Leighton :: Five Months Old

Oh man, she's cute.

Five months with our sweet little girl. Leighton is turning into her own little person. Every month that passes we get to see more of her personality come through, and it's going to be a big one people.

EAT | Girlfriend is still eating every 3-4 hours during the day. She's still getting mostly breast milk but is predominately bottle-fed during the day. Month four was such a doozy that we were trying anything and everything to keep her happy. When we started feeding her 4-5 oz bottles during the day, we were able to track how many ounces she was getting and make sure she was eating a full meal every three hours or so. It really helped get her on a day-time schedule which helped us implement a bedtime routine in hopes that she'd actually go to bed without a knock-down, drag-out fight. It's not perfect, but things are better. We also supplement her last bottle of the day (usually around 7pm) with 7 oz of formula as a means to fill her up and fill 'er up good.

We did a little modified sleep training at the beginning of May to teach her to self soothe and while she still does cry a little each night before she falls asleep, she has learned to fall asleep on her own. Most nights, she's in bed by 8 PM and she'll sleep until 2 AM or so and will nurse for 10 minutes or so and then go back to bed until 6 or 7 AM. Some nights she's up more often or will take a little longer to get back to sleep but we are making progress! I'm hoping she drops the middle of the night feeding(s) naturally at some point but for now I'm glad that she'll still nurse rather quickly and get back down.  Pumping during the day and offering bottles is a hassle but it's working for us at this point and helps keep the peace. At least a little bit! :)

Leighton also had oatmeal for the first time! She's been watching us eat for a few weeks now so we tried the baby oatmeal one night last week. She did pretty well with it so I think we'll slowly start introducing other foods soon.

SLEEP | Still taking 2-3 naps during the day in the swing for the most part. We've attempted naps in the crib but the longest she's slept up in her room during the day is for 45 minutes at a time. I attempted to start naps upstairs in April but her nighttime sleep was such a disaster that she wasn't sleeping well at any point so I gave up and just let her sleep where she was happy. She's almost too big for the swing - always trying to sit up and lean forward - so I know our days are numbered. We'll get her naps on track eventually. For now, I'm not stressing about it too much.

PLAY | She is way more content than Gracyn ever was to lay on the floor, roll all over the place and play with toys. We brought the jumperoo downstairs a few weeks ago and she'll sit in there a few times a day to bounce and play. She's on her tummy more often than not and tries really hard to get her legs moving. She's even started sitting up! It's crazy but she can do it. A little wobbly still she's still able to hold her self up for a few minutes at a time. Her favorite thing to do is watch big sister.

Sweet baby, you really are the best. You have the biggest smile and the best little laugh.  We love you more than words.