5 Months Old Already??

Miss Ella is 5 months old today, wow! I can't believe how fast she's growing. :) Every day it seems like she is getting more and more involved with the world around her. Her latest trick? She can grab any part of your face or neck with either (or both) hands, and squeeze. She's quite delighted by this trick. Me? I'm conflicted!

As much as she's growing and changing, she is still too young to be able to play on her own for very long, which seems to be the key to happiness in daycare. Even with a 3:1 ratio, the fabulous teachers at her daycare can't entertain her non-stop, and she's just not good at entertaining herself. On top of that, she is easily started by loud noises, so as you can imagine, she does not sleep very well in daycare! The kids there are happy, but every bang, squeal, and yelp puts Ella on edge. She tends to sleep for a total of 30 minutes while there...in 10 minute increments. Not good! So I'm happy to report that we seem to have found a nanny!

Yesterday was Ella's last day at daycare, and tomorrow Nanny Maureen is doing a trial run while Erich works from home. We got her name from my Pilates instructor who runs in to her at a neighborhood park where Maureen takes another baby she nannies. She works for 2 families, but one is moving away, and as luck would have it, she worked for them Mon-Wed, just the days we'd love to have her! Background checks and references are glowing, and she seems very loving and creative. Ella took to her right away when we interviewed, so we're hoping it works out well. :)

Ella sleeping in my arms after her last exhausting day in daycare.

On 9/14, Ella got to meet my cousin Alan, who was in town for business for the weekend. Alas, he flew in right after the crazy rain storm that flooded much of Northern Colorado, so we only got to spend one day with him since the rain started up again, and we were nervous about getting trapped somewhere or being forced to teach Ella to swim!

Longmont

Near downtown Longmont

Alan & Ella

In not-so-great news, a few weeks ago I threw out my back again while putting Ella down for a nap. I was completely bed ridden for several days, and an MRI revealed yet another annular tear in my disc (aka herniated disc). Thankfully (?), because I've already had a couple of surgeries, there isn't a ton of disc material left to rupture out, so there is no sciatic pain this time. Alas, I now have to go to PT 3x a week for 12 weeks. Not something I really have time for!! I'm hoping I can cut down on the number of weeks and just learn all the current exercises to help get things back in shape. At least for now I am largely out of pain and can pick up Ella with little difficulty.

Speaking of, I probably should do some of those exercises now, guess that's the end of this post!

Milestones & Moments:
8/2/13 - First day of daycare
8/13/13 - Ella plays peekaboo (and gets it!)
8/14/13 - Ella laughs (first time was a week or two before, but started to laugh regularly on this date)

8/27/13 - 4 month Dr. Appointment - Weight: 12 lbs. 7 oz (14th percentile), Length: 24.75" (60th percentile), Head size: 40.5cm (45th percentile)
9/3/13 - Ella sits up (can pull herself into a sitting position from a reclined angle)
9/7/13 - First night away from Ella (Erich's birthday present - a staycation in Denver.)
9/23/13 - Last day in daycare
9/25/13 - First day with Nanny Maureen!

The End of Maternity Leave!

So, I started this post on 8/25/13. I was so proud of myself. Intended to finish it the next day. Didn't happen. Might as well post it as is and start on the next one!!!

This month I returned to work, and Ella started daycare! Luckily, she only goes a couple days a week and my parents take turns watching her for the rest of the week. Although I love being back at work, I miss Ella terribly! She seems to do great when my parents watch her, but daycare is a bit of a struggle. She has a hard time sleeping on her own and entertaining herself, and the loud noises seem to scare her. I've been visiting her on my lunch break, but the first few days were really rough. It was clear that she had been crying a lot and not getting enough rest. Some days she only sleeps for a total of 30 minutes...in 10 min. increments! Thankfully, she's been doing a bit better the last few times. She started eating more and also sleeping a bit more. All the other babies there are very happy, so hopefully she'll adjust as well!

In other news, since being evicted from our room, Ella has started sleeping through the night! She goes 10-12 hours each night, and has only woken up in the middle of the night 3 times! That definitely makes it easier to wake up in the morning to go to work!

My parents have been working with her to help her learn to sleep on her own during the day as well, and I think my mom may have made the breakthrough! Yesterday, Ella had several long naps on her own, including one that last over 2 hours! Even now, as I write, she is napping by herself. Yay! I'm hoping that will make daycare go a bit better for her.

Miss Ella has been growing like crazy, and is now wearing 6 month size clothes! She's getting better and better with tummy time, and rolls over from front to back fairly often. 

She's also quite chatty & has started to laugh out loud. 

Her current goal is to learn to sit on her own. We borrowed a Bumbo seat from a friend of mine and tried it out with her yesterday. She seemed a bit freaked out to be sitting in it, and only lasted a few minutes before she started crying.

But we tried it again this morning, and she seemed to enjoy it more.