5 things I have learned about my grand daughter Victoria Renee ~

Celebrating my grand daughter's up-coming 5th month of living (I can't believe 5 months!!) I have learned a lot of things about her that are very individual. Being so young and having such a strong personality so soon, she has given me the wonderful chance to learn about what her likes and dislikes are. 1. No matter how she sleeps (always on her back), Victoria finds a way to have her feet sticking out of the blanket with both arms high above her head. 2. Her favorite toy is a “Glow Worm” that my bestie gave her. Followed by a cloth maraca and a cloth rattle in the form of Winnie the Pooh. She also loves her "Prince George" or "George" while she is sleeping. 3. Victoria has a bad habit of pulling her hair when she is sleepy. Now she is starting to suck her thumb. We are desperately trying to refrain this. 4. I am an avid watcher of 'The Big Bang Theory”. 9 times out of 10, she is watching it with me. At any moment, i.e. changing her diaper, feeding her or just having tummy time on the floor, she hears the theme song and stops whatever she is doing just to watch the opening credits. 5. Her mother has successfully found all her ticklish spots. Originally I would guess that she would be ticklish on her chunky thighs but no. Mostly on her sides and her tummy followed by the bottom of her feet.

4 month old checkup with Mommy and Daddy

Today Victoria had her 4 month check-up! Everything went well and Victoria is developing just fine. We were pretty surprised that our little porker weighed in at 17 pounds! But the real surprise is that she is 25 inches which puts her among the 95

percentile of her peers. Hopefully she will be a tall woman and with the latest statistics, it's a safe bet she will. My daughter addressed her concerns about her head always pointing to the left. She told her that she mainly uses her left side of her body..discovering her left foot, extending her left hand and waving it in a psychedelic way. The doctor reassured her that all babies choose different sides of their bodies individually and she has chosen her left. Daddy, mommy and I all let out a comforting sigh. At least now we know that she is developing at a good rate and yes..I hope that she turns out to be a lefty. We also found out that she has a birthmark behind her right ear on her head. This form of birthmarks are among 40,000 babies born each year. This birthmark is called Strawberry Hemangioma which appears shortly after birth. This type of birthmark soon disappears as the child reaches their seventh year of living. When my daughter observed it before, she was quite startled, thinking there was something growing on her child's head. “Well, Miss Priss. You, yourself have a birthmark as well. Its called Nevus Sebaceous.” She really does. As the day ended and my daughter was at work, Victoria was taking a nap in her crib. I've been wanting to set up her pack and play for so long. My bestie gave it to my daughter for Victoria. Fortunately I had time even though it kind of upset me. She is getting bigger. Growing up. She isn't that little newborn we brought home from the hospital. I let out a deep sigh and started to take apart the pack and play..or in my day (I'm really not that old) I have always called it a playpen. Isn't that what it is?

http://www.everydayhealth.com/kids-health-pictures/10-types-of-birthmarks.aspx#/slide-1

Victoria and her 3 month, 4 week milestones

Lately, we have been experiencing milestones with Victoria. She can now sit in her bouncer and reach for the dangling toys on the patted overhead bar. Well...a little bit. She actually grazes them with her left hand. As a grandmother, I think that is the best thing since sliced bread. Lol But what is even better is when she holds up her hands for me to pick her up. Its not a whole-hearted hands-out stretching-the-arms-out but its close. I see it. While it warms my heart so much, I wish she would hold her hands up to her mother who is always working. So. I mentioned that Victoria is going through a few milestones during her 3rd month of life. We want to believe she is teething. She shows all the signs except refusing food. (She is a member of this family; she never refuses food). Its hard to imagine all of the saliva that comes out of her mouth on a daily basis and then some. There is never a moment when she has a drop of saliva dangling from her bottom lip which, to me, signifies a baby. If we aren't careful and forget to put on a bib, you would find a big wet spot of drool on her shirt. Once we discovered a chaffed red ring around her neck from all the drool. A good friend of ours suggested baby powder but we found out that baby powder brings more bacteria to the 'fatty folds' and 'extra chins' that Victoria has gained over the 3 months of life. Mommy learned that using Desitin or some other form of diaper rash cream will do the job. She is also very fussy and bites on everything she can put in her mouth. Mommy decided to get a gallon storage bag and insert all of Victoria's teething rings 'just in case' and promptly put them in the freezer. We will never know if this is the reason of her little 'actions' but just in case, we keep this on the table. Victoria still does not like 'Tummy Time'. I've heard that most babies have a problem with this. When we place her on her stomach, she fusses. I shouldn't let this concern me. I've heard that some babies favor either side of their bodies and mostly use that side to view their surroundings. Victoria seems to favor her left side. Like I said before in the paragraph above, she uses her left hand to touch the dangling toys above her in her bouncer. I can tell when she is exhausted while playing or

watching “Baby Einstein” videos because she looks to the left. I Victoria Renee 6-30-14am assuming the left side of her neck muscles are tighter than her right. We have been helping her move her head to look straight, eventually looking right. This is a concern I hope her mother talks to the doctor about. She has her four month appointment in a few days to get her next series of her immunizations. So this means we are going to have to wait to see her roll over...maybe....because she could surprise us. She already does 'mini-scoots' and likes to see her surroundings in ways she couldn't before. As I mentioned before, her mother goes to work. I feel my daughter (and most working mother's) feel cheated because Victoria does pay attention to me more than her own mother. This is why I have to step back and let her mother care for her during the times when she is off of work allowing my daughter to bond with her mother. http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-3-month-olds-development-week-4_1477212.bc

Walking in my shoes: How to become a Hip Grandmother

Elderly-looking grandmothers are behind us. We are now in a world where humans are living longer, children are becoming adult (mentally) at an earlier age, and grandparents aren't quite looking like the traditional grandparents that we had when we were younger. Long ago were the aprons with grey and white hair up in a bun, smelling the house filled with assorted aromas of apple or pumpkin pies and the smell of moth balls with doilies on the end-tables in the living room. Fortunately we can enjoy our grandchildren for decades to come and being out in public with them (if they are older grandchildren) can be an adventure. The modern grandmother thinks and is open to many situations as their kids and grandkids. As I am moving along with my journey to become a fun-loving hip grandmother, there are a few things that I have been learning along the way.

Dressing your age is not the way of a hip grandmother. No one wants to see a woman in a bathrobe walking around the house. But on the other side of the coin, you needn't dress like one of your granddaughter's friends. Think logical about how much leg you would like to expose. Remember, you are not a teenager or young adult anymore. Learn to act like it. When you walk into a clothing shop, you will notice the women's section sports a wonderful display of assorted colors for you to choose from. Quietly walk out of the junior's section where your granddaughter frequents and look around to see what your individual style is. Thats the thing about being a hip grandmother. We know ourselves in ways that many young people don't. We have the ability to mix and match items that doesn't make us look trashy and trying to compete with our children's child but in a way that can send a message that we have style in our every day life.

This includes hairstyles and makeup. Most grandmothers of old have no desire to 'wash the grey out' of their head. Make way for the new grandmothers of today! Sure, its fine if you have changed your hair color since you were a teenager and no one minds if you have a few streaks of grey to show wisdom. You have experience in life and you should let it show! Having a unique personality that goes with your style speaks volumes to the world that you are 'old enough to know better but young enough to do it again.'

Find an even level that you and your grandchildren can have private talks. For instance, there are some things that my own mother and my daughter talk about which brings their bond so much stronger. They are 'best friends' and have inside jokes that sometimes I am not involved in. As a parent, I feel excluded at times but as an up-and-coming grandparent, I hope I get to have those inside jokes with my grand daughter one day. Patience is a virtue. Keep open communication with your grandchildren and not closed-minded about different social stigmas aren't and shouldn't be shown as stigmas anymore. The times have changed since we were young and you need to learn how to 'roll with the punches'.

Technology at its finest. In a world of computers and the internet, we have to be able to keep up with many things in life. Especially what our grandchildren are up to. Take a class at the local library of the different programs such as Word or even how to learn to navigate across cyberspace. Never look at technical gadgets as a burden in your life, rather look at them as a convenience that you can find new ways of communication be it text messaging, Facetiming, e-mailing, social networking and/or video chat.

Laugh with the good times. Having a great rapport with your grandchildren is a must! If they can't speak confidentially with their own parents, remind them that you always have a trustworthy, non judgmental ear for them to unload their little feelings on to you. Have in-depth conversations to let them know that you understand what they are going through. Just listen, without pushing advice on them and talk back and forth about what the solution is to the problem at hand.

To every season, learn, learn, learn. Remember to look at life as a learning experience because, lets be frank, you aren't finished. I assure you there are still places to see and things to do. Take a class to learn about the latest technology or join a book club at your local library. Keep your mind energized as you would do with your body. Start doing puzzles and word-finds online as well as on paper. You can even do them with your younger grandchildren to keep your mind crisp and to build a bond with them. Strive to push education to your grandchildren to allow them to live in a better world than you did when you were a child. Isn't that what we all want?

Whatever you do, where ever you go remember you are still an individual with your own identity. Remember what that is??