Amelia Jane - five months old

This month, Amelia's been busy rolling over, chomping on everything she can get her hands (and teeth) on, and losing her ability to sleep long lengths. It's been quite a month.

At her four month appointment (right after that post of course... never lines up to post it beforehand), she measured at 25 inches (95%) and 13.8 lbs (15%) which is NOT accurate. I don't know what the deal was with the scale at her appointment, but I weighed her again at home by standing on the scale and then holding her and weighing myself again, and she was 14 lb 7 oz, which puts her at 30%, much less alarming and much more realistic. She dropped down a little for the weight but she's growing fine and all of my babies do this so it's not a big deal.

She's still wearing 3-6 month with a few 0-3 month (and no, they aren't just the "big" clothes that were 0-3, they are really random). I just pulled out her 6-9 month summer clothes with hopes to get at least one wear out of each outfit, but I have a feeling she'll swim in them. Her feet have grown just enough to fit in the 0-3 month size shoes. They are so long and skinny, it's really not worth it other than for looks. They are pretty adorable, so I put her in them on special occasions. Most of the time, she's just barefoot.

No new teeth, although she drools a lot now (way more than Audrey, but not as much as Josie did) and wants to chew on everything. She still loves the pacifier, and I often use it as a distraction if she keeps trying to chew on something that isn't ok. I have also started saying "not food" when I don't want her to chew on something, in hopes that as she gets older, I can say that and she will actually get it. :)

The one downside to the pacifier is that she isn't as chatty. She happily sucks on it and doesn't spend as much time cooing. I take it out if she's clearly happy, but she fusses enough to get it back pretty often so that hasn't helped much.

Movement is coming. She has used her toes to scoot forward and has also done the Superman a few times to throw herself forward. She spins in circles and rolls around too. She hasn't gone more than about four feet, but she is able to explore a little which helps her stay happy longer. But, man, she does not tolerate being set down if she's not in the right mood. She loves to lay on the couch with me right next to her, keeping her from rolling off the couch like a good mom should do. I don't mind, but the floor works too, kiddo.

She doesn't seem close to sitting up, but this step always surprises me. I always forget to try or work on it, and then suddenly they can do it. I wouldn't be surprised if she is doing this by six months.

No food this last month, although that changed a little right after she turned five months old. She nurses great. So great, that she ends up eating at least every two hours. I really don't mind. Seriously. Except at night. I would love to sleep for more than two hours at a time! I had hoped it'd be better but it actually got worse. I'd say that at least one third of the nights, she had one stretch that would only last 1 1/2 hours. That means I'm getting up 4-5 times a night. Yuck. So sometimes I doze while she naps in the afternoon, while the big girls have quiet time, and then all is well (enough). Soon, though, soon it will get a little better, right?

She still is all about being outside. We have been biking (strap her carseat in the Burley trailer - works like a charm), walking, spending time at parks, going to a pond to swim (she sat in the water and of course loved it) and she is like a different baby. She hardly fusses at all. Sometimes she'll nap, sometimes she doesn't, but she still stays happy. I love it so much. Keep this forever, baby girl.

I have noticed that she gets pretty cranky when her naps have been all over the place too much. I've been trying a little harder to have a solid afternoon nap at home, but sometimes it doesn't last as long as it should. Introducing: the second afternoon nap. Seriously. She naps from 1-3, wakes up to eat, gets insanely angry suddenly, and sleeps for another hour. It's the weirdest thing, but I'm going with it. Sometimes, if she goes down for her main nap earlier, she'll even sneak in a third nap again before bed at like 5:00 or 6:00. And let's not forget that she naps at least twice in the morning if we are out and about, usually for like 45 minutes each. So weird. It's no wonder, though, since she is probably tired from not sleeping all night. How much energy do I want to put in to get more of a schedule? Answer: None. It's actually working fine like this. We have a lot of flexibility and I don't think she'd sleep more at night since she wakes up hungry and eats well enough to make it worth it.

Amelia's been a little better about being held by other people. She's still not that comfortable with hubby, which is unfortunate. My mom is the best with her so far, mostly because she capitalizes on her short attention span and constantly changes scenery and positions. I also started taking the kids to the gym childcare and she's done okay. When I go in the morning, she cries a little, sleeps a little, cries a little, and watches the other kids all while being held. When I go in the afternoon, they usually come and get me because she's too upset for too long. Poor thing. I can only imagine what she's thinking, since she's never away from me and then I'm gone for a whole hour which must feel like forever to a baby. Thankfully, it's a pretty big part of our routine, so she is getting more and more used to it and the people are often the same too. It's so good for her, to be around other people. I just feel bad for the workers that get stuck with the screaming baby...

Her finger and hand control has improved drastically. She grips on to me as tight as she can when I pick her up (love that) and reaches for my face every single time she can. She intentionally reaches for toys, her pacifier, and her sisters all the time. They love it too, and delight in taking away toys and giving her new toys. I'm sure she'll love that as she gets older... Part of this lovely new trick is grabbing at whatever I am doing, most often being my food on a plate or papers I'm trying to read. We have a lot of crumpled up mail laying around and she doesn't get to "help" me in the kitchen as much anymore, much to her dismay.

This little lady is quite the drama queen. She goes from 0 to 60 faster than I can blink and bounces between laughing and crying enough to confuse anyone. Trust me, I don't indulge it, she's just naturally like this. Many a day, I get to cook a meal with the sounds of her screams in the background. I try to get her happily playing right next to me on a blanket in the kitchen, but she is on to me and my tricks. It rarely works. I'm just not going to risk burning her by wearing her in the front or holding her with one hand while I try to stir something on the stove with my other hand. Cooking has to be fast lately and I still have to do it while she screams. Soon enough I will be able to wear her on my back, but she's just not close enough to sitting up to do that yet. I also think she'll enjoy sitting in the high chair munching on food when we get to that point, but it's still a ways off.

Josie and Audrey still kiss her often, trade her toys (always in their favor of course) and call her all the nicknames (current favorites: Mil mil, Millie moo moo, Milbert, Mila girl). They are used to her loud shrieks and screams and don't seem too bothered by them. Sometimes they block it out so much that they don't "help" when they could. It's kind of funny, actually, how she can be screaming right next to them just wanting her pacifier or a toy and they won't even notice. Other times they notice immediately and help her, so it just depends on what they are doing.

This month, the sisters were all about the group pictures at the end of her little photo session. Enjoy. :)

Amelia was over it, the big girls...not so much.

I told them to make her feel better... pat pat pat.

And the comparison shot. Darn that lack of hair, it makes it so hard to see the similarities. Look how long her torso is compared to the other two. Her smile is also huge, and it's not just in these pictures, it really is bigger than the other two's ever were. Looking at these pictures of all three girls at this age... makes me just lose it. They are so cuddly and adorable. I have the best memories of each of them. This stage is the best (I'll say that again next month, and the next, and the next...)