Jo Jo had a check-up today. On Saturday she turned four months old, which means she has been with me for three months, two weeks, and 2 days. Such a short time to love someone so much!
Today she smashed her previous records in percentiles in weight and head circumference:
weight for age = 65th percentile
head circumference = 90th percentile
Her height is lagging behind but she still grew an inch since age 2 months. That’s ok, I’m a shorty too!
length for age = 6th percentile
Other new things she does since 3 months old:
Grabs and plays with her feet
Sleeps unswaddled and in a crib instead of bassinet
Grabs and holds on to objects
Sucks on her fingers
Screams and screeches
Chuckles and laughs
According to the questionnaire I was given, she was on target in all areas of development except one… socializing. And you know why she didn’t pass? Because of two questions:
1) When placed in front of a mirror, does your baby coo and smile at herself?
Well, I never put her in front of a full-length mirror. So we put her in front of the mirror in the doctor’s office. She smiled at us in the mirror, and then reached out to play with some kleenex boxes sitting by the mirror. So… I guess she failed?
2) When your baby sees you, does she smile at you before you speak or smile back at her?
Well gee… I generally smile and/or speak to her right away, so I honestly don’t know. I have to say that she generally will look at me very seriously and intensely, as if waiting for me to talk to her. As soon as I smile or speak to her she squeals, smiles, laughs, etc. So I guess she didn’t pass that one, either?
In the end, the physician really didn’t think that she has any problem socializing, but because she is being followed by the state, and technically based on the questions Jo Jo failed this area, we now have to have another assessment by Early On, a county program for developmentally behind children. She already got signed off by these people once, at age 1 month, when they assessed her for developmental delays.
I am sure she is still not going to require their services. Jo Jo is very social, smiling at everyone who smiles at her, and having “conversations” is her favorite thing to do! In my opinion, the answers to those two particular questions weren’t a big deal… but who am I?
Just the parent.
Mother of All Things 
She definitely didn’t “fail” those things. I guess they are hyper-vigilant which is good when it’s needed but when it’s not, it just seems like too much. Evelyn ALWAYS smiles at me first in the mirror. After 30-60 seconds she will look at herself and smile but is it any wonder why our faces are the first ones they see/smile at? That’s who they look at all day!
And also… she just looks at me quizzically if I don’t smile or talk to her. I think that’s just her personality! She really thinks about things very intensely before reacting, including her smiles.