Dear Addison - 5 Months

Dear Addison,

Once again another month has flown by and you are in the middle of your 5th month in the big wide world. This month you have been growing up and becoming much more independent. Gone are the sleepy cuddles and quiet moments, you are all about finding out what is going on.

You have amazing hearing and can hear Daddy's voice from the other side of the house. You get frights at loud noises and look at me with big wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Once you see me reassure you then you are all smiles again and back to playing. The couple of times you did cry from fright were from big loud sneezes and once you cried at our friend who has a remarkably hairy face. Fair enough darling, fair enough.

You are getting to know what you want now - grizzles for food, a different grizzle when you are tired or over it. High pitched squeals of excitement when you want to chat or get attention. Usually when you are standing up and want everyone to see how clever you are. You get lots of praise because you are oh-so-cute. Smiles are dolled out to pretty much anyone but boy do we have to work hard to get you to laugh. Most of the time we are met with a blank, unimpressed stare.

Your favourite games are still 'going backwards off my knees', 'throwing' you in the air, being upside down, being swung high by Daddy in the Jolly Jumper harness and being bounced while on the bed. I am starting to see a trend here, you are my brave girl and might end up being a bit of a daredevil.

We still haven't mastered the back-to-tummy roll, you are content just hanging on your back. You have however mastered the other way round and flip over to your back as soon as I put you down on your tummy. So crawling is still a wee way off I think. Gives us more time to baby proof!

You had a bit of a rough time sleeping last month. I say that in very relative terms. You woke up a couple of times each night but just wanted to chat so we put your white noise on and you fell back asleep pretty quickly. Daylight savings didn't seem to bother you, you have settled in to waking up about 7 every morning. The best part is that you almost always wake up with big smiles for us.

Baths are still hit or miss but you like being in the big bath. I am looking forward to summer when we can put you in your togs and play in the paddling pool!

Your bond with Killer the cat is growing more and more. Killer has surprised us with her tolerance and will come up next to you so you can 'pat' her. She puts up with being poked in the eye and flailing limbs until I direct your hands to her neck and back so she can have nice pats. You squeal every time you see her and don't take your eyes off her.

You had your latest Plunket check a couple of weeks ago and you weighed in at 6.5kg. You are tracking beautifully along the 50th percentile for weight, height and head circumference so you are all in proportion and perfectly average for a Kiwi girl :) You also had your last round of immunizations for a while and dealt with them like a champ. A bit of a cry, a quick feed then smiles at the nurses who adore you.

Keep it up girl! You are a wonderful member of our family and you bring joy to everyone around you.

Tune in next month for sitting practice and starting solids.