Gabriella is 5 Months!

I was unable to post yesterday (her real 5 month birthday) since we were returing from our little weekend getaway, I'll post about that later. So anyway, Gabriella is now 5 months. Wow, almost half a year old! She's adorable, of course I am biased but in all seriousness she has quite a little personality. During her 4 months she reached quite a few milestones. She can now turn from tummy to back and back to tummy, she loves playing with her feet and putting them in her mouth. She also started reaching out for her bottle and although she  would aim at her eye and get milk all over her face, she is now holding her bottle all by herself like a big girl. She can sit unassisted for a little while, but still needs to work on her balance. We practice every day.

I'm not sure how much she weighs, but we'll find out next month at her 6 month appointment. She is now wearing 6 months clothes. I did however put on a 9 month outfit the other day and although it was just a little big she'll be in that in no time. Funny thing is that she still fits into her 3 month onesies? It must be her length. She is wearing Huggies Little Snugglers in size 2. We tried on the size 3 but they're still too big for her. She started drinking 6 oz. of milk about a week ago (4 mo 3 wks) and has not yet been introduced to solids until she turns 6 months. I'm actually pretty excited about that! I've gathered recipes and bought the little trays to store her food since I will be making her food myself. Can't wait!
Here are the current milestones of a 5 and 6 month old gathered from Parents magazine.

Months 5 & 6

Senses: Infants are born with a sweet tooth, but by this stage, they've also developed an appreciation for salty tastes, just in time for introducing solids.  Hmm, Gabriella will be introduced to solids at 6 months but she does like the salty taste of her little toes, if that counts?

Body: Big news! Your baby rolls front to back and probably vice versa, and can sit like a tripod, propped up with one arm. Gabriella started turning from back to tummy first at 4 months, 1 week old. She later turned from tummy to back. Now she's all over the place.

Brain: She begins to understand the concepts of putting in and taking out. I need to bring out some of her toys/blocks she got for Christmas so she can start to practice on this concept.

Communication Skills: By 6 months, babbling begins to imitate speech in tone and pattern. It also becomes language-specific, so a French baby (oui-oui) and an American baby (wah-wah) will start to sound different when they jabber. I hope Gabriella will be bilingual. At this point she smiles at anyone who talks to her.

Aww Factor: She can see you from across the room now and will probably react with a big smile. This is absolutely true-especially when I pick her up from daycare. Once she sees me, she gives me the biggest smile.

Fave Toy: Still Sophie and Maddie (her doll). She's starting to learn how to transfer objects from hand to hand.

Playtime: "Tell me a story." She can focus her eyes and attention better, so make reading a part of your daily routine. She loves when you read to her unless she's absolutely tired. For the most part she's hitting the book and looking at the pictures.

Mealtime: Add cereal, bananas, and other appropriate, easy-to-mush food to your shopping list. The tongue-thrust reflex subsides; your child is now ready to gum and chew soft solids. Notice that these milesones are for 5 and 6 months. I think this is more appropriate for 6 month old babies. We shall see next month, but I have a feeling she is going to be a great eater.