Claire - 5 Months - Week 2

"Turning over a new leaf" is this week's theme. Claire's sleep troubles came to a head this week. It was horrible. The poor baby would try and try to fall asleep for naps and night time and it just wouldn't come easily. I would have to stand at her crib after laying her down asleep and wait for upwards of ten minutes or more to make sure she would stay awake. She would jolt every time her feet hit the mattress. She managed to sleep through the night on Monday and Tuesday night but Thursday and Friday nights we were up 'til midnight trying to go to sleep. I could tell she was just miserable. Well, she got up on Saturday and it was like we had a different baby. She is falling asleep much easier. She isn't sleeping through the night but she is going to sleep so much more easily. I think she was just going through some developmental spurt that didn't seem like it was ever going to end. As a result, though, Tim and I have noticed some fun changes the past couple of days. She has become even more vocal making the funniest squealing noises. I've seen her start to grab her feet today and I also noticed today that she now seems to be rolling over intentionally. She is even fussing now to let us know that she wants to get down and play.

Oh! We also let her eat some rice cereal yesterday. She was rather nonchalant about the whole thing. She ate it but expressed nothing regarding whether she liked it or hated it. I think I'll buy her a banana.

Here are this week's pictures:

Tim put some rattles on her ankles. I think she kinda liked it.

Yeah, this is alright but I think you could do better, Mom.

Claire - 5 Months - Week 1

Claire had a really good first week as a five month old. No huge developments to report. She is getting close to being able to sit on her own but I think it'll be another month or so before she is completely there. I think she has been going through some developmental changes or something that is causing her to not be able to sleep well during the day. I think, however, we might be getting close to sleeping through the night on a more consistent basis. This week was pretty tough and exhausting with her needing so much help sleeping but I think we're getting close to getting through it.

Here are some pictures:

She's wearing BabyLegs Not Sox. I ordered them off of babysteals.com for Christmas but I couldn't wait to try them on her. Aren't they adorable?!

Tim's mom brought Claire this musical gym the last time she came to visit. All of her grandkids have played with it and Claire loves it!

Hugging her Daddy!

Ready to go out into the cold. She is wearing a scarf that her Mimi knitted her. So cute!

She rolled over in her crib. Look, she's wearing the NotSox again!

She is using the big girl side of her bathtub now.

Claire - 4 Months - Weeks 3 & 4

I apologize for the delay in my blogging. We have been quite busy since we returned from Augusta on Saturday. I had to go to the doctor on Tuesday since I broke out in in head-to-toe hives for no apparent reason the day before Thanksgiving. I had to go see the oral surgeon on Wednesday to make sure I was all better and I am. Claire has had a hard time falling asleep this week. This afternoon she is sleeping very well and I think that is due to sheer exhaustion.

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving in Augusta. We had a great time visiting with Tim's family and Claire enjoyed playing with her cousins. We ate lots of food and had a good time catching up. On our way back on Saturday, we stopped in Atlanta to visit with my Aunt Mary Jane, cousin Rick and his daughter, Lilly.

Here is an update on Claire

• She has really started reaching for toys and people. She loves to bat at the toys hanging over her in her tunnel and she loves to play with people's faces when she is laying in their arms. She even reached out for me once when Tim tried to pick her up while she was trying to go to sleep.
• She is showing signs of affection. I think she is hugging us now. It is quite adorable and very much enjoyed.
• She has become more verbal. She had stopped talking a lot when she started teething and chewing on her fingers. Now she is making a lot of new sounds and squeals.
• She started making raspberry noises.
• She really loves to watch us eat and drink. I think she'll be ready for her first meal at the end of the month.
• On Tuesday, while I was at the doctor's, Tim stayed home with her. She cried for an entire hour until I came home. I think we have some separation issues.
• She really loves it when we sing to her. Nothing gets her laughing better than "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Day-O."
• She loves to be wrapped up in a blanket or towel. When I wrap her up to walk her to her bath, she gets so excited.
• She has started grabbing us with her feet which is totally adorable but it is making diaper changing a bit more of a challenge.
  

Claire turned 5 months old this week. The time goes by so fast! I'll post on her first week as a five month old in a few days. In the meantime, here are the pictures from the past couple of weeks. For some reason, the slideshow feature isn't cooperating so just click on it and select slideshow at the top left.

Thanksgiving 2009

In Sickness and in Health...

I've been reflecting a lot on our wedding vows this week as we approach our 9 year anniversary tomorrow. Yes, 9 years! My dear husband has really lived his vows and I still feel very honored that he chose me. This week we got to live the "In Sickness" part as I had to have a cyst removed from my gums that was also embedded in the bone. It had been there for two years but the surgeon didn't feel the need to remove it when I saw him a year and a half ago but he saw where it was embedded in the bone at my last visit and determined that it needed to be removed. In times like this, Tim is exactly what I need him to be without any special instructions from me. He took great care of me and our sweet little daughter. It was almost worth it to go through the procedure to watch him and Claire enjoy each other yesterday. I am doing well but the surgeon did say that my worst day will be tomorrow, on our anniversary. I hope it isn't too bad as Claire has her first play date tomorrow and I would hate to cancel it. I also have a lot of baking that I would like to do. Well, I better get back to the laundry. Take care!

Poor Baby!

The Teething Monster can be quite vicious! Claire woke up last night at around 11:30 screaming like I've never heard her scream. I have always prided myself on how I deal with tough situations. My brothers were always getting into scrapes that would send us to the emergency room and I think that was good training for some of the tough situations I have faced but there is something about listening to your daughter scream herself hoarse that will just undo you. I fell apart! Thankfully, Tim heard us and got up and brought me back down. During times like this, I am so thankful that I have been able to nurse and that Tim talked me out of quitting in those hard early days. I coaxed her into nursing since that always seems to calm her down and she fell asleep after about ten minutes.

She had a pretty good morning but then the pain returned a couple of hours ago but not with the same intensity as last night. She is sleeping in her swing now and has been for over an hour which means that she is definitely not feeling well. Being a baby is hard business!

She did it!

Tonight, Claire rolled over from her back to her tummy! Our girl just keeps getting stronger!

Claire - 4 Months - Week 2

As you may know from previous posts, we have been working on our naps. This has been an incredibly frustrating process. At the end of this week, I decided to just give in to it. If sleeping in her swing makes her happy and less miserable, so be it because it'll make us all happy and less miserable so for some of her naps she'll be in her swing. Claire has missed a lot of play opportunities chasing these naps around and I just don't think that is fair. Here is a synopsis of her nap "issues:" They only last through one sleep cycle so 40 minutes. She may or may not be able to start the second half of her nap right after the first. Sometimes we have a 30-60 minute nap intermission where we change her diaper and play. Sometimes that second half of the nap is very hard to get no matter how much she wants it. She opens her eyes if I scratch my head or she hears any minor noises. In this situation, laying her down in her crib is next to impossible because she immediately wakes up and I can not get her back to sleep unless I rock her. I may make three or four attempts to lay her down in her crib before we just give up. At that point, we have spent probably an hour or more to get settled. Laying her in her swing is easier during these times because the swing will soothe her back to sleep. I am too much of a marshmallow to let her cry it out. Besides, this to me is just a developmental issue and I think it'll work itself out over time.

Enough about naps! Here are some more fun developments:

• Claire has developed some very cute mannerisms while eating. If she is eating and her left hand is free, she likes to rub or scratch her head. I have to hold it down, though, because she has cradle cap and the scratching makes her head bleed. If her right hand is loose, she tries to suck her thumb while eating. What a talent!

• Claire has also gotten very adept at taking her pacifier out of her mouth and she's been able to get it back in on a few occasions.

• We have always sung silly songs with her but lately I've been trying to have song time several times a day. I sing songs while moving her arms and legs around and she loves it and starts to laugh. Too much fun!

• She really loves her jumperoo now. She'll stay in it for 20 minutes or more.

• Tim and I read that we should start letting her smell different things so I decided to let her smell my banana the other day. This was one hour before she was due to eat. After letting her smell the banana, she got fussy and demanded to be fed. I guess she'll enjoy bananas when it is time for solids!

On the teething front, Claire stopped experiencing teething problems after we got back from our trip to Fairhope. She had been less clingy and happier but the teething monster came back this weekend. Poor baby!

Here are some pictures from this week:

Ready to go get her picture taken!

Worn out!

Loving the jumperoo!

She played so hard so kicked her leg out of her pj's.

Tim and I actually got to eat a meal at the same time and at the table this week while Claire slept in her swing. On another day, we also got to watch an entire movie uninterrupted since she went to bed early.