5 Months

Dear Charlotte,

Five months already! Time flies and flies and yadda yadda — I know I say this every month, but I’m ok with being a broken record. This monthly letter is coming at a particularly fortuitous time in your little life, because the past few days have been full of new things.

On Saturday, you officially learned how to roll from your back onto your tummy! I wrote it down in your baby book and everything, so there’s no going back. You had rolled once or twice before by accident, but suddenly on Saturday it clicked. I put you on your back and BOOM. Tummy. I rolled you back over and BOOM, you rolled back to your tummy again. You don’t know how to go the other way (tummy to back) yet, so this inevitably means we will have to respond to many cries by simply flipping you back over until you figure it out. Nonetheless, I was pretty darn excited about your new skill.

While you were in the mood for new things, we decided to give you your first taste of food on Saturday too. Your daycare teachers told Daddy last week that they thought you were getting hungry before it was time for your bottle, and since your pediatrician gave the go-ahead to start food at your 4-month checkup a few weeks ago, we both decided it was time. I cooked a butternut squash and pureed it until it was super smooth. You were interested…but also pretty weirded out, and you made some hilariously confused faces as I tried to spoon the squash into your mouth. We’ve tried a little bit more each day since and I think you’re slowly starting to get the hang of it. Apples next, maybe?

You gave up your late night bottle this month — I’d been slowly decreasing the amount for a couple weeks — and are now sleeping straight through the night from 7:30-8:00 until 7:00 the next morning. Your naps are still pretty short, but I’m willing to accept that in exchange for the great nights. You are different from your big sister in many ways, but sleep habits are not one of them. It’s crazy to compare my notes with three years ago and see the similarities.

But the biggest change of all came early in the month when you started daycare. From now until the end of August you’ll be spending your weekdays in the teeny tiny (cozy?) Baby 0 room with five of your soon-to-be best buddies. You have taken to the entire experience like a champ, and it’s fun for me to see you healthy and happy and sharing your smiles with your teachers. (You are also quite popular with Emma’s friends — the 3-year-olds love them some babies.)

Even though you’re still so little, I love seeing the little sparks of a relationship growing between you and your big sister. You watch her intently whenever she’s in view. She can make you giggle like crazy, and sometimes calm you down with a song or a hug. She loves to talk about what you can’t do now because you’re a baby, but what you’ll be able to do with her when you get bigger — eat lollipops, wear princess dresses, and even pick strawberries.

In other news, your disdain for being stuck in your carseat is as strong as ever — although if I climb back there with you, you cheer up and start looking adorable like in the picture above. Sitting in the back these days requires me to cram my adult-sized body into the kid-sized middle seat between two bulky carseats. I spent a lot of time back there on our recent drive to and from Corpus Christi for a wedding and I have to say, it’s not exactly my favorite way to spend a road trip. I know you’ll get over your misplaced anger eventually, but I hope it’s sooner rather than later for my sake.

But aside from the car, you continue to be a cheerful little girl, quick to smile and laugh and happy as long as you’re in the middle of the action. We went to Corpus Christi again recently for a wedding. At one point, when I thought you were asleep in the corner where I’d left you, I looked up to see you cruising around the dance floor in the arms of one of your great-aunts, taking it all in with wide eyes. You are endlessly fascinated by the smallest things and while I know that’s pretty typical for a baby, I also hope it’s a trait that you never lose.

Love,
Mama