The Pruett Place: Claire at 5 months

It is so hard to believe that Claire turned five months old a week ago! Time just goes by so fast with three kids. Every week I feel like it goes by fast for all my kids. They all are changing and growing up so much. I will write about Kate and Carly in my Feb. post, but for now it is all about Claire.

Claire can get pretty loud at times. Some times it is because she is happy, but often it is when she is unhappy. Usually, she will be talking and squealing when she is tired or hungry. She is trying to communicate to us to help her! Claire still nurses every 2-3 hours in the daytime. It is usually not very long feedings. It will take me between 5-10 minutes. I don't think she drinks a whole lot, which is why she nurses so often. She is more of a snacker! This past month we have seen her really changing. She now grabs her toys and interacts with them. She likes to have a lovie to sleep with and rub up against her face. We have seen her put her pacifier back in her mouth a couple of times, and this is only if it is right by her mouth and she basically has to just push it there. This past week we got out the exersaucer, and she likes it in short spurts. She can't move around too well in it yet, but she likes to pull at some of the toys. Carly really wanted to sit and play in it, so we let her one time. It just made her day! Of course she is too big for it now, but she had fun for a little bit. It was a funny sight, too! Claire's napping is still kind of different from day to day. However, she usually takes a morning nap and afternoon nap that can be 30 minutes-1 1/2 depending on her night's sleep. After about 2-3 hours of wake time she is ready for some kind of nap. Some days that will be in her carseat while we are out and about, and some days that is in her bed. If I want her to have a good nap it needs to be in her bed. I very rarely put her in the swing anymore because I would rather her sleep in her bed. Plus, she is so easily distracted by noises and people now. Her nights usually start between 7:00-8:30 and she sleeps till between 7-8:30 the next day. Some days she will take a third nap that is about an hour after she wakes up for a short time. She still hasn't really rolled over. I think she has done it a couple of times by accident, but that is it. She likes to sleep on her side. Our other two girls were already sleeping on their tummies by now, but I am not sure Claire is going to be a tummy sleeper. When she goes to bed at night she will often wake up an hour later for another feeding before going to bed for the night. We also have to go in numerous times at the start of the evening to put the pacifier back in her mouth. This can also be true for naps until she gets into a deep sleep. Some times I can go in during nap time and put it in her mouth to make her sleep longer after she has woken up, which is nice. She is now wearing 6-9 month clothes. She has lost most of her hair, but still utterly adorable! She is very smiley and happy with anybody that interacts with her. However, I have noticed that in over stimulating environments she can get overwhelmed and upset. I have only put her in the nursery for class twice this past month. The first time it was only for about 20 minutes. The second time was last week and I was paged shortly after because she was hysterical. I think she was a little anxious and also overly tired. This is the first time I have ever been paged for one of my kids, so that was a new experience for me.

At her four month appointment she weighed 14.6 pounds putting her in the 75th percentile for her weight and she was also in the 75th percentile for her height. Her head was in the 50th percentile. Healthy girl!

She seems to really enjoy her sisters and gives them big smiles often.

She is currently on her first round of antibiotics. This past week she seemed to be coming down with a cold. She was so congested at night she could not get comfortable. Then, I noticed on Thursday that she was not wanting to lay down on her left ear and was not wanting to nurse on my right side. It was then that I thought she might have an ear infection in her left ear. So I took her in yesterday and sure enough she has an ear infection in her left ear. Our doctor said it was creamy white in her left ear as opposed to clear in the other ear. She said I caught it early enough that it didn't get too bad and did not cause her to have a fever. However, we still needed to put her on an antibiotics, so she is now on Amoxicillin. Luckily, she is taking it really well. We have felt so bad for her this week with her nose. Something called a Nose Frida was recommended to me from a friend that has helped when suctioning out her nose. You suction out their nose by using a straw like tubing that connects to their nose. You then suck and all their junk comes out. Don't worry! There is something that stops it from going back into your mouth. I was quite humbled last night because you have to suck pretty hard and I just couldn't do it. Growing up with asthma, I have never been able to blow up a balloon and it was like trying to blow up a balloon all over again. I just don't have the lung capacity. Zack is the opposite. He amazed me with how much stuff he could get out. I seriously was trying so hard and could not get a thing and I had a headache from trying. It does work really well, though. Claire's sleep has really been affected this week. The poor thing can just not get comfortable. The good thing is that she has gone longer at night before wanting to be fed again. For a couple weeks prior to this week she was waking up every 2-3 hours again, which was torture. There was a time when she was going 5-6 hours and it all of a sudden changed. This past week she started going 5-6 hours again. Yeah! Their schedule just always changes at this age, so you can't get too caught up in that. Sickness, teething and growth spurts changes things.

Claire is almost ready for size 3 diapers now! Wow! It is hard to believe in a month we will be starting solid food! She brings us all so much joy.