Ila at 5 months old is exactly what we imagined our daughter to be like.
She is the healthiest, smartest, most athletic & beautiful Vella & Mathis mix ever.
Ila is extremely well coordinated and strong. She has been able to roll over for about a month now but has recently learned the basics behind the army crawl. Of course she has to be pushing her feet against Ev or I, a wall or heavy object but she gets it and is so proud of herself when she reaches her point of interest.
She has her first set of teeth coming in, the bottom center two teeth. She handles her pain really well. The only time her pain shows is how she reacts in the night right before going to bed. Recently I've been having to rock her and massage her gums instead of being able to lay her in her crib for her to fall asleep on her own.
Naps are rare and short but I don't mind because she sleeps through the night. She's practically the easiest going baby I've ever met & it shows when its nap time. She's not fussy, she simply shows us by rubbing her eyes & thats when we know to lay her down with her blanket & binky in her crib with all the lights out and shades drawn.
To make up for the lost time I used to get by Ila taking longer than thirty minute naps, I just pop the little girl in her bouncer and she's completely distracted for sometimes up to an hour. Best investment by far is the jumper/bouncer. We've saved a ton of money by purchasing the rest of her toys at the Goodwill. A quick clorox scrub and we're good! Hours of distraction for a small price while supporting a great cause.
We started Ila on rice cereal mixed with her formula (Similac Sensitive) two weeks ago. She didn't like it very much but we were persistent and continued once a day. After five days she was loving it and began reaching for her bowl to gulp it down as fast as she couldonly yesterday started mixing in first foods! We wanted to allow time for her body to understand it's digestive process (in case of possible pooping issues) but she's done great. For the first week she was pooping every other day & the second week she pooped every day. For lunch yesterday she tried sweet potatoes, then for dinner she tried squash and for breakfast this morning she had pears. She loved them all and only complained if Ev and I attempted to feed her straight first foods.
My mom (Goodie) & dad (Nannu) visited last week and we had so much fun! Goodie & I took Ila to the aquarium & the zoo. Ila was extremely content sitting and watching the fish, sharks, & seals. The Philadelphia Zoo was also a very successful trip but majority of the animals aren't very entertaining. However, the flamingos were colorful, fast and loud. They were most definitely her favorite, she even laughed and reached out to them in an attempt to play with them. Grandma Deb is visiting this week & Ila and I are so looking forward to taking her to our new favorite places again!
