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five months as of February 5, 2019
It seems weird posting another update so soon, but I was late to the game last month! Polly turned five months old on Tuesday and in an effort to get us back on track, I’m actually posting this within a few days of that milestone!
Height + Weight: I shared her stats in last month’s post, but we don’t head back to the pediatrician until early March. I’m guessing she’s put on a few pounds, though, since we’re quickly outgrowing clothes and diapers. We just now had to buy our first box of diapers and I went ahead and sized up to a two. I swear that diapers are sized differently now than they were when the girls were little, because a two is the largest size I ever bought with either of them! We’re trying a new brand of diapers this month, so I’ll give you an update on how those are going in a few weeks.
Clothes: Is it weird that I “KonMari’d” her clothes this month, too? I’m a firm believer that babies don’t need much of anything and I was feeling a little overwhelmed with her dresser. She cycles through a few favorites already, so I just eliminated all of the extras. She’s holding steady in a 3-6 month in most brands for now. I’m also trying to limit where I buy her clothes, so that I’m only making purchases that I love and not just adding to her closet unnecessarily. Would you be interested in a post about our favorite brands?
Sleep: This is a bit of a touchy subject. I talked a little bit about the four month sleep regression in last month’s post, but things only got worse from there. After a string of particularly bad nights, we decided to make a plan. We ditched the swaddle altogether, thinking if we were going to have sleepless nights anyway, we might as well just rip the bandage right off. We’re not doing CIO exactly, but we are letting her fuss a little more than normal. We’ve learned that the biggest problem with her falling asleep independently is knowing what to do with her arms, now that they’re aren’t restrained. I’m hoping we’ll have our sleepy baby back in a few more weeks. We also swapped out her bassinet for the baby crib this week. Josh joked when putting it together that it was the crib she would never sleep in. I’m trying to lay her down for naps there and at least starting her in the crib each night. Yes, she moves to our bed at some point in the night, but I think it’s going to be a process.
Schedule: Aside from sleep, her schedule is holding strong. She’s clearly a creature of habit and aside from an hour of fluctuation in either direction, we haven’t made any changes here.
Health: Polly is doing so well and we haven’t had any real sickness — or even diaper rash — since she was born. I did stay at home with her on Monday and Tuesday, because she seemed extra sleepy and clingy. We nursed a lot and relied on Baby Tylenol to provide a little extra comfort. She has a nasty case of excema in the creases of her hands and feet and her little elbows are always so rough. She also still has cradle cap in her eye brows, so we’re covering her in baby balm a few times a day and hoping it’s all gone soon.
Crying: She mostly cries when her feelings are hurt or when we’re in the car after dark (this is still a thing). As long as you are paying attention to her hunger and sleepy cues, you can almost completely eliminate real tears.
Likes: It looks like months four and five are going to pretty similar, across the board. She still loves being worn and bath time is her favorite. A new favorite is reaching for our face and hair — she loves patting my face and twisting my nose while she nurses.
Dislikes: We still avoid the car after dark, if at all possible, but we have had a few small victories here this week. We ran to the grocery store during the Super Bowl on Sunday and she didn’t cry either way. I’m crossing my fingers we’ve almost grown out of that phenomenon! She also dislikes not being able to control her hands while she rests and she doesn’t like to wait on you, ever.
Milestones: She finally rolled from belly to back this month, but we haven’t yet mastered the back to front roll. I’m ready for this one, since I think she’ll sleep better on her belly, and I’m not confident enough to flip her over before she reaches that milestone. She “slept” in her big girl crib for the first time on Sunday night.
Places She’s Been: We’ve stayed close to home this month, so aside from doctor’s visits and Target runs, she hasn’t been very many places. She is accompanying me to my small group on Mondays, for as long as she isn’t a distraction. At our first meeting, she alternated between sleeping, eating, and playing quietly in the floor.
Special Moments: Is it cliche to say that every moment with her is special? Because it totally is. I think my favorite moment of the month, was one Sunday during worship at our church. I typically wear her in the sling for the first half of the service and then we duck out to nurse during the message. She is so alert now and really interested in the praise team on stage and the raised hands all around us. It is so special to sing words of worship over her each Sunday, knowing that they are already laying a firm foundation for her faith.
Mama, Daddy + Big Sisters: We’re all still in awe of this new addition to our family. We’re still stretching and growing in so many ways and I’m sure there will continue to be growing pains as we adjust to our new family of five status. We’ve been talking about how our vacations will look a little different this year and I’m working on making a small modification to the RV to help her sleep safely with the big girls. We’re all looking forward to feeding her real food next month, but I’m also grieving that I won’t be nourishing her completely with my own body. It’s hard to believe we’ve had her for five whole months and, at the same time, crazy to think about how our lives looked before she was a part of them!
