BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS »
 Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
 Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

Monday, February 21, 2011

Five Months


Where is the time going? My girl is five months old today, and it seems that the time is passing faster than ever.

Lily remains around the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. Lately she is looking so chunky to me, which I find completely adorable.
Here's a quick rundown of what she has been up to:

Eating - We are still breastfeeding. In the beginning when it came to nursing, I really didn't know how it would go, so I tried to set small, reasonable goals for myself along the way. First I just tried to get past those difficult first 3 weeks and then make it to 6 weeks. After that, the goal of 3 months was so much easier but still had its challenges. Now we're a month away from the 6 month mark, which was my "big goal." Anything beyond that to me is great and I'll consider it a bonus!
Lily nurses about every 4 hours during the day and wakes up to eat once during the night. Just today I decided to try feeding her rice cereal with a spoon. She has been giving several cues that she might be ready, so I gave it a shot today just to experiment. I thought she did pretty well with it. I think she may have swallowed a few bites! She certainly was interested, so I'll keep trying her out with it over the next few weeks as we get ready to introduce some other new foods like oatmeal, fruits, and vegetables. It feels like a whole new (kinda scary/intimidating) world.

Sleeping - Lily is doing very well with nighttime sleeping. She goes to bed around 9 PM and usually doesn't wake up until around 7 AM. Most mornings she will even go back to sleep for another hour or two after that first feeding. We are typically up for the day around 8:00, and on rare occasions, 9:00. Nap times aren't as easy, but it's going okay. I've learned to anticipate when she will be ready to nap so she doesn't get overly tired and cranky. Even then, though, sometimes she fights sleep so hard. On a good day, she will take about 3 naps, ranging from 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours at a time. I'm pretty happy with her "schedule" as it is now. It's not super rigid, which I guess is a good thing. One big thing I've learned in the past 5 months is that just when you get used to a baby's routine, they tend to throw you a curve ball or two. It certainly keeps me on my toes.
We are still putting her to bed in her bassinet in our bedroom. Soon we will have to transition her to her crib in her room, a thought which still makes my stomach hurt a little.


Milestones - In the past few weeks Lily has picked up a few new skills. She now grabs her feet just about every time she's on her back. She hasn't put them in her mouth yet, but I'm sure that's coming. She has recently mastered rolling from her back to her tummy. It's cute to watch her practice this new trick, but it has made her play time a bit frustrating for her. She gets tired of being on her tummy and can't always figure out how to roll back over, so I usually have to go rescue her after a while.

Playing - Lily does enjoy her time playing on a blanket on the floor. Her favorite toys right now are her Links, soft blocks, her Baby Einstein piano, and picture books. She continues to love it when I sing to her, and her favorite songs are the ABC song (she smiles every single time), and The Wheels on the Bus, which works pretty well when she is fussy and needs settling down. Some days I am flat out exhausted from singing all day long!


This is what my days are like with this sweet, growing 5 month old. I'm finding that parenting is one of the most challenging yet rewarding things I've ever done. Taking care of a little one every day is more hard work and more of an adjustment that I'd ever imagined, but it fills my days with more smiles and love and joy than I'd ever hoped for.

14 comments:

Rebekah said...

I love the pictures. Isn't it awesome...?

The Blessed Barrenness said...

Isn't it just the most exhausting, stressful, warm, fuzzy, wonderful and fulfilling thing ever???!!!
xxx

A said...

awesome update!

Kate said...

She's such a beauty! Just the right amount of chubbiness.

Simone said...

Love the photos! She is beautiful.
I like the idea of setting small reasonable goals for bf that you can master. It makes it seem less scary and more manageable.

andreajennine said...

She's so darling! That first picture is especially precious.
It's so true that just when you figure things out, everything changes. That actually freed me from feeling stressed out about "getting things right." Naps were a struggle for B for a long time, too, but he's gotten better over time, and I've lightened up about what naps are supposed to look like.
Two resources on baby food that I've liked: www.wholesomebabyfood.com and a book called Love in Spoonfuls. Whether you want to make baby food or not, they're helpful for ideas of what to offer baby when.

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh, how can it have been almost half a year already? It doesn't seem possible! She's growing so big already! I just love the pics!

Becky said...

That first picture is just precious!!! Lily is a cutie!

Mrs. Chapman's 2nd Grade Class said...

Oh my goodness, Stacey! She is absolutely adorable! I can't believe how much she's grown. Loved the update!

Michele said...

Adorable!!! So glad to hear that she is doing just as our son is doing with sleep. I am getting so much flack from nosey people wondering why he's not sleeping through the night. He's a breasfed baby!!! My original goal was to 6 mths...now we're past that and I'm going to go til he's a year!! YAY!!

And so it goes said...

oh, she is gorgeous. unbelievable gorgeous. And I am always in awe when I come to read your posts of what an absolute miracle she is.

Thanks for your comment- all the support has been amazing knowing we don't walk this journey alone.

Birdie said...

She is so adorable, Stacey!!

Katie said...

We didn't move Emma into her own room until well after she turned six months and I am still checking on her several times a night (two months later). SHE is sleeping through and I still miss her sweet breathing sounds that let me know all is well and am not. So, I say, don't rush it. . . :)

Connie said...

My sweet sweet girl! :) XOXO