Happy 5 Months Audrey!

My chunky little angel is now 5 months old. She is starting to be more and more fun. She smiles so much and has even laughed a couple times. I find it a challenge to try new things and see if they will make her laugh- she definitely makes us work for it. She is fascinated by the camera which is why she stares so intently when I try to take pictures of her. She is also getting heavier and heavier. I can feel it in my legs, back and arms. But I look at it as a good work out. Try carrying her up and down the stairs while holding your ab muscles in!

Let's see, updates: she rolled over a few days ago for the first time from back to front. She's fascinated my toys and can grasp them better now. She can play by herself in her crib for longer periods. The other day she was in there for an hour just playing by herself. She can't sit up by herself yet but I put her on the couch supported by pillows and in her Bumbo seat to get a different view. She loves sucking her thumb and even though many people tell me that's not a good thing and it's better to give her a pacifier, I don't mind it. I like the fact that she uses it to soothe herself to sleep. We still occasionally use the pacifier when we're out and I need to keep her quiet, like in church, but for the most part she prefers her thumb.

At night, she still goes back and forth between sleeping through the night and waking once or twice. I keep trying to figure out what makes her wake during the night but I haven't figured it out. I've stopped worrying about it though. I'm thankful that if I just nurse her, I can put her back down right after and she'll go back to sleep on her own. Her bedtime is between 7:45-8:00pm. Her naps are still all over the place. She'll generally take between 3-4, sometimes 5 if they are really short. Their length also varies. Just the other day she stayed awake for two hours and I've been trying to keep that up since I hear most kids her age stay up around 3 hours. I've also lengthened the time between feeds. She'll go four hours every now and then. I'm trying for 3 1/2 lately and it seems to be going well. If she seems extra cranky or hungry I will feed her earlier but so far she seems like she's doing fine. (I mean really, look at those cheeks. She's not starving.)

Our doc appointment is in a few days so I don't have her current height and weight but I can tell you she is getting heavier and is starting to outgrow some 6 months clothes. She currently wears a combination of 6 month and 9 month. Different brands run differently in terms of sizes.

I'm also excited to ask the doc about when to start solids. I'm kind of itching to take out her little bowls and spoons. I tried putting her in her highchair to see how she does and she can stay in but after a bit she starts to lean to one side so I may just wait until she can sit in there more securely.

That's it for updates. I love her so much and I will do almost anything to make her smile. I'm a sucker for those cheeks! I feel I'm settling into motherhood nicely....at least until the next growth spurt. But I'll just enjoy today and not think of that for now.