5 Months

Happy 5 months to my fun-loving, ball of bursting personality!

This stinker refuses to cooperate for photo shoots, not the pic I wanted but it will do!

Lots of changes occurred this month and some of them proved quite painful for Aaron and I.  First big change was switching to all formula.   The chaos of pumping was really getting to a breaking point for me where I decided I need to stop with the madness.  The time spent every day, the packing up the supplies and hauling them around with me, not being able to do anything for more than a few hours at a time on weekends because I had to go home and pump, all the extra hand washing and consolidating/keeping straight to use the oldest pumped milk first, and the biggest headache was my supply dropping and trying to keep straight what was formula and milk in the fridge as they have very different rules on how long they are good for.  Aaron was the worse about keeping the ‘rules’ straight between the both and more and more was going down the drain.  At that point I said enough is enough with this madness!  So we switched to all formula, I felt like I had my life back.  In fact, when I stopped, I got a burst of energy and felt more alive than I had in months.  But poor Annie, we didn't transition very slowly and her reflux was out of control for a good week.  We finally found a formula that works best for her tummy but it was a painful, stressful process for a good week.    I've learned a lot about nursing/pumping/formula and walk away with a lot of knowledge and changes I will do with baby #2 that I think will make it more successful next time around.  Biggest thing I learned is don’t let it run your life.  As long as baby eats, who cares if it’s breastmilk or formula!  My health is just as important as my daughter’s and letting it run my life and stress me out was totally not worth it, I feel like a whole new person now since I've stopped, it’s been refreshing to just feel like me again.  

Another big change was introducing rice cereal.  At first she didn’t know what to think, most of it was coming out then going down, it was fun the first time then after that it was just a nuisance, but with good practice, she is now gobbling it down and really seems to like it and its fun again.  Practice really does make perfect.

We also experienced our first diaper rash.  We are still dealing with it 3 weeks later, it just won’t fully go away and looks like I’ll be calling our Pediatrician again this week to find out what to try next.

She is rolling like crazy, and when she’d roll at night, it was waking her up.  Arg!  Sleeping clear thru the night was interrupted for a good week to two.  We finally got back to sleeping thru the night again but it was another painful change for us as we transitioned to getting back up in the middle of the nights for a few weeks to calm her and help her get back to her back. 

Her fussiness has improved but not dramatically enough to say we are over it yet.  I think I have honed in on the problem though and hoping this month we’ll have it solved.  I don’t think she is getting enough quality naps and therefore is overtired.  I follow the book The Sleep Lady, great book!  So this month our focus is to work hard on establishing a good nap routine and honestly I think daycare isn’t the issue, it’s us on the weekends that are throwing her off.   Crossing my fingers that lack sleep is the culprit of her fussiness!  From what I read, I really think it is.

She is doing so many fun things every week.  She can now sit unassisted for a bit at time.   She can roll and roll.  Loves to army crawl her way to get a toy.  She likes to stand holding onto something.  Charley also really captivates her attention.   Her personality is really shining thru and let me tell you, she has quite the little personality.  She is quite the go-getter, and if anything gets in her way…watch out because she is a vocal little one!  Boy can she get mad!

I also feel like she has to constantly be on the move, it’s like I’m holding a hot potato.  Move this way and that way and back and forth, it’s exhausting!  And when someone asks to hold her, I usually preface by saying she’s a squirmy one, you really gotta have a good grip one her because she is pretty darn strong.   The only time she lets me hold her like a baby is when she is feeding otherwise, she’s constantly moving this way and that. 

Guessing this next month will be a lot more of us chasing after her as she continues to improve her mobility.  Go Annie GO! 

This was the pic I wanted, but with her looking at the camera

So intrigued with these blocks