Baby Nora: 5 Months

I can't believe another month has gone by! These posts creep up on me, and while I hope to post in between Nora's monthly updates, I want to cherish my time with this sweet little babe 
as much as I can. 

I've changed the format just a little this month to feature relevant changes. 

Weight: We didn't have an official weigh-in this month, but I'm guessing she's a little under 15 pounds. It's evident that she's grown longer this month too since she no longer has to tiptoe in her exersaucer. It's one of her favorite places to play now, and she loves to squeal there, especially if someone is watching! She's fully in 3-6 month clothes now, and they're still fitting pretty well so it may be another month or two before she goes up to the next size. 

Activities: Nora has found her toes, and it's the cutest thing in the world! Her feet are hilarious to me. They are short but thick, and she has the smallest little toes! In addition to squealing, she's making a few new sounds. I think I'm the only one who notices, but when she makes a new sound I always point it out to Matt. She's stingy with her giggles, but on occasion she'll laugh, usually when she's on the verge of crying. It's the strangest thing.

She's loving textures these days. Touching everything is her favorite thing...carpet, blankets, windows, her crib sheets, jeans, you name it! It looks like she's scratching something since she uses all of her fingers at the same time, but I quickly realized she was feeling things.

Nora has finally mastered rolling from tummy to back, so now she is rolling all over the place. She is no longer just happy on either her tummy or back, but either wants to move around or be sitting/standing. I've been using the Boppy to support her while she sits, and she's gotten quite strong this month. She can sit on her own for a few seconds, but as soon as she starts moving her arms or looking around, she loses balance. Even though she can't crawl yet, she's pretty good at getting around. Nora has become quite curious from finding magazines stashed under the coffee table to watching every bite that Matt and I eat.

Food: We are still exclusively breastfeeding, though we plan to introduce food to her next month. We plan to start with a little oatmeal but then move to some fruits and veggies like banana, avocado, and sweet potato. My hope is that she will continue to breastfeed for the first year, and that she will also be introduced to a wide variety of tastes and textures just for fun. Thank you for the feedback on BLW! We will likely do a combination of purees and BLW, we'll just have to see what she enjoys.

She's still toothless. Other than lots of drool, which could be just preparation for foods, and chewing on things, I'm not seeing any real signs of a tooth popping up, so I'm not sure how far away her first tooth is. In the meantime, I'm soaking up every gummy smile I can :).

Sleep: Bedtime is a cinch these days. We're so thankful for a great little sleeper! The routine is still jammies and a diaper change (bath first if it's a bath night, which is about twice per week), nursing, reading a book or two, lights out, a prayer, and down in the crib. Nora rolls to her tummy immediately and moves around until she's comfy...which is typically wedged in the left front corner of the crib so that she's at a diagonal. She's known for doing 360s on nights where she's extra wound up. She's usually asleep within 5 - 10 minutes and rarely cries at bedtime now, unless we put her down especially early or late. She's sleeping through most nights but waking up early (about 7:30pm - 5am). After an early morning feeding then goes back to sleep until 7:30ish.

Social: This Sunday we are planning to put her in the nursery for the first time at church! We tried to avoid it during cold and flu season since she was so young, but I think her immune system is stronger now, and we think she will soon enjoy social time with other babies. Plus, while her spontaneous squeals are cute as can be to us, I'd rather not distract everyone in church!

The months, weeks, and days are flying by so quickly, and each month I am amazed at how much more we are in love with our sweet Nora girl. We are cherishing these early days with her dearly, as she changes and grows right before our eyes.

If you want to see photos throughout the month, follow me on Instagram (lauren_aiken)!
Have a blessed weekend, friends.

+, Lauren Aiken