Lainey Rose, you are now five months olds! The next time I write, you’ll be halfway to your first birthday. That is really unfathomable to me. Every day with you is such a gift. I just can’t wait for the next one!
Here’s what you’ve been up to this month:
- You started tripod sitting up about a week and a half before your five month mark! You’re getting better at it every day, and can sit unassisted for long period of time now! You usually lose your balance when you get really excited and start kicking your legs, OR when you see something you want and fold in on yourself while trying to get it in your mouth ;)
- Speaking of your mouth….we’ve officially reached the stage where EVERYTHING goes there! You have noticed my necklaces, earrings, scarves….really anything that dangles or looks shiny. You’ve also decided that you’d like to nibble on anything we have, especially if it’s something we’ve putting in OUR mouths! Can’t blame a girl for wanting a snack :)
- You SQUEAL! You have the most precious baby squeal, and you will just talk and talk to anyone who will listen. I cannot even tell you how much I love this! Pretty much anytime we go anywhere in the car, you’ll use the travel time to tell me all about everything in your little world. I wish I could record it while driving….these are memories with you I will cherish always! I never want to forget the sound of your sweet little voice.
- You roll pretty regularly from your tummy to your back now, and all of a sudden decided you like tummy time! You’ll do baby push ups and reeeeach and stretch for toys that are just out of your reach. It amazes me to watch you. I can’t even begin to think of you as being old enough to crawl…but then I watch how you stretch and kick and wiggle trying to get something you want, and I realize that it will be soon. I’m just not sure how we got five months into your little life already.
- The big news of the month was FOOD! We started you on baby food as an effort to try and control your reflux. The jury is still out on whether or not that worked, but the jury is NOT out as to whether or not you like food. Girlfriend, you.like.food. I often cannot get that spoon in your mouth fast enough for your liking. You get so excited when you see it coming—open mouth, hands waving all around, shaking your face back and forth while you reach excitedly for the spoon in an effort to speed along the process. Makes me laugh every single time! Your favorites so far are definitely apples, bananas, and squash. You’ve also had sweet potatoes, pears (this was the first food we tried with you!), peas, green beans, and carrots. I think I’ll going to try avocados with you next month (this was your brother’s FAVORITE food for a very long time!)
- You are wearing size 2 diapers if we put you in disposables, we unbuttoned your cloths to the highest rise, and mostly 6 and 6-9 month clothes. I can still fit you in a lot of 3-6 month things as well, which is nice because you have the cutest summer clothes and I am determined to get as much wear as possible out of them before I have to put them away!
- The last time you were at the doctor’s office (we had to take you back for a reoccurance of thrush that turned out to be nothing….thank heavens!) you weighed 15.5 pounds!!! We were so excited! Gone are the days of poor weight gain for our little nugget!
- In terms of how much you eat, right now you’re getting 5 bottles of 6 ounces of breast milk a day. You also eat 2 ounces of baby food twice a day (lunch and dinner). Little lovebug, drinking bottles is not your favorite. We often struggle to convince you to drink your milk, but we are getting it done! You usually stop after 3 ounces and then want to be done. This is why breastfeeding you was so hard—you always wanted to stop after an ounce or two and I wouldn’t know! I really am convinced this had a lot to do with your poor weight gain at first. Since I’ve been pumping for you and we put you on bottles…we’ve seen steady weight gain!
- We’ve finally been able to get some pretty great giggles out of you!! You are ticklish on your side and under your armpit…I can usually get a giggle that way. You also love when daddy and I make faces at you while you’re lying on your back, or when I give you kisses on your cheeks. Sometimes I just make funny faces at you and silly noises and you’ll reward me with the sweetest little giggle. I may look ridiculous, but that little sound is music to my ears! Worth it.
- I know I say it every single month, but baby girl, you are so happy. Truly. I’ve never met a baby as genuinely joyful as you are. You hardly ever cry. You smile at everyone. And your smile lights up a room. I’m so so honored to be your mommy. Seeing you full of such joy brings me more joy than I can ever say. I just love you.
- You are still our amazing little sleeper! You take a 2 hour nap in the morning from 9-11,and then an afternoon nap from 1-3. We start bedtime routine at 7, and you are usually down by 7:30 without a peep until we get you up around 6:30 the next morning. We just took away your swaddle this week, and you’ve done amazing! Everyone is always blown away when I talk about what a great sleeper you are—and you have always put yourself to sleep! We just lay you down and you do your thing.
- You still love your brother. You love watching whatever he’s doing, and will often turn your head towards him in the car and just stare at him the whole time we’re driving. He loves the attention ;)
- You had your first time in the church nursery this month (okay, technically it was just AFTER you turned 5 months old…but I’m sure I’ll forget by the time I write your six month post so I better include it now!) You did great! You are just so easy going. I’ve loved keeping you with me in the service, but you are so vocal now and those happy little squeals were just a little much during the sermon ;)
- Your favorite toys this month are your JUMPEROO (goodness you love to jump!) and anything that can be stuffed into your mouth (burp cloths, towels, Toby’s tail…..)
- I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention….YOUR FIRST TOOTH! It came in this month J You have one sweet little tooth on the bottom—middle left. I think your middle right may also be coming in (judging by the gnawing and the drool) but nothing has poked through yet. You were a champ while teething! I didn’t even know until you chomped down on my finger one day and I felt the little ridge of the tooth poking through. Not going to lie, I was sad when your brother’s first tooth came in and I was sad when yours did. It’s the end of an era. That sweet gummy baby smile will soon be no more. I will miss it!
Lainey, I’m just loving all of your moments. While that’s been true from the beginning,
this month I’ve really focused on savoring
them. Life is so fleeting. Moments
can be stolen from us in the blink of an eye, and my love, I just don’t want to
let a single one go by without being
fully present in it. You are far too
precious of a gift.
Earlier this month, a sweet friend of mine died. She was much too young, and her absence left
a huge hole in the heart’s of all those who knew her. Losing Shannon made me think about you, and this life, and each day that I
get to spend with you and your brother.
I can’t imagine not having you
here with me. I can’t imagine a world
without you or your brother in it. I take for granted the days we spend
together, and I assume that I’m always going to be here—that you’re going to
grow up, and I’m going to watch every season of your life unfold. But, sweetheart, the reality is we don’t have
that guarantee. I’ll admit I panicked a
little and my heart caught in my throat as I thought about the possibility of not being here to experience each of
your days. But the more I thought about it, the more I
realized that the best gift I can give you as your mom is not me. It’s not.
The best gift that I can give to you is Jesus in me.
Baby girl, I want to show you Jesus by the way your daddy
and I live our lives. I want you to see
Him in me, because I want you to grow
up and fall in love with the Creator
of the Universe. My presence in your
life is just not enough. Its meaningless
if it’s not about Him.
I don’t know how many tomorrows we’ll have—I pray there are many, many, many—but no
matter what, know that the most
important relationship you’ll ever have is one that will never, ever leave you. It’s
Jesus, Lainey. It’s Him. It will always
be Him.
I love you baby girl. Always and forever.
Your Mama
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