7 Months...

 

 Sweet Caroline is 7-months-old! She is AWESOME! We've definitely had our moments with sleeping, but other than that, she seriously is one of the most laid back babies I've ever seen. It is a rarity for her to cry, so if she does cry I'm pretty bad about jumping to fix it because I think it means something must really be wrong. She is still pretty serious at times, but can also be the smiliest (new word lol), squealiest, happiest, baby. This month seems like she has hit a big growth spurt and seems like such a little person now instead of a teeny, tiny baby. We are definitely in love with our girl =)

Sleeping:
We are FINALLY over swaddling! I stressed and stressed over this because the past few times we've tried to stop have been torture, but we just went cold turkey this week after her rolling on her tummy too many times and she did great! She now rolls over to sleep on her tummy or sleeps completely spread out. She is doing pretty well at night (still wakes 1-3 times). This past week she's gotten into a nasty habit of waking up between 4-5 am and expecting to be up for the rest of the day. Umm. No. Her naps are also lacking, with a typical nap now lasting 30 minutes max. So so lame. I've tried switching her to only taking 2 naps a day and she still only slept about 30 minutes each and was just NOT having it by about 5pm. So that didn't work either. Oh well, Greg and I were both terrible sleepers growing up so at least she gets it honest.

Eating:
She is still loving her food =) She's tried several new combos this month and she is pretty much a fan of everything. She still prefers veggies over fruits right now and her favorite is either sweet potatoes and carrots, or zucchini and peas. She's still nursing every 3-4 hours. I would LOVE to have her on a 4 hour schedule, so we'll be working on that soon.




Milestones:

• She waves 'bye-bye'

• She is 'drinking' from a sippy cup- She's been really "stopped up" so we've been giving her diluted apple/prune juice in the mornings. She does great!
• Starting to sign "all-done" (although it looks a lot like her wave haha)
• (not really a milestone) but she switched over to her big girl carseat this month and loves it

Randoms/ Things to remember:

• She has started "growling" it.is. hilarious! She gets a very serious look on her face when she does it too, so you know she means business.
• She loves to touch your face when you hold her or when she's nursing.
• Loves playing "Peek-a-boo"
• L.o.v.e.s music and will "dance" (bounce) to it
• She loves going on walks in the morning
• Every time we are out we get complimented on what a good baby she is, and they couldn't be more right =)
• She is rarely called by her name. Her nicknames are: Tiny, C, little love, sweet girl, love bug, and tater (haha).
• Loves to talk really serious to us lol 
• She got in the pool for the first time this month and was not in love with it haha
• Went on the boat for the first time this month and did not enjoy the life jacket.

Baby Must-haves 3-6 Months...

Clearly the blog has taken a backseat lately...oh well, perhaps now that C is actually taking naps I will have more time to post all the fun things I'd like to! Anyway, for those interested and for me to refer back to on Baby Glawson #2 (several years from now) here are the products that have helped us out the most during these past three months.

1) Miracle Blanket. Yes. Caroline is 6 months old and STILL swaddled. I've given up the battle after trying to go through the unswaddling process several times and it's torture for us all. It's either have her sleep almost all night vs. no sleep at all for any of us and after the month or two of TERRIBLE sleep...I'll take all the sleep I can get =) This blanket is awesome because she does not like for her legs to be swaddled, just her arms (which she is too long for the leg part anyway) and we can still get a good, snug wrap on her. She loves it!

2) Vitamix .

Of course, any other blending or food processing device would work perfectly well for babyfood making purposes, but seriously...this thing is AWESOME for making C's food!! I've made baby food for almost all of the kids I nannied and nothing has ever pureed as well as our Vitamix has. It's saweeet!

3)Video Monitor.

We started out with the Angelcare Motion and Sound monitor which I "just HAD to have"...well, because of C's reflux we were never able to use the motion sensor pad because we have a wedge in her crib and the mattress has to be flat. Plus, since she is still swaddled and can rollover I was constantly going in just to make sure she was still on her back (since her arms aren't free to push herself back over). SO, this has been super!

4) Hidden In my Heart Scripture Lullabies

Seriously. Sweetest CD ever! It's bible verses set to beautiful music and we LOVE it! We keep it in the car and it calms C down within minutes and almost always puts her right to sleep. It is so soothing and so so pretty!

5) Exersaucer

Caroline LOVES to be in this thing! We keep it in the kitchen so she can play while I do the dishes or cook and she is perfectly content just hanging out in there.

6) Grocery Cart/ High chair cover

This is one of those things that I always thought was so unnecessary. Until I had my own kid and realized I'd rather her not chew on the grocery cart handle. I also about passed out when Greg took her to the grocery store alone and put her in the cart without it...oh the germs! LOL! So, we borrowed this one from Katie and we use it ALL the time! Love it!

7) Pack-n-play

This has definitely come in handy these past few months with trips to NC and Florida. I was worried she would not sleep well in it, but she does pretty good!  This is a must when family lives out of town!

8) Activity Mat

Caroline LOVES her activity mat. Especially when she wasn't able to sit up on her own. This is where she does most of her independent play and she is so content just hanging out, talking to her toys. Now that she is sitting up most of the time, she isn't on there as often, but we keep it around for tummy time.


I can't really think of anything else that we use ALL the time besides the obvious- carseat, stroller, high chair, etc...we're starting to use the Ergo carrier more, but I believe that will be more of a 6-12month+ item. Anyway, these are the things that have made life easier the past 3 months!

6 Months!!!

Our sweet Caroline is half a year old! It is hard to believe! This month has been so much fun! Caroline's cute personality is showing more and more everyday and we LOVE it! The girl is a talker! She is constantly babbling and squealing and giggling...so fun! She is super happy and it doesn't take much to get a sweet smile =) We are so very in love with our girl!

Sleeping:
This month has been SO much better with her nighttime sleep (PRAISE THE LORD)! She still wakes up once or twice, but I'll certainly take that over the 7-10 times she was doing last month! She is still taking 3 naps, although nap is such a strong word lol. Her naps are generally 20-45 minutes max. Fun. This month we've started trying to let her put herself to sleep a bit more, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. She is still swaddled. We tried stopping and that was torture for us all, so I figure we will drop that eventually, but I'm choosing my battles on that one haha.

Eating:
Caroline is a GREAT eater! She gets so excited when it is time to eat and loves just about anything we send her way. She is still nursing (woohoo...we made it 6 months) every 3-4 hours and is eating solids twice a day. So far she has tried: avocado, sweet potato, peas, green beans, carrots, pears, apples, peaches, banana, and mango. She will eat everything, but it not a huge fan of bananas or mango by themselves but enjoys them mixed together. Her favorites are definitely sweet potatoes and peas. We are loving the new adventures in eating =)


Milestones:
She has gotten so good had sitting up on her own this month! Really it's been in the past week or two where she sits really well. She has ridden in a grocery cart without the carseat and sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time this month as well...what a big girl =)

She has also started SCOOTING! Granted, it's going backwards...but it's one step closer to have a mobile baby! Craziness!

Her 4th tooth popped through, so now she has two bottom and two top and I hope and pray we are done with teething for a little while! She is definitely ahead of the game there!

6 Month Stats:
 Weight- 15lb 12 oz (44%)
 Height- 26 in (56%)
 Head- I don't remember, but it was 91%...takes after her daddy haha

Randoms/ Things to remember:

• Caroline makes the funniest facial expressions and finds herself to be hilarious =)
• She is very serious when she first meets someone, but once she very seriously studies the person, she gives big smiles
• She is a very LOUD talker and gets very serious when telling us a big story =)
• She loves the tags on things
• Loves to yell at the dogs. She will stand in the exersaucer and yell at them. I think she enjoys being eye level with them haha
• Is great in a stroller or the Ergo carrier and loves to go on walks and be outside
• We go to music and story time every week and she loves watching all the bigger kids dance around her
• She does well with independent play, but would be perfectly happy if I held or carried her around all day long...and most of the time I would too =)

Just playing...

Because I am too lazy to write a full post...here is a video of sweet Caroline =)

5 Months...

 Sweet Caroline turned 5 months old this past Friday (I am BEYOND behind on the blogging, but I need these posts to help me keep her baby book updated). This month has been a fun one but by far the most challenging! Caroline has decided that sleeping at night is for wimps, and that all the cool babies stay up all night. It has been incredibly frustrating to say the least. A typical night for us this past month has been as follows:


Start bedtime routine around 6:30
Bed by 7:00pm
Awake by 8:30pm back to sleep by 9ish
Awake at 10 back to sleep in 30 min-1 hr
Awake at Midnight- Nurse- asleep in 10-15 min
Awake at 1:15, asleep in about 15 min
Awake at 2am..generally spend 1.5-2 hours getting back to sleep
Around 4 am I usually just give up and let her sleep on me in the recliner until she wakes up around 6:30-7am.


Day time naps take generally 20mins to an hour to get to to sleep (even though she is sleepy) and they typically last 30-45 min.


Fun times. 


Because of this craziness, I have cut out dairy (she also has eczema and other signs of a dairy allergy or sensitivity) and she has switched from Zantac to Prevacid. On top of this, she is also cutting her top two teeth...just to add to the fun =) So far, Tylenol every night, teething tablets, nighttime orajel, and standing on our left legs while patting our heads has not helped!


Anyway, we have yet another doctor's appointment tomorrow, so if I'm given the green light that she is 100% healthy, then we are starting some sleep training this weekend.


Other than that, she is the happiest, sweetest baby ever!! She is super fun during the day and we LOVE all her squeals, giggles, and sweet babbles! She loves to lay on the floor and grab her feet, which have just recently made their way to her mouth. She can be very serious, and you really have to work to get a good giggle out, but the smiles come easily =) We ended up going to Jacksonville, FL with Greg on a business trip last week. I was terrified because of the sleep issues, but she actually did the best she has in a while and only woke up 2-3 times each night...however, she was in bed with us or held to sleep, but since we were in a hotel I didn't want to wake the whole floor up. She is an EXCELLENT traveler and we are so very thankful for that! She was super easy going the entire trip and she got to visit the ocean for the first time...it was super sunny and windy, so she was slightly unimpressed haha. We joke about her having "first child syndrome" because we literally just sit around (dogs included) staring and laughing at her. She lights up our lives and we are so very blessed to be her parents! I simply can't believe she'll be halfway to one whole year next month!! Time is flying!




5 Month Stats-
Not 100% sure, but we went to the doctor at 4.5 months and she was weighedWeight- 14 lb 6 oz

Milestones-

• Started solids (rice cereal) at the beginning of this month (this was an attempt at sleeping better at night...HAH)
• Rolled over from back to belly (only twice)

Randoms for this month:

• Still loves being swaddled, although we are trying to break this- we're also choosing our battles lol
• Has started to suck her thumb
• Everything goes straight to her mouth!
• She still loves yelling at us, especially in the grocery store where she can get a good loud squeal in =)
• She is SO close to sitting up! She will sit for a few seconds then plop over, but she is a strong girl
• Has really started paying attention to the dogs this month and loves to watch them
• She celebrated her first Easter this month which was fun!

Favorite memories from this month:

• The Florida trip! While Greg was in classes, I would put her in the Moby Wrap and we'd go for a walk by the river. She was nap and I would get to read- so nice! 
• Being up all night isn't ALL bad! We get a few extra snuggles, and one of my favorite things she does is what we call the "Caroline glow-worm"...since she is all swaddled up, when we are rocking her she likes to lean back and look at us and when she catches eye contact she gives the biggest smiles then buries her head in out neck...SO cute and SO hard not to play back =)

First Real Food...

Yesterday Caroline tried her first real food (I don't count rice cereal as real food lol), so here is a video of her first taste of avocado. I don't think she was very hungry when we tried it because she was really just playing and spitting it out (which does not happen with the rice, she would lick the bowl if I let her), but it went well for the first try =)

Rolling over...

Caroline is rolling over for real this time =) What a big girl!