5 Months

Before Shelby turns 6 months, I figured I’d better get to it and post her 5 month happenings. August has flown by and I can’t believe my little will be 6 months in less than 10 days. 6 months!! Oh-my.

Shelby is a ray of sunshine. Her smile melts my heart. Her laughter is contagious and life giving. She is such a delight.

Eating: Shelby is eating solids 3x a day and still consuming around 24oz of milk daily. At breakfast she eats cereal. Lunch is usually a veggie and maybe a little fruit. For dinner, she eats cereal and veggies. She loves her veggies. Peas, carrots, squash are among her favorite. I’d say green beans are her least favorite.

She has started to hold her little bottle. To help her out with her little move of independence, I put her sippy cup handles on the bottle. She likes gripping those and feeding herself. BUT we still help her a lot. Plus we like to hold her to feed her…this way we get to cuddle.

She will fuss and at times even cry at the sight of the bottle. If the food your preparing doesn’t come fast enough she will let you know.

Sleeping: Here’s what a typical day looks like…

645/730am wakes up. plays happily in her crib

930/1000am nap #1. usually lasting 45minuts to an hour

1200/1230pm nap #2. anywhere from an hour and half to 3 hours long.

415/445pm nap #3: optional. a little catnap. usually about 15 to 20 minutes long. I wake her up after 30 minutes. Its just enough to get her to bedtime.

645/715pm bedtime

For most of the month Shelby would wake for 1 feeding around 3 or 4 in the morning. However, in the past two weeks she’s stretched that feeding to 5 or 545am. I would feed her and put her back to bed. This week, I’m happy to report that she has started to sleep through the night. August 22nd was the first night she slept the whole night through—715pm to 7am. Yippee! So far she’s continued this little pattern for the past 3 nights. Looking forward to it being our new normal.

Shelby is so happy and playful when she wakes up. In the morning we’re greeted with smiles and kicks. After nap time, she sings and laughs to let us know she is up.

Movement and Play: Shelby is a kicker! She kicks her legs in excitement all the time. I can even hear her pounding her mattress with her chubby little legs as she plays in the morning.

She is rolling over a lot more now too. Has even rolled over a couple times in her sleep, which she doesn't like. She gets very mad. Thankfully, after flipping her back over she doses right back off.

She has just started to sit up ..for oh about .03 seconds and quickly doubles over. We’re practicing though.

More than anything, I love watching Shelby grab things. She is always reaching out for something. She loves to touch, grab, shake, eat anything she can get her hands on.

She enjoys all things that crinkle. She has several toys that make the rustling, crinkle noise. She loves waving the “crinkle” item around to see how much noise she can make. Plus, they are soft chew toys.

Her blanket makes her happy. She loves snuggling with it, pulling it over her face and kicking it off with her legs. She just smiles and laughs as she plays. It also brings comfort. I can give it too her when she is fussy. She hugs it tightly and rubs her eye signaling to me its sleep time.

Teeth: Shelby cut her first tooth, August 11th. Then, on August 13th, her second tooth appeared. She’s been a busy little girl. Each time she became really fussy and restless. Napping was a challenge. Thankfully, they didn't bother her too much at night. I spent a lot of time rocking her or carrying her around in my arms or in the ERGObaby baby carrier.

Lean in. Look closely…do you see her new little teeth. I’ve been trying to get a picture of them. So far, this is the best.

That Hair: Shelby’s hair continues to grow—STRAIGHT UP! No matter what we do to it, it always stands up. Our little Spike! Its getting thicker, but depending on what angle you look at her you can see right though it. Her hair is very soft. I get more comments on her hair when we're out and about. People love it and can’t keep their hands out of it.

Relaxing after breakfast. Watching the birds outside.

I love her eyes in this one. Wish there wasn’t a shadow on her forehead.