On the Brink of a Revolution

Skip that rolling around to get places stage - Addelyn is well on her way to go straight to crawling.  She's started to get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth and now the race has begun.  Who will win?  Will mommy get the basement play room baby-proofed first, or will Addelyn start cruising around before all of the outlets are properly covered and the power cords hidden?

Other than that, life has been pretty exciting the last couple of weeks.  Here's some highlights:

Addelyn has been saying "mama" a LOT recently.  I think she might be starting to make a connection.  Another new thing - she pulled herself to standing for the first time today.  I had her in her bathtub without any water in it (she wanted to play in it) and she just grabbed the end and pulled herself up.  When she realized what she had done she looked right at me and smiled - soooo proud of herself!

It's fall!!  I LOVE to be outside in the fall, so I'm trying to get Addelyn outside at least a couple of times a week to play in the leaves and get some fresh air.

I just got done making Addelyn's costume for Halloween - she's going to be a bunny :-)  I also made her a giant carrot to hold, but when I took this picture I hadn't made it yet.  I even made a little carrot for a stuffed animal bunny to hold so they can match :-)  I'll post pictures of Addelyn and her bunny friend both holding their carrots after Halloween.

We should've done this long ago, but we got a swing for Addelyn and put it in the tree in the front yard.  She loves to swing!  She has fun playing peekaboo and kick mommy, and then she falls asleep.  It's the perfect way to get her to go down for a nap.  Too bad the weather is getting cold.  We'll have to use the swing as much as we can before it gets too cold out!

Addelyn is starting to get into a sleeping routine.  I can now get her to sleep from 9pm to 6 am almost every night and her naps are getting more regular - one 2-hour nap in the morning a couple of hours after she wakes up, maybe a short one in the early afternoon, and another 1-2 hour nap in the evening.  It's so nice to be able to plan chores around these naps, and Addelyn is in a much better mood now that she has a routine...

Last but not least, Addelyn got her first drumming lesson from daddy :-)

Stats:
Age:  6 1/4 months
Weight:  17 lbs, 10 oz
Length:  26.5 inches
Drinks:  about 5 7oz bottles of milk per day (4 oz of which is formula)
Eats:  4 teaspoons of rice cereal mixed with baby food at bedtime, & rice cereal mixed with baby food at lunch time.  She's had almost all of the veggies at this point.  Her favorite is carrots and her least favorite is peas.
Sleeps: 11 hours/night - 9pm-8am  (usually wakes up around 6am for a bottle)
Naps: 2 hours in the late morning (10-12), a short one in the afternoon (sometimes) and 2 hours in the evening (5-7)
Awake for: 1.5-5 hours at a time during the day.
Clothes size:  mainly 6-9 month and some 3-6 month
Motor skills:  sitting up almost unattended, rolling over tummy-to-back and back-to-tummy, rocking on hands and knees, and standing while holding on to something.
other skills:  babbling, going backwards in her walker, shaking a rattle
words:  no words yet...unless you count mama, but I don't think she knows what it means.
signs:  she understands "milk" and we're working on "change diaper", "help", "out", "up", "fall down", "play", "tired", "night night", "book", "bye bye", and "eat"

Baby University

Hello from Addelyn!  It's been an exciting few days...

It seems like Addelyn's development has just EXPLODED recently.  We've had so many milestones recently, I'm just constantly amazed at her:

First baby food:  
I don't have a picture of the occasion, but I started giving her baby food on Tuesday, October 4.  I originally planned on starting when she was 6 months old, but I decided to start adding the baby food to Addelyn's rice cereal during her nighttime feeding to start getting her used to the different tastes.  So far we've done squash (a big success - she likes squash) and peas (she had a miserable look on her face the entire time and ended the feeding short when she refused to eat any more and started crying...), though I didn't use rice cereal with the peas because it wasn't a feeding at bedtime (which is normally when she gets the rice cereal).

Eating twice a day:
Again, I didn't plan on starting the twice-a-day solids until Addelyn was officially 6 months old, but I learned that doctors reccommend babies eat no more than 32 ounces of milk per day.  Addelyn has been eating more like 35 or 36 oz per day, so they say to start feeding more solids until it's down into the 26-32 range.  So I started giving her lunch on Thursday, October 6.

Walker Fun:
Addelyn is probably the smartest baby in the world...when she runs into something in her walker she can get herself unstuck by backing up and turning.  The first time I saw it I was absolutely speechless.  She had run into the couch and she just looked directly at me, smiled, and backed up about three feet before turning and going somewhere else!  Did I mention she's not even 6 months old yet???  It was literally a jaw-drop, hand over the mouth moment.  Here's a video of her maneuvering all around the basement. She was getting a little frustrated, so she needed a lot of encouragement, but she eventually made it all the way to me and she was SOOO proud of herself!

Rolling over Back-To-Tummy:
Addelyn is officially rolling over from her back to her tummy (via her left side only) and her tummy to her back (either direction).  She hasn't figured out that it is a viable mode of transportation, though, so the rolling over in general doesn't happen very often.  Mostly it's to get off of her tummy if she's playing and to get onto her tummy if she's going to sleep.  And she sleeps SOOOO much better on her tummy.  It's 6:30 am right now and Addelyn has been asleep since we put her down at 9.  I don't remember the last time that happened!

Rocking!
Addelyn doesn't get up on her hands and knees by herself yet, but if I put her down on her hands and knees she will rock forward and backwards and REALLY look like she wants to go somewhere.  I give it about a month before she's crawling around :-)  I've started baby-proofing the family room where she plays...

Sleeping with Mommy Sans-boppy
Addelyn usually spends the first two hours every morning (from 7-9 am usually) sleeping in bed with me.  Up until about a week ago I had her in her boppy pillow so that I wouldn't roll over on her, but she started getting mad at it and not going to sleep because she can't roll onto her side in it...so I just took her out of it and now we cuddle much closer.  I sleep very lightly when she's with me, and I have absolutely no worry anymore that I'll roll onto her in my sleep or that she'll roll off of the bed, since I'm constantly in contact with her.  It is an amazing feeling cuddling with my baby, and I look forward to those two hours every day!  (though the waking up isn't always the greatest...she usually just hits me in the face until I get up and play with her...turns out babies don't understand "5 more minutes")

Not Wanting to Go to Sleep:
Addelyn has decided that, with the exception of sleeping with mommy, sleeping is not nearly as fun as playing.  So occasionally she throws a HUGE fit when she gets tired because she doesn't want to go to sleep.  I get her in the end by going on a short walk if it's light out - something that has always calmed her down and lulled her to sleep.  Or if it's bedtime, she usually doesn't cry unless she's still hungry, So I just feed her a bottle and she's out.  I try not to let her fall asleep in my bed with me when she's throwing a fit because I don't want her to think she gets to do that every time...just in the mornings and on days when I'm really tired and she's being good :-)

Cause-and-Effect:
Addelyn has learned cause-and-effect.  She now shakes a rattle with a purpose.  I noticed it for the first time on October 5:

Bounce, Bounce, Bounce!!
Addelyn loves to bounce in her bouncy toy now!

Finally, it isn't a milestone, but it is a HILARIOUS video...I gave Addelyn an apple to suck on for a little bit yesterday and she absolutely LOVED it.  I've let her taste an apple once before and when I eventually took it away she threw a fit for 5 minutes (a long time for her).  This time I was ready with a bottle at the end, so she was a little more forgiving.  She's crying at the beginning because I was giving her the apple before I took the video, but ran away to get the camera and she did not like that!

Stats:
Age:  5 3/4 months
Weight:  17 lbs, 3 oz
Length:  26.5 inches
Drinks:  about 5 7oz bottles of milk per day (4 oz of which is formula)
Eats:  4 teaspoons of rice cereal mixed with baby food at bedtime, & baby food at lunch time
Sleeps: 12 hours/night - 9pm-9am  (usually wakes up around 2am for binkie and 5 or 7am for bottle)
Naps: 2 or 3 1-hour naps/day occasionally a 2-hour nap
Awake for: 1.5-3.5 hours at a time during the day.
Clothes size:  mainly 6-9 month and some 3-6 month
Motor skills:  sitting up almost unattended, rolling over tummy-to-back and back-to-tummy, rocking on hands and knees
other skills:  babbling, going backwards in her walker, shaking a rattle
words:  no words yet...unless you count mama, but I don't think she knows what it means.
signs:  she understands "milk" and we're working on "change diaper", "help", "out", "up", "fall down", "play", "tired", "night night", "book", "bye bye", and "eat"

Talking up a Storm

We're almost there!!  I learned that babies "practice" their large motor skills in their sleep before they start showing these abilities while awake.  And Addelyn is no exception to that rule!  Last night I saw her roll over from her back to her stomach TWICE.  It was so surreal - something she has such a hard time with when she's awake and playing she just does like it's no big deal in her sleep.  Amazing.  That being said, I think Addelyn will be rolling all over the place pretty soon :-)

I don't have a video of Addelyn rolling over yet, but here's quite a long one of her "talking"  She's just started to babble, and it's sooooo cute!  The video's a long one...I just couldn't stop taping!  Even though it's a common thing and that every baby does it, I can't help but be amazed and enthralled at every little new thing she does.  This video was taken late in the evening, so she was getting a little tired and crabby (you can tell by the way she can't decide whether to laugh or cry).  It didn't help that she wanted me to pick her up and I was just sitting there looking at her, and at the end she has a bit of a coughing fit.  No, she's not sick, she just takes after me and occasionally inhales her spit then chokes on it... graceful, I know.

And now, more pictures.  Here are some of my favorite recent pictures:

I love these pajamas!!

Addelyn is pushing up on her arms very well now.

Addelyn always loves bathtime!

I think I'll start doing some stats, that way when I have more babies and when Addelyn grows up I can remember how big Addelyn was and what she was doing at this age:

Stats:
Age:  5 1/2 months
Weight:  16 lbs, 11 oz
Length:  26.5 inches
Drinks:  about 5 7oz bottles of milk per day (4 oz of which is formula)
Eats:  4 teaspoons of rice cereal per day
Sleeps: 12 hours/night - 9pm-9am  (usually wakes up around 2am for binkie and 5 or 7am for bottle)
Naps: 2 or 3 1-hour naps/day occasionally a 2-hour nap
Awake for: 1.5-3.5 hours at a time during the day.
Clothes size:  mainly 6-9 month and some 3-6 month
Motor skills:  sitting up almost unattended, rolling over tummy-to-back
other skills:  she just started babbling :-)
words:  no words yet...unless you count mama, but I don't think she knows what it means.
signs:  she understands "milk" and we're working on "change diaper", "help", "out", "up", "fall down", "play", "tired", "night night", "book", "bye bye", and "eat"

Sweet Tooth

Addelyn is officially teething!  She hasn't had too much of a problem with it so far and if it's effecting her sleep patterns at all it's for the better (thankfully).  I noticed a couple of days ago that the mouthing she's always done became a little more...shall we say...urgent.  Still no teeth poking through as of yet, though, and I think it will still be a whle since her gums aren't even hard or swollen at all.

Even though Addelyn's first tooth hasn't come through yet, I think I already know it's a sweet one!  We've gotten our first bag of candy corn for the season and let's say I got a little carried away today.  I was surprised to see that my inability to stay away from the candy corn was reflected in Addelyn's behavior!  Tonight at 30 minutes past her bedtime Addelyn was absolutely bouncing off of the walls!!  It was so funny, I had to get it on video:

This is what happens when a breastfed baby's mommy has too much candy corn...she was like this for a good 15 minutes.

The Saddest Sound in the World

Addelyn sometimes crys in her sleep and it sounds so much sadder than any of her other crys (angry, hungry, scared, tired, bored, hurt etc...) and it breaks my heart.   How can a 5-month-old have such sad dreams when she doesn't even know what it means to be sad?  I suppose it's the flipside of when she has funny dreams and laughs in her sleep.  She started giggling in her sleep at 2 weeks old before she could even consciously smile.  I wonder if there have been any infant sleep-studies that show that the neurons in the emotional centers of infants' brains can activate during sleep before the baby is emotionally mature enough for them to activate when awake...

No picture or video for this subject - I've tried so hard to get the sleep-giggling on video because it's just so adorable, but it's so unpredictable and quick.  The crying can last a little longer, but I don't have the heart to watch her cry like that long enough to record it.  I just have to pick her up and comfort her when she crys in her sleep - even if she doesn't wake up for it, she still calms down once I pick her up and talk or sing to her.

Peace, Love, and Rock and ROLL

                                

PEACE,

LOVE,

ROCK,

& ROLL

It's official.  Addelyn is rolling over!  She started on Tuesday morning (September 6), and was an expert by the following night.  Goodbye tummy-time.  Right now she will only go from her tummy to her back, and she only rolls to the right, but I'm sure once she realizes that rolling is a viable mode of transportation, she'll start rolling all over the place.

I figured out how Addelyn can get around in her walker - I have to put her in it backwards.  The leg holes point forward too much, so she can't get her legs under her if she's in it correctly.  Now that I figured out the trick, Addelyn cruises!  She does have a bit of a problem with steering as you can see, though.  Since she has to sit backward, the pivoting wheels are in the back and it makes steering very non-intuitive.  I think I'm going to do some modifications of the shape of the seat pretty soon.

Addelyn has also started doing "the dive"  If I'm holding her and she sees something or someone that she wants, she will reach both hands out for it and try to 'dive' out of my hands.  Isn't she too young for that???  She's also doing better and better at sitting on her own.  A couple of days ago she decided that she wanted to sit IN her toy box.  She walked up to it and fussed when I offered her the toys or for her to stand by it - then once I put her in she got a big smile on her face and played in there for several minutes.  It was so cute.

Addelyn often takes her morning nap in our bed with me (and sometimes Jake, too!)  I think this may be her favorite place to nap because I'm right there not only to be a comforting presence, but also to replace her pacifier when it falls out, which it does at least a half-dozen times per nap.  When Addelyn naps wit me like this, it's totally normal for us to have a 2-hour nap, and we've even had a couple of 3-hour ones!  It is soooo nice.

We had a long, fun day on Saturday, September 3.  We woke up at Grandma and Papa Sienkiewicz's house and played until mid-afternoon, then went home and played some more.  I think Addelyn was beat...she had a mild fever (99.5) and fell asleep a little early that night - she couldn't even stay awake through her dinner!

Labor day was fun - we went to Lora and John Baughman's house and had a cookout.  Addelyn enjoyed all of her friends and she even got to play with Mia the dog, who is always very concerned when Addelyn crys or yells.  Mia will be a great big sister!  Addelyn played a little in the grass - it was a chilly day, so she got all bundled up and everyone agreed that the hat Tiffany made her was ADORABLE!!!  (and also that it made her look like a mushroom from Mario...nerds)