Daycare Visits

July 6th is the big day! I start back at work and more importantly Aubrey starts daycare. She will be 3 days shy of her 6 month birthday. Recently we have started visiting her daycare for a few hours at a time. July 1st and 2nd will be our "practice run" days. Although my feelings are mixed I know in the end 3 days a week will be good for the both of us. I also know that I have to remain strong for her. Last week she got very excited when interacting with the other babies and seemed to enjoy this. At the moment she is the youngest and the least mobile. This is a little scary sometimes because they are very interested in her and I seem to be constantly blocking them from crawling on top of her. On the plus side all the babies seemed very happy and the attendants are very experienced. Aubrey was EXHAUSTED when we got home I just had to take some pictures. Here she is passed out after our daycare outing. Also, notice how she is holding on to her favorite toy... I had to retrieve it from the other babies a couple of times during the visit. When I gave back to her she would not let go of it! : )

5 Months!

Aubrey's 5 month stats

Rolls over from tummy to back

Laughs when teased by Mom or Dad

Loves to talk and squeal

Loves to smile

Has 2 teeth

Can pull off her socks

Loves her daily reading hour with Mom

Is grabbing everything within reach

Pulls off Daddy's glasses right off his face

Arms move up and down when she gets excited

Still loves grabbing her toes/feet

Loves it when Mom sings the "wheels on the bus"

Morning Smiles

Aubrey wakes up between 7 and 8. She occasionally wakes up as early as 6:3o but this is the result of a much needed diaper change and returns to bed until 8. I wish I could accurately capture her AMAZING morning smile but the camera never does it justice! Being greeted with her smile is the most rewarding part of my motherhood journey so far. Here is a picture of her taken right when I entered her room this morning. By morning, both her arms become free of the swaddle but she still remains "my little burrito."

Bedtime

Her bedtime routine starts with changing her into her nightgown. She loves having her tops taken off. I pull her arms out of her top and gather up the material near her neck and smile while saying "1 - 2 - 3." I then quickly pull the top over her head. She loves this and giggles every time! We only use the crib for bedtime (she naps in the pack n play) so, she gets excited when I lay her down in it. I swaddle her tight but leave out her left arm so she can soothe herself (thumb sucking) back to sleep if she wakes up during the night. I sing her a quick song and then wind up her mobile which always puts a smile on her face. Night night Aubrey... I miss her so much during the night and become completely entertained by watching her on the video monitor. I always look forward to her first morning smiles.

More pictures of Aubrey's toe touching skills

How Aubrey became a Babywise baby...

Tomorrow Aubrey is 5 months old! I'm excited and can't wait to take lots of pictures. She is a true "Babywise Baby."

The last 1.5 months of pregnancy I went on disability due to my increasing severity of a common pregnancy complication called Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD). It is common for all pregnant women to experience some degree of SPD especially towards the end. However, I started becoming symptomatic at 14 weeks and the pain only escalated as the pregnancy progressed. The gap between my pelvic/pubic bones increased and became so uneven I could actually feel and hear my bones "crunch" with each step. I remember coming home from work at 20 weeks and experiencing intense, gut wrenching, I can't even make the few steps to my bed type of pain. I knew I was in trouble when at 28 weeks the pain started as early as my lunch break versus the end of shift and at 30 weeks it escalated to 24 hr around the clock pain. My doctor wanted me to stop working early on and as he put it "limit your steps throughout the day and remain seated as much as possible." Well, telling a nurse to stay seated is nearly impossible. At 34 weeks I finally saw the light... I remember waking up in pain, crying through my shower, and screaming as soon as I lifted my leg to put my scrub pants on. I somehow managed to make it to my car and and drove to work. When I realized that I wasn't sure if I could make the walk to "my office" it was time to throw in the towel. Luckily I have a very understanding boss and after loads of paper work I went on short term disability.

As soon as my papers were filed my pain became so intense I was by all definitions of the phrase ... bed bound. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my facebook visits did not increase but instead I read a lot. We do not have a TV in our bedroom and still unable to fall asleep until 3 am Cameron graciously retreated to the blow up mattress in the nursery. This bed became my desk and in addition to one over heated pregnant lady and one fat cat, it held all types of magazines and books. One of my main topics of focus became "how to get an infant to sleep through the night." I read up on many if not all of the sleep training philosophies which ultimately lead me to feeding philosophies which I discovered go hand in hand with each other. This is when I learned the principles "On Becoming Baby wise" which is commonly refereed to as the "Babywise method."

Aubrey has absolutely flourished on the Babywise schedule. She has such a sweet and calm disposition. Keeping her on a "feed - waketime - nap" schedule has allowed her to not associated sleep with feeding and vice versa. Parent directed feeding (PDF) has helped to set her internal clock which has given her the ability to self soothe during the later hours. At 5 months she sleeps 10 hours a night, feeds 5 times a day, and takes 4 scheduled naps per day. I believe it gives her s sense of security that she knows "what comes next" and rarely does she have to cry to communicate hunger. Thank Goodness for Babywise!

Her day goes something like this:

up at 7 or 7:30
feeding at 8:00

nap at 9:30
feeding at 11:30
nap at 1:30/1:45
feed at 2:30
cat nap at 4:45
feed at 5:30
nap 7:00/7:30
feed at 8:30
Night Night by 9:15

Wakes up 10 hours latter

Baby Teeth

The average timeline of teething is 6 - 12 months so when Aubrey started showing signs of teething at 3 months I just assumed it was the normal developmental stage of "mouthing." After a day or two of extreme fussiness a small bump appeared at the bottom of her gum line. Still unconvinced... I had one of my mommy friends assess the bump and she was quick to point out that she also felt a bump and was sure it was a tooth. Sure enough, a few days later at 3 months of age Aubrey's first tooth appeared. 3 weeks later, without any warning or fussing a second tooth appeared.

March 2010 Saratoga visit

We met the twins last March. Alexandra and Isabella are so adorable! It was Aubrey's first flight and she did wonderfully. Cameron was able to upgrade us to first class which is extremely helpful when traveling with a baby. We hope this does not ruin her ability to fly coach in the future. : )