Annabelle's Five-month Update

Annabelle is five months old today!  In some ways, I feel like she is barely changing at all.  I try not to think about what "normal" children do at five months or what Sophie was doing at five months, but it's hard not to.  No rolling over, no sitting, still struggling with visual processing, still fussy and disorganized when she takes her bottles, still teeny tiny and gaining weight slowly.  But that is the negative way to look at things.  It is there in my mind all the time, and I want to be honest about that.  For the rest of this post, though, I will be positive about Annabelle's new skills, no matter how incremental her progress.

When I flip my negative thinking on its head, I can see how far we've come from our first month in the NICU.  Annabelle has doubled her birth weight (She is 10 pounds, 3 ounces as of the last check, nearly a week ago), and her crazy hair has lightened up and gotten even crazier as it grows.  She is finally on a formula/supplement combination that is getting her extra calories and seems to be agreeing with her.  She is getting stronger and more organized with her feeding each week, meaning that she is sucking more efficiently and can eat slightly more formula in slightly less time.  She is less fussy than she was a month ago, and she is content to sit in the Baby Bjorn when we are out and about.  We can go to the library!  And the grocery store!  Without comments from other shoppers like, "She's not too happy, is she?"  (Seriously?  NOT HELPFUL!)

The best thing that's happening is that Annabelle is starting to smile!  We saw sleep smiles a while ago, and certainly Annabelle has had her "happy face," but now she is really starting to have recognizable smiles.  Most of them are aimed at her big sister.  Not surprising.  Who wouldn't love Sophie?  Also, despite her insistence on tickling and ruffling Annabelle's hair, she is the only one who doesn't subject poor Annabelle to agonizing torture like combing her hair or applying anti-yeast cream to her neck folds.  She is also the only one who has only a dim understanding of Annabelle's limitations and loves her without agonizing over her future.  What a lucky pair, and what a special relationship they will have as they grow!

Annabelle is beginning to grab things and bring them to her mouth.  I think her vision delays are making grabbing for toys (or playing with toys at all) more difficult, but she is taking this step nonetheless.  Every time I hold her up to my shoulder while my hair is down, she grabs a handful, and recently, she has begun trying to explore what she's grabbed by putting it in her mouth.  She also frequently grabs her clothes and my clothes.  To Sophie's delight, she also grabs Sophie's fingers and clothes.   I'm sure she'd grab Sophie's hair if she could get her little fingers on it.  Not sure whether THAT would delight Sophie.

Annabelle has great head control and will push herself up on her arms for a very short time when she does tummy time on my chest.  She is beginning to sit with lots of support, either in our laps or in the Bumbo.

Annabelle loves listening to music and listening to me sing.  Since I love singing but have a weak voice and poor ear, I am very happy to add to my audience of willing listeners, which includes only one other person:  Sophie.  She can have a hard time settling herself, but she almost always responds to music, light, and the joy of being outdoors.  She doesn't like to sit still but is very content being carried around.  So we try to fill Annabelle's days with eating, sleeping, and constant motion.  This suits Sophie rather well, as she also enjoys constant motion.  Annabelle loves the bath and smiles and splashes almost the whole time she is in the tub.  Getting out is a miserable experience, though.

Happy Five Months, Annabelle.  We love you more and more as we get to know you.  We hope your sixth month will bring more progress, no matter how slow.