Zoe Learns to Read and Write!

Since my last post Zoe has learned to read and write. Okay, she hasn’t, but when I started typing this post I realized that two weeks have gone by since my last post. And I thought I had just submitted it a few days ago! So much for getting them to you every week. Anyway, after Zoe’s amazing roll from back to stomach she decided that she had done that and didn’t need to go there again. For two weeks she stayed solidly on her back, then two days ago she spent the entire day flipping to her stomach. She would then cry, we’d place her back on her back, and she’d do it again. Good thing we are still enthralled by her rolling, otherwise we would have duct-taped her to her play mat. No news yet on a reverse flip.

Now that Zoe is over four months old we could start feeding her solid foods. We’ve been encouraged by our pediatrician to stick with a breast-milk only diet for as long as possible, or six months, which ever comes first. But since she is still not sleeping through the night we are thinking that maybe some solid foods would sit a bit heavier in her stomach. Which is why I’m in favor of skipping the rice cereal all together and going straight to pureed sirloin. Of course that would immediately move her diaper contents into the superfund realm.

I’ve also noticed a cute little detail about her bottle feedings. As I mentioned previously, she will drink down the entire contents of a bottle without pause. I think if I put a nipple on a gallon jug of milk she could get through it (followed by a 6.2 on the Richter scale burp). So, she’ll slug back her four ounces and I’ll stand her up for her burp—she likes to stand, although she sways as if the milk gave her a handsome buzz—and as I’m pounding her back I can hear the milk sloshing around in her stomach. Given her propensity for throwing up on us and on the furniture (and once on the cat) I always aim her away from milk-sensitive items and I never play airplane or elevator after a feeding.

Last week Zoe had her four-month check up. All is well, and for those keeping score, here are her stats. She weighs 13 lbs 7 oz (almost as much as our larger cat) and is 24.5 inches tall, putting her solidly in the 50th percentile for both categories. And the doctor also confirmed that she is indeed the cutest baby in the world.

On a side note, I’ve added a link on the left to a very entertaining web site called “Sneaky Business,” a blog put together by a friend of mine. He describes it as, “The Economist meets The Onion.”

See photos of Zoe at http://picasaweb.google.com/dbglass.