Mae is another month older and growing and advancing every day it seems. She is so smiley and a joy every morning because she wakes up with the biggest smile on her face.
First for Mae this month: first time swimming, first taste of bottled water, first breast milk bottle she consumed, first solid food, first word: MAMA!!!, (early phase) sitting up
Mae has been doing wonderfully in the sleep department especially this week. For a couple of weeks she had reverted to being away every 3 hours to snack and then sleep again, wasn't sleeping in the co-sleeper for a long stretch at all and overall wasn't wowing me with her sleep. Felt more Ace-ish. Not bad, but not amazing. This past week she's done GREAT. She falls asleep downstairs most of the time with milk and then placed into her swing. I eventually scoop her up and take her upstairs anywhere from 2-4hours later depending on when she fell asleep and when I'm off to bed. Every night so far this week she has transferred without needing a snack or even really waking up. One night she did stir awake but she settled herself back to sleep. She wakes between 3am-4:30am - but so far every night this week it has been a solid 7 hours before she wakes. It's been great! Hopefully no growth spurt, teething surge, or illness disrupts this new found bliss we're all enjoying. After she wakes after 3am I bring her into the bed next to me and she nurses 2-3xs more before we're up for the morning - which is usually dictated by her brother around 7am.
Food is new for Mae this month, although not yet a regular occurrence. She has enjoyed rice cereal, carrots and sweet potatoes... and she has sampled and rejected peas. I continue to read and educate myself on solid food before 6 months and I still remain unsettled on what is best for her - so Mae will mostly continue to sample food for another couple of weeks before I really start regularly giving her solids for 'meals' - allowing her little digestive system to continue to develop. She also finally enjoyed her first bottle from start to finish. Back in February we did introduce her to the bottle but she only had a sip of it... this time after a somewhat lengthy stand off we got her to finish 3oz of a bottle. Hooray. Although the second attempt was met with equally as loud objection as the first time so little progress was made... In addition to trying out some breast milk in the bottle Mae got her first taste of water. Yum. She really never drank any of it as much as chewed on the cold nipple, but she enjoyed that.
Verbal skills are exploding. This morning Loving Husband will tell you she said 'dada' I'll give him it was close - but she's not said it officially yet. But she is close. She's working on all sorts of sounds in that little mouth of hers. She is quite the chatter box. :) I wonder where she gets that from??? She said mama a week ago and continues to say it when she REALLY wants me. She knows who I am and how to get me. It's really sweet. She's also working on her 'lala', 'baba' and occasionally even manages a ffff sound. Although she's just babbling not really attempting words at those times. The other day I also swore I saw her 'sign' milk. It is certainly what she wanted and I had never seen her tiny little hand move like that at random before... but it could just be my mommy-mind playing tricks on me so I won't claim it to be an intentional act, but I am certainly looking for it again!
Mae loves to squeal and gets very excited when you chew on her ribs, but she doesn't outright laugh just yet. I'd say she chuckles occasionally. No belly laughs just yet. Often she holds her breath. She loves her big brother and loves to play with him while she sits in her excersaucer. She smiles really big every morning when he comes in and says "Good Morning, Sister" (in a very funny voice that we're not sure why he's chosen it.) She's always happy to see him and he loves to help comfort her by reading to her, singing kokomo (which he's getting pretty good at!) or playng her music either in the exersaucer, swing or using her glowworm. He is going to be a good protector.
Mobility wise she is still mostly just rolling from her back to her belly. She hasn't done the belly to her back too much since learning the other way. She can do a bigger push up every now and then and really REALLY wants to move. If you hold her upright she also will walk and do so quickly to get to the other person. Adorable. I suspect crawling will take place very soon. I said earlier "early phase" sitting up - which basically I mean if I put her in a sitting position she is able to maintain it for about 10-30 second before she either topples over or folds in half. She's not quite there, but she's making good progress with those baby-abs of hers. :) Mae also got to try out swimming for the first time in her little life. She loved it and even dipped under the water without any issue.
Teething is still happening and she is chewing on anything (or one) that she can get a hold of. She LOVES her dolly to chew on and that comes with us everywhere. She's not terribly drooly, but is very irritable before naps the last few days. Not sure if it's related, but hopefully she cuts her first tooth soon. I can see it below the surface it's almost here!!
Mae is a very happy baby. We love to see her grow and develop... but I can't believe how big she already is. Happy 5th Month, Mae! Can't wait for your half-birthday milestone.... yes I can... stop aging already! ;-)
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