Baby B at 5 Months

Brother time - Baby B has definitely become accustomed to the ways of boys. She's completely unfazed by loud noises, sudden movement, and lots of physical contact.

This past month has brought a lot more interaction from you. You're watching everyone around you and smiling at most people. You save your biggest smiles and giggles for your foster brothers, who love you to bits. 


Kiddo, you talk a lot. All day long you're cooing, growling, babbling, and saying "aaaaaaahhh! aaaaaahhh!" It's really cute, and it's got to be a girl thing because my boys didn't talk like this until they were about a year old. You're also blowing raspberries, which is incredibly cute.


Last month you premiered your Three-Quarter Roll. This month you really started rolling back and forth all the way. You've shown us that you like to sleep on your tummy. I'll put you on your back (per doctor's, social workers', and developmental specialists' orders) but you always roll yourself over to your tummy and happily sleep that way.


You've gotten really grabby. You'll grab your feet and chew on them when you're on the changing table. When I'm holding you, you'll reach out and try to grab whatever I'm holding (or trying to eat). If I put my face close to yours, you'll try to eat my cheek.


I stopped your "dream feed" this month. I had been putting you to bed at a normal time of 7:30/8:00pm and then getting you up between 9:30-10:30pm to feed you again while you were still asleep. Then I realized that you weren't eating very well in the morning when you first woke up. So it dawned on me that you were probably ready to give up your dream feed. So we ended it, and sure enough, you started drinking more in the morning, which in turn caused you to sleep longer for your first nap of the day, which in turn caused you to eat more later, which...well, you get the idea. In the end, you  dropped two feedings and gained more nap time. You're also starting to be able to stay awake longer than your usual one hour. You can sometimes stay awake as long as two hours, though you start getting sleepy around the 1.5 hour mark.


We are still waiting to hear whether you'll be staying with us. We got news this month that we'll probably be keeping you as long as December before we find out what your future will be. You'll be ten months old by that time. Even though we're overwhelmed at the idea of having you for so long and possibly having to give you up, we are constantly reminding ourselves that this is why we decided to be foster parents: to give babies a healthy start in life and to give them a loving family to attach to. You met with a psychiatric social worker this past month who evaluated you and reported that you were one of the most well-adjusted and well-bonded babies she'd ever seen. Hearing that report was so encouraging. Even if you don't stay with us forever, just the fact that you spent six (or eight, or ten) months with us and were so well bonded with us means that you will have a good life; you'll be able to bond with your future parents (if you do go to another family), and you will be able to have healthy relationships with any siblings you may have, with friends, and someday a spouse. Ultimately, God is sovereign, and we are trusting in his perfect plan, even if that plan doesn't include you staying with us.

Enjoying some tasty toes