5 months old!

Lily, you turn 5 months old today and I am amazed at the change in you... it is hard to believe that the baby who kept taking and eating my newspaper today was a newborn just 5 months ago. It has definitely been a tough 5 months but I wouldn't trade it for anything. It is so much fun interacting with you and watching you explore the world around you. Currently you only want to be held facing out and if we hold you facing us you whip your head around to see what you are missing. In particular you want to see what you are missing while you are walking and will throw your whole body around in order to see more. Diaper changes are also getting more interesting as you immediately roll over when we put you down so we have to provide you with a toy of some sort to hold onto while we change you.

You started rolling earlier this month and are now rolling all over the place which is keeping all of us on our toes. Julie is learning to pick her toys up so that you don't eat them because EVERYTHING goes immediately into your mouth. This weekend I left you on the floor and went to wash my hands and Julie sat down next to you and said "I'll watch her" as I walked away which made me smile. The same day you girls were in the living room and I was in the kitchen when Jules came running into the kitchen saying "she did it, I knew she could" and when I asked what she was talking about she told me that you had rolled all the way over and back onto your back. When we came back into the living room she kneeled next to you saying "Good job, Lily, I knew you could do it"! I loved seeing how proud she is of her sister, even if you rolling all the way over was really nothing new. Even though you can't talk we can tell by the way your face lights up that you love Julie just as much as Julie loves you.

This month we introduced rice cereal with some mixed reviews from you. The first few times you really didn't eat much of it, however, over the weekend I gave you some and you were actively leaning in for the next bite so I think that after a few more days we'll move on to some barley cereal. Your stomach issues have certainly not gone away so I am definitely a little more nervous about introducing foods than I had been with Jules. It seems that every couple of days you have a really bad gas day which results in you being really fussy and not sleeping well. I've pretty much given up the adjustments to my diet because it didn't seem to make that much of difference. The biggest thing seems to be making sure you get your prevacid every night. I have definitely learned your cries and can tell when you are crying because you are hungry, gassy, bored or tired. The hardest ones are certainly when you are gassy or bored because there isn't always anything I can do. You cry when you get sleepy, rub your eyes and begin sucking your thumb which is an easy cue to put you down. Once down you almost immediately stop crying and fall asleep which is an amazing change from Julie who needed her nuk and to be rocked.