I'd have some cheese with my whine...

...but I can't because I'm sensitive to dairy.

Regardless, who's idea was it to get sick? I'm tired of this. I can't breathe, I cough all day and night, I can't lie down because I get so stuffed up, and all I want to do is nurse. But even that is tough, because my nose is stuffed up.

Mama put my swing in my crib so that I can sleep sitting up (it lets all the nasties drain down rather than getting clogged up in my throat). It helps a bit, but I was still awake for most of the night last night. It's hard to sleep through a hacking cough.

Another part of being sick means that everything is runny. All systems. So runny, in fact, that one diaper can no longer contain me. Yesterday morning, I managed to get as much outside of the diaper (and up my back, down my legs, all over my arms...) as inside of it, so Daddy ended up just handing me to Mama in the shower because that was the only way to clean me off.

This is so not fun.

Refluxions of a baby

Mama took me to the doctor today because I haven't been nursing well and I wail in pain whenever I do nurse (which is why I don't nurse much -- would YOU continue to do something that hurts?). She was worried that I might have an ear infection. It turns out that my ears and lungs are just fine, and that I have a run-of-the-mill cold. However, since I am also blessed with acid reflux (for which I've been on medication since I was just a wee thing), a cold isn't just a cold. Apparently, it causes my reflux to flare up so that even the medication doesn't help. There's nothing I can do other than wait it out. However, the doctor did say that I should nurse frequently since I'm not eating much each time. He also said that our vacation will be good for me, because the warmth, humidity, and sinus-flushing swimming pool will do wonders for my congestion. Works for me!

Mama! Bring me the milk-drug! It's been almost 45 minutes since I last had a sip.

Lots of catching up to do

I'm pretty behind on the blog so I have a lot of catching up to do. It's been pretty busy in my world lately!

• Amah and Opa came for a visit, followed closely by Gramma and Papa Hill
• It was my Daddy's birthday (yet another party I didn't get to attend -- Mama and Daddy went to see some guy named "Big Head Todd")
  
• My Grandpa Walt started his long visit to Club "Med" on Monday, and Mama has been telling me about what he's doing so that we can send him lots of good thoughts and love
• I squealed at my Uncle Jim over the phone while he was in Paris, which I thought was pretty cool (I squealed with my best French accent)
  
• I got to see Oliver's new house and listen to him make sounds like a seal
• I went for a walk around the lake with Jammy and his mom
• Jammy and I had a baby fashion show and I got to borrow some of his surf clothes to wear during my first vacation next week
• I decided to join in while everyone else was singing at church
  
• I went on a super long walk in my new stroller with Mama and Daddy, most of which I slept through
• Tatum came over for a visit with her dad, but she didn't feel like talking to me
  

Now I'm sick with a cold, so Mama stayed home with me today to help me get better. My nose is all clogged up, so it's hard for me to nurse. And I spend a lot of time wailing and looking very pitiful because I'm not comfortable. I spit up a lot and Mama is worried that I'm also teething, because I chew on my fingers and cry. All I know is that I feel miserable.

Luckily, we're going on vacation next week. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by then! Because if I'm not, that plane ride is not going to be fun.

I'm a big boy now

Today, Mama and I went to lunch with Oliver and his mom. Oliver was kicking back in his stroller, but I was riding in the Babyhawk. Usually when Mama has to eat while I'm in the Babyhawk, she just puts a napkin over my head and tries not to drop food on me. Needless to say, I'm not very happy with this situation so I squirm and fuss and sometimes even screech loudly. So Mama decided to strike pre-emptively today: she put me in a high chair. Like a big boy! She lined it with her coat first so I wouldn't touch the chair, and then strapped me in. It was pretty cool.

Scritch scratch

One of my favorite things to do lately is to scritch-scratch all of the different textures around me. I especially like to do it when I'm nursing, unless I'm busy exploring Mama's face or grabbing her hair. I wanted to post a video of some of my best nursing scritch-scratching, but Mama said that would make this blog NSFW (although I have to admit that I kind of like the irony of labeling a 5-month old's blog an "adult" site). Instead, I'll post a video of myself lounging on a chair while I scritch-scratch with one hand and wave the other one around spasmodically. Oh yes, I talk and blow bubbles too. I'm multi-talented like that.

For wubu

Nest nest nest!

It was a nailbiter

But the Jayhawks prevailed! Daddy says that they won because of me, that I'm a lucky charm. I am a golden pig baby...what did he expect? Although now I'm worried that he's going to have pretty high expectations for the Broncos this year.

Work isn't so bad

Mama took me to work with her today, and it's really not so bad. I don't know why people complain so much about it. There are nice people here who hold and play with me, and there are other babies for me to hang out with! There are lots of cool toys, and I have my own crib to nap in. I was pretty content when Mama left me to go do some of her work, but she cried. I wonder if she cries every time she goes to work? Her office must not be as fun as mine.

Time for a tune-up

This afternoon, I was hanging out after a nice walk with Mama, Daddy and Cowboy. I was getting a little hungry, and luckily Mama came to snuggle with me. I started singing, "My milk-drug brings all the boys to the yard..." and got ready to get my fix. I latched on and started sucking, but nothing came out! I kept trying and trying but it wouldn't work. To make matters worse, Mama was laughing about it. I think she must be broken or needs a refill or something.

Not so fast, Mama

A month ago, Mama thought she had me figured out. She'd read about these "wonder week" things and thought that since I was 4 months old, that was the reason I was so crabby. Turns out that I was just crabby for no reason (or maybe I had a reason, but I can't remember now because c'mon...that was AGES ago!). Mama re-read the wonder week thing and realized that the timing is based on my adjusted age, not my actual age.

For those of you new to my blog, I decided to make my grand entrance to this world a bit earlier than I was expected. Thus, for a lot of developmental milestones -- especially those around sleep -- I'm about a month behind my actual age. The age I'm supposed to be, based on my due date, is called my "adjusted age". According to my adjusted age, I'm almost 19 weeks old instead of 22 weeks old.

So anyway, one of the biggest developmental milestones (read: crabby times) happens at 19 weeks. Some call it a "wonder week", some call it "sleep regression", some call it "being a major pain in the tush". Call it what you like -- all I know is that I have lots of crying planned and I expect some quick action to make things better.

Just in time to celebrate

So today I am 5 months old. That's quite mature, if you ask me. I think it's about time for me to get some independence and autonomy around here...once I can sit up on my own, that is. Until then, I'm pretty much just sprawled on my back, helpless. However, even when non-mobile, I sure can make my presence felt!

As I mentioned yesterday and earlier today, I have been refusing to take my afternoon naps. This results in a very cranky and overtired babyhill, but normally the situation is rectified once I go to bed at night and get my 8-10 hours of beauty rest. Tonight, however, I've decided to switch things up a bit. Instead of going to bed at 7 PM and waking up to nurse around 3-4 AM (like I've been doing for the past several weeks), I woke up at 10:30 PM. I cried until mama came in, and she changed me into a warmer blanket sleeper and then sang to me. I slept for about 10 minutes, then started crying again. Now I've quieted down again, but I'm not sure how long this will last.

I might be hungry. I haven't needed to nurse in the middle of the night for a long time, but now that there are so many other things for me to pay attention to when I'm supposed to be nursing, I might not be getting as much to eat during the day as I should. Even when mama puts the Hooter Hider over me, I pull it out of the way (thanks for that suggestion Baby Jammy -- it's so much fun!), poke my head up through the neck, or I just stare at the pretty patterns. There are so many fun things to do, how can I be expected to focus on just the milk-drug?

Not that I'm saying I don't want the milk-drug anymore. Oh no...that's not in question. I just think I should be able to enjoy it on my terms, rather than having to wait for mama to offer it. Maybe slip some into my pocket so I can take it with me and have a sip or two whenever I feel like it. Is that too much to ask? At 5 months old, I'm more than ready to handle the responsibility.

Two for two

This is the second day in a row that I refuse to take my afternoon nap. I'm super tired and cranky, but when mama puts me down in my crib, I scream and scream and scream until she comes to get me. She holds me up, pats my back and I let out massive burps (after each one I'm so proud of myself...you should hear them!). Mama is thinking that maybe my morning bottle (the only bottle of the day) is making me gassy, because I still take my morning nap and go to sleep at night just fine.

The only thing that seems to work is for me to nap in the swing. After several weeks of hating the swing, I've come around to the realization that it is a little slice of mechanized heaven. Mama put my fleece bundleme in it (she picked up that trick from Marley & Lilah's mama) and it's just wonderful.

Today, Tori said bye-bye to me. I don't understand why. I like hanging out with her in the mornings, but she's not going to spend mornings with me anymore. Mama was sad about it too, so why are we doing this again? But mama tells me that I'll still see Tori sometimes, so that makes me happy. And starting next week I'm going to work with mama! I wonder what they'll have me do. Do you think I'll get my own office?

Choices

Instead of my afternoon nap today, I decided to scream at the top of my lungs for 2 hours. It's been a long afternoon, and it's not even 4 PM yet. Plenty of time for more screaming!

So yester...hey, what was that??

Lately I've been rather distractible, especially when I'm nursing. If I hear even the tiniest peep of a sound or see something out of the corner of my eye, I crane my head around to see what's going on. And sometimes I don't let go first (that's when mama squeals).

Mama used to read a book while I nurse, but she can't do that anymore because I want to see what she's reading whenever she turns a page. She also can't uncross her leg, shift her weight, or make any other movement. She tries to keep me focused by putting the Hooter Hider over me, but that doesn't always work. Sometimes I poke my head up through the neck of the Hooter Hider to check things out (see picture below). Mama acts like she's annoyed, but she always laughs so I know she thinks I'm pretty clever.