The Chicago Livingstons: Madeline is 5 months old!

Dear Madeline,

You are 5 months old! (I'm a week late in posting this.) This month has been a fun one with you.

You are starting to enjoy the Ergo Carrier, but you generally like to be held so this doesn't come as a surprise.

You are starting to sit up more, and like to see the world around you. One Sunday recently I left the older 2 with daddy and you and I did the grocery shopping. I though it was a perfect time to try letting you ride in the cart, since I would have 2 hands devoted to only you! You loved your new perch, but got tired halfway through and fussed a little bit. You caught up on some light reading while we wandered through the store. It was funny to me that people thought I was a new, first-time mom when they would approach us and admire you!

We experimented with your feedings this month, and I introduced you to pears and sweet potatoes. It was confusing to you, and it seemed to overwhelm you, so we are sticking to one bowl of oatmeal each day, usually sometime between breakfast and lunch time. You weren't even a huge fan of THAT after a while, so I mix in a little bit of apple juice and you gobble it up.

You are a CHAMPION sleeper. You average 12 hours a night before you wake for your first morning feeding, typically around 6am. Then sometimes you go right back down for an hour or so. Your midday nap is the longest, depending on what time we are home to lay you down in your crib. It is typically 3-4 hours long. Then you take a nap after dinner time, wake for one more feeding, and go back to bed for the night. You are on a good schedule, but are flexible which is so wonderful. Sometimes I don't know what to tell people when they ask what your eating / sleeping schedule is. When Robbie and Ellie were babies, I had their routines charted on graph paper at one point to help with extending their sleep at night. With you? You made it easy for me and I never really had to intervene much. You just naturally increased your feeds and the amount you wanted to drink, and gradually slept longer stretches at night. You are a dream.

You have started to obsess with putting everything in your mouth, mainly to gnaw on. I found this muslin lovey that is perfect for you. It has satin trim which you love to stuff in your mouth and suck on as you fall asleep, but the fabric overall is thin and breathable so I don't worry about your breathing being restricted. Only once have I needed to come in and pull it down off of your face! You seem happy to have it to clutch as you drift off.

True to form, your siblings wanted in on the 5 month photoshoot action. :)

These aren't the greatest pictures of you, and I had complete deja vu as I took them because I remember Ellie and Robbie both being difficult to photograph at this age. You rock back and forth when I sit you up on your own, and don't like to be leaning back if you are sitting. Forget laying down anymore! You must have the strongest abs because you are always trying to sit up from laying down, straining your legs together and your little head pushing up off the ground and towards your chest.

Your hair remains strawberry-blond, your complexion fair and very clear, and your eyes blue. You are so narrow and long, and have yet to really fill out and get some rolls on your arms and legs. You are wearing 3-6 month sleepers and clothes. I just moved you up to size 3 diapers because you kept blowing out your size 2's, but this morning you leaked out of them during your nap so they have to be taped shut pretty tightly!

You still like to roll from front to back and back to front. You grab at anything and everything within arm's reach. You are loving your baby toys! Also anything that crinkles. Loud noises, particularly from your siblings when you are just waking up, scares you and makes you cry. However, no one makes you talk or laugh as quickly or as much as Robbie and Ellie can. You LOVE IT when they get down on your level and interact with you.

You have adjusted just fine to being in childcare at church and at the gym. You willingly go to anyone who offers to hold you, and you have yet to cry when I leave you. I don't blame you though - you seem to be quite popular among the women who care for you in each setting! I think you get a lot of attention from them, and as the third child I'm sure you appreciate that. Haha!

I'm so thankful for you, Maddie.

You are flexible and forgiving, always greeting me with a smile when I get you from your crib. Your laugh when I tickle you and play with you is the best, and it eases my often anxious heart. You are a gift to me.