The Brooks Board: 5 Months

Dear Ellie Belle -

You are 5 months old! I swear the days are ticking by faster and faster! Every day with you is more fun and entertaining than the day before. You're learning so much! Here's what you've been up to this month.

-We think you're clocking in at about 15 or 16 pounds now. You're wearing mostly 3-6 month and 6 month clothes now. A few of your 3 month onesies still fit, but all of those pants and jammies are way too short! At 19 weeks you started wearing size 2 diapers and you still have plenty of room in those.

-You started eating 7 oz bottles at 19 weeks. You typically eat 5 bottles each day...one in the morning, 3 at school, and one before bed.

-We started giving you rice cereal at 19 weeks 2 days. You love it so much! You are really good at opening your mouth and pushing the cereal to the back of your mouth. We make a much smaller mess now than when we started! We usually feed you a tablespoon of rice cereal mixed with formula right before your bath and bedtime bottle.

-We've decided to wean you off of your Zantac. We are just going to let you grow out of your dose. Your reflux really doesn't seem to bother you anymore, and we'll deal with a little spit up a while longer if it means we don't have to force medicine on you anymore!

-We have started trying to get you in bed by 8:30 at the very latest, but you're usually in bed by 7:00 or 7:30. Around 19 weeks, you really started to consistently sleep 11-12 hours. We started leaving your arms unswaddled at 18 weeks. We were really nervous that you wouldn't sleep as well, but you handled it like a champ and slept all night! You're still sleeping in your Halo Sleep Sacks...we just swaddle the wings around your belly and leave your arms free. Every now and then, if you're fighting a nap or are feeling very fussy, we can wrap your arms up in your swaddle and you still settle right down.

-We have to be careful about when we swaddle those little arms though, because you are definitely rolling around now! We saw you go from your back to your belly at 19 weeks and 1 day. I think you'd been doing it a little before then too. Two days after we saw you do it for the first time, you rolled all the way over to your belly while you were sleeping and I nearly had a heart attack! You are super strong though, and I know that you can move yourself around with ease.

-You typically take 2-3 naps a day. You usually take 2 shorter 30 minute to an hour naps and one long 2-2.5 hour nap. You still give us suddle signals that you're getting sleepy by rubbing your little eyes, nuzzling into our necks, and suckling on your bottom lip.

-You've gotten really good at manipulating your paci. You pop it in and out of your mouth and you like to chew on it some too! You also really love chewing on Sophie! I don't think teeth are too far off.

-You really like to blow bubbles and raspberries with your mouth. You also think it's super fun to look at yourself (or anyone else!) in a mirror. You found your feet this month too and grab onto them any chance you get!

-You are doing so much giggling now! You shriek with excitement when something really entertains you! You are talking up a storm and are giving us lots of oohs, boos, and aahs.

-We get big smiles out of you when you see us after work. We are officially convinced that we're your favorite people! You LOVE Buddy so much! You watch him walk around the room and have started reaching out for him when he passes by.

-You started playing in your exersaucer/jumper at around 18 weeks, and you really have fun in it! We've put you in your high chair once, but it still seems just so big for you!

-You are definitely sitting up on your own now! Around 19 or 20 weeks, you really figured it out and could sit for about 10 seconds before you found your feet or a fun toy and tipped over! Now, you've gotten much better at reaching out and pulling yourself back to sitting. We still stay pretty close and keep you surrounded by soft things though because you're not 100% stable and sturdy quite yet!

-School is going great for you. I think you enjoy the routine of going each day and your teachers just love you. We really love all of them too! They have definitely made the daycare situation much easier for mommy! You are surrounded by boys in your class! I think you're one of just three girls in your class. I usually walk in to get you in the afternoon and your sweet little pink tush is parked right in the middle of 7 or 8 boys!

-You got your first cold at 22 weeks. It was so sad! You had snot just draining out of your little nose for a few days, and then it sort of moved into your chest and you coughed all night. We kept your humidifier on, put saline drops in and sucked them out of your nose a couple times a day, and put a natural baby version of Vick's Vapo Rub on your feet before bed each night. It lasted about a week before you finally got rid of it!

-Claire and Will came to visit this month from Wilmington!

-You had a very special visitor this month too! Paw Paw came to visit from Louisiana! He hadn't been able to come see you in person since you were about a week old, so it was lots of fun for him to be able to see how much you'd grown! You got to spend lots of time together enjoying each other's company.