Wow, 5 months ( a week late!). 5 months to me is the newborn/baby turning point. Claire is no longer a squishy, sleepy newborn, but rather a full fledged baby. She has even lost that distinct, newborn smell. I was looking back at pics from Claire's first few weeks and its crazy to see how much she has changed already. I didn't even realize how much she has grown and changed. It really hit me how quickly time is passing with my girls and how much they change even day to day.
I was in awe this last month watching Claire develop and grow. She has always been a very alert and social baby but this month it was like she was taking in the whole world and she was going to let the world know she is here. Like I have said before, she has a special magic about her. She is the happiest baby with so much charm, charisma, and character. She has the biggest laugh I have ever heard in such a small baby. She rarely, if ever, cries during the day. Yep, you got that right, she is a super happy baby. Part of that I attribute to us being super in tune with her needs such as catching her needing a nap before she gets fussy as well as feeding her on demand. The other part I attribute to her having a pleasant personality. Which is how I survived over three months of TERRIBLE sleep.
(Had a hard time getting smiles today. She is so busy while Im trying to take pics as well as she has a bit of a cold)
Food:
Still breastfed and will be til at least a year (hoping for longer). She eats every three hours.
We are going VERY slow and being conservative with solids. As I mentioned at four months, I wanted to wait until six months to even intro solids; however, Claire is so interested, to the point that she will scream if she sees us eating. So she gets probably less than two teaspoons of food a day. Some in the morning and some in the afternoon. So far she has tried pears (LOVES), apples, sweet potatoes, bananas, and avocados. I received a Beaba babycook for Christmas and I am in love. It is super easy in that it both steams and purees food all in one machine. I have made all of her food so far and plan to continue. Almost a month ago we started Claire on Zantac for suspected acid reflux. She had a lot of symptoms such as pulling off the breast frequently while eating, LOTS of spitting up, wet burps, frequent hiccups, and a few Im forgetting. Since starting the Zantac most of those symptoms have decreased or completely gone away. Im always skeptical of if a med is really working or its just her body growing and changing. At her six month appt Ill be talking to the ped about the possibility of taking her off or trying to wean her from the medication to see what happens. We have also started her on Culturelle for Kids Probiotics. Ella has been on the same probitotic since she was four months old. I swear by it. Everytime we have ran out and Ella has been without it for a bit she has gotten sick. Coincidence? IDK
Sleep:
I am beyond ecstatic to report huge improvements in sleep. We have been working hard on sleep the last month such as limiting picking up, letting cry a bit rather than rushing in, limiting feedings. Last week, the 26th of December to be specific, we started full out sleep training. Crying it out. This also meant that we completely took away the pacifier which had only been used for naps and night. She has a few lovies in her bed that we are hoping she will become more attached to and get better at self soothing. By the third night slept 8 hours without crying. By the fifth night she slept 615pm to 650am, only waking at 11 and 4 to eat and then right back to sleep. I am currently allowing two feedings a night since she sleeps twelve to thirteen hours. We do not go in there (even if she cries) unless it is time to feed her. Which I wont do unless its been at least five hours. She will usually cry for ten to fifteen minutes at a waking and then put herself back to sleep. I have so say that naps have gotten a little shorter since she is sleeping longer at night but we are still working on those. She goes to bed between 6 and 615 and wakes between 645 and 730. She naps between 9 and 10 for 30 min to an hour (aiming for over an hour). She naps again between 12 and 1 for the same amount of time and then usually a cat nap between 330 and 4.
Developments:
--> rolling back to front and front to back frequently
--> rolls to side to grab and pick up toys
--> using pincher grasp to grab at things. at times able to pick them up with pincher grasp
--> sitting unsupported for longer and longer periods of time. Is able to sit unsupported and play with toys in front of her but will fall over if she looks up or tries to grab something at her side
--> improving in all developments that happened prior to this month
--> gums looking a little swollen on bottom
--> able to pick up her toys and get to her mouth
--> imitating us (esp her big sister). When both girls sitting in their tripp trapps, ella started rocking to back of chair of chair and claire immediately started imitating it and laughing.
Randoms:
--> No more screaming and crying in the car! Ahhh, so much more pleasant of a drive
--> getting a little better about playing on own but very short lived. Still doesn't like to be left alone
--> Sophie giraffe is still favorite toy but hasn't met a toy she doesn't like! enjoying playmat more
--> loves looking at books
--> loves watching big sister play
--> would much rather sit up and play than lay down
--> cloth diapered with disposables at night for now
--> super ticklish. Especially her neck and her belly when her shirt is off
--> wearing an amber necklace. Amber is a natural, ancient teething remedy. It has anti inflammatory and pain relieving properties when worn close to the skin by warming the stones.
Sitting unsupported
Ha she makes this face a lot. think it has to do with her teeth
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