five months!

No way, Mom. Am I really FIVE months old??! Are you for REAL?

Ugh, yes. It's for real. This sweet thing is just getting older and older with absolutely NO regard for how bittersweet it is for her mama! If she weren't so darn cute, I'd probably be really mad right about now. But who could be mad at someone this precious?

Aliases: Millie, Mills, Nuggie, Nugs, Snugs. I really don't see these changing much. She's going to be that unfortunate kid in third grade whose mom shows up at the Muffins for Moms thing at school and squeals Nuggie!!!!! while smothering her in embarrassing kisses. Ha. That's what you get for growing up!

Stats: At her appointment on 12/22 she was 16 pounds 14.5 ounces and 25.25 inches long. Since that was only two weeks ago, I'll estimate she's roughly the same size now...maybe an even 17 pounds? She's still in size 2 disposable diapers and 3-6 and 6 month clothes.

Her cheeks and eyelashes are still in the 99th percentile, though. Let's hope that doesn't change.

Habits: Mostly the same as last month. 

  -Drinks one 8 oz (first bottle in the morning) and four 6 oz bottles per day, about every 3-4     hours.

  -Sleeps about 11 hours each night. She goes down around 8:30 each night and gets up               pretty reliably between 7:15-7:45 in the morning.

  -Bathes every other night.

  -Takes 4ish naps each day. 

Likes: Mainly this:

You could be kind and call it 'blowing raspberries,' or you could be brutally honest and call it nasty spitting. Constantly. Her shirts get soaked within nanoseconds of putting them on. It would be really gross if it weren't simultaneously kind of adorable, ha. She just gets such a kick out of it! And I'm sure it's crucial for development or something, so I just roll with it and try not to be too grossed out that there is SLOBBER EVERYWHERE ALWAYS.

In addition to blowing saliva everywhere, she loves sucking on her hands and fingers, sucking on my hands and fingers, being held up so she can practice standing, jumping in her Baby Einstein thing that we call her 'jump jump' (creative, right?), the blow dryer, taking baths, looking in the mirror, and 'flying' (being held up over my head...no tossing yet, though!). 

I am totally going to figure out how to make this thing spin, Jump Jump!

She has started to enjoy looking at other kids and babies and FINALLY seemed to notice and like Lola! It's been so cute watching her 'discover' Lola- she'll track her around the room and pat her if we're sitting on the couch together. Lola seems curious about Millie as well, and so far everyone's playing nice and gentle, so I'm very thankful for this little development! Lola loves to lick Millie's face and hands (ya know, the hands that Millie will immediately stick back in her mouth), so that makes me feel awesome about all the time I spend sterilizing her bottles and buying distilled water lest anything impure touch her tongue...

She also really likes fire! Staring at candles and the fireplace is pretty much her jam right now.

Just pondering some really important stuff...P.S. Don't worry, I was being supervised and the grate is normally closed...except for while this picture was being taken, apparently!

Most importantly, this month Millie seems to have realized that she likes her mama and daddy the best. She doesn't seem to display any separation anxiety yet (which I'm glad for), but whenever she sees us she gets the BIGGEST smiles. Sometimes if other people are holding her and we're around, she'll get fussy and all it takes is me taking her back and she settles right down and I LOOOOOOOOVE IT!!! 

Dislikes: Tummy time is about it. Well, being overly hungry or overly tired. Other than that she's a pretty happy girl. Oh. She doesn't like constipation, either...but who can blame her?

Undecided About: Rolling over. She really has no interest whatsoever in trying it herself, but sometimes I'll lay her down and try to get her to do it (and help her along with a nice push...). She thinks the rolling part itself is fun, but there's always a part at the beginning or the end where she has to be on her stomach and that is NOT OKAY.

Special Skills: She's just starting to sit up for a few seconds at a time- if properly propped, of course. Ha. That's a lot of baby for her little core to support, so toppling happens regularly. It doesn't seem to bother her much, though- she's always game for trying again! (But if she happens to topple and land on her tummy...obviously the game is over. She can't be tricked into tummy time!) She's a very proficient babbler and grunter and talker- she makes all kinds of expressive noises and shares her opinions about everything! Also, did I mention how much she likes to blow spit? Yeah. It's a skill, I guess.

She is the happiest little person I've ever known. She makes me the happiest big person I've ever known.

Being Millie's mama is the greatest privilege of my life. Since August 5, every minute of every day is filled with thankfulness and joy. He has restored the years the locusts had stolen.

Four Months

Three Months

Two Months

One Month