My 5 Month Old...

Went to see Santa for her birthday. Apparently meeting Santa for the first time is quite serious business as she barely cracked a smile despite the best efforts of the photographers crew and myself. And Santa.

Sleeping through the night is definitely the norm now and not the exception. We have yet to establish a true bedtime routine, and still depend on the swing to really settle her in the early evening before we take her up and put her in the swaddle when we're ready to go to bed. (Yes, I know we should be starting a better routine, but DH usually doesn't get home from work until after 7 so if I put her to bed after her last feeding he'd never see her since when he leaves in the morning between 7 and 8, I'm generally still feeding her or just finishing up.) We're using a fleece SwaddleMe in the larger size, because her arms are still pretty flaily and she wiggles, so as long as she stands it, we'll keep doing it to (a) help her sleep and (b) keep her warm. Her room is probably the coolest bedroom, so she'd get pretty chilly if she worked herself out from under a blanket. Some mornings I actually have to wake her to feed before my boobs explode (or worse get a clogged duct).

I'm still pumping though it seems like my supply is dwindling - most of the time I barely get two ounces total unless I skip a pumping, then the next time I pump is more, but not enough to make up for the missed pumping. At 5-6 feedings per day 4-5 of which are 6 ounce bottles, usually only one of those bottle feedings is expressed milk. I do have a supply of milk in the freezer, but I haven't wanted to dip into that until it's really necessary because I'm not making enough now to replenish the supply.

We did get the go ahead to switch to regular formula at the 4 month visit, so we did that, and I haven't noticed any slowing in her weight gain (right now she's pushing 16 pounds and my arms and back are feeling every one of those ounces), but it's definitely slowing down the bleed of cash from our bank account. We also got the go ahead to try rice cereal, so have been playing with that once a week or so. She opens her mouth like a little bird for the spoon, but then it just sits on her tongue, so obviously not ready yet.

Something she was ready for: This morning, for the first time, she rolled over from stomach to back! DH hasn't seen it yet though, so shhhh. She was showing signs during yesterday's tummy time, so I recorded her efforts, but of course, didn't have the video camera on or even near this morning.

And now for the contractually required poo coverage: in the past week Little One has gone from going every three days with a more liquid product, to going every day with a stickier product. I'm not sure exactly what made the change (different formulas?), but at least the lesser volume and thicker texture means less likelihood of a blowout. But why does she wait until she's in the middle of a bottle and I'm pumping to let it loose? Seriously, that's been the scenario for 4 of the past 5 days. It's not exactly convenient to deal with immediately so she's been sitting in it while I finish pumping. I don't know if it's bad or good that it doesn't seem to bother her...

Moving on: I'm still really enjoying out little group of moms - but I'm also sad because two of them are leaving next week to spend the holidays with their respective families and won't be back until the first week of January. It's also the same two who will most likely be moving out of the area spring/summer, so I guess it's good practice for that time, but I still don't like it! In a more mature view, those are the perils of living and making friends in a college town / military heavy area.

So that's where we are. If I don't write again before Christmas, I hope each and every one of you has a happy Christmas with a minimum of family Drama and an excellent start to 2011.

What I'd really like is my own credit card...do you think you can make that happen?