5 months

(blurry!)

Happy 5 months Madeline!

Maddie is growing so fast, just last week, Bill and I both said to each other that we think she must of grown overnight, she seemed so huge to us. She has started on rice cereal, and gobbles it up, which is so shocking to me, since Emma hated it. It's so funny to watch her eat it, especially when she blows a raspberry with a mouthful. And if she is really into it, she will kick her feet and get so excited for the next bite. She still is the happiest baby, she is content just watching whats going on and will entertain herself. She is so fun and easy to make laugh, her whole face lights up. I think my favorite sound is when Madeline and Emma laugh at each other. Maddie loves to chew on everything she can get her hands on, and really loves her rattles. Emma is her favorite person, she just follows her around and laughs at pretty much everything Emma does. If I'm trying to get ready to leave to go somewhere and Maddie is getting fussy, I ask Emma to go talk to her, and she brightens up instantly. (Emma is my savior that way).
On to her sleep...or lack of. (Did you ever notice that when you are lacking sleep, that's all you can think about?) I obsess a little about this. She is taking those awful 40-50 minute naps, so she wakes up still tired, and takes 3-4 naps. Emma did the same thing (is it me....?) and stopped by 7 months, so I have hope. Sometimes I will just hold Maddie during Emma's nap time, because she will nap so long that way, and we all get a break. She is so portable though, meaning, I can just put her in the car and she will fall asleep or entertain herself with a toy. (She doesn't hate the car anymore...most days!)
Nighttime is the worst. We have had a few nights where she slept 3-4 hour stretches and only got up twice (those were the good nights!). I felt like a new woman in the morning with all that rest. Most nights, she is in bed by 7, and will (I'm almost embarrassed to admit this) wake up at 9:30, 11:30, 1:30, 3:30, 5:30...etc. (Oh, it looks even more awful written down, she sounds like a newborn.) Not to eat (though sometimes I do nurse her just to get her to sleep quicker), only about two of those times she is legitimately hungry. She just. is. up. And the moment her body rests in my arms she goes back to sleep. And often, the moment I place her back in bed she wakes up...sometimes she teases me and will wait until my head hits the pillow, and then she wakes up. Letting her fuss back to sleep has worked at times, but other times she just gets so mad, we all go back to sleep quicker if I just sit with her for a bit until she's completely out (and I have passed out in her rocking chair and had Bill wake me at 5:30 when he's leaving for work to say goodbye!)
I'm so in love with Maddie, bad sleep habits and all. I know that one day too soon she will be big and talking and walking and sleeping well, so I'm trying to just savor the moments. I can't believe she's 5 months already!