Z Update Months 4 and 5!

She loves her activity gym!

Zooey is 5 months old in just a few short days! She's been with us for almost half a year! She's such a cutie, and becoming more fun and interactive every day. Here are some of the things she's been up to lately:

She loves to talk. She coos and cackles and screeches. You can tell she really enjoys many of the sounds she is making even though someone who doesn't know her well might think she's uncomfortable- she's just trying out her newfound focal range which includes screaming! We call her Zooey "creaky door" Nelson Lilly and "pterodactyl baby" because that's how she sounds! ("Archeopterix!")

Z with my triathlon medal!

Z started daycare in late August. I was initially quite nervous about the whole thing, wondering if we were doing the right thing by sending her to daycare instead of hiring a nanny. I am so, so grateful my Mom was able to stay with her until she turned 4 months- any sooner and I think daycare might have been too much for such a little one- but after two weeks there, I feel totally fine about it. She is the youngest one in the room (and only one of 2 girls in a room with 8 kids!) but I don't think that's a problem. She watches the big kids and the teachers all seem to adore her. She even enjoys tummy time (sometimes.....for a couple minutes at a time....that's an improvement). The daycare is very communicative, telling me in person how her day was and what developments they are seeing as well as via email and an interactive website where they upload photos and even video. For the price of a year of an elite private school, I suppose I should expect that, but honestly I'm pleasantly surprised!

Even when the toy is by her hands, her feet must
get in on the action!

Other Zooey antics include grabbing her feet, trying to help guide the bottle with both hands, and still loving the heck out of her activity gym. She loves Mr Monkey and Mr Crinkles most of all but will smile at anything with a face- animate or inanimate. She is quite the kicker- if given the option between playing with a toy with her hands or feet she'll choose feet most of the time.

Mom excited about golfing with Dad
and Z excited about going to "school!"

Sleep is less of a battle than it used to be. Daytime naps are still a struggle at home (though they tell us they are fine at daycare), and one out of every 3 days is a nighttime struggle (much better than every single day!). Z will get herself to sleep if we put her in the crib drowsy but awake about half the time. Most people have stopped asking if she "sleeps through the night" and I have stopped even thinking about it because the answer is a resounding no, and I really don't expect that to change anytime soon (though she pulled off 8.5 hours last night! Woo-hoo!). She (usually) gets up twice to eat. She basically sleeps through the feeds and goes right back down to sleep. Even if she smiles and interacts during the diaper change part she still goes right back to sleep. She's small, she's still nursing, I think she just needs to eat. I expect this to last as long as I'm nursing. The cost of nursing is high but the benefit to health is higher so I press on. When she wakes up three times in a night (which she did twice this week), I really question how long I can carry on (when your baseline is incredibly bad barely functional fatigue, any night worse than baseline is DEVASTATING!). Oh well.


Tummy time is less of a battle as well. She actually enjoys it for the first minute or so and does a great job of holding her head up.  She rolled over from stomach to back once a few weeks ago and then TWICE in a row last weekend. She then (accidentally, I think) rolled from back to stomach in the crib! Making progress. Such a cutie!

Who loves tummy time?

Yippee!

Zooey is very attentive, she pays close attention to anything (or anyone) around her and can easily amuse herself with simple toys (or just looking around the room) for 20-40 minutes at a time. When she gets bored, she'll do well with a simple change of environment or toy. Here is she is watching Adam across the room:

This seems okay....I'm not sure.

Other firsts in the past two months include first (and second!) swim in a pool, first ride in a swing and first trip out of the state- to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin this week. She takes in new experiences very well, pays close attention to her surroundings, but rarely gets upset. Z has a great temperament, only fusses when tired. Not really even when she's hungry, so we just pay attention and feed her when it seems right. She's such a good kid. I think we'll keep her:)













I'll end with a comparison: Zooey post bath at one week and today, at 21 weeks. What a cutie:)

One week old

5 months old!

Stay tuned for more Zooey antics in month 6!