5 Months Old!

This month we had a repeat ultrasound on Elli's hips to make sure they had improved (she had some underdevelopment in them at one month old). Her right hip looks perfect and is in the normal range now but her left hip isn't developed very good and was actually completely dislocated at the ultrasound. So in order to try and stimulate it to do what it needs to she is now in a pavlik harness. It is kind of hard but honestly not near as bad as it could be. Part of me wishes we had just got one put on last time so that she would be almost done wearing it, but really it is a blessing it's on now and not before because I am so much more emotionally stable to be able to deal with it. She can still wear really cute shirts and dresses, nursing hasn't been a problem at all like I was worried about and for the first four weeks she wears it for 23 hours a day and so we can still give her a bath during her hour out of it each day so it really isn't too bad. We will have a followup ultrasound on the 26 of June and if it looks like it is getting better than the time each day that she has to wear it will be decreased, I'm hoping to just at night but who knows. I'm just glad they have something so easy to fix her problem instead of her having to have surgery or have problems her whole life because of it. The first few days in the harness were really rough. She cried non-stop the first day she had it on and then slept terrible for the next few nights, which was really hard on us because we are used to sleeping through the night now. But she's adjusting and things are getting better every day. She still looks adorable in my opinion.  

At five months:

Weight: 14 pounds 14 ounces

        Percentile: 51%

Height: 26.23 inches

        Percentile: 91%

Sleep: Elli has slept through the night for seven or eight hours almost every night this month until we got her harness, now shes trying to figure that out a little still but she is really doing great. She has even slept 9.5 hours once. she usually sleeps about 7.5 hours then wakes up and eats and goes right back to sleep for another 2-3 hours sometimes while cuddling with her daddy. Between the harness and her growth spurt and the fact that we are pretty sure she is teething her sleep has actually gone to pot. She will only sleep for very long in the car seat, which I don't love doing, so that has be hard. We are hoping that shes adjusting and will start sleeping good soon but we will just have to wait it out to see. 
Clothing size: 3-6 month and size 2 diapers, although sadly with the harness a lot of our clothing choices are limited since she can't wear any pants. 

Milestones: talking, smiling, she is getting really good at grabbing things and holding onto them and batting at toys. She can almost get her binky back into her mouth if she pulls it out and she can hold her own bottle for a few minutes, she also rolled over this month finally and can do it really good and fast now and is great at picking up her head and doing baby pushups while in tummy time. She also rolls from her back to her side and tries to go all the way over to her stomach but hasn't quite figured it out yet. We also finally got our first laughs out of her. She's a pretty serious child and doesn't laugh a ton, but when she does it's adorable. Some of her milestones are a little weird now with the harness but we will figure them out. We still are trying tummy time while in the harness (she hates it) and since she gets an hour a day out of it we work on some rolling over then as well. She has also started using other sounds. Like when she is angry she uses an MMM sound and it totally sounds like she is saying mama. It makes me really excited for when she actually does start saying things like that. 

Special Outings: We went swimming with all of our family, spent a weekend with our cousin Dusty and the rest of the family, got to spend lots of time on walks and laying out on the grass, For her five month birthday we went hiking. Elli's first hike ever. She thought it was very fun. 

Month Highlights: She is actually getting really good at holding herself up while sitting. I think the harness helps a ton with her balance actually. Adjusting to the harness, but still being as cute as ever before.  We also put some blackout curtains up in her room so now she is all ready to start sleeping in there once we get back from our two months in Cedar City. Elli also has started having more interest in different toys. She loves playing with her rubber duck in the bath and her keys. She also loves chewing on her fingers and anyone else's fingers that she can get in her mouth. 

Big Changes: Elli is so much more engaged and involved. She wants to be able to see you every second and when you leave her line of sight she gets upset. She's been awake a ton more than before. There has also been the harness to figure out as well. 

Elli's Favorites: Bathes, swimming, walks, being outside in general, laying on the grass, raspberries blown on her chest, blowing raspberries, looking at herself in the mirror, being in her carseat (it saved our sanity while adjusting to the harness) sitting up, her playmat, she really liked the exersaucer too but we can't do it now with the harness. Her hour everyday when she doesn't have to wear the harness and can kick her legs. She also loves paper. She loves to crinkle it up and eat it, it's fun but you have to watch because if you let her have the same piece for too long she actually will start eating it. This month we also tried swinging. She loves it as well. I didn't get many pictures of it but I got some way cute videos of her trying it out. I have started reading her a bedtime story every night and it's starting to be one of my favorite times of the day. She mostly just wants to eat the books, but I love when she starts focusing on the pictures and I love that it's preparing her to love reading all of her life. 
Thoughts: This month has been so fun and hard. She has been so interactive, has laughed a few times and can now roll over. Watching her learn and grow has been amazing. It's also been great to get to sleep more and take her swimming. But then with the harness half-way through the month and trying to adjust to that and everything else and not being able to take her swimming it's been really hard too. She went through her worse growth spurt yet the week before the harness so we have had some really hard weeks getting used to everything. I still love her to death and think she's the cutest thing in the world and love watching her grow up but it definitely has been a rough month. I just pray that the harness is working and we won't need any more serious intervention. It terrifies me to be honest to even consider her having to have surgery or a cast. I just pray it won't come to that. We will find out in a little less than two weeks. We did a family fast for her, so hopefully that will help. Her cousin Dusty though is so cute with her. I loved watching him warm up to her and then be cute. Every time she cries he is so upset and looks for her when she's not in the room. He wants to kiss her often and my favorite is once when she was crying he yelled, "Elli I'm coming" and took her one of his trains to help her feel better which was super cute because he doesn't share his trains with anyone. It's so fun for her to have a cousin so close in age.