We wanted to share some notes about Madeleine at 5 months.
Overall, Maddie is a happy, healthy baby! She often smiles and laughs, and is learning new things all the time! She amazes us daily.
All Things Sleep:
* We transitioned her out of the swaddle about 1 month ago. We now put her in a big puffy suit called the Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit. She looks hilarious in it, like the Michelin Man. It hasn't helped with her startle reflex as much as I thought it would, but she sleeps pretty much as well in it as she did the swaddle. Once she starts to roll over in her sleep, we will transition her into another gimmicky sleepsuit.
*We also transitioned her out of her bassinet and into her crib about 3 weeks ago. We first we put her in the bassinet in her own room and finally transitioned her into her crib. Again the transition went well. Maddie actually sleeps better since we aren't accidentally waking her up when we snore :)
*Napping: Naps are a struggle. She naps 3-4 times a day, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Once day she had 5 - 30 minute naps! The 2 hour naps are rare. Our little girl is quite smart, she now realizes when we carry her up the stairs that it's time for her nap, so she fusses on the way. She will also fuss when we turn the noise machine on or close her window drapes.
*Sleeping at night: We are still putting her down anywhere from 6-7pm nightly. She wakes up periodically throughout the night, but we put her pacifier in and gently rock her back to sleep. She wakes up 1-2 times a night to eat. Maddie gets anywhere from 11-1/2 to 13 hours of sleep a night.
Eating: Maddie is still mainly on breastmilk, but we have had to supplement with 1-2 bottles of formula a day. I have not been able to pump enough for our growing girl's intake. We are also supplementing with milk I was lucky enough to freeze while on maternity leave. She's mainly bottle fed during the day, even when I work from home. I am nurse her at night before bed (about half of the time, the other half is a bottle), I nurse her in the middle of the night and when she wakes up. We look forward to starting solids soon, we plan on starting a week before her 6 month doctor's appointment. Maddie shows interest when we eat. If she sees us drinking out of a cup, if we bring the cup to her, she opens her mouth and licks the cup. She will also do the same with a spoon; if we eat from the spoon, she will open her mouth and lick it as well.
Milk: On the subject of milk, Maddie understands the word and sign for Milk! She gets noticeably excited when we show her the sign for milk, or say the word "milk," and she even understands it in Chinese! She also gets very excited when she sees a bottle, hers or someone else's (see the note on the Playgroup posting).
Overall, Maddie is a happy, healthy baby! She often smiles and laughs, and is learning new things all the time! She amazes us daily.
All Things Sleep:
* We transitioned her out of the swaddle about 1 month ago. We now put her in a big puffy suit called the Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit. She looks hilarious in it, like the Michelin Man. It hasn't helped with her startle reflex as much as I thought it would, but she sleeps pretty much as well in it as she did the swaddle. Once she starts to roll over in her sleep, we will transition her into another gimmicky sleepsuit.
*We also transitioned her out of her bassinet and into her crib about 3 weeks ago. We first we put her in the bassinet in her own room and finally transitioned her into her crib. Again the transition went well. Maddie actually sleeps better since we aren't accidentally waking her up when we snore :)
*Napping: Naps are a struggle. She naps 3-4 times a day, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Once day she had 5 - 30 minute naps! The 2 hour naps are rare. Our little girl is quite smart, she now realizes when we carry her up the stairs that it's time for her nap, so she fusses on the way. She will also fuss when we turn the noise machine on or close her window drapes.
*Sleeping at night: We are still putting her down anywhere from 6-7pm nightly. She wakes up periodically throughout the night, but we put her pacifier in and gently rock her back to sleep. She wakes up 1-2 times a night to eat. Maddie gets anywhere from 11-1/2 to 13 hours of sleep a night.
Eating: Maddie is still mainly on breastmilk, but we have had to supplement with 1-2 bottles of formula a day. I have not been able to pump enough for our growing girl's intake. We are also supplementing with milk I was lucky enough to freeze while on maternity leave. She's mainly bottle fed during the day, even when I work from home. I am nurse her at night before bed (about half of the time, the other half is a bottle), I nurse her in the middle of the night and when she wakes up. We look forward to starting solids soon, we plan on starting a week before her 6 month doctor's appointment. Maddie shows interest when we eat. If she sees us drinking out of a cup, if we bring the cup to her, she opens her mouth and licks the cup. She will also do the same with a spoon; if we eat from the spoon, she will open her mouth and lick it as well.
Milk: On the subject of milk, Maddie understands the word and sign for Milk! She gets noticeably excited when we show her the sign for milk, or say the word "milk," and she even understands it in Chinese! She also gets very excited when she sees a bottle, hers or someone else's (see the note on the Playgroup posting).
Sitting on her own: Maddie has been sitting on her own unassisted for a while now, and for much longer stretches of time. We still put lots of pillows around her to be safe if we aren't sitting right next to her, but she can occupy herself for a decent amount of time sitting up. If she starts to lean over, she struggles to right herself up. She doesn't particularly like being laid down on an incline anymore, and you can see her trying to sit up on her own. We have also been putting her in her high chair so she can be part of the action. She seems to enjoy being at grown up height.
Kiss Kiss: See post on this. We prompt her to do this all the time and it's just so adorable when she does. Trying to get more on video.
Rolling Over: Maddie officially rolled over this past Sunday, April 12th! From back to front.
Pivoting: Maddie has been pivoting when she is on her belly. We will lay her in one direction and a few minutes later she has pivoted over anywhere from 90-180 degrees! We practice "crawling" with her - we lay her on her belly, and put our hands on her feet as leverage to herself forward.
Cats: Maddie LOVES our cats!! As soon as they enter the room, Maddie turns to look at them. She especially likes Voldemort, who has a bell on her collar. When she hears her jingle jingle she wants to pet Voldy now! Maddie gets very excited when we sit her next to the cats and we have to remind her to be gentle, otherwise she will grab 2 fistfulls of cat! The cats like her as long as Joseph or I are there to keep Maddie in line.
Going Outside: Maddie loves to go outside! We put her in the stroller or the baby carrier, and visit the park whenever we can. She loves to be in the bucket swing and gives the biggest smile when she gets a big push. She loves to watch the big kids run and jump around as well. We even work in a trip to Walgreens or the grocery store so we can multitask!
Socializing: We have enrolled her in Tot Playtime at the Wicker Park Field House 3 times a week. She gets to play with new toys and most importantly she gets to socialize with other kids! She is the youngest one there at 5 months, the next youngest babies are 9 months.
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