Zara at Five Months!

Happy 5 months to my baby Zara! She's growing up so fast. As David says, she's no longer a new baby, she's an old baby. I feel like month four was all about Zara learning new things and month five has been all about practicing and mastering those new skills. I think this next month will see Zara learning some new tricks (like sitting up on her own perhaps) and reaching some new milestones (like cutting her first tooth). But for now, here's an update on Zara's fifth month of life.

General Observations, Physical Changes, Etc.

Zara keeps on growing. At her last check-up, she weighed 16.4 pounds (90%), measured 26.5 inches long (97%) and had a head circumference of 16.5 inches (63%). When I weighed her today, she was pushing 18 pounds (yikes!). Please tell my baby to stop growing. When I look at her newborn photos, I don't even recognize her.

Zara's hair keeps growing more and more wild every day, but it's now long enough that I can sometimes wrangle it into a cute little top ponytail. I keep expecting it to turn lighter, but I'm pleased to report that it still remains a beautiful brown, which makes me happy. Having said this, however, her hair will probably turn blonde overnight.

Zara discovered her feet this month. She hasn't started to eat them yet, but she does like to grab onto them, especially when she's getting a bum change.

She really likes to touch things and feel their different textures. It looks like she's scratching everything.

Zara has just recently started to make a wheezing sound when she inhales. Some things I've read suggest that this is just babies practicing their vocalizations but other things say it could indicate asthma or some other illness. I'm going to keep a watch on it for the next week to see if it gets worse or she seems to have difficulty breathing, but for now, I think it's nothing serious.

Eating and sleeping habits

This is where things got a little difficult for us this month. All this time, Zara has been an awesome nighttime sleeper. She's never been big on consistent or regular naps during the day, but I never fussed about those since she slept so well at night. She was getting enough sleep, I was getting enough sleep and life was good. But then, over the course of this last month, she decided she couldn't be completely perfect in every way and decided sleep would have to go. She started falling asleep later and later at night and then waking up every 2-3 hours to eat more. We've tried some new methods to help improve things and get her back to sleeping through the night. We'll see how well it goes over the next month.

One thing my sister suggested was to not allow Zara to nap past 5 p.m. When I've actually stuck by this rule, Zara has generally gone to sleep at a decent hour.

Another thing I read--and I tend to avoid reading a lot of parenting theories--said that a lot of babies follow a 2-3-4 napping pattern. (Meaning, they nap 2 hours after waking up, sleep again 3 hours after their first nap, and then go to bed four hours after their second nap.) Zara in no way follows this pattern but keeping this pattern in mind has led me to pay more attention to Zara's general sleep rhythms in an attempt to decipher her own pattern. I think I'm getting closer to cracking the code. But as soon as I figure it out, I'm sure she'll outgrow it.

A lot of parenting books suggest that this is the time when you should start training your child how to fall asleep on their own and to wean them off of sleep associations like being nursed or rocked back to sleep. I'm torn over whether I should follow the guidance of these books or continue to nurse Zara to sleep and feed her as she demands. This is why I've avoided parenting books. They make me doubt my own intutition.

This month also saw Zara making the move from our room to her own crib. It's been a hard transition (for me, mostly) and most nights she ends up in bed with us anyway, but I do think the crib is helping. For one, she's sleeping on a better and more comfortable mattress than our old pack 'n play and she stays warmer because she's further away from the ground. Plus, the nursery stays warmer than our bedroom with its wall of windows.

Zara is a champion eater and I am extraordinarily grateful that I'm a champion milk producer. She'll take a bottle from David or other people (but not from me) but if I'm around, she wants milk straight from the source.

We gave Zara her first taste of 'real' food, real being rice cereal. She doesn't seem to mind it though I'm dubious about how much is actually being consumed. It seems like most of it ends up on her face and bib.

Zara loves to cuddle. She sleeps best and seems most content to sleep in someone's arms. I never realized this wasn't normal baby behavior until my friends kept commenting on how sweet it was that Zara would fall asleep in their arms. With enough rocking and moving around, I can generally get Zara to fall asleep. Except, apparently, at night. I'm afraid she's a night owl, just like her mother.

Accomplishments and Firsts

Last month, Zara rolled over for the first time. And this month, she's become a rolling machine. As soon as I put her down, she rolls over and sometimes she just keeps on rolling. Despite the fact that she hasn't quite figured out how to crawl yet, she does manage to scoot herself around quite well.

Ate rice cereal for the first time.

Moved to her crib.

Baby's favorite toys, places to go, etc.

Since David's work has become insane and Korea has became an icebox, we don't get out very much. But Zara is a big hit with the Koreans who, David tells me, keep saying that she looks like a doll. David also thinks we get better service at our favorite Korean restaurant, though at least one of the waitresses steals Zara everytime we go there. Thankfully, they always give her back before we leave.

Zara has started to get bored with her playmat. I think she just really wants to be more mobile than she is and she's less content to play by herself for long stretches of time like she used to be able to. I used to be able to sit her in her Bumpo chair when she got bored of rolling around, but she seems to be liking that less and less lately too.

Zara will stuff anything into her mouth these days. Her favorite things include her cloth books, a pair of plastic keys, and the foam borders of her playmat.

And now some of my favorite photos from this past month:

Eating time! Zara loves to hold her own spoon.

No more rice cereal! (Pouty baby faces are so cute, no?)



Smiling after church last Sunday.

Munching on her playmat.









Naked time! (Zara loves naked time.) I don't think you can really see her, but Zara is looking at Suyom, who is sitting on one of the shelfs on our bookshelf. Zara is fascinated by Suyom but the cat avoids Zara at all costs.

Funny faces!










Such a beautiful baby. I still can't believe I grew her myself.