We started solid foods when you were 4 months and a week.

You like the taste, because you are eager to keep the spoon in your mouth. But hey, you still do not know what to do with food when it is in your mouth. You do not know how to swallow. It explains why you have been drooling for weeks now. You have no idea what to do with your saliva; you spit it out!

Neda said that we needed to keep on practicing, and that is what we are planning to do.

When you were 3 months and half, I already started smashing grapes, and giving you 5 drops of grape juice twice daily in a spoon. (baby spoons; metal steel spoons may hurt your gums)

Now I give you 2 or 3 teaspoons of grape (or apple) juice daily (3 grape berries, or one small piece of apple), mixed with the drops prescribed by the doctor (BioGaia, started when you were 3 weeks, because of your tummy pain).

I mix your vitamin D (D drops; 1 ml daily) with a very tiny bit of fruit yogurt, which makes 2 teaspoons of vitamin D/yogurt, and give it to you again with spoons.

You do a better job with liquids than with cereals.

You started with rice cereal, and I will keep you on it to the end of this week. Then I will give you something else.

You are the cutest creature when you make a mess. You insist on keeping the spoon with your tiny hands. Your hands get dirty with cereal, then you touch your face, your hair and your toys and…we have to wash them all. I learnt my lesson; I keep a napkin handy, don’t let you touch the food, and if you do, I clean your tiny hand and fingers immediately.

You went sleepless again last night.

You have learnt to move in your playpin, I am not sure how you manage to do it. It seems that you lift your bum, then push yourself ahead, which doesn’t take you that much ahead but a bit to the side. You keep on moving like this, so, you rotate by 360 degrees or you get trapped in the corner or on the top of your playpin, and cannot go any further. At this point you wake up and cry!

This happened at least four times last night. Putting you back to sleep was a bit of a challenge.

You are growing, and you are adorable.

We were zombies in the morning. Your grandmother was nice enough to take care of you in the morning so that we can get a bit of a sleep.

Today, you can easily take your pacifier out of your mouth and put it back in.

You still are not a fan of pacifiers. No nipple confusion yet, this time.

It happened today. The activity saucer turns, and babies can turn in it. You couldn’t, previously. Today you are very comfortable with a 360 degrees of turning and having fun.

You had it yesterday.

Everything was fine, except for the crying outloud when the doctor was half way done with visiting you!

Doctor said everything was normal, and that you were healthy.

You weigh 5.9 (just 200 grams more than your 3-months visit), which puts you in 10 to 25% range, and you are 67 cm high, somewhere in 75% to 90% range! You are a tall, thin girl, sweetie. But most importantly, you are healthy.

Your dad pointed out something interesting.

He said people (including strangers, our friends and families) mention, as they see you, that “she IS pretty. Who does she look like?”, and your dad and I are standing right there. Your dad says, people ask the question and look at us, as if we are two champs there! Of course, we are pretty, that is why our daughter is so pretty.

Your doctor also says if you grow like this, your weight is under average (25% to 50%) and your height is above average (50% to 75%).

You try to take control of the bottle with both your hands when we put it in your mouth. If we let you do so, we need to clean your eyes, your nose and your face afterwards. Your aiming skills are still not that great. 😀

You are adorable, the loveliest creature ever.

Two days after the carseat adventure, we tried to put you in your stroller for a walk in the neighbourhood. You started crying outloud. You were even crying when you saw your stroller.

It took almost half an hour to help you feel comfortable, and even happy in your stroller. We put a couple of your favourite toys in the stroller, and let you just look at them until you got calmer. Then we sat you in the stroller to play with your toys. We, then changed the bassinet of your stroller to a new one in which you were more in a sitting position than a sleeping one. Then, i started singing to you and keeping direct eye contact with you, as we put you in your stroller. It worked, and the cries changed to sobbing, and then calmed down. I made sure you could see me all the times.

This morning you were fine when I took you in the car. But it seems that for the near future one of us needs to sit besides you in the carseat until you feel comfortable if you do not see anyone by your side.

I took you to the shopping mall, hoping you would take a nap in your stroller. I am not a fan of shopping malls anyways.

You were adorable in our way to the shopping mall. So calm in your carseat, playing and gagging.

In the shopping mall, you had a nap for almost 20 minutes in your stroller. You and I did some shopping for the father’s day. There were some great sales.

Then on our way back home, when I put you in the carseat, and went to the front seat to drive, you started yelling, shouting and crying really outloud. First I though you might be hungry. I parked in a plaza, made your formula and fed you by 70ml (your usual feeding doze is 110 ml, but 70 should be enough just to get you relaxed and calm). You were fine, ate it all, and did some friendly gay gestures. I went in the front seat to drive, and….you started crying outloud and shouting again.

I drove for another couple of kilometers, but I got really concerned for you. The way you were shouting and yelling, I could not ignore you. I parked in another plaza. Got you out of the car, and you got quiet immediately. I tried to get into the car with you, and you started shouting. You didn’t want to get into the car. I took you to a drugstore, because it was raining cats and dogs outside.

I called your father, and asked him come sit in the back seat so that you feel more comfortable. By the time your dad arrived, you had calmed down totally and completely and you were busy looking and touching the items on the drugstore’s shelves.

We tried to get you in the car again, and….you started to cry outloud. I think you were afraid of being abandoned there. We drove home. You calmed down finally at home. Got more formula (another 110 ml!! the most you have ever had in one feeding: 180, considering the 70ml you had already got), started playing and went to sleep peacefully.

We went to his studio last week. At first you were doing great, smiling to another child there.

Then photoshoots started. We have some shots with big smiles on your face. But something triggered a piercing cry! It might have been the flash, or getting sleepy, or something else. and…there you go, a cry so loud and so ear piercing.  There is a photo, just when you started to shoot. Your mouth is wide open. That’s a lovely photo. Your dad didn’t want to print it. I insisted. I think you would really love to see how you looked when you yelled and cried.

There is no smile in the rest of the photos. Still, you look adorable. You are really pretty, regardless of your mood, and even lovelier when you are crying. You, little sweetheart.