As a neglectful 2nd time mom, I never got around to a 5 month update! Our little lady has changed a lot in the past 2 months. We can’t believe she is half a year old. She is such a sweet little girl and always makes us smile! She is growing and changing like crazy. Every week she is more active! I better get this posted before she starts crawling.
Noelle is still a little peanut. We had her weight checked at 5 months and she was 13lbs 4oz, which kept her in the 15th%. At her 6 month appointment she weighed 14lbs 5oz, which is the 16th%. She also barely managed to double her birth weight (7lbs 2oz). She actually measured the same length she did at her 4 month appointment (24.25 inches) which they believe was an error. She definitely seems to be getting longer. Her head circumference was 42.2 cm (49th%). Overall she is a healthy little girl. We did see the Ophthalmologist recently, and he recommended putting a stent in her blocked tear duct in a few months if it hasn’t cleared up yet. We are also being referred to an ENT since she continues to have fluid on her ears (but thankfully no actual ear infection). We are glad that these minor annoying issues aren’t a big deal and she is healthy! Noelle is still wearing 3-6 months clothes and I think she will be there for at least another month. Unfortunately, I bought her a whole wardrobe of 6-9 month clothing at the end of last summer. Hopefully we she will be able to wear them later this summer and this fall over long sleeve shirts and leggings!
Noelle has started on solid food over the past week and seems to really enjoy it. She has had rice cereal, bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, and yogurt so far. After the initial terrible faces at the new tastes, she enjoys meal time most of the time. She will eagerly open her little mouth for each bite. She is also “eating” mum mums (really just smashing them to pieces on the table, but she likes to pick them up and put them in her mouth). She is still nursing well. She does get very distracted, especially by her big brother. Preparing meals and feeding two children has been a challenge! Definitely keeping me busy.
Noelle continues to sleep well. Over the past week she has started sleeping all night long! Except that means she is up for the day around 5:30am. She goes to bed between 7 and 8, so it really is a long stretch of sleep. If she does wake up it is just once, usually around 3 or 4, then she will go back to sleep until 6 or 7. Thankfully, Jason gets up with her early so I can get a little more sleep. After 6+ months of not getting a full night of sleep, I am officially TIRED. We are looking forward to her sleeping all night and catching up on sleep (though we know it will happen eventually). We remind ourselves that she is a MUCH better sleeper than Ethan ever was, and we feel blessed. Noelle is still taking 3 naps most days, but they are pretty inconsistent and vary in length. I think before too long she will be taking 2 (hopefully long) naps a day. Thankfully, her inconsistently makes her very flexible so we can fit her naps into our day.
Noelle is an active little thing! She seems to be excelling in gross motor skills, unlike her brother. We joke that she probably won’t say her first word until she is 2, as Ethan started talking very early and has an impressive vocabulary. She started sitting up on her own shortly before her 6 month birthday. She can now go from her belly to sitting up on her own, and back to her belly very gracefully. She also gets up on her hands and knees and rocks. She sometimes gets up on her hands and feet. She can move quite a bit and cover a lot of ground. She is really trying to crawl and I think she might be soon! I think it is easier for her to move around since she is so tiny and has less chub to move! She is very squirmy and it is hard to hold her because she won’t stop moving.
Noelle is starting to get a good covering of fuzz on her head. It is a mix of dark and light, but I think she might end up being blonde. Her eyebrows and still quite dark though, so who knows. I have a feeling she won’t need a haircut for a while! She doesn’t seem to have any obvious signs of teething, so she might get her teeth late just like Ethan.
Ethan still loves his sister. He is so sweet with her and baby talks her. I think his unconditional love will start to fade now that she can grab his toys. We are working on sharing, but he does not like it when Noelle picks up something he is playing with. I do enjoy watching them play together. Noelle is still fascinated by her big brother and her face lights up when she seems him.
