Charlotte is 5 months!

Charlotte turned 5 months old yesterday.  Five months already?!  I'm still having a hard time believing it!

This month has been one of so many changes.  We had a week and a half of terrible sleeping.  We would put her down in her crib and she'd cry and cry and then wake frequently through the night.  Come to find out, it was an ear infection and continued congestion.  So, for the past month we have continued with breathing treatments two times per day and adding a second medicine to the treatment.  A month later and Charlotte is improving!

Daycare has been difficult since she started in January, the height of one of the worst cold and flu seasons we have had, but every day is better!

 

Despite being so sick, Charlotte is growing every day and doing so many new things.  She has discovered her feet big time, and loves to get them in her hands.  She absolutely loves when you strip her down to her diaper and wiggles all around on the bed, quite happily.  She has been rolling for a while, but is a master of that now and rolls all over the floor. Her exersaucer is one of her favorite things, and she has figured out that the dragonfly on it is a great teething toy.

 

Speaking of teething, no teeth yet, but I swear they are coming!  I have never seen quite as much drool as she produces.  Some days, she will go through three outifts at daycare.  And quite often, when it's time to eat, she'd rather chew on the bottle than drink.  And eating!  Our sweet girl is now eating cereal twice a day- rather messily, I might add- but she seems to like it.  Especially when daddy mixes it and puts a whole scoop of formula in.  Haha!

And, after being sick and a week and a half of no sleep at all hardly, our girl has been sleeping pretty well.  We finally broke her of the swaddle, and she's sleeping in a sleep sack.  Recently she has made it to anytime between 4 and 5 before she wakes for food, which is great in my eyes.  There were a couple of nights recently where she slept through the night...from 8:45 to 5:45 one night and 8:45 to 7:45 another, with only a dream feed before I went to bed.  But, these appear to have been a fluke.
We are currently cluster feeding before bed, which helps her make it longer.  I know she'll be sleeping longer stretches before long, and right now, I'm enjoying my time feeding her when it is still and quiet and dark.  It's a great time to pray, and I use that time to talk to God.  To thank him for our many blessings, like Charlotte, and to send up prayers for those around me that are suffering. 

 

In addition to her other milestones, Charlotte is working on sitting unassisted.  She's getting there!  When you place her on her back, she will try to pull herself up, like a mini-sit up, so she is getting stronger each day.

She is such a joy to us and is generally a happy baby.  She talks (coos), and laughs, and smiles, and recently, she has found her vocal chords and loves to scream.  It's pretty funny.  There are still times when she won't crack a smile for anything in the world (except maybe her Daddy or Poppy- that girl loves men!) and looks so serious, even frowning a bit just like Mommy when she's thinking hard.

(Screaming, not crying!)

 

Our love continues to grow for this sweet child that God has blessed us with.  The past 5 months have had their share of trials, but the joys far outnumber them!  Happy five months, butterbean!