School class out there again like last time.

I guess that's all for now. I'll post again after Christopher's appointment.