5 Months Old

This past month has been Caroline's best yet! It seemed one night, she just turned a corner, and we could set her down more. We more or less figured out a routine for her, not that it goes according to the time, but we're figuring out what she needs a bit easier. Like clockwork, she eats every three hours. Some time during the second half of the three hour period, she likes to nap. Usually she'll have one good 1.5 hour nap between noon and 2 pm. After 4 pm, she has a hard time napping probably due to Bennett being awake and loud. If we go on a walk, more often than not, she'll fall asleep. Then finally she likes to go to bed between 7:30-8:00 pm. She likes to eat to fall asleep, and then we can usually set her down in her crib or the pack and play. She will sleep until 11 pm or so, and then wake up crying. Sometimes she insists on eating, and other times she will fall back asleep until some time between 2:00-4:00 am. So she IS getting better with being put down. Last night she woke up to eat at 12:45. This was pretty annoying, but then she slept in the pack and play until 5:45 am, so that's not too bad.

In addition to establishing a schedule, this past month Caroline's personality is blossoming. She is super happy, especially in the morning. She likes to get people's attention, smile and then look away. What a flirt! She also likes to talk, blow raspberries and drool a lot, especially the drooling. When she talks, sometimes it's just a sweet chat, but she also talks/screeches a lot when she's mad too. I think we're going to have a lot of yelling in this house when she's a teenager. Caroline has definitely become more interactive this month.

She also began putting toys up to her mouth. She is either chew on her hands, or on a blanket, toy, whatever she can get her hands on. We'll probably start solids within the week, because she has been showing an interest in foods for quite some time. Plus, I am hoping some solids will help her get past the nighttime feeding(s).

Caroline still hates her car seat but is tolerating it a little bit more. During the morning she is usually pretty good about sitting in it. In the afternoon and evening, it doesn't go as well. I think it's because that's her fussier time of day, since she has a hard time taking naps during that time. She really hates the car seat when she is tired. Recently we've had some success with the car seat after she falls into her deep sleep after 7:30 pm. A full, well rested Caroline travels much better than a hungry, overtired Caroline.

When Caroline is overtired, she can get upset and work herself into a horrible fit. She will cry and scream inconsolably, and if she gets that way for a while, then despite our best efforts, it's quite impossible to quiet her down. Usually it involves the other parent taking her, and eventually she'll snap out of it. But when she gets going, she really gets going. Tears, screaming, sweat...

Her favorite things right now include baby carriers, Bennett and looking around. I think she'd want me to carry her in the baby carrier all day long if she had the option. She is getting a little big and impatient for me to use her in the Moby wrap, but it is her favorite and mine too. She fits so snug, cozy, and feels so teeny all wrapped up. Caroline loves to watch Bennett. If he's in the room, she needs to look at him and see what he is doing. Hopefully he is being a good example for his little sister. And really, Caroline is always watching everything. She likes to face outwards when she is held or in the carrier. Everything is way more exciting than Mommy's face!

Her biggest trick this month was definitely rolling over. She can flip from her back to her stomach really easily now. This is particularly handy when I lay her on the floor and leave the room. The first thing she does is flip over and look for me. With all the flipping, her neck and back control have gotten so much better. Sometimes she'll push herself around, trying to figure out a way to move forward. Caroline is really good at pushing herself up with her arms, but isn't getting onto her knees yet, and I think her tummy is too big to get off the ground. It'll be interesting to see if she starts crawling this month!



While I was taking pictures of Caroline, Bennett was playing catch with himself.