Watch Me Grow - Five Months

Only a week late this time...that's totally acceptable, right?! Ladies and gentlemen - we have a roller! Within a week of turning four months old Lauren started rolling over tummy to back. A few days later she learned how to roll from back to tummy. I couldn't believe it! Just a week or two before and she didn't even show any interest in rolling over and then all of a sudden here she was! I will say, the rolling was very inconsistent for a while. Some days she would roll a few times, some days not at all. She kept this up for the whole month and then right on her five month birthday she started rolling over really consistently. Pretty much any time you lay her on the ground now she immediately rolls over onto her tummy. Unfortunately, once she is there it seems that she has forgotten how to roll onto her back so she usually ends up crying and getting mad. She also has yet to roll over on the bed and/or in her crib. I'm sure that won't last long though!

She is getting bigger and stronger, but she hasn't made much progress on sitting up yet. She could probably use a bit more time in the jumperoo and bumbo....slacker mom over here! As you can tell, this time around I'm not in any rush for her to reach these milestones :)

We have had a lot of success getting her digestive system back on track over the past month. She remained pretty much symptom free all month. I had cut all dairy and all soy products out. I am just now starting to incorporate soybean oil and soy lecithin back into my diet, as most people who have an intolerance to soy can actually handle them (something to do with the way the soy protein is broken down?? I don't really understand, but OK!) This is pretty exciting for me - for now, I am waiting with baited breath - as a ton of processed foods contain one of these two things or both. Everything from regular sandwich bread to enchilada sauce to granola bars. It has definitely been eye opening to read ingredients lists for nearly everything that I buy. It has easily doubled my shopping time and you wouldn't believe some of the things listed in the every day foods you buy.

Laurens naps and night sleeping are still all over the place. Lately she has been on a streak of terrible sleeping for two nights (like, up every 1.5 hrs) and then having an awesome nights sleep. Two more terrible nights then one awesome night. It's as if she knows juuuuuust how far to push me before I am totally loosing my mind from sleep deprivation and then she gives me a break. This one. She is going to be the one we have to look out for ;) I have managed to get her feedings down to one time during the middle of the night, so at least that is an improvement! We are starting some minor sleep training (more like...adjusting her sleep habits) to see if that helps at all with the night wakings.

Once she hit four months old the drool started and it hasn't stopped! Drooly McGee over here now needs a bib constantly and is always chewing on her hands, feet and/or toys of all shapes and sizes. Her little squeaks of laughter are now turning into full on giggles and that bright, cheerful smile hardly ever leaves her face. She is just so dang happy and it makes me so happy. She brings a smile to all of our faces and it is impossible not to give her a million and one kisses every day.

Watch Me Grow - Four Months

Eeekkkkk - and we're halfway to five months before I had a chance to write and post this.

Lauren's fourth month certainly was an interesting one! I decided that we needed to cut the cord on using the swing for her naps. As much as I LOVED having her nap for a really long time, multiple times a day, I needed her to start sleeping in her crib in her room for naps. She was starting to become more and more awake and aware of things and the magic of the swing was starting to wear off. We were able to successfully wean me her off of it within about a week. Naps in her crib have been all over the map - sometimes they are 30 minutes, sometimes they are 2 hours. I'm trying to relax about the 30 minute naps and accept them as the new normal, and then whenever they go longer I do a little happy dance. 

Speaking of sleeping being all over the map, her night sleeping as been the same. We have gone from waking up every 2-3 hours all night long, to sleeping 8+ hour clips at a time. Often within the same week. It's a bit maddening, more than the naps for sure, but I'm trying to remain positive (this too shall pass - or so they tell me!) She is now at the age when we can sleep train her, although this time around it is a bit harder since we have a toddler that sleeps right next door and LOVES and excuse to wake up and not go back to sleep. Instead of letting her cry it out, just yet, I am trying to wean her off of the night feedings one by one. Usually a quick belly pat and a pacifier will buy me another hour of sleep before she is begging to eat. Sometimes that also backfires on me but I'm giving it a try. 

In addition to all of this, we discovered that Lauren has a bit of tummy trouble that we have been trying to correct over the past month. For some reason the 4950824309584 servings of dairy that I was consuming every.single.day did a number on her sensitive tummy. Over Labor Day weekend we discovered some blood in her stool. After a consult with her Pediatrician and looking at some events surrounding the blood in her stool (green poo! spitting up a lot more than normal!) we decided that she has a dairy/soy intolerance. Now, we cant actually check for this, the only thing we can do is eliminate the dairy and soy from my diet and see if her stools and spit up improve. She may not even be intolerant to soy but it is easier to cut both of them out at the same time since so many babies are intolerant to both. It has been challenging for me, as I mentioned I was consuming copious amounts of dairy all day every day, but I am starting to find a groove with substitutes and new recipes. I was beginning to get really discouraged as it seems like her symptoms were getting worse instead of better but, low and behold, the day before her four month check up her stools returned to a normal color. Hopefully we have turned a corner and she gets better and better from here on out. If they go back or get worse our next step is to see a GI specialist.

Apart from all of the up and down sleep, green poo for days and many trips to the doctor, Lauren has remained one of the happiest and laid back babies ever. She has the biggest, most contagious smile ever. She is starting to squeak out little laughs here and there and they melt my heart. She LOVES, loves her big sister (even though Kaitlin nearly steps on/falls over/dances on top of her 94538905284 times  a day). She is talking up a storm and loves to have little conversations with you. She only really cries when she is hungry or overtired. She loves baths and doesn't even mind getting her clothes or diaper changed. She pulls herself up to standing when she holds onto your hands, loves to sit up with someones help, thinks the bumbo is hilarious and even started to twist around and pretend like she wants to learn how to roll over right on her four month birthday (she totally has no interest in actually rolling over. Homegirl is so happy just to lay there and stare at the ceiling fan).

Little Lauren, you are such a blessing. I can't wait to see what next month brings!

The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Months

Eek! I seriously cant believe that it has been over TWO months since I last posted an update. Let's get to it, shall we? I can't believe that Kaitlin is now a year and a half old. Weren't we just celebrating her first birthday?! To say that the last couple of months have been would not be entirely accurate, but they sure have been fun. Kaitlin's personality grows and expands every day. Her likes - and dislikes - become all the more clear and she becomes all the more vocal about it. The past two months, although super fun and full of laughs, were also very challenging as Kaitlin tries to find her voice and express herself without very many words. She only has about 5-6 words that she uses consistently, but she manages to get her point across very well. One of the words that she uses most often is a full, confident "YEAH". She only means to say "yes" about half the time that she actually says "yeah", but it's hilarious just the same.

"Kaitlin, do you want to go outside?"

"YEAH"

"Kaitlin, do you smell like dirty socks?"

"YEAH"

Its a fun game, really!

And - I am excited to announce - after eighteen loooonnngggg months Kaitlin is finally saying "Mama". Hooray!! And she says it when pointing to me or when she wants to tell me something. You have no idea how happy this makes me! She still says "Dada" all day long but I am happy to have a few "mama's" thrown in there too.

Getting her to eat is one area that is not fun at all. She has reverted to the standard beige toddler diet and it is incredibly frustrating for me, she doesn't seem to mind at all! She won't eat anything if it is any color other than white, beige, yellow or sometimes orange. Except for pouches. She will only eat green or yellow pouches. But only certain green and yellow ones, not just any one you give her. She is addicted to carbs, milk/cheese and eats mostly "snack" type foods rather than actual meals. She will take two bites of her meal and then push away her plate and exclaim, "UP!" (which means she actually wants to get down). It seems like I am always trying to push, encourage or trick her into eating more. Somehow she is getting enough calories though because she jumped back up to the 15% at her 18 month doctors appt for weight (she dipped down to 5% at her 15 mo check up). So the doctor encouraged me to "keep doing what I'm doing" to get her to eat. ACK! Doesn't she know how exhausting that is??

Hands down the best thing about the past two months is watching Kaitlin's little personality grow and flourish more and more each day. She is an adrenaline junky already - demanding us to push her higher on the swings and throw her on the bed more and more (which makes for a very nervous mommy). She is starting to learn when she is being funny and will try over and over again to get us to laugh and do something funny. She does a happy dance and she is as loving as ever to all of her stuffed animals and dolls. And now in addition to giving the sweetest kisses ever, she now gives the best hugs in the world. Real hugs where she holds you tight and buries her head into your neck. Oh how I love all of those sweet hugs!!