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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Ellowyn is 5 months old (plus a little)

I never posted a 4 month update for Ellowyn, so this post is going to include a bit of back info.

Anyway, Ellowyn is beautiful and healthy and it seems like the milestones are coming a mile a minute.

Physical Growth: We haven't had her measured since her 4 month checkup, but since I never posted that info, I'll go ahead now.  At her 4 month checkup, she was 75th percentile for height (down from 85th at 2 mo), 25th percentile for weight (down from 50th at 2 mo).  So just like her sister, she's continuing to be a slow grower in comparison to her peers.  But she's still tall and skinny overall (as opposed to Mira, who was just little all over).  AND just like her big sis, she's got a giant noggin: 90th percentile for head circumference.

Sleeping: For the most part, Ellowyn continues to be a good sleeper.  She's usually only up once per night, although the timing of her night waking has been pretty random: one night she'll wake up at 11pm and the next night 4am, there's just no telling.  And while she'd probably like to be taking two one-hour naps per day, I'm pushing her into a one-nap schedule by keeping her up in the mornings and not letting her nap until Mira's nap happens after lunch.  The main reason I'm doing this is so that I don't have conflicting nap schedules that keep me trapped at home all day (if Ellowyn naps in the morning, then when she wakes up Mira is going down and then when Mira wakes up Ellowyn is going back down and then I'm stuck at home all day long with one child or another sleeping).  She's proving to be very flexible in her sleep, luckily, so she's taking well to doing just one longer nap every day (she'll usually take one 3-hour nap per day which will at least partially overlap with Mira's nap).  Also, I'm currently working on transitioning her out of her inclined bassinet (which she was sleeping in for her reflux) and into her crib.  So far it's turned out to be surprisingly easy; Ellowyn is taking to her new bed really well.  She may even be sleeping better in her crib than she was in her bassinet.

Eating: We're still exclusively breastfeeding.  Ellowyn's still not quite ready for solids, according to the generally accepted guidelines: she can't sit up well yet and she hasn't doubled her birth weight (though since she's only 12 pounds and would need to get to 17 to double her birth weight, I don't think that's a milestone she is going to reach before she starts solids).  She also seems to be getting plenty with breast milk alone; she doesn't act like she's still hungry after nursing.  But she does show interest in our food and in watching us eat so we are thinking that we might start solids in the next couple of weeks, right around the time she turns 6 months, assuming her sitting abilities get better between now and then.

One thing that she has discovered that she can eat: her foot.  She loves some toes.


Physical ability: As I mentioned, she is not quite able to sit up yet.  She's so tall and lanky that I think it's difficult for her to control all of her height.  But her head has gotten much less wobbly of late.  Also, she's rolling in both directions (back to front and front to back).  She's gotten really good at grasping and grabbing objects, even handling them and passing them back and forth between hands.

Reflux: Her reflux continues to be well-controlled with her medicine.  I've tried on several occasions to wean her off of the medicine, but every time I try, her symptoms come back and she is clearly uncomfortable.  She's still spitting up very frequently, but in gradually diminishing quantities.  I've heard that the reflux should get much better once she is sitting up more.  But now that the reflux is under control, she is beginning to actually enjoy tummy time.


Social: Ellowyn continues to be a very social baby.  She loves looking at faces, and smiles any time anyone engages her.  She also really loves to "sing", as I call it.  She makes this "aaaaaaahhhhh" sound... repeatedly and loudly and often.  Lately, she's also starting to throw in a few babbling sounds too; buh's and mah's are now in her vocabulary as well as blowing raspberries.  You can hear her "sing" some in the video at the end of this post.

Her smiles are huge; her mouth takes up the entire lower half of her face.


Sister love: Mira continues to be a great big sis, and Ellowyn is so fascinated by her.  Ellowyn watches everything Mira does with awe and fascination.  And Mira sings Ellowyn songs, she shows her what she is doing, she hugs her and kisses her, she hands her toys, she helps me take care of her by fetching things for me when I ask or by keeping Ellowyn entertained while I focus on something else.  Mira is incredible, as sisters go.  And Ellowyn loves her so much; she lights up when Mira enters the room.


I'll leave you with a cute video of Ellowyn making faces at Brian.  She does a little singing, too.  Also, Mira makes an appearance at the end.

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