5 Months Old

On Thursday, September 13, Kailea was 5 months old. To celebrate we danced and sang songs and read books and took pictures and had some more yogurt. She also continued to be sick and slightly more grumpy than usual. The day wasn't all roses, but it wasn't all bad either. As sick babies go, Kailea is remarkably easy going.

In five months, the most notable change is just how much bigger she has gotten. She practically fills her co-sleeper now, which used to be so big for her that we would have to bolster her up to ensure she didn't slide down into a ball at the bottom by morning (it has an incline at the head for her reflux problems). Another noticeable change is that the reflux seems to have finally, blessedly, cleared up. It's hard to say if it's 100% gone since she's had some spells since she got sick, but we are pretty sure that's just from the antibiotics-induced-nausea and coughing fits. Another nice turn of events is just how happy she is. She's always been a pretty mellow baby, except when she's not (on or off, there is no middle ground in her moods!). But now she's obviously happy, evidenced by her constant smiles whenever she makes eye contact with anyone. They say that stranger anxiety begins soon, and I am dreading that, because watching her interact so happily with everyone and everything has been such a joy.

As far as activities, we've remained home bodies for the most part, with just the occasional trip to the grocery store. Hopefully this changes soon, now that she's getting over her cold and she's getting more tolerant of not having her every need met instantaneously. Watching her hunger cues has been vital in keeping the meltdowns to a minimum, but it never used to keep them from happening - she would go from normal to hungry to screaming for food in about 60 seconds flat. Now, finally, she typically displays her cues and acts hungry for 5-10 minutes before the screaming begins. Well, except while she's been sick - when there have been no hunger cues because she has been too nauseated to be hungry and we've had some very frustrating days trying to make her eat enough to keep from getting worse.

There were some special activities thrown in: we went to cousin JR's birthday party at the Everett Children's Museum and we spent a weekend in Ocean Shores. She enjoyed the party because she really enjoys noisy, active scenes. She slept though almost the entirety of our afternoon at the beach, but definitely enjoyed the trip as a whole because so many family members were there to cuddle and entertain her.

In the next month, we're going to start the next level of PEPS, do some serious research on starting solids, and have more tummy time in hopes that this inspires her to begin to crawl. There's been a lot of talking from her this weekend, so I'm also anxiously waiting to see what her first real word in English will be.

Kailea Christine Cairns
9/13/12
5 months old
head circumference: 23.5 cm.
body length: 23.5 in.
weight: about 13 lbs.