The Hutchins Family: Eat, Sleep,....Shake it!

We have had a fun week this week with our little one. She is growing so much each day. We are at that point where a lot of her clothes are really getting tight and she still has a month before she is technically 6 months old! Her cheeks would give you an idea of the size of her belly and her thighs!

So, about the title. I have asked many people about food (hence the last post) and sleep lately. We think we have found a solution to the food that suites us and her pretty well. We just feed her a couple of tbsp. at night with formula in it. Then we give her whatever she wants from a bottle. Then it is off to a bath. After her bath we get her ready for bed. Sometimes she wants more to eat (that has been a comfort thing for her for a long time now). One night she had 2 tbsp. of cereal followed by a 5 oz. bottle at around 6. At 6:30 she had her bath as usual. Then when we got her ready for bed she was really fussy. We got her a bottle of 2 oz. and she sucked it down! So, I got her three more (in case two wasn't enough) and she sucked it down. She seemed happy after that! With in two hours she basically had 2 tbsp. of rice cereal and 10 oz. of formula!!! Amazing!

I have also been trying to get her to sleep longer in the afternoon. She is getting to where she will be awake for two hours then take anywhere from a 20 min. to an hour nap. Most of the time it is about 40 mins. It is a continuous cycle of this usually. I know she is right on the edge of being able to sleep longer. Sometimes in the afternoon she will sleep for two hours or a little more. It isn't consistent yet and Mommy is ready for a break in the afternoons! 40 mins. doesn't leave time to get much done or a nap in myself! So, I have asked around to see what others did when their kids were this age. I have lately started a Noon nap. No matter how long she has been up, I put her down right at Noon each day. This should work for when she stays with Grandmom during the week as well. It has only been a few days, so I will let you know how that goes!

Also along the lines of sleep, she is moving more! I think it is time to retire the sleep positioner! You can tell by the pictures below. I also couldn't help but take a picture today as her beloved Seamoore was resting on her belly when I went in to check on her!

The last clip is a video of her with the stocking stuffer she got! These things are amazing. As many of you know, they just don't make practical rattles that are easy for babies to maneuver! Being a music teacher, I knew I had seen these tiny maracas that were simply an egg shaker with a handle! They are the perfect size and weight for little hands. So, I did some research and got some. They were her stocking stuffer this year and as you can see she LOVES them! She will sit and do this for a min. or two straight! If you are interested in them, the brand is Latin Percussion. I think that you can find them online by doing a search for Chickitas (that is what they are called instead of maracas). Sorry there is no sound! I have a video function on my digital camera, but it doesn't have sound with it. It was much easier than getting the video camera out. Much easier to post as well! Maybe Grandmom can video her with her camera (hint, hint). Enjoy! (For you music teacher friends that follow this: She already knows rest position!)