Elliott: Five Months Old

I know every parent says this but even though time is flying, I cannot remember my life without our peanut. We are getting such a big girl. She gets more and more personality every day.

Elliott does quite well sitting up with just a bit of assistance. I don't think it'll be too long before she can sit by herself. Also, toe touching is non-stop. If you lay her on her back she will constantly do crunches to try to sit up.

 She still has a great grasp of toys and such, her real favorites are Sophie and her vibrating corn teether. I've been 'brushing' her gums consistently and she loves the brush too, she just shoves it in her mouth too much it makes her gag. No teeth so far but her gums are hard and oddly bumpy and she does like to gnaw on everything.

We are still going strong with breastfeeding. I can't imagine not doing it at this point and am dreading having to throw real food into the mix because it's just another thing to deal with. We still haven't done any solids whatsoever but will try rice cereal in a few weeks before trying a purée at 6 months. I'm planning to mostly do baby led weaning but we'll ease into it with some purees first. (And seriously, I'm sick of the passive aggressive comments about her not doing solids yet. Get up on your recommendations, people. Also, I am dietitian for Christ's sake.)

Anyway... Elliott eats every 2.5-3 hours mostly, but will do more or less often depending on what we're doing. She eats more often at home and less often if we're out and about busy. She could eat both sides most of the time but she pukes a ton doing that so I more often stick to one. We stopped Zantac about a month ago but she is still puking alright. We have done some bottle training. I've been offering her about an ounce in a bottle every so often before giving her the boob. This way I don't waste so much freaking milk. She mostly plays with it for me. I think her boycotting bottles with sitters is mostly because I'm not the one feeding her. The girl knows what she wants! But honestly I've given up that it's gonna happen at this point.

Yes, Elliott is still not a fan of leaving me. She still cries non-stop for sitters. Luckily she is much warmer with Andy now. He has put her to sleep a few times and she doesn't cry when with him if her needs are met. We just need to work on him picking up on hunger and sleepy cues before the window closes and she gets so pissed there is no return. At least when that happens it's for a more logical reason, though. The bad thing is that harvest has officially started so I won't have him as an option really till Thanksgiving. 

When Elliott and I are together things are fairly smooth. She appreciates a routine. It makes me sad that she doesn't show her happiest side to really anyone but me. I've been reassured by a few SAHM family who also nursed that it's normal and will pass eventually, it will probably just take a while.

Sleep has been interesting. The 4 month sleep regression started exactly on her 4 month birthday. She would randomly wake up sad crying and would be tricky to get calmed and back asleep (it still is probably nothing compared to most people, but was certainly out of her norm). I figured it might be her telling us she was ready for her crib, so I tried it out. That only made it worse and I was a zombie for about two days before deciding it was not worth it. Getting out of bed is not for me (Andy had always been on middle of the night diaper duty if it's necessary). I had been trying to put her to bed in her crib so I don't have to go to bed with her at 7:30, but her first wake up is usually really quick so it doesn't do much. Getting her to sleep in general has become a chore for sure. So our bedtime routine is still all over the place, but she ends up in our bed and is back to sleeping well in the night for the most part. She still wakes 3-4 times over a 10-11ish hour period but I don't have to get out of bed or do much typically so I don't really mind. I like her sleeping with us, but we will revisit the crib situation at some point. (But send help if she's not out by her first birthday).

She does have a very set routine for naps, which is lights off, curtains closed, music on, fan on, swaddle, and would rock to sleep with little effort until a few days ago. Now she seems to hate this routine so we are revisiting our options. The swaddle situation is also hit or miss with success. The length of nap is all over the place but I'd say the average is 1 hour. If she wakes before 45 minutes I will rock her back to sleep again. I can definitely tell she is sleeping lighter because I have had to hold her more lately. Most of the time she will chill in her crib when she wakes for a bit so I can finish whatever I'm doing.

A few quirks: she is squealing all the time. I call her Squeaker. She loves it when you blow raspberries on her. E is still a fan of water and outside. She loves (!) the wind in her face and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She watches one episode a day and smiles so big when Mickey walks up the hill to say hello! Andy even says the opening line to her in Mickey voice when she's fussy. I don't think I've ever mentioned that she has always been a blankie girl - she loves to hold them and rub her face. She also doesn't love the paci but it will suffice most of the time. 

Our routine on weekdays is pretty easy. Wake, play in bed, diaper change, eat, and sit in living room while I get breakfast. Nap one. Then typically she sits in her bouncer while I shower and then do dishes or laundry. She eats somewhere in there before nap 2. I usually get lunch while she sleeps. When awake we take a trip to the mailbox and run errands or more random housework before nap 3 late afternoon. She's awake during dinner prep and dinner time before starting the bed time process, MMC is typically on to distract her. 

I love the baby stage but at this point I love seeing her reach milestones and am excited for her to keep growing.