TATUM LEILANI MADRID: 20 WEEKS OLD (5 months)

Tatum baby, I love you, sweet girl.

The milestones and the updates are starting to come even more quickly as we approach these cooler months. Tatum is a dream. Truly. I have so enjoyed being a mama to this sweet, sweet baby and I have found quite a bit of healing taking place in the process. Kids are funny like that, right? They come into the world and we are solely responsible for their well-being, nourishment, guidance... and yet, they teach us so much more about the world than we realize. In teaching us, they also help us heal-- even the most wounded parts of who we are. Unintentionally this has occurred lately and I am so thankful for it. We have a five-month-old.

Clothes:  I'm almost positive tater tot will be in nine-month clothing before I get the chance to write her six-month update. I'm sure she's likely at least two pounds more in weight than she was at her four-month well-baby. Tatum's six months clothes are snug in the leg areas and the buttons on some of her onesies are a bit snug as well. We are pretty lucky that her infancy matches alongside big sister Olivia where the weather is concerned and it looks like we are all set for fall. I try to get her two or three individual outfits for each size (I'm lying, it's probably way more... sorry baby) and then we fill in with all the wonderful clothes she's had from all her sibs. 

Feeding:  Tatum is such a dream to feed! Seriously. All four of my babies were exclusively breastfed at this point (nothing at all but boobie milk)  and reading my older bigs' five-month updates made me so proud of reaching this milestone with Tatum. She nurses on demand -- like all the kids did. Whenever she is hungry, tired, in need of mama, etc... she nurses just as often as she'd like. Next month this changes. Next month Miss Tatum will be starting solid foods (I seriously cannot believe it) and it is a little bittersweet for us for sure. I'm sure we will start with sweet potatoes just like we did with Ava, Olivia, and Liam. I'm curious to see how this goes. Daddy did put Tatum's highchair together this weekend as well -- we just want her to get familiar with her feeding space. 

Sleep:  CHEERS to not having a four-month sleep regression! Seriously though, I think I was waiting for the ball to drop since we had such a distinct regression with Liam. Miss Tatum is sleeping from about 830-9:15 p.m. until around 630 or so in the morning each day. Her naps are changing -- one longer one in the morning, a shorter 30-45 minute nap in the afternoon, and then another good long one around 330-4pm. She'll take one more nap usually around 645pm or 730 and then we get her ready for bed with bath, sing song, daddy reading a book, etc. Her routine is solid and it suites our family well.

Milestones:  Our baby girl is almost rolling over in both directions -- she gets a little stuck when rolling from back to tummy but she'll have it in no time! She's constantly grabbing and pulling everything with her hands and bringing whatever she grabs to her mouth. Her baby talk is becoming more frequent -- especially when she is excited or just completely over something. She's drooling up a storm (could this mean a new baby tooth soon?)  and can sit up unassisted for a few moments. She is cruising through her milestones like a champ and we are certainly grateful for the continued growth our baby girl has. We also set up the high chair and Tatum seems to be fond of it so far! High chair time is great exposure for where she'll be eating her meals.

Things You Like:  Tater tot loves to be held, almost always. She loves kisses, when we sing to her, and pat-a- cake. Recently we've been trying out raspberry kisses and she thinks its the funniest thing. Her laughter brings us so much joy. She finds so much comfort in music -- much like all of our babies and It never gets old watching my baby enjoy a tune that I also enjoy. Julie and The Phantoms (Netflix series) has been a phenomenal album that Tatum enjoys. There are a variety of colorful toys that Tatum has taken a liking too, but we try our best not to overstimulate her. Each day we are exploring other avenues of fun stimulation, and engaging activites to see what Tatum likes and what she does not like. Her siblings love being apart of the process where Tatum is concerned.

This month went by really quick but I feel like my daughter's personality continues to blossom and I just cannot get enough. We are so in love with our girl.