Five months...

Olivia Grace was five months this past Saturday. She has grown and changed so much lately and her personality shows through more and more each day! To satisfy everyones curiosity (or to help you out in your "I'm bored and blogstalking" moment) I thought I would elaborate on Baby Girl's skills and patterns. Also, I have a lot of preggo friends right now and I thought it may be nice for them to see what life is like with a five month old. I know I was information thirsty all throughout my pregnancy! Feel free to stop reading now if you don't care about specific baby details.....

1. She is still refusing a bottle and has been nursed for every single one of the approximately 1300 feedings she has had in her five months of life (not that I am counting;). I think I deserve some sort of reward for this, or perhaps just a night out with my husband....oh wait, that would require someone to give her a bottle... *sigh*

2. She remains a good sleeper. She goes to bed around 7:30 after our bedtime routine (bath, lotion & jammies with soft music playing, book, nurse to sleep) and gets up around 7:30am. She has anywhere from one to two wakings/feedings in that 12 hour stretch, although last night she slept all the way through to her 7:30 wake up time! I will not elaborate on that anymore for fear of 'jinxing' it for any future nights! We have done this routine for months now, so her body comes to expect bedtime around 7:30 each night. This can be a bit of problem when we are out for dinner or at a party, but we adjust because the benefits definitely outweigh this slight inconvenience.

3. She takes 2 or 3 naps a day. Her morning one is around 9:30 and lasts for about 1 1/2- 2 hours. Her afternoon nap is typically shorter, but I just never know. The third nap is typically a catnap around 5ish to get her through till bedtime. I have found that her new optimal wake-time is about 2 hours. Once she hits that threshold she begins to get fussy and doesn't play happily on her own anymore. She does not have the ability to fall asleep on her own unless she is in the swing or car seat (which technically isn't "on her own" I guess) so she is bounced/rocked/walked to sleep each nap. Now this can take anywhere from a few minutes to twenty, but we haven't mastered the whole 'put her down awake and she fall asleep' trick. She used to be okay if I put her down really sleepy, but she has regressed and must be pretty much asleep when we put her in her crib. I know this will be a bear to break and will require some 'crying it out', but we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

4. We are continuing on the road of solids and Baby Girl LOVES it! We started with rice cereal, moved on to oatmeal, and have now begun to introduce various fruits and vegetables. She has had green beans, bananas, and butternut squash. I have been making her baby food and it is fun and very EASY, and so far Baby Girl thinks I am a pretty good cook=) Breastmilk remains the staple of her diet, but she gets some solids in the morning and evening.

5. She has rolled over from belly to back twice. The first time came at 12 weeks and the second time was last Saturday. It is almost as if she does it just to get us off her case, decides its really not that much fun, and then moves on to more exciting things...such as playing with her feet! geesh, does she love her feet!

6. It seems that we have a very vocal girl on our hands as she squeals the majority of the time she is awake. And when I say squeal, I mean SQUEEEEAL. She is spirited, loud, and inspired. She is one happy girl, gosh darn it! Her vocabulary is mostly vowel sounds like 'eeeeee', 'aaaahhh', and 'uuhhhh' and she typically squeals them in a high pitched sound while throwing her hands up in the air and waving her arms. It is one of the most heart melting displays that Andy and I have ever witnessed.

7. She weighs 18 pounds and is about 27 3/4 inches long. Most of her weight must come from her length because she really isn't chubby from my perspective. Although her cheeks probably add about a pound! Since she is so big she resembles a 6 or 8 month old, but we love her just as she is!

8. She still loves her swing and it can 'babysit' her for long periods of time, if needed! She also likes her excersaucer and jumparoo, but simply having floor time is her favorite. Everything goes to her mouth these days. And I mean everything! We have noticed that she is very visual and curious and often appears to be investigating her toys rather than just playing with them. Also, she has entered the grabby stage and lunges/reaches for anything and everything within her sight.

9. This past week she has begun to sometimes cry when friends are holding her. She stops when I take her back, so I wonder if we are entering the separation anxiety stage. We will see what the future holds.

10. Baby Girl continues to be the center of our world. She is fun and lovable and has charmed us both. Although the past five months have been challenging, Andy and I have grown a lot in our relationship. Becoming parents was something we both wanted, but I never realized the toll that it can take on your marriage if you let it. However, it is a dichotomy that also allows the opportunity for growth, and we have taken that opportunity and changed for the better. Even though I do miss our "old life" at times, I could never imagine our world without our sweet baby girl.

And to reward you for making it this far, here is a picture from last night....