Audrey turned five months old on April 18th. This month has been so much better for this little babe. Around the time of the four month update, she was continually fussing and just didn't seem to be her happy self. We tried adjusting all kinds of things, but I think that ultimately she was just going through the huge growth spurt that happens around that time. Once we got past that (along with a few other adjustments), she is doing great and we haven't looked back.
After this post about my struggles with breast feeding, I ended up pumping for the whole month while supplementing her with formula. She would not latch on once she knew that the bottle was an option, which was frustrating to say the least. I did my best to keep my supply up, but of course it eventually slowed down and I threw in the towel this week after only pumping 1 1/2 oz for an entire day. That tiny amount was not worth how much time it was taking, so even though I wanted to continue until she was six months old, I was ready to be done. I am praying that she doesn't get too sick in the next month without my immunity being passed to her. That really is the reason that I had wanted to continue until at least six months. At least after that point, I can give her some medicine for fevers or teething.
With her now drinking formula, she has really chunked up! I don't know how much she weighs, but she is definitely quite a bit bigger than she was last month. Even within the first week of formula supplementing, her face changed a lot and she started filling out her clothes. I put away all of her 0-3 month clothing and have even noticed that some of Josie's hand-me-downs are too small even though they are 3-6 month. What a change! Those chubby cheeks are too much for me. I just can't get enough of them.
This month, she spent a large amount of play time on her tummy and she's starting to grab for toys intentionally. She's finding her feet and understanding that her hands belong to her. It's so fun to watch her pick something up, hold it in front of her, and then either throw it down or bring it closer (usually to her mouth). Her wonder and excitement is contagious. I've been working with her sitting up, and I can see that she is getting stronger although she isn't really that close yet. I'm in no hurry for her to grow up as fast as her sister did... she can take her time with this!
Sleeping has improved this month. She had been waking up 3-4 times a night because she was hungry, but once we started filling her up as much as we could before bed, she slept longer only waking once (sometimes twice) a night. The problem we had this month was that when she did get up that one time, it took up to two hours to get her back to sleep. We were practically pulling our hair out trying to figure out why she wouldn't go back to sleep. She has grown out of this too (thank you God) and is now getting up once (occasionally twice) to eat but falling back asleep almost immediately. It's such a relief. Now that I am not breast feeding, we are doing what we did with Josie for night duty. Every other night, either hubby or I (just one of us) get up with both girls no matter what. That way, the night that we have "off" is quality sleep instead of just waiting for the next crying girl. It makes a huge difference to know that if someone needs something, it's taken care of. I know we both sleep better with this arrangement. Of course, the nights when it is our turn, we are both less than thrilled about it. It's fair, though, so it keeps us from the unnecessary middle of the night bickering. (Let's face it, neither of us are at our bests then.)
I can count on smiles from this girl all the time. She's much more content playing on the floor or in her ExerSaucer. We also got out our Johnny Jumper and she enjoys that just as much. The only problem is that her sister loves to spin her around and push her like it's a swing. Because of this, not much time is spent in it since it has to hang in the bedroom door which isn't close to anything. I can't trust Josie for one second when she's in there!
We haven't started solids yet, although I have tried baby oatmeal with her a few times. She still isn't showing much interest in food, and I'm not too concerned with it. She'll be ready when she's ready and she's growing just fine. It's a lot more work for me, too, so when she's ready, we'll do it but for now, it's fine to just try it out here and there.
Audrey is not a fan of the car seat. Although she eventually does stop fussing, I spend a lot of every drive with my arm reaching back awkwardly trying to hold the pacifier in her mouth. Its the only thing that works to keep her from fussing (which leads to screaming). Once the weather is nice enough to take off the car seat cover, I'm hoping she'll enjoy being able to see everything and won't be angry about all things car seat all the time. Other than that, she is rarely fussy unless she's tired or hungry and then who can blame her? She's gotten a lot tougher with Josie's big sister roughness and only cries from it really is too rough. A baby can only take so much rough housing!
I just really really really love this age. She's not independent enough to be into everything but she loves to play, is starting to show personality, and is content almost all the time. So much fun. I believe that is what I thought when Josie hit this age too.
Here is a comparison of the girls. Audrey on the left, Josie on the right.
Click here to see how she's changed each month.
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