Lillian is 5 months old - the age of the smallest babies I can remember keeping as a babysitter in High School ... but now I’m the mom looking for a babysitter and she feels so ‘big’ to me.
This has been my favorite month so far with the smiles, talking and expressions multiplying. The ease at which she rolls from front to back and back to front as she wishes is amazing. As is the dexterity she has in her hands – getting things to her mouth, manipulating toys and her paci to chew on the parts that she wants (and yes, she often prefers parts other than the nipple). She’s still putting her thumb in her mouth quite a bit – ADORABLE! – but it’s not a comfort to her like her paci is… it’s really more of a favorite to chew on, rather than suck.
It seems this month has really been a ‘perfecting’ month for things she started doing last month. She is so alert that anytime we’re out she just loves looking at the people walking around, the things on the shelves, etc. We are definitely getting to an age with her where we’ll need to start trading off with friends for date nights (you watch our baby one week and we’ll watch yours the next!) as she is more interested in being part of the action now when we’re out. That’s just part of her growing up!
I finally finished up my old job with Zimmerman this month and began working part time as an independent consultant. The week before Lillian turned 5 months she began her stay with the nanny – two days a week for 4 hours/day. She goes to our friends house just a couple blocks over and shares the time with baby Jack who is just a month and a half or so younger than L. This will be an adjustment for me since to date she has really only stayed with friends and family, but I think it will be a good thing. This last month is also the first time she stayed in the church nursery for parent’s night out and she did wonderfully – Michael and I went to PF Changs and ate too much… but it sure was good!
This month in Lillian's life we also celebrated Michael's first Father's Day. I am LOVING the second picture with that huge grin on her face! We went to Papasitos - the ONLY place Michael cares to go for a special occasion!
• Little L is starting to get the hang of cause-and-effect. She has a “Shara Tiara” doll that when you put a new tiara on the doll she plays a ‘magical’ sound. After a couple of times of her Nana and Uncle Marcus showing her how it works she now goes straight to work on that tiara when you hand her the doll.
• She has started touching our faces and holding on more with her legs when you hold her on your hip. One morning we were asleep in our bed after Michael had gone to work and I woke up to her clawing at my eyes with those sharp baby finger nails like “Open up! It’s time to play!”
• Lillian is in between 3 and 6 month clothes. She’s long but ‘slim’… the kind of slim where you have rolls on your thighs and creases in your forearms.
• We haven’t started cereal yet at the recommendation of our pediatrician so L is eating pretty frequently during the day (every 2 to 2.5 hours).
• She naps 2 to 3 times a day with an hour long nap in the morning and then if I’m lucky a 2 hour+ nap in the mid-afternoon. Sometimes she’ll cap nap sometime in between those two, but it’s usually not longer than 45 mins.
Above: Lillian naps during the 4th of July parade in our neighborhood. Something tells me she'll enjoy that more next year!• Bed time is SOOO much easier with our routine pretty consistent. She eats, bath & lotion, PJs, eat, story, prayer and 2 to 3 mins of rocking.
• At night Lillian goes to bed around 9pm and usually wakes up somewhere between 3 and 4am, around 6 am, and then for the day between 7 and 8am.
• Lillian is still our little water baby and enjoys getting in the pool and loves bath time.
• People still comment most on her squish-able cheeks still and her bright blue eyes.
• She’s lost almost all of the darker long hair on the back of her head from when she was born and the hair she has is so blonde and getting longer…but b/c she’s so blonde she’s still looking pretty bald. Bald is beautiful didn’t you know?
We haven’t had a lot more of the scooting around though she has been rolling towards things she wants a lot more lately. Here’s to another great month…. Because it will probably be that long before I write again! Whoops!
- Natasha
