As Milly nears the 5 month mark, she has
started to add a few new tricks to her burgeoning repertoire of cuteness.
It doesn't seem too long ago that this was restricted to the
occasional, well-timed goo, or pulling a quizzical face as she was ponders the meaning
of the garbage that we speak to her!! But in recent weeks, her
personality has really started to shine through. She seems to smile all
the time now whenever she's with Elaine or I, she talks to her toys, shouts at
whichever one of us is sleeping during her feeding time, and points her finger
at you to let you know that she is not impressed. But last week the icing
on the cake came when she laughed for the first time. It seems to really
tickle her when Elaine or I laugh, and that sparked a little giggle
from Milly. She first did it for Elaine, so the following day I was
prepared and was able to catch a short video of it. Great fun. What has
also become apparent in the last few weeks is just how strong she
is becoming. Her neck is now strong enough that she can be picked up
without supporting her head, and she can sit up with support and have a good
look around. Her latest favourite game is being rocked backwards and
forwards while having 'Row, Row, Row your Boat' sung to her. This is
definitely a favourite game, because if you dare not to row with her, she lets
you know about it by pulling you and moving herself backwards and forwards!!!
As I have written previously, both Elaine and
I have dreaded Milly's first bouts of illness. With all the things that
we were told, we had taken precautions to ensure that we didn't expose her to
any unnecessary germs. It even got to the stage where you begin to worry
that you're being over protective and actually doing more harm than good by not
letting her immune system develop. This is no longer a concern, as Milly
caught her first cold a couple of weeks ago. It was actually rather
uneventful really. She was really snotty, leading to some colourful
sneezes, and she had a couple of days where breathing sounded like it was a
struggle. But it didn't really bother Milly, she carried on
regardless and got over it quickly, sharing it with her Mummy and Daddy along the way! This has been quickly followed, however, with her first tummy bug.
She caught this one off Elaine and I, despite our best efforts to keep it
from her. She has not been so happy with this one, with her feeding
amounts dropping, and her general mood not being great. The tricky thing
with the bug is that we are left guessing how she might feel by how it affected
us, which means she won't feel great. But she seems to be on the mend
now, however she is just a little more tired than normal. But that is true of us
too. Luckily the remedy that was effective for us has also worked for
Milly, staying in bed watching Comic-book films!!! I'm sure that those of
you reading this with children will not be surprised about any of this, knowing
that Milly's first illness would probably not be a big deal. But no
matter how many people suggested that this would be the case, it was hard not
to think that Milly could have been in the minority of children that don't have
a "regulation" first illness. I guess that is a feeling that we will get
used to!!
Over the last few weeks, Milly has taken a
particular liking to chewing her own fist, as all babies start to do at some
point. Her fondness for this seems to be coupled with her desire to
see just how far she can reach down her own throat, which has had the expected
result on a number of occasions. We are hopeful that these are not
the first tentative steps towards a modelling career, but actually the first
signs that she is getting ready to start weaning. There have been a
few other signs. She seems willing to put anything in her mouth, she has
started chewing, rather than sucking, her dummy, she is drooling a lot, and she
is getting close to being able to sit up. Given that over the past few
days Milly has also had really rosy cheeks, it may also mean that she has
started teething, although I'm not sure that she is in too much discomfort at
the moment. The whole weaning process is another thing that is
giving us a dilemma due to Milly being 6 weeks early (apologies if I am
sounding repetitive!!). Milly's actual age (20 weeks) is old enough for
us to try her on some baby rice. But her amended age (14
weeks) is too young. I feel that in this case, we have to follow the
amended age because we have to consider the physical implications of the size
of her stomach. There is only so much she will be able to fit in there. With
Milly seeming to be content with her milk, I think that we will leave her a few
more weeks. It won’t be long now though, and I'm sure she will much
rather be sat in her high chair at the table with us at dinner time, so she can
see what we are all up to and join in with the conversation!!!
