Savvie Turns 6 Months Old!

Happy half birthday Baby Savvie!!! I can't believe our sweet girl has reached the half year mark. She is six months of sweetness.

Personality:
We have a little sweet pea on our hands. This baby loves to smile. She has become mostly a happy baby. I would not say she is easy or laid back as she definitely needs a lot of attention poured on her. And usually she wants Mama. She is ticklish and likes to laugh when entertained. Savvie is still pretty happy with strangers. She has her fussy hour in the evenings right about 5 o'clock, so she really doesn't like anyone or anything then. Except Mama. Always Mama. Sometimes Daddy, thank goodness. Also, she loves her big brother. She is starting to be able to interact with him, so they can keep each other happy for a while. A little pet name I have for her is "Mookie." I have no idea why, but it just seems to fit her.

Size:
At her six month well check, she weighed exactly 16 pounds (~50%ile) and was 27.5 inches long (off the charts)! The nurse said her head circumference is finally on the charts which I guess means it's not quite so huge anymore. She is wearing size 3 diapers and clothes in 6 months or 6-9 months size.

Development:
Still no teeth! I keep feeling around in her mouth because she is chewing on her hands a lot lately, but no sign of any chompers. I'm okay with that. Savannah is starting to act like she wants to crawl. She currently gets around pretty much all over by rolling. It's quite an effective method. She is starting to sit up by herself. She is still a little wobbly but can hold it for a minute or two before toppling over.

Sleep:
When she's tired, she wants to be asleep immediately. She will pitch a fit if she's ready for a nap and not able to take one. Baby Savvie gets about two naps a day. She naps great in her crib, in the car, and in the Ergo still. She will not keep sleeping in the carseat once the car has stopped or if you remove her carrier from the car. We don't swaddle anymore but just lay her Aden and Anais muslin blanket over her. She will usually roll over immediately to her belly or side and pull the blanket up a little. It's almost exactly what her big brother used to do (and still does most times). Nighttime...well we have had some sleeping through the night experiences. Just a handful. Never a pattern. I usually nurse Savvie around 7:30 and then she goes to bed between 8 and 9. Her nighttime sleep is very random, so she will wake up once, twice or not at all. She then sleeps until 7:30 on average. If she wakes up in the night, I always nurse her. She is a piggy and will not go back to sleep without her milk.

She is an exact copy of my little cousin AvaRose at this age in this picture. 

Eating:
S.K. had her first bites of solids a couple of days before Thanksgiving (and turning 6 months). We are trying out the baby led weaning (click on the link to learn more about it) with her. She doesn't quite have the pincer grasp (grabbing objects between index and thumb) so the first food experience didn't go as well as planned. I ended up putting some pieces into her little mouth, and she did well with it. She didn't get a lot the first couple of times, but she knew just what to do with the food. I would say she was on the fence about sweet potatoes, but she loved sitting in a high chair and playing with her food! She still nurses four times during the day and usually once in the middle of the night. She eats on demand which is just about every 4 hours.We have had to give her a bottle of breastmilk from my freezer stash a few times in the evening when she still seemed hungry.

Fun and Games:
Our girl likes pretty much all baby toys. She is starting to be interested in books. She delights in being tickled or blowing raspberries on her tummy. Savvie likes "flying" in the air. Her exersaucer is a happy place, especially when Camp runs around it like a nut. Big brother is a huge source of her entertainment, singing to her or dancing or just being goofy. Little Savvie still loves bathtime. She likes playing with the foam letters or bath book or any of the stacking cups.

Dearest Mookie,
You are my girl. I melt when you smile or laugh. I can't take it when you cry, so I wish you would just be happy all the time. We love it when you sleep through the night. It's amazingly awesome to see you play with your big brother. I think you really adore him, and he adores you. You are the perfect addition to our family. I'm so happy you're mine.
Love,
Mommy
xoxo

5 Months of Savvie Baby

As we near the half year mark, I'm getting super sentimental. Even more than normal! Thank goodness we are only at five months, and I have a little while to prepare myself for the huge 6 month milestone. Although every month under a year is quite a milestone in my opinion. The babes just grow and change so much from month to month.

Our 5 month old Savvie is no exception. Here's a look at what our sweet girl is doing these days.

 Personality:
Savvie has started laughing and smiling a lot more. I actually get some smiles in her pictures now! I would say she is mostly low key and easy going, but just please don't mess with her naptime or bedtime! She is Cranky (that's with a capital "C") when she is ready to sleep. She has become more content to just sit in your lap and look around at what's going on. Like most babies, she is happier in the morning and midday. She stills loves attention from strangers and not so strangers. She is ticklish, and tickling her under the neck is still just about the only way to make her laugh. But it is the best laugh you've ever heard. Also, she loves her mama! She can be fairly happy with other stand-ins, but nobody is quite as good as mommy.

Size:
I have no idea about her current length or weight. Out of necessity, we moved her to size 3 diapers when we ran out of size 2 and had a bunch of size 3 waiting. She can still easily wear size 2 diapers though, and she is usually wearing 3-6 month or 6 month clothes.

Development:
Our roly poly likes to roll or wiggle herself all over the floor now! She will no longer stay put on her playmat, so we have to put down a bigger blanket. And if you look away for a moment, she has rolled her way off of that and onto the hardwood floor or under the coffee table. She's a sneaky little baby. She can almost sit up by herself, and she does pretty well with a tripod sit. She loves to grab toys, hair, and burp cloths.

Sleep:
Savvie takes 2 or 3 naps a day. She usually takes one long nap (2-2.5 hours) and one or two shorter naps (anywhere from 10 minutes to one hour). Napping is a lot different than it was with Camp because we are a lot busier and out of the house more now. She goes to bed around 8 pm and wakes up once to eat in the night. She wakes up in the morning around 8 or 8:30. I sure would love her to drop that middle of the night feeding soon, but I also love that she'll "sleep in" for us. Crazy that 8:30 am is what we consider sleeping in at this point in our lives!

Eating:
Baby Girl still loves breastfeeding, and I love it too except for the dairy-free lifestyle due to her milk protein intolerance. We haven't tried giving her a bottle in a while, but as it nears the holidays, I am more determined to get her to take one! I have saved up a lot of frozen breastmilk which is just sitting there taking up freezer space. It would be nice to let someone else feed her every now and then. I know Camp would love to be able to give his sister a bottle. I know I would love a girls' night out or a date night! But, it's all good because this phase will only last a short while, and I know I'll be sad when it's over. We have started giving her the Prevacid every other night, and she is doing well with that.

 Fun and Games:
The exersaucer has made its debut, and Savvie loves it! She has fun spinning around and moving her legs while she explores all the toys. Her favorite is chewing on the little rubbery leaf. I also set up the door jumper commonly known as "Johnny Jump Up." She is a huge fan of that. Her little legs just keep moving when she's in it.

Dear Savvie,
I love you to the moon and back, more than any dairy product, and so much that it hurts sometimes. You are so snuggly and kissable. Your smile lights up the room and my heart. When you smile or laugh, it makes the harder times worth it. I hope you will be sentimental like me. I hope you will have beautiful children like I do. I hope the world for you. I'm not sure I'm ready for you to grow up anymore, but it seems inevitable, so here's looking to the month ahead when I'm sure we will find a way to love you even more than we do now.
Love,
Mommy


And just for fun, here's a pic of your big brother at 5 months:

Fall Fun 2014

We've had some fun with our little pumpkins so far this fall! We've had special events like a trip to the Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch and our church's Fall Family Festival with Trunk or Treating. And we've done some fun stuff at home too! Can't wait for the weather to cool off some more to fully enjoy this beautiful season.

Savannah Kathryn is 4 Months!

Well, she turned four months old a few weeks ago. This post is super late due to some traveling and general crazies of living with an infant and an almost three year old. I'll try to remember what she was doing and all the details from when she actual turned four months, but some might overlap a little into her fifth month post!

 

Personality:

Sweet girl LOVES attention! She will smile so big when you "ooh" and "ahh" over her adorableness. You have to really be over the top with it though, because she apparently wants to make sure you mean business when you tell her she's beautiful.  She has started laughing! You have to work for that too. The only times she has laughed is when I kiss her all over her neck under her chin. I love her little giggle.

Size:
At her four month well check, Savvie weighed 14 pounds 10 ounces which is the 70th percentile. She is trending like her brother measuring 26 3/4 inches long which is off the charts compared to other babies her age! Despite being so tall, she is wearing clothes in the size for her age. She is wearing 3 or 3-6 month outfits, but she does need a 3-6 month size for the footie pajamas. We are still rocking the size 2 diapers. Her feet measure about 4.5 inches long which I think means a size 2 shoe. I am just stuffing her toes into smaller ones though! #nowacceptingadorablefallandwintershoes

Development:
Our pediatrician says baby girl is advanced for her age! She was impressed with how strong Savvie is and how she pulls herself up to sitting when she has something to grab onto. She noted that she can basically tripod sit! If you stand her up in your lap and hold her under the arms, she is bearing weight really well. She has started moving around a little on the floor or her playmat. She will stay on her back for a moment and then rolls quickly to her tummy. She will wiggle and spin her little body all over the mat and often off of it. She has rolled over from tummy to back a few times, but she is quite happy staying on her belly.

Sleep:
We had some sleep regression at four months. She is still sleeping in the rock and play (in her room) at night, but she takes her naps in the crib. In the crib, she will roll over to her tummy to sleep. Now that she is rolling over, I will only swaddle her from the waist down. She generally has three to four naps a day, and she is ready for her milk dinner and bed by 7:30. It takes almost an hour to feed her then because she is so sleepy. She started waking up two times a night to eat and sometimes will want to play. I have found that the swing will put her back to sleep even though she is often wide awake after a midnight feeding. The pediatrician suggested that we let her cry it out now for the night wakings, but I am not quite ready to do that. It makes it even harder to try that since she shares a wall with Camp, and we certainly don't want them both awake at 3 am! Go to sleep, Baby Savvie!

Eating:
Same as last month for the most part. She nurses five or six times a day, waking up once or twice to eat at night. She has gotten quite efficient so her nursing sessions during the day are quick, usually totaling about 15 minutes (or less). I'm a big fan of those short feedings. She still takes Prevacid for her reflux, and it seems to be under control now. She still spits up every few times after eating, but it is not as much and she is not in pain. Some days we will go an entire day without spit up! She generally makes up for it the next day by going through a handful of burp cloths. We have tried several times to give her a bottle of breastmilk. She is not a fan. She has taken it twice, but she is stubborn and just doesn't seem interested.

 

Fun and Games:
Savvie loves playing with (sucking on) her little kitten lovie when she's in her carseat. I got her a fancy stroller toy to hook to her seat so she can look in the mirror, chew on the teether, and crinkle the butterfly wings. She loves playing with toy keys and grabbing hanging toys on her playmat. She enjoys riding the horsey and is a huge fan of bathtime. Except the one time her daddy gave her a bath alone. She did NOT like that. Savvie really likes to sit in my lap and watch other people. So far she is a mama's girl, and she is content if mama is holding her or in her sight. Camp loves that she is starting to be a little more interactive. He likes to share her toys and give her hugs and call her "Bubbles." It's so awesome.

 

Dear Baby Savvie,
How can you already be four months old? This is happening way too fast! I am loving having a baby girl who is so sweet and happy. I just can't stop kissing you and cuddling you. You are such a smart and strong baby. I think you are trying to grow up faster so you can keep up with your big brother. You don't need to do that. Slow down and enjoy these moments (or at least let mommy enjoy them). I hope you won't do it forever, but I love the way you suck your thumb when you are tired. I love the way you roll over onto your side and then tummy to sleep. I love the way you look at me with such love and adoration as if I am your favorite, but you do the same to daddy which melts my heart. I love the way you let Camp smother you with hugs and don't complain a bit. I love that you will wear a headband or bow and usually keep it on. I love the way you splish and splash in the bathtub with such joy. I love you, my sweet baby girl.
Love,
Emotional Mommy