Month Five Update

The last month has been packed full of...experience, I guess I'll call it. So much that I'm a week late in posting this. And in spite off all the drama, Baby Tuna just insists on growing and changing every day. No pause button here.

This month, the little wiggleworm really made me work for the monthly chalkboard shot.  I took ten shots before I finally gave up. I made a total jackass out of myself just trying to get her to look at the camera. You can see how successful I was. If she wasn't trying to roll or play with her feet, then it was Scout walking around the room that was distracting her. I have a feeling that this is how it's gonna be from now on.

Normally, there wouldn't be any good stats at 5 months, but with all of the doctors appointments following her surgery (three in one week!), Z was weighed and measured many, many times. Each visit was a little different, but the averages were as follows:
Weight: 14 pounds (she actually dropped a few ounces after surgery, but is back up to 14 now)
Height: 24 3/4 inches, all in the legs!
Sizes: Would you believe this kid is still wearing size one diapers and some 3 month/0-3 month clothes?! She is also in some of the 3-6 month outfits, but I can't believe how much of her old stuff still fits! In fact, when people meet her for the first time, they always comment on how much smaller she is than they expected.

Loves:
Scratching her nails on different textures, especially the sofa cushions and pillows, when she's being burped.
Z loves putting EVERYTHING in her mouth, and when she's really getting into it, she does a kamikaze scream as she attacks. It's hysterical!

She also loves flying (being lifted over our heads like Super Baby), blowing raspberries (so much that she often gets a drool bubble beard), squealing and screeching, Sophie the giraffe, Abby Cadabby, and her puppy Scout.

Hates:
I'm afraid that Baby Tuna's future as the face of Baby Gap may never come to be because this kid hates getting dressed. Total meltdown every time. Until about a week ago, diaper changes were also a total nightmare, but that's only because of all that has to be done each time when it comes to the dressing on her incision. Now that she's almost 100% healed, and the dressing has gotten less complicated, diaper changes are almost back to normal.

Diet: After a string of super gassy nights, we switched formulas...again. Things have improved for now. I find it remarkable how such a tiny little person can be such a gas bag. We also started oatmeal about two weeks ago. I'm not sure how much is actually making it into the belly, but Z seems to love it. She "mm-mm-mms" and leans towards the spoon, even tries to grab at the spoon and bowl. And the mess is a-mazing! I'm weirdly excited to start her on purees, and I'm looking forward to making some of the baby food myself. But we're gonna give the oatmeal another week or two to really take before we start that adventure.

That was her first bite of oatmeal. Since then, Z's gotten a little more "enthusiastic" with her eating...

Yep. Blowing raspberries with a mouthful of oatmeal. Keepin' it classy.

Sleep: Before our beach vacay, Baby Tuna usually went down around 8, after her bottle and Goodnight Moon. She'd sleep until about 3:30am, drowsily eat about 4 oz, and seemed to settle right back to sleep. Notice I said "seemed." Right around the time I'd get myself comfortable and begin drifting off, the little booger would start moving around, grunting and groaning, trying to pass all the gas that had built up inside her. Sometimes she'd wake herself up, sometimes she'd just wake us up (she still sleeps in her pack n play in our room, but we're hoping to move her to her crib soon). So around 5:30am, after we'd had enough, I'd put her in bed with us and she'd sleep soundly until about 7:30.  Then we went on vacation and she slept like a champ. We weren't sure if it was the switch in formula, the oatmeal (everyone says it helps kiddos sleep through the night), or the fresh salt air, but all three of us got some good sleep...until we came home. Now she has given up on sleep (especially naps), but technically that was after she turned 5 months, so I'll just have to post about it then. Hopefully her new lack-of-sleep pattern will have fixed itself buy then.

Milestones:
Rolling, Rotating, and Scootching Backwards: Every time I put the babe down on her back, she immediately rolls onto her belly. Then she starts rotating like the hands on a clock. She grabs a fist-full of the rug or her play mat and starts turning. She also just started scootching herself backwards, which seems easier than moving forward. I think if I put her down on the tile, she could really get somewhere. If she has something to push off of, Baby Tuna will also army crawl herself forward. But without my leg or the coffee table to get her going, she gets so frustrated. It's like her mind knows it's possible, but she just can't get her body to cooperate.

Rolled herself under the dresser. 

Sitting Up Unassisted for Longer Periods: Z is this close to sitting up for real.

Responding to Her Name: This is a big one. She just started turning her head when you say her name. It's kind of awesome!

Eating Her Feet: Apparently they're delicious! The babe is ob-sessed with her feet these days. Even when I put her down to sleep, she's holding on to her toes.

Such fierce determination. 

There is so much info out there, and all of it says something different. Why not ask the real experts! So, as we get closer to feeding this hungry little hippo "people food", we thought we'd ask...Which fruit or vegetables did you feed your little ones first?