Brooke: 5 Months

Brooke turned 5 months last Sunday. Is it just me or does 5 months seems so much older than 4.  And don't even get me started on how she is almost 6 months.  She is quickly turning into such a little person!

No doctor visit this month so I don't have stats but I am confident that she is getting bigger, either that or I am getting weaker!

This month was probably the best and the hardest for various reasons.

Hard:

• It was hard because I thought for sure by this time we would have a schedule figured out.  But no such luck.  Brooke still struggles to sleep and I'm not sure what to do about it.  For a large portion of the month she was waking up every 1-2 hours during the night.  She'd fall right back asleep but I was trying hard to get her to sleep for longer stretches.  By the end of the month she was back to sleeping 2-3 hours before waking up but needed me to hold her after she fell asleep for another 20 minutes.  So although she was sleeping more, I was not.  She is sleeping full time on her own though, so that is a plus.  We have some plans for continuing to work on this issue and hopefully I'll have better news to report by month 6.  

• There were also lingering effects of her nursing strike from last month.  We are slowly getting back in a groove but she'll still have her moments.  This was very emotionally hard. 

• She also had a week while she was pretty fussy.  According to some it is a "wonder week" and because of all of the learning going on babies can become fussy, needy, poorer sleepers, etc etc. Most obvious was that every time I would go to sit her down she would get this pouty/scared face until I could distract her with her toys enough to walk away for a second.   

Best:

• It seems like every day Brooke learned a new skill and it has been so much fun to watch.  For example one day I was telling Brett about how she started grabbing at her knees but hadn't quite found her feet yet.  It was only two days later that she had her toes and insisted on pulling off her socks.  

• She also seems to recognize more and more about what is going on.  She started turning her head backward and looking up to see me if sitting on my lap.  She'll look at me and get the biggest grin.  It just melts my heart.  She also seems to remember where I am in the room when she is playing and will look towards me and smile multiple times while playing. 

• With all of her new skills Brooke has been able to entertain herself more.  I mentioned in a previous post that she started rolling over and as I guessed, this girl can not be contained. If she is in the mood she will roll and twist and push herself all over.  Luckily she has been able to control her movements better and is often rolling towards a toy.  This keeps her on her mat/blankets.  Although sometimes something catches her eye (like a blanket hanging off the couch) and she makes her way to see it.  

Here are a few things about Brooke at this age:

• Still loves sucking on her fingers.
• Loves sticking her slobbery fingers all over our faces and into our mouths.
• She has always loved watching our mouths when we talk to her but has started grabbing at our lips. 
• She tries to crawl by bringing a knee up and pushing off.  Unfortunately she hasn't figured the arms out yet and so her head gets buried into the ground and she doesn't make much progress.  
• She loves to stick everything in her mouth and gets frustrated while in her jumperoo because she can reach the toys but can't get them to reach her mouth.
• She is reaching like crazy.  She will throw her whole body towards something to try and grab it.  Like when I'm holding her and she wants to grab the handle on the fridge or if we hold a toy just out of reach while she is sitting in the bath tub.  
• She gets frustrated when she tries to grab at the characters on her play mat.  I don't think she understand that they are flat pictures, silly girl. 
• She loves looking at books and will really take in the whole page. I love watching her eyes as they scan the page from left to right and up and down. 
• She is playing with her feet but they don't reach to her mouth yet.  
• She likes to practice sitting but can't support herself unassisted. She loves sitting on the edge of the table with her legs dangling over. 
• She LOVES people.  No matter how tired or cranky she is, if a person comes up to say hi she will always give them smiles. I'm so glad the stranger anxiety of month 2 is gone and hope it doesn't return anytime soon.  
• She loves "the baby in the mirror" and will often calm down if we stand in front of a mirror.  
• She loves to be out an about.  We had my friend Tausha and her sweet family come visit (more on that later) and during our outings Brooke was loving life.  I've since made it a habit to go out once a day, even if its just a quick trip to target.  
• We lost her first teddy bear this month.  It was a little one that she got at Christmas time and it was the perfect size to take along in her car seat. Unfortunately we walked into the grocery store with it but did not leave with it.  
• She likes to fill her diaper while sitting in her bouncer.  Multiple times now, I have gone to get her from it only to find a blowout had occurred. We joke that it is her poop chair. 
• Still loves bath time, walks and things that make noise. 
• She still does not like resting her head on my shoulder, cuddling, taking a binky or any form of standard comforting. 

And here is what you were really all waiting for.  Picture dump!

Brett took Brooke for a walk so I could sleep.  She fussed at first, but Brett won and she fell asleep!  Score one for the Dad!

Bath time! Kisses for ducky

Excited for church

"crawling" around

Trying to crawl 

Enjoying tummy time now that she can play with her toys

Reaching for the camera

Reaching for and trying to eat the camera