5 months old

Yesterday, Abby turned 5 months old. :)  So, Happy 5 month birthday Abigail!

In celebration, we had a doctor's appointment to get Abs weighed in again.  We were very, very pleased to find that she had gained nearly a pound in just one week!  Way to go, kid.  So, she now officially weighs in at 11.8 lbs.  I mean, that's still pretty small for a 5 month old - but at least we're back on the charts.  

We were able to help her gain the weight by adding in 2 more bottles a day.  Since my supply couldn't keep up with her demands, we were using formula for those bottles.  The upside is that she successfully gained weight (her little cheeks are notably rounder now).  The downside is that the increase in bottles made her lazy and this is now day 6 of her nursing strike.  One morning she just decided she was done and she hasn't wanted to nurse since.  I still try everyday, but it just makes her mad.

It's a little bittersweet.  I don't think I was (am?) ready to be done with nursing, and it's a little sad to be rejected, y'know?  At the same time, it takes some of the pressure off of me too.  I'm still pumping so she's still getting about 2 milk bottles a day and I hope to at least continue doing that for a while.  In the meantime, there are more bottles to wash than ever. 

In other health news, the formula we introduced changed Abby's...shall we say, digestion? a bit. The result was a diaper rash that turned into a yeast infection.  The poor baby let us know how bad it hurt.  I couldn't change her diaper without her screaming and gasping for air.  Very sad.  We tried some triple-paste diaper ointment stuff, but it wasn't helping.  The doc gave us a prescription for some medicated cream yesterday and as of this morning, it looked like it was already helping.  

However, last night the rash was obviously bothering her.  We had our first rough night in longer than I can remember (please don't hate me mommies of sleep hating babies).  Abs was basically up from 2:30-4:30.  Makes for a tired mommy too, but I'll live. Hopefully tonight is better. 

At 5 months old, Abby is more interactive than ever.  She responds to my faces from across the room.  I can give her a look and make her smile.  She's responding to her reflection in the mirror now - she smiles at it every time.  It's cute.  Her feet are her favorite thing and as soon as I unswaddle her every morning, the first thing she does is put her foot in her mouth.  She giggles often now and has shown that she is ticklish just about everywhere....but those floating ribs are the best. She's still working on learning to sit on her own and is making progress - but the diaper rash has interfered with that a little bit.  She would rather not sit on that at the moment, thankyouverymuch.  Let's see, what else?  

She no longer cries when we put her in the car seat.  She's usually very good in the car and on trips in general.  She prefers to be on her tummy now, but still isn't quite sure how to roll back over once she's tired.  She loves the Oball we got her and will hold it all day.  She's also now able to sit really well in her bumbo seat.  She's starting to show a little interest in food now - in that she will watch me eat.  Yesterday she was in a fit of giggles watching me chomp on some red pepper.  It was like a magical disappearing act I suppose. Oh, and the big new trick that she's  now mastered is holding her bottle.  She holds it every meal and if I give it to her first, she can lift it and put it in her mouth and hold it until she's done.  Good job, Abigail. :)

Other than that, she continues to be a very chill, laid back, observer baby.  She's got her dad wrapped tight around every finger and he's still as smitten as ever with her. 

I'm hoping to take some "official" 5 month pictures with the child this afternoon. The weather here has turned so nice, maybe we can get outside.  

minutes old 

5 months old