Happy 5 months

She's just so stinking cute.

Last night she weighed 15 pounds and 15 ounces. This past weekend I pulled out her 6-9 month clothes.

Things are going pretty well. This is her third week of daycare. It's been a tough adjustment for her but we are hoping we are on the upswing. Frankly, in my opinion one of the owners has made it more difficult than it should be. The first few days, Alaina had trouble staying asleep once placed in the crib so it was constant up/down with little actual sleep. The teachers have all said this is normal and part of the adjustment process. The owner, on the other hand, greets me with "it was another rough day." What am I supposed to do with that?!? I also feel like she has been trying to tell me she doesn't approve of our parenting choices. She has asked on a number of occasions if we hold Alaina all the time and if we let her cry. First, we don't hold her "all the time" but we do hold our baby. And we don't plan to change that. Also, we do let her cry--sometimes it's unavoidable. But we don't let her cry excessively. And that also won't change. My personal choice is, at least at this time (and likely forever) that self-soothing skills aren't best learned by excessive crying. Developmental and attachment research suggest that babies grow up to be independent and well-adjusted when given lots of support. Anyhow, even if we chose the "cry it out" method, advocates of that method suggest it shouldn't be used until after 6 months old. Finally (and perhaps most importantly), none of this is the owner's business. We are paying a substantial amount of money each week for them to find the best way to care for Alaina. They should respect our wishes and never question our choices, as long as we are providing her with proper care. Anyhow, that has been frustrating. But the last four out of five days, Alaina slept great and was really happy (which leads further credence to my opinion that she just needed time to adjust, not that we are making poor parenting choices). Interestingly, on those days, that owner had little to say (no greetings of "it was another fantastic day!"). But the teachers have been enthusiastic about how well she's doing. And we love her teachers. Everything about the daycare, beyond the one co-owner, is really fantastic. And she seems to be doing great. It's fun that she seems to be excited when I come pick her up in the afternoon. She just smiles and kicks her little feet. Adorable.

In terms of development, she's still "talking" up a storm and loves blowing bubbles and laughing. No rolling over yet. She's just a lump of love. :)

Alaina did pick up a little cold her first week of daycare. It seems like it lasted forever. She's still a little stuffy, poor thing. But mostly she's happy all the time.

We are taking steps to getting her moved out of our bedroom and into her crib. Teeny tiny baby steps. We have set up the video camera that will be going in her room and I am adjusting to the fact that it does a pretty good job keeping me posted on her movements and things. We are waiting for the filter to come in for her humidifier. The next step is to get her to actually stay asleep in the crib...it's a process. Maybe before her first birthday she will regularly sleep in the crib. :)