5 months

At 5 months Elsie is so much fun.
She has great big belly laughs on a daily basis. She laughs when we talk or tickle her by her neck.
She likes to watch people move. Sometimes I’ll leave the room and she’ll laugh when I come back in.
When she sees someone she hasn't in a while, she will give them a great big smile.
She likes to play with cloths.
She grabs and yanks things now….like hangy toys, clothes, hair.
She rolls from tummy to back quite easily now. For a little while she was only doing it without her diaper on but now she does it with a full cloth one on too.
She will sit by herself for a few seconds.
Her hair has really thinned out.
She eats rice cereal once or twice a week but we might start giving it more often.
Still has 5 bottles a day about 5 oz each sometimes 6 oz.
Still gets up once a night to eat and lately it is between 4-5 rather than 5-6 and I am tired. Tonight I sang and danced for her – it was a made up song about how fun it would be for her if she slept until 5:30 am – we’ll see if it works!
Still taking 3 naps a day and goes to bed at 8...or earlier if it is more than 2 hours since last nap. Yesterday she woke up from her last nap at 430 so I put her to bed about 715. But tonight she did not go to bed until 815. She likes to sit and stand with help and just be cute in general.
She sucks on her pointer fingers but is just starting to suck on her thumb sometimes too.
Still spits up daily! Ugh! It is getting better. Today for example, she didn’t spit up all morning but then had some big spit up session in the afternoon and then she also spit up like 5 times after her last feeding.
Does this screamy thing when she is happy but doesn’t necessarily move her mouth, she is like a ventriloquist.
Loves the bath and kicks the entire time she is in there. There is hardly any water left at the end.
Eats her feet. Plays with her feet every single time she is on the changing table. Did I already say that? I need to pump and go to bed!

4 months

I wrote this on Elsie's 4 month birthday, it has just taken me a while to get it up here. It is also funny to think about just how much has changed in the last couple weeks.
Weight at doctor appt. was 14 pounds 11 ounces and length was 25 inches

At 4 months....

we are starting to really get the hang of things. Although that statment may depend on the day.

I find myself looking back at Elsie as a baby infant and kind of missing her being a wee little thing. She was just a fragile little body with loose skin hanging on her. Big long fingers and toes with no chub at all. And when I clipped her nails, I cut her thumb - badly enough where her skin was hanging off. And I was so panicked...and I felt overwhelmed by caring for a little life and always worried about how she was doing and what I could/should be changing in the way I take care of her in order to make her life better. At 4 months I still worry but now it is less and I am learning to go with the flow and let things just be a little more....and Elsie is doing well.

We'll get her official weight on Tuesday but I am guessing it is about 15 pounds.

Within the last couple weeks she started holding her head up 90 degrees while laying on her tummy. It is so cute to see her like that. Not rolling over tummy to back yet. She usually doesn't like tummy time too much.

Laughs a lot more. Has a belly laugh sometimes. Yersterday she was playing a peek a boo type game with grandma, using one of her musical toys and she laughed each time. THen I played peek-a-boo using a blanekt and the laughs kept coming. Over the weekend Matthew played a game with her where he snuck up like a monster and she kept alternating between a scared look and laughing.

Likes to play with her feet while laying on the changing table, always grabbing them.

Still such an explosively gassy little gal. If she is having a poopy, everyone in the room knows it.

Is drooly. She has also been sucking on her hand a lot or a finger and biting on it. Maybe teething? Maybe not.

Wears 3-6 month clothes but also wears 9 month clothes from time to time!!

Has the same bedtime routine every night with the same book, sing a song, wrap her up, turn on the lullaby cd, giver her the paci and bounce for 1-2 songs and then put her down and she generally finishes falling asleep on her own.

She had been in a routine of taking a nap from 5:30-6:00 and then bedtime at 8:00 but this is changing a bit now because she doesn't always want that late nap....so now bedtime is becoming a bit earlier at times. She takes about 3 naps a day now - still not at real consistent times but around 9, and then early afternoon and late afternoon.

Still has her dad's grey-blue eyes so I am thinking they are going to stick. Her hair is a bit lighter brown now.

Pulled out the drama on us on Monday and Tuesday nights this week with lots of crying.

Tried giving her zantac for a stretch of 5 days. She was still crabby when needing to spit up and everything - and was a little fussier in the evening so we quit giving it to her. But when she was on it, she did sleep from 8:00pm-7:00am so maybe it was linked.

She now wakes up between 4am-7am. I generally give her the pacifier if it isn't 5 am yet which puts her back to sleep and holds her off for a while. She will fall back to sleep until 7 of if she eats before 6, she goes back to bed for a while.

Still refluxy! I can't wait till I no longer write that on one of these updates. I think we will probably try rice cereal soon and see if that helps.

Eats 5 times a day.....sometimes 6 if it is an off day.

Still does not really care about rattles. She grabs and holds things in her hands but could care less about holding and shaking a rattle.

Will sit supported at the hips and will look and move around while sitting.

Likes to look at herself in the bathroom mirror.