Thursday, February 16, 2012

Olivia: 5 Months

My little sunshine.
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Photos taken @ 4.5 months
Weighed her last week at the clinic. She is just over 6.5kg and 63cm long. I am surprised that she gained so little in the last 7 weeks. But I should have guessed anyway, as her appetite hasn't been good recently. Perhaps due to teething and/or slower growth rate. Looks like these shall be her final weeks of chubbiness. :<

Just like the boys, it gets harder to feed her once she turned 4 months. Hopefully, she will be more interested in food than the boys were when I introduce solids next month.

In the recent weeks, she has changed quite a fair bit. Though her hair has been falling out faster than her scalp can replace, I think she is looking girlier than before, especially when she smiles. But there are still countless passers-by who mistake her for a baby boy, even when she is dressed in mostly pink outfits which come complete with frills, ruffles and ribbons (not all at once of course!). After so many incidences of mistaken gender, I can't help but wonder: Are these people just dumb or trying to be politically correct?!




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@ 4 months 3 weeks
Developmental-wise, she is on track.

Gross motor. She rolls from back to tummy and tummy to back in split seconds. In fact, she is so fast that if we place her on one end of my Queen size bed, she reaches the other end within seconds.

Pre-crawling. When placed on her tummy, she often shuffles and wriggles. Otherwise we will find her dry swimming in her cot. Usually, after lots of tumbling around, she will stick her butt up with knees bent and rock from side to side till she loses her balance.

Social skills. A big charmer who is very generous with smiles and chuckles, she is quick to show her friendly side to just about anyone as long as she is in my arms. But if she is being carried away from me, her anxiety shows and she protests loudly.

Language development. I'm beginning to think that she makes a very specific calling sound for me - a very long and deliberate 'ahhhhh-ahhhhh-ahhhh' - until I come to her 'rescue'.
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What is becoming a little annoying is the way she makes those piercing sharp shrieks that send shudders down my spine. Usually she does them when she is bored and wants to be carried or when she drops her teething ring or toys and wants us to get them for her. I think she saves her loudest and sharpest shrieks for me, so the daddy doesn't believe that she is such a screamer.

Cognitive development. It's very exciting to see how she has learnt to anticipate. It shows in the games that we play. Her reactions and expressions often demonstrate her ability to anticipate what's coming and she will squeal with delight when her expected actions occur. She loves mirror games and my peek-a-boos. I realize this week that singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star will calm her down and stop her from flipping over during nappy change.

The only time when she is happy to lie in her bouncer is when she first wakes in the morning. Give her a few things to chew on and she remains contented for half hour or so. After that, the high-pitch shrieking begins and she arches her back and kicks her legs, thumps her feet and shrieks louder till I pick her up. For the rest of the day, she doesn't want to go near her bouncer. Which means when she isn't napping in her cot or out in her pram, she is in my arms. ALL THE TIME! Sigh.

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Teething. Oh yes, definitely. She drools and bites me during nursing. OUCH! It's so NOT fun.

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She likes her Bee teething ring but I must admit I am so tempted to get her this. Despite my best effort to resist, I still ended up buying her way too much clothes and a growing collection of baby toys and I just know I will always find it hard to stop. I blame the little voice in me that chants 'she is only going to be this small once and there won't be another baby......' :P

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(in her super adorable onesie from Chateau de Sable which she has almost outgrown. Sob...)

She sucks her thumb to self-soothe. Usually, her four other fingers will cover her face as she sucks, as if she is blocking her act from view. Very cute to watch. The boys were never thumb-suckers since they used pacifiers in the day. I am still concerned with thumb-sucking, but given my resistance to offer pacifiers in the early breastfeeding days and I'm not going to give her one now, I guess I can only observe and decide how to wean her off it later.

Naps. She seems to be skipping her morning nap. Now she takes a 2 to 3 hours nap in midday, followed by one or two 45 min naps for the rest of the day.

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Here she's getting ready for morning stroll. Looking rather roly poly.




She still enjoys our little trips out in the pram, be it to the supermarkets or parks or just to run errands with me. Though she naps in her pram, they don't last beyond 45 min and shortly after she wakes, she wants to be lifted out so she can 'sightsee' too.

In the few times last month when I had to put her in a borrowed Beco Butterfly 2 carrier to pick up Chip in the rain, she seemed a little wary and was extremely quiet. Recently, she protested slightly when I put her in the carrier and didn't seem happy enough to stay in it longer than the few minutes. Sigh. I'm so not fond of baby wearing and is dreading the idea of checking out other brands.

In the next 4 weeks, we shall put the bouncer in storage and take out the walker and playpen. And finally, it's time to introduce solids and all my lovingly home-cooked purees.












4 comments:

Wendy said...

She looks just like you!

By the way, I get the "Is your baby a girl or boy?" question a lot too for both my girls when they were hairless/short hair despite their dresses and hairbands. Maybe they just want to strike a conversation....

I like babywearing a lot though I am doing it lesser now. I find it useful to babywear instead of carrying her in my arms so that I can get some chores done.

k said...

She is gorgeous! And yes, looking like you!

DG said...

Wendy, what baby carrier do you use?

Thanks K.

Wendy said...

Currently, I am using scootababy. Its a hipcarrier cos my girl is no longer happy to be facing inwards.

I am keen to try manduca for my next one. Heard good reviews for it.

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