Delaney weights 14 lbs 9 oz and is 23.5 inches long. The pediatrician suggested that we start solids soon since her weight gain has slowed and she doesn’t seem to be able to take much more from the bottle.
Over the past month, Delaney has grown and developed so much. The difference in her temperament is so significant and we are seeing more and more of her developing personality. She is a very hard worker- she never gets frustrated or gives up when reaching for objects or doing tummy time. She is so determined, which I think is why she started doing the army crawl so early. She wanted to get to a toy and so she willed herself to move! She is also very sweet and friendly, breaking into a smile whenever she sees a face-- a neighbor on a walk, the dishwasher repair man, people in line at Starbucks, even herself in the mirror. She flirts with everyone! She lets us kiss her and hug her and seems to enjoy the cuddling as much as we do (well, almost). Brice put it best when he said that she has a good spirit. Even when she has to do things that she does not like, like aspirating her nose or changing her diaper when she’s really tired, she cries to get through it but then stops when we are finished. She doesn’t fuss unncecessarily- we typically know what is troubling her and she stops fussing when we’ve remedied the situation. In some ways, she is less sensitive- we don’t have to have the bottle in her mouth the second she wakes up and we are able to comfort her. In other ways she is more sensitive-the sound from Dakota’s collar will wake her up during a nap and she’s distracted from nursing by someone just walking into the room. She is increasingly aware of her surroundings and is an active participant in her environment. She watches cars drive by, she looks at a tree and then follows it to the top, she sees a toy at the other end of the mat and tries to get it, she anticipates and responds to our sounds, facial expressions, she learns how to use new toys, etc. She enjoys new experiences.
At 5 months, Delaney is…
- Still on 3 hours cycles (1.5 hours of awake time followed by 1.5 hour nap)- eating 5x per day (no more than 7 oz bottles). However, we just started eliminating her brief nap before bath time. So she is awake from 4pm (or whenever she wakes up) until her bedtime.
- Sleeping through the night still! 7:30pm-7/7:30am!
- Army crawling- we’ve had to start the babyproofing process!
- Sitting on her own using her arms as support
- OBSESSED with Dakota- she smiles or giggles whenever Dakota is around and loves to pet/grab her. She also LOVES Wolfie (my parents’ dog) who is much more interested in her.
- Hiccuping after she laughs
- Learning “cause and effect”- some of her toys have buttons to press to make sounds and she’s quickly figured those out.
- Distracted while feeding. We had a couple rough weeks where it was taking more than 45 minutes per feed. After getting a few ounces/a couple minutes, she is more interested in looking around, playing, blowing bubbles, squealing, wiggling, etc., etc., etc.
- Starting music classes! Another post on this later….
- Starting to take naps without the sleep sack
- Sleeping on her tummy exclusively. This was a tough transition for us and we spent many sleepless nights watching the monitor because her preference for sleeping on her stomach coinciding with her cold so we were already worried about her breathing.
- Playing with her toys on her own. We are pretty impressed with this. We can put her on her mat and she eagerly plays with her toys on her own. Of course we all prefer more interactive play, but it’s nice to know that she is able to occupy herself.
