5 months & a day

Yesterday marked another monthly milestone for our baby girl!

Not too much new has happened in the last month besides the beginnings of teething. Keziah's still not rolling over. She makes it from her back to her side and then seems kind of stuck there. When I put her on her tummy she just puts her arms down by her side and her legs in the air behind her as she kind of 'body-surfs' on the ground - usually while she's crying for me to turn her back over! At around 5 months, Micah was sitting up for short periods of time but Keziah is still pretty floppy so she doesn't seem in a hurry :) I'm hoping this is a good indicator of her personality - maybe a more laid-back baby this time??

Keziah is still mostly on a liquid diet. I've only tried rice cereal a few times since we introduced it a month ago and she never really got into it and it didn't seem like she needed it to fulfill any hunger. I think I'll try again in the next week or two. It took me a few weeks, but she is now taking her bottle like a pro. And after gradually mixing in formula with breastmilk, I can now give her a formula-only bottle. That is SUCH a relief for me and I've been able to leave her behind a few times now and not have to worry about pumping enough to get a full bottle.

And there's been some progress in the sleep department. After talking with several different moms lately I finally got up the gumption to just let Keziah cry. If I'm convinced that she's getting enough to eat and waking only out of habit, I feel comfortable with this approach. I've started doing a "dreamfeed" (waking her to nurse) at around 10:30 pm. She takes a really good feed when she's sleepy like this. That gives me the reassurance that her tummy is nice and full and she should be fine until morning. The first night I did this she woke up about 4 hours later. I almost gave in and fed her because I was exhausted and I knew it would be quick and easy, but I shook off my sleepy feeling and decided to let her cry. I went in every few minutes to shush her and give her the soother and after about 20 minutes she was sleeping again. It felt like a long time while I was in it, but when she fell asleep I thought, that was it? She woke maybe once more but only briefly and otherwise slept straight until 7:30 am. Any fears that she would wake up starving (or just plain mad at me!) were dispelled when I heard her cooing and talking happily in her crib. I went in there and she was all smiles. So then I knew that she was definitely fine without those extra feedings in the night. The next few nights have been similar but with shorter crying times. Last night she woke up a few times but with only minor fussing and then straight back to sleep. Hopefully all of those extra wake-ups will be eliminated eventually as well!

I FINALLY took the kids to Mill Lake this morning. Micah has been begging to go to the park and I definitely needed the exercise. Here is my single stroller that I have converted into a double :) It works quite well and neither of them seem to mind. I think I will try putting Keziah in the front once she's sitting up on her own...

We came across this family of geese during our walk around the lake...

Peekaboo Mommy!

You can kind of see Micah's troublesome pointer finger in that last picture. Yesterday after a long bath we noticed the sore had opened up on it's own. Today it still looks sore, but not nearly as red and inflamed. It looks like we'll be spared that awful second visit to the doctor - thank the Lord! Last night when I prayed with Micah before bed I asked him what we should talk to Jesus about. He said, "my finger!" And we did :)