Happy 5 Months!

Isla turned 5 Months old on Friday!

She's almost 15 lbs now and is a delight 99.99% of the time!

The most exciting development is her sleep...As I mentioned earlier, we are trying to wean her swaddle and yesterday she slept for the first night with both arms out. When I was singing her good night songs she waved her right arm like mad (it had never been "free" before) and I thought for sure she wouldn't fall asleep, but 5 minutes later she was sleeping soundly. Tonight - same story! Sleeping with her arms free couldn't have come at a better time...on Friday Isla started rolling over during her sleep with one arm swaddled. Now at least she'll have both arms out to reposition herself if she rolls on her tummy.

We still have some issues (like the new night waking that is happening at 1am), but overall things are great (knock on wood!).

Now if only Mommy and Daddy went to sleep when Isla did...we wouldn't have moments like this...

Isla is becoming more social everyday! At our Mommy lunch on Wednesday she and Ethan rolled on their tummies and just looked and looked at each other and then started grabbing each other's faces. So, so sweet! On Friday we visited Noah and Rachel and even with a 13 month age difference, Isla and Noah had fun. Noah acted silly and Isla watched him with wide eyes. She also spent about 40 minutes relaxing in Noah's little pool.

Today we went to Heather and Casey's wedding reception and Isla enjoyed walking around in Daddy's arms and socializing. She is handling crowds much better. Also her hair is getting long enough (in front only) to wear these sweet tiny bows from Baby Michael's Grandma!

Unfortunately she is still having some tummy issues. Lots and lots of "muddy" (well, neon green) diapers and some bloody ones too. I've been dairy free and avoiding soy for a month, so now I'm going on a 100% soy free diet (soybean oil and soil lecithin are in EVERYTHING! No more diary free chocolate chips or joejoe's! Really, no more chocolate! Boo hoo! ...actually it hasn't been as hard as I thought...the hardest part is eating out or at other people's houses and going to weddings where there is an ice cream cart and a mountain of gourmet cupcakes!) We have another appointment in a week. If things don't improve the next step is a trial of a special hypoallergenic formula. I do NOT want to switch to formula, so I'm hoping this will work. I went to an amazing nursing support group on Friday and the nurse leading the group gave me a lot of information and is going to have a pediatric dietitian visit Isla to help us.

Last (but definitely not least) I have only 2 more lbs of baby weight to go. Now I know that 5 months is a long time to lose the baby weight, but now that I'm almost there I don't mind sharing that I've lost 50 (YES 50!!!) pounds (well 48 lbs, since 8 lbs was Isla). (That means 52 lbs total of pregnancy weight gain! Eating my way through morning sickness that lasted until 38 weeks certainly left a mark!) I still don't fit into a lot of my old clothes, but after talking to some friends with 1 and 2 year olds, I've learned that even after losing the weight it takes time for everything to return to normal. I do feel 100% healthier and more comfortable than I did 5 months ago. Thank you Grandma Helen for the great weight loss advice! It was my inspiration!