5 Months Old & Father's Day

Wearing "My Daddy Makes Me Smile" T-Shirt. True, true.

Lauren likes to taste her books. She also likes to taste piano keys and pretty much everything.

My chub, chub.
Double chin chub.
Check out my hair.









Tummy time at the park.


Someday I'll be able to use that equipment.


















Lauren is now 5 months old. Here are some things I've learned:

* People said things would get easier at 3 months. I think things started getting easier (with sleeping and eating) at 4 or 4.5 months. I can see how things might be a little easier with a 2nd child because of everything learned with the 1st child.
* I like the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Weissbluth as a reference for information about sleep needs for different ages. This book seems to advocate the cry-it-out method, but for now my hubby and I don't plan on using the cry-it-out method. When mom is sleep deprived, any tips on how babies sleep and how to get them to sleep on a schedule is super important... at least to me it is. Two very important things I learned from this book: (1) young babies can only take around 1.5 to 2 hours of awake time before then need to take a nap (especially in the morning), and (2) a late afternoon nap or early evening nap might actually be babies bedtime (try for an earlier bedtime).
* I find myself choosing between reading my Bible for spiritual growth and refreshment and napping... While I know that my spiritual growth is more important than my physical needs, sometimes I choose a nap over reading and lately the naps haven't been refreshing. God's word is always refreshing. I hit a peak of tiredness this week... one peak of many. This proverb jumped out at me in one of my daily Bible readings: Prov 20:13 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread. Well, I'm one of those people who love sleep and get really cranky when I don't get enough sleep. All I can say is... my poor husband has found a way to deal with me (and encourage me) despite my crankiness.
* When people said 'nap when your baby naps', I didn't take it seriously at the beginning. I remember painting my toe nails at 3am after a feeding when Lauren was a weeks old... who's tired?? not me!! BUT now I realize that 'nap when your baby naps' is REALLY IMPORTANT!
* Taking care of my home (keeping it clean) and taking care of myself are both part of taking care of my husband and baby. I was separating the two before... but my hubby reminded me that it is OK to let Lauren play by herself while I eat lunch or do some laundry. He is a wise hubby. Initially I was trying to play with her, teach her and talk to her all the time. I have a problem feeling guilty if I leave her for a few minutes to vacuum or do laundry. I don't want her to get bored... BUT, she'll be crawling soon so I need to vacuum. And her daddy needs clean clothes!! And she will appreciate a clean house (not perfectly clean, but good enough).
* Changed my cleaning goals from 'big' ones per day (vacuum on Monday, bathrooms on Tuesday, Laundry on Wednesday) to little ones (vacuum one room, clean one bathroom, do one load of laundry). These smaller daily goals still make a difference and don't leave me wiped out for the baby bedtime routine (6:30 bath and nurse till around 7:30 or 8pm) and then spending time with my husband.
* My husband is a wonderful daddy. He is very protective of her. When he is home he usually volunteers to help with changing diapers and playing with her. He wakes up early before work to spend time with her. He always supports me and encourages me.
* We both love her so much. We pretty much enjoy talking about her all the time. We even like watching videos of her after we put her to bed (every now and then).
* This thought crosses my mind a lot: "How will I be able to handle more than one baby?" And when I'm in tears because I'm tired or discouraged, I wonder if my hubby would even let me have another one. Of course he will!! But the thought still crosses my mind. I can be very wimpy... but I wish I was strong. Then I'm reminded that the Lord gives grace every day and He has been answering prayer after prayer after prayer. He says: "My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness."
* Hearing Lauren laugh is the most beautiful and sweet sound. She gives smiles all the time, but a good belly chuckle and squeal only happens a few times per day.
* Lauren reminds me a lot of her daddy. She is very ticklish like he is. She has his eyes. She has his upper lip curve. When she raises her eyebrows, she looks just like him. What a sweet treat that my baby reminds me of my hubby. I LOVE it!
* Lauren gets angry when I try to burp her before bed and she wants to keep eating. I know what is best for her (get the air out!), but she protests. She also throws her little fist down when she gets mad about something. Sometimes when I let her start nursing again after she has gotten worked up because I tried to burp her she'll throw a few open palms into my chest.
* Lauren is big enough to stretch out her arm and put the palm of her hand on my face while she is nursing. She likes to rest her open palm on my chin and mouth. She also likes to play with her daddy's beard when he holds her. She reaches her little hand up to his chin and touches his beard.

Lauren at 4 months

Lauren had her 4 month doctors appointment yesterday. Her stats: 16 pounds, 14 ounces and 24.5 inches long. She is in the 95% for weight and the 50% for height. The doctor said she'd lean out later and since she is exclusively breastfed, we don't need to worry about her weight. She also received her DTaP shot (2nd round) and did just fine. So far she has gotten the following vaccinations:

2 months: DTaP
3 months: Hib, Pc
4 months: DTaP

She'll go in again at 5 months for the 2nd round of Hib and Pc. Spreading out the vaccines like this is working well so far. The 3 months, 5 months and 7 months visits are nurse only where she just goes in for the shots.

Lauren smiles a lot, but you wont see many in pictures because I have a camera that shines a bright red light when taking a picture. As soon as Lauren sees that light she stops everything. We need to look into getting a more discrete camera to capture her personality. Till then here are some of the blank stares she gives the camera:








Trying to communicate:

Does not like the Ave Maria played on the cello by daddy:

Playing with her toys in her bumbo chair:

Lauren at 3 months

Lauren sucking her thumb... mommy helped her find it since she usually likes to suck thumb and first finger but that doesn't work as well as just the thumb.

Lauren with her toys:


Lauren about to go on a walk:

Lauren is a joy to us. She is now over 3 months old and we are having so much fun spending time with her and watching her grow. I have been learning so much about her and how to keep her happy and healthy. Our daily routine goes something like this:

7am... Lauren wakes up, eats, plays with mommy (toys, books, jungle mat)
8:30am... Lauren is yawning and ready to take her first nap (45 minute nap)
mid morning walk... 30 minute walk around the neighborhood
11:30am... afternoon meal and nap (nap usually includes a mid-nap nursing and comforting in order for her to sleep for longer than 1 hour)
afternoon play time (books, toys, dancing with mommy, walking outside in the baby bjorn)
4pm... early evening nap (around 45 min and usually in conjunction with nursing)
5:45pm... evening stroll around the neighborhood (30 minutes or less)
6:30pm... bedtime bath
6:45pm-7:45pm nursing/comforting to sleep
8:15pm... more nursing/comforting
1am... 1st evening meal
5am... 2nd evening meal
(or just one meal at 3am sometimes)
7am - starts all over again!

My top priorities are taking care of Lauren, playing with Lauren, enjoying Lauren, and making sure I am getting enough rest to continue staying healthy and being able to nurse her well... and trying to be a good wife to my husband. I feel pretty tired because even though Lauren wakes up once or twice at night to eat, I wake up at least 4 times to go check to see if she is grunting because she is hungry or because of some other reason. I flip the covers off, walk to her room, assess the situation, place a hand on her belly... and then wait till she settles to return to bed or to nurse her and then return to bed. I've started trying to go to bed as soon as she goes to bed so I can get a longer stretch of sleep (4 or 5 hours instead of 2 or 3). House duties are second priorities compared to all listed above... my friends with babies all say that dishes can wait and cleaning can wait, but babies grow up super fast so enjoy each moment with them. My husband knows I'm doing the best I can at this time. What would life be like with 2 children or more? I don't know yet, but right now I only have one baby and I'm going to enjoy her as much as I can.

Cute things she is doing:
* smiling at us
* chuckling and laughing when we nibble on her thighs or tickle her belly
* she loves when we change her diaper
* she smiles at the ceiling a lot which leads me to believe she likes our light fixtures
* she likes to chew on her toys
* she makes the cutest noises... especially after she eats a good meal
* she kicks and splashes during her bath
* she looooves her daddy and smiles at him a lot
* when she is unhappy, her upper lip disappears and her lower lip sticks out in a pout
* cooing & laughing
* her cries when she is fighting sleep... very cute little cries

Now, Lauren is a big baby. Rest assured, I've done lots of research on google and also in books and it is 100% normal for a breastfed baby to be chubby. You can't overfeed a breastfed baby... if they are hungry, they will eat. If the are not hungry, they wont eat. It's that easy! In the book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, this topic is addressed in a section called "The Baby Who is Pleasingly Plump". In this section, the author states that a totally breastfed baby who is "overweight" is not necessarily overfat or obese. "Still, in a weight-conscious world, even baby fat is suspect, and the mother of a plump, fully breastfed baby may be told that her child should be put on a diet." The author goes on to say that heredity plays a definite role in determining a child's growth pattern. Another interesting quote: "It must be remembered here that fat accumulated in the relatively inactive pre-toddler state is preparatory for the highly active time when the busy toddler hardly has time to eat... We have found that by age two or three, the heavyweights among the tiny tots usually slim down beautifully." (from the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding)

There! See! ANDShe's not 'fat'... she is pleasingly plump and we LOOOOVE kissing her cheeks. Oh, and did I mention that she is now wearing her 6 months outfits and a size 2 diaper?

Sucking her thumb:

Playing on her jungle mat:

Reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear:

Talking to daddy about her day: