Saturday, May 30, 2015

5-6 Months!

 


Height:  24" {second percentile}
Weight: 14 pounds, 3 ounces {twenty-fifth percentile}
Clothes: 3-6 month
Diapers: size 2!
Sleep: She is still sleeping in her own bed every night & I try to put her to sleep between 8-9. She does pretty good, but still mostly wakes up around 3:30-4:30am most mornings. Some mornings she will sleep until 6, but that only happens MAYBE once a week! Daddy is still the primary middle of the night waker upper... and I'm LOVING it! It is so much harder for me to get back to sleep once I've woken up to feed her, but he has no problem! :-P Sometimes I feel "bad" that he's the one waking up in the middle of the night, but then again I did it while she was in the hospital pumping every three hours religiously and when she came home I woke up with her every 2-3 hours to feed her AND pump, so I think I deserve a little break :) I always put her to sleep on her back in her crib, but it never fails that she will roll over and end up on her belly! I would just go in her room and roll her back over, trying not to disturb her too much - that failed a few times and I ended up with a screaming baby! - But the doctor reassured me that at this point it is ok if that is how she prefers to sleep.
Diet: I am still pumping, so breast milk is still her main source of nutrition, but she LOVES her daily container of baby food! She has had (and loved) squash, carrots, peaches, bananas, and apples. She's also had sweet potatoes but is NOT a fan of those! We get to start giving her more baby food and she can start taking water out of a sippy cup at this point!
Toys: she loves her play rings! She is constantly chewing on them and grabbing them... she really likes anything she can grab and put in her mouth! She likes to play on the floor and one of her favorite "floor" toys is a little cube that talks and makes different sounds that she will be able to play with for a while! It's a little advanced for her, but she like the different buttons and colors on it. She has gotten to where she will try to pick it up and put it in her mouth... but since the cube is bigger than her head, that usually doesn't end well for her! She also loves her vtech "phone". We got her a bounce around toy because she was always wanting to stand up on our legs and she LOVES it! She loves figuring out how all the little toys on it work and it is so much fun for me to watch her learn how to play with them. She got an orange and pink giraffe security blanket thing that she also likes that has been named Opie (for OP - orange and pink... clever I know)
Milestones/firsts: Ayla is a tad behind some of her peers - but she was a preemie & I tend to forget that when comparing her to other babies... but she is doing so good! She is so close to sitting up, but not quite there yet. She sort of-kind of tries to brace herself with her hands (when I help her) but just topples over eventually most of the time! She does better when I'm holding her hands or she is balanced on my legs. She is still rolling over and over... and over and is getting so fast! She has very recently started reaching and grabbing for things and is starting to scoot... kind of! She is also changing her tone when she "talks" and I swear sometimes she mimics what we say by her sounds. She is also laughing so much more now and I love it! (Who am I kidding though... I love EVERYTHING about this perfect little miracle & everything she does!)
Health: so far, so good!
Likes: Ayla loves to be up and be able to look around! She also seems to like to look at animals - horses and dogs in particular - and be outside. She still loves bath time and lotion "massages". She loves to snuggle when she is tired. She also likes to play peek-a-boo with her blanket and will pull it over her eyes on her own. She also loves to use her feet instead of her hands to play with her toys! She will put her hands in her mouth & maneuver her body and toys to where she can use her feet to play with them... It's so cute!
Dislikes: Ayla is such a happy and easy going baby, but she definitely has her preferences! She is definitely not a fan of the car seat... unless she's sleeping... and once you take her out it's even harder to put her back in because she is even more unhappy about getting in it than she was on the first attempt! Once she calms down though (or the car/stroller moves) she's usually pretty good about tolerating it. She also doesn't like to have her ears cleaned with a q-tip after her bath! And Heaven forbid you take too long to give her a bottle... when she wants it, she wants it NOW! 
Misc: Ayla is getting so big so fast! I can now hold her on my hip and don't have to hold her in my arms like a "baby"... it seemed to happen over night and I found myself asking myself "when did this happen?" She has given up her paci all on her own and won't even take it now, but has traded it in for her fingers and/or blanket! She will suck on her blankets sometimes to soothe her before she goes to sleep, and once she is asleep we take the blanket away from her... horrible habit to start, I know - but "whatever works" is my motto! She has been drooling like crazy and for the past couple of months I've thought that maybe she is starting to teethe, but I don't feel or see anything so far.


 
We participated in the March for Babies again this year! Last year we found out I was pregnant the day before the walk, so we were so thankful to have Ayla here with us to walk in memory of Sloan & in honor of her & babies everywhere! The NICU life was definitely not a "fun" life, but it was so worth it & we met some of the most amazing people who took such great care of our sweet Ayla baby!

My first Mother's Day with Ayla was this month! This is such a hard day for me, but all in all it was a good one! We went to lunch at one of my favorite places {Cheddar's} with some friends/family and it was so nice! It was light & relaxed and I was actually able to enjoy that part of my day!
 
Ayla's first time swimming!!!

Sloan's second birthday was this month, so of course we went for a visit and brought her balloons. Brady re-did the stones/rocks on her grave and we cleaned everything up. We released balloons for her and I took pictures of her grave like I always do. This is another hard day for me, and having Ayla here makes it easier and harder all at the same time. Brady, Ayla, and I went to lunch that day and that night we went to dinner with our parents. It was definitely a hard day, but we got through it...