Five Months Old

Amelia is five months old today!

She is such a happy baby and she graces everyone with her beautiful, contagious smile. I especially love it when she scrunches up her chubby cheeks and neck because she spotted me.

Amelia had her first trip to the ER this month while we were in Indiana. She first came down with a fever and then a horrible cough. It continued to get worse and when it happened non-stop, my Mom and I took her to the ER. Amelia was also wheezing, had chest retractions and was throwing up with every coughing fit. She was tested for RSV and had a chest x-ray, which were both negative. She was sent home with instructions to give her albuterol treatments every 4-6 hours as needed. We were able to follow up with a pediatrician in Indiana a few days later (thanks to my sister's persistence and using her doctor influence). Amelia was still having wheezing even with the treatments so the doctor prescribed oral steroids. Unfortunately, even on top of the oral steroids, she was requiring the rescue breathing treatments sooner and sooner. It was every 3 hours when I finally took her again to the ER (this time with Nathan). It seems that the oral steroids took a little longer to work because it wasn't until 4/5 dose did we see any improvement.

About the same time she got sick, Amelia stopped wanting to be swaddled. It was rough for the first few nights because her flailing arms kept smacking her in the face and waking her up. I kept forcing the swaddle but she is so big and so strong now that I kept having to redo it as soon as I just finished. And because she is no longer swaddled, she is free to accidentally scratch herself. (You can see a tiny little scab on her forehead in these photos.)

Amelia also started thumbsucking. And she sucks the same fingers her Daddy did when he was a baby (middle and ring fingers)! She has fallen asleep on her own while sucking her fingers and at this time, I am not stopping her.

Our almost seven weeks in vacation in Indiana spoiled Amelia when it came to nursing. I mostly nursed her in my old bedroom where it was dark and quiet. And now that she is bigger, she cannot pay attention to eating. Every little sound, light, etc. distracts her. My sister said, "Amelia needs to get use to life!" Hahaha! She is one curious little cat.

Read One Month Old entry here.
Read Two Months Old entry here.
Read Three Months Old entry here.
Read Four Months Old entry here.