Elyse Love ~ 5 Months

Wow, where has the time gone?  Our baby girl is almost to her half birthday and it seems like just moments ago that we were fighting through the uncertainty of what in the world we're supposed to do with this little person that the hospital sent us home with.  Elyse is truly the light of our lives and I can't really imagine what we did with all of our time before she arrived.

Weight/Height: We don't have any official measurements this month, but I'm going to assume she's probably around 14-15 lbs and still about 25 inches long.  Regardless of the true measurements she is growing & changing each & every day!  She's still in size 2 diapers and I think we'll probably be there for awhile longer.  Or at least I hope so since we just got a brand new box of 200 on our doorstep yesterday! 

Clothes: She's wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes but can still fit in some of the 0-3 month things if it's not too short.  She's our tall skinny-minny so she seems to outgrow things because of the length.  Any new clothes that we buy her are of course 3-6 month and she has a closet full!  Of course it's fun to dress her in something new every day so we go through the outfits pretty fast.  Even though I got a ton of hand-me-downs, I've done (and so has her Mamaw & Gigi) my fair share of shopping...little girls' clothes are just too hard to resist!  I need to stock up on cute onesies for now...that's practically all she wears during the day!

Food: At the end of April, we moved Elyse to a 4 hour schedule because she had stopped eating very well as we tried to feed her every 3 hours.  The four hour schedule has been wonderful and seems to be working so well for everyone.  She is eating 5 times a day & normally doesn't take any sort of feeding overnight.  She is probably taking in somewhere close to 30 oz of breastmilk a day either from breastfeeding or with a bottle of pumped milk.  We haven't started her on any solids yet, but have plans to do that right at 6 months.  I did buy a box of rice cereal yesterday just so we're prepared, but she seems to be gaining weight and still satisfied for now so we're not going to rush things. 

Sleep: Sleep seems to go in cycles each week...Week 1-Sleeping great with no waking, Week 2-Sleeping horribly with 1-2 wakings per night, Week 3-back to 1 waking, Week 4-Sleeping great again.  The only thing I can contribute this to is her growth spurts because it normally is around the time that she isn't sleeping well that she starts learning all sorts of new things.  I also think that her teeth are trying to work their way up, they just haven't shown themselves yet. 

Activity: With moving to the 4-hour schedule that means that Elyse is now up for about 4 2-hour stretches during the day.  Let me just say that sometimes keeping a 5 month old entertained an active for 2 whole hours can be exhausting!  She is such a happy, content baby but one activity can only hold her attention for 15-20 minutes.  Thank goodness we've got her activity mat (with both back & tummy time), her piano activity center, the Mamaroo, the jumper that hangs in the door, her iSnug seat, her high chair & lots of little hand-held toys!  We just move from one thing to another depending on how long she can be entertained. 

This month she has started grabbing for toys more consistently & can occasionally move the toy from one hand to the other.  She also just started rolling over again from her back to her belly...not sure why she prefers this move compared to belly to back since it's a more difficult thing to accomplish!  Overachiever! 

She also learned to sit un-supported at times and sometimes she prefers to sit on the floor between our legs playing with toys instead of laying on the floor. 

Personality: I'm really not sure how our baby girl could have more personality.  Everyone who is around her for very long comments on how she's such a happy baby.  And she truly is.  You can almost always get her to smile unless she's just super tired or hungry.  She also does really well to go with the flow.  Some days the naptime gets thrown off or we end up hauling her around from place to place...but she just goes with it and seems to get right back on schedule.  She is starting to talk & talk &talk & talk when you catch her in the right mood.  Her Uncle Nick got her talking like crazy on Mother's Day & it's those noises that I can't explain to you or even sufficiently describe that I will miss so much.  Her blabbers & coos &giggles & screams as she experiments with her vocal cords are priceless and I just love it! 

Likes:

~Blowing Raspberries:  She will giggle & laugh so hard when you blow raspberries on her tummy.  She gets these a lot when she's having her diaper changed and the smiles & laughs she sends my way are incredible. 

~People she loves:  She's becoming more & more aware of those people who she knows & those she doesn't.  She just lights up when someone new walks in the room that she knows.  She will practically smile at everyone eventually...but those people she knows get a smile right away.
~Sophie the Giraffe: This truly is the best toy ever.  She is able to hold her in her hands and even pull her to her mouth and chew.  She still gets frustrated when she can't get Sophie in just the right spot!
~Hands & Toes:  She is still chewing on her hands and sometimes we think she may end up with her whole fist in her mouth; however, this past week she has also discovered her toes so at times she would rather just chew on her toes than her fingers!
~Books:  She is starting to become so interested in everything going on around her that reading a story has become much more enjoyable.  She actually sits and listens & will even hold my hand as I turn the page.  We read at least one story before each naptime and this might be one of the highlights of my days at home. 

Dislikes:
~Just like last month, I really can't think of much she doesn't like!  She can handle almost anything for a period of time and will let you know when she's ready to switch it up.  I really don't think that we have any idea with how good we have it...probably just means we'll pay for it with the next one! 

5 Month Milestones:
*Sitting up unassisted-tripod style:  May 7th
*Really & truly discovered toes:  Beginning of May
*1st 4-Wheeler Ride: Mother's Day 5/13
*Reaching for & grabbing toys, holding on to someone who's holding her, sleeping more consistently through the night