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 Fifth Month

The fifth month has been, so far, one of the most exciting. I will probably say that another five times before Kaitlins first birthday, but what can I say. I know that she is learning and growing exponentially each and every day, but the fifth month is when we were able to see a lot of this growth and learning with our own eyes. She started rolling over (finally) and in no time was rolling from back to front and front to back like she had always been doing it. Before, when we put her to sleep in her crib, she would often stay in the same spot in the same position the whole night. Now she is rolling and scooting all over the place, many times ending up in the opposite position on the opposite side of the crib from where I first laid her down. This movement isn't only when she's sleeping - she is starting to scoot her butt up and down when she's laying on the floor. She's reaching for toys and rolling from side to side to get to them. Just the other day I put her down on her lamb mat while I was cleaning her room. I turned around five minutes later and she was four feet to the left on the hardwood floor. It's exciting to watch, and a bit concerning. I used to be able to plop her down in the middle of any of our beds and not have to worry about her. Now, even on our king sized bed, she can (and does) roll to the edge in a matter of seconds. And so begins a new era - The Movement Era.

She has always liked hanging out in her jumperoo and this month proved no different. She can now stay in it for twenty or thirty minutes without getting over stimulated. She loves playing with the toys on it and is bouncing all over the place, working those little leg muscles out. I got her a door jumper as well so she can work out more energy when we are upstairs doing chores. You can see how badly she wants to be mobile. She reaches for everything - whether she is sitting, standing (in our arms), laying on the floor - she wants whatever is just out of her reach. And when she can't quite get to it you can see the frustration in her eyes (and hear it in her cries). She is curious about everything, wants to hold and touch everything in her sight. She loves to play with rattles and noise makers and tries to hold on to all of them at once. She's also discovered that she can put things in her mouth - besides her hands/fingers/feet/toes. Anything within her grasp is in danger of going in her mouth - grass, bugs, toys, your shirt, cups...you name it she wants to hold it and try and put it in her mouth.

But perhaps the best development she had this month was learning how to laugh. Now, I use the word "laugh" loosely. As I mentioned last week its more of a screeching/cough/laugh combination, but it's cute as hell. She is all smiles these days and it seriously melts my heart.

We did some sleep training this month and have had great success with it. She still cries herself to sleep some nights but it usually never lasts for longer than fifteen minutes. She is now sleeping nine hours at a stretch then she gets up to eat and is back in bed for another 2-3 hours. Not too bad for five months old! Our pediatrician said I should thank my lucky stars she is sleeping that much at night. Basically she told me to quit whining about her crappy daytime naps and just be glad she's sleeping almost through the night. So, that's what I am trying to do. It's all about perspective, right?

A few more things I have learned...

Formula stains everything

Since her four month checkup revealed that she was on the lower end of the weight scale we have been supplementing with formula. Usually her bottle at bedtime is formula and she will eat anywhere from 6.5-8 ounces. Sometimes during the day I will also supplement with a couple ounces of formula if she only nurses for a few minutes. I have learned, rather quickly, that formula stains everything. She has never been big on spitting up and when she drinks breast milk it cleans up pretty easy. But formula is a different story. Clothes, burp clothes and bibs are now stained with its tan markings (not to mention have a peculiar odor to them). I didn't realize this would happen so now I am quick to treat everything with Oxiclean.

Babies will go at their own pace

For months now I have thought that Kaitlin was teething. I think the first time I mentioned it was after her two month check-up. There is no way, I thought, that a baby could have this much drool and chew on her hands as much as she does without some teeth coming in. Well, three months later and still no teeth. But since that two month appointment I have been trying to get Kaitlin to put teething toys in her mouth, hoping to relieve some of her discomfort or at the very least to chew on something other than her fingers. But all my efforts were in vain.  Only in the last week has she started putting toys and teething rings in her mouth, and now she wants to gnaw on everything. It took her nine weeks from when she first started trying to roll over until she actually mastered it. As much as I would help her roll over she was never really interested in doing it on her own. Until she finally was interested in it and now that's all she ever wants to do. My point of this rambling is, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink (do people still say that?). And yes, I just compared my baby to a horse. Best mom of the year. You can do as much as you want to try and encourage development and try and get them to do something, but in the end they are going to do it when they are ready. So keep trying to help and nudge them in the right direction, but don't loose heart when they don't take to it right away. They'll get there soon enough (and then you'll probably regret helping them *think rolling, crawling, walking, talking...you get the picture*).

I will do anything to see that smile one more time

Since Kaitlin has started laughing and smiling so much more over the last month I just can't get enough of it. I find myself doing anything I can to get one more smile out of her chubby little cheeks. Sometimes I feel like such a needy girlfriend when she gets bored of my antics and looks away, I find myself becoming more and more desperate for one more smile. Silly faces? I'm a master. Weird voices and singing like a fool? I am a pro. Pretty much there isn't anything that I wouldn't do to make that little girl happy. It's a good thing she's still young and doesn't realize the power she has over me. I'm going to have to start hiding it a bit when she gets old enough to figure it out ;)