5 Months

Kyla is 5 months old!

SLEEP:  This is hard to figure out and has caused us the most stress the past month.  I was really hoping Kyla would be one of those babies that slept through the night from 6 weeks on until forever, but unfortunately that didn't happen!  Although she did start sleeping from midnight to 6:00 am at just six weeks old, she regressed to sleeping for only about 3-4 hours at a time when she turned 4 months.  We had not really started a schedule of any kind before Christmas, but sleeping in the car for all our random car rides did not help her figure out the difference between naps and bedtime.  This girl was become quite the fighter of sleep.  Once we got back home, we started developing a better sleep schedule with two naps (lasting about an hour each) a day and trying to put her down for the night at 9:00.  One night, after fighting sleep every night for a week or so, we attempted to just let her cry it out.  After three hours, I gave up on that method.  The next day, I got desperate and put her on her stomach for her nap, just to see if she would go to sleep that way.  And much to my surprise, she fell asleep right away and stayed asleep for more than an hour.  (She has always slept on her back since birth.)  We now have a bedtime routine of a book, turning down the lights, and starting the noise maker.  I lay her down on her belly in her crib, turn on the seahorse that plays lullaby music, and she will fuss for a few minutes before falling asleep.  We came to the conclusion that we would just go back to putting her to bed when we go to bed between 10-11 instead of 9:00.  Now she sleeps in her crib until about 3-4, up to eat, then nurses off and on until getting up for the day around 9:00 am.  This has been working for now. 

EAT:  Kyla LOVES to nurse.  She would just nurse all day if I allowed it.  This does make it confusing for me sometimes because I'm never quite sure if she's done or not.  After she starts slowing down and only swallowing a couple times a minute, I take her off.  She usually accepts the paci in replacement.  She still eats every 2-3 hours during the day.  She is still taking a bottle all day on Wednesdays when I'm at work.  She loves her bottle and can hold it herself.  She even gets mad when you take it away.

SIZE:  She is wearing almost all 9 month clothes now.  Six month pants are too short and look like shorts on her.  She is still wearing Target size 2 diapers, but they are starting to look small. I believe she weights about 14 lbs now, but not sure how tall she is.

APPOINTMENTS:  No doctor appointments this month.  February will be her 6 month check up and probably more shots.

PERSONALITY:  Kyla has such a funny personality.  She gets shy easily.  If you get close to her and talk, she will smile and then turn her head away.  She loves to growl when she's happy.  It usually involves her sticking as many fingers, hands, and toes in her mouth as possible, then growling up a storm.  I think it is her secret language.  

TOYS:  She really enjoys her bouncy seat now and will sit in it for about 30 minutes before she gets bored.  She also has a bumbo and an exersaucer that she plays in every day.  Her favorite chew toy is a little flower with keys attached to it.  I'm trying to get her monkey blanket to be her attachment item, but only time will tell.

MILESTONES:  Kyla has rolled over from tummy to back about half a dozen times.  However, she does not do it on command nor does she seem to really have much interest in doing it on purpose.  She loves to try to sit up if you help her.  She really strains forward like she's doing a sit up.  But she will just  face plant if you let her try to sit up on her own.  This month, she also discovered her feet and plays with them all the time.  She does not have any teeth yet, but I feel a little bump on her upper right gum line.  She is very drooly and chews on her fingers constantly so I don't think it will be too much longer.

4 Months

Wow I'm super late on this one! But I still want to remember what this month had in store, so here we go!

Kyla had her four month check up and shots on December 18th.

Weight:  13 lbs 2.5 oz.
Length:  25 in. long
Still a long skinny thing!

Diapers: Still in size 2 Target brand. We tried the Parents Choice diapers this month but we were not fans.

Clothes:  She was in size 6-9 month clothes. 

Food:  Still consuming only breast milk.  Pretty proud of myself for making it four months of breastfeeding.  There are times when I just want to quit.  Like when I want Daddy to be able to help more so I can have half an hour to myself or when I'm with friends or family and I have to disappear for a while to feed her in private.  But then I remember 1, formula is expensive and 2, breast milk is the healthiest thing I can provide for her. 

On pumping:  I have gotten into the routine of pumping about 4-6 ounces every morning so I can keep up with my freezer stash.  I am so glad I had a stash in the freezer this month.  I had my ovarian cyst removed and Kyla had to stay with a sitter for a day so that stash came in handy!  I do not really enjoy pumping.  However, a strange part of me feels satisfied when I see the bottle of milk I got out to save for later.  I pump at work 2-3 times a day depending on how long I'm there.  I try to go every 3-4 hours in between sessions, and I usually get between 3-5 ounces per session.  It's kind of awkward because I made one of the spare consult rooms my own little pumping area by covering up the window with paper.  Occasionally someone needs something out of the room, but I have never been walked in on yet.

Milestones:  Great at controlling her head.  She will now sit in the exersaucer and bouncy seat without problems.  She also likes the bumbo seat and still likes laying on her play mat.  She does not attempt to roll over yet.  We are giving her lots of tummy time but she still does not find it enjoyable for more than 10 minutes at a time.  The pediatrician mentioned that Kyla feels a little floppy in her upper body strength.  At her six month appointment, we will see if she has made any improvement.

She loves playing with her toys now.  She will swat at things and reach for toys.  Most of the time she wants to put them in her mouth.  She is really starting to chomp on things, mostly her fingers.  They are almost always in her mouth.  She loves to growl when she's playing!

Sleep:  What's sleep?  Kyla is starting to become quite the fighter when it comes to naps and bedtime.  She will be rubbing her eyes and I just know that she's tired but she cries and cries.  The only thing that seems to calm her down enough to get her to sleep without crying is to nurse.  I am trying not to get into that habit though because then no one will be able to put her down except me and that is just not realistic.  We have been putting her down for the night between 9-10.  As the month went on, she started getting up more and more during the night.  At the beginning, she would sleep straight through until about 5-6.  She would feed and then go back to sleep until about 9-10.  But as the month went on, she started waking up earlier and was no longer comforted by her pacifier enough to go back to sleep.  I'm hoping this is just a phase and she will start being able to self soothe enough to fall back asleep on her own soon.