The Slagh's: Two posts in one weekend...here goes the 2nd one! (This one gets kind of wordy :-))

I feel like there is so much going on, and so much that happens each week, that it is hard to keep up with all the changes with Taylor!

We are ONE week away from having a six month old...which I can hardly believe. After her six month appointment, it will be fun to see exactly how much she is growing, and what her "stats" are like.

We are having a lot more fun with eating cereal. We have switched to oatmeal instead of rice cereal now, and if anyone knows me, they know I LOVE oatmeal and have it at least once every day (uncooked with milk and cinnamon), and am excited that Taylor seems to like it, too! She has eaten almost all of it during her last two feedings (it certainly smells a lot better than the rice cereal). Yum! She has also taken a few sips of water from a sippy cup, which I think she finds quite interesting.

This past week has been a roller coaster in terms of sleep habits. She has been going to bed as early as 8:30pm, but typically is in bed closer to 9:00pm most nights, and then wakes up sometime between 7:30-8:00 in the morning. It is the period in-between that time that is a little rocky. One night she will sleep 9 hours straight, and then the next 3 nights in a row she will wake up every 3 hours. But the past two days have been really good for a couple of reasons (and I am hoping that the trend continues!). First, Taylor has been successfully getting herself to sleep for both naps and at bedtime. Typically I would rock, walk or nurse her to sleep at bedtime, then, oh-so-carefully, lay her down in her crib, hoping to not disturb her. But now, I will lay her down awake, leave her little turtle nightlight on that makes it look like there are little stars on the ceiling, and about 10 minutes later she will be fast asleep. Also, I have been cutting down on feedings in the middle of the night, and with the exception of needing to change pajamas that were wet, or cover legs that were cold, when she wakes up, she is able to get herself back to sleep without too much intervention from me. It is a true statement that I have heard before - sometimes it would be nice if babies came with directions!! But through trial and error, we seem to figure things out eventually and have a happy little munchkin to show for it! I still have first-time mom worries that something will happen in her sleep, and will check on her every time I happen to wake up at night - putting my hand on her little back to make sure she is still breathing, make sure she is warm enough, check to see that she has not shifted so that a hand or a foot is stuck through the sides of the crib, and just say a little prayer over her little head. Someday I will get a full night of restful sleep again, but for now I am much more concerned with another one's needs, and sleep is a second priority. :-)

(We also seem to have a more regular thumb sucker on our hands, which I often find her doing in her sleep after I have put her down.)

A week and a half ago Taylor also had her first illness - poor little girl! It started with a rash, then a fever, then blisters and a sore throat. Sure enough, Taylor was diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease. The night after the rash started was a rough night, and a trip to the doctor the next morning gave an explanation to Taylor's fever and discomfort - and found out that she was not alone with this diagnosis. Apparently HFMD was one of the most common reasons that people were making appointments at the pediatrician's office in the past month ... bottom line - wash hands, wash toys, and do everything we can to avoid unnecessary germs (which is hard when you have a little one who wants to touch everything, and put it in her mouth!).

Here is a picture that I was trying to catch of her playing, but she stuck her feet up in the air, and I happened to capture what some of the rash looked like on her arms and legs. (You would have to click on the picture to probably actually see it in this small photo).