5th month

Sherrie is 5 months old this week! I am a happy mummy because I've applied for No Pay Leave to stay at home to take care of her. I put her at a nanny for 3 days last week and it was a heartbreaking experience. I shall not relate it but suffice to say, it helped me make the decision to stay at home. I was feeling bad about taking NPL but i think it will be worth it. Looking at her, I know it is.

Everyone cannot help but remark how fair she is and how strong she has become! All thanks to milk. No doubt we do give her formula at night, but the majority of milk she drinks is breastmilk. She really has grown so well.. She is also a very cheerful baby, always smiling and seldom crying. Of course, when she cries it is for a valid reason i.e. wet, dirty, hungry, tired etc. Nowadays we know her cues quite well and usually we're able to meet her needs before she wails non stop. Of course, days on my own sometimes I am too late to do so and i end up having to calm her down from a crying fit. It breaks my heart to look at her with tears streaming down her face. Poor baby.

Rolling over has become easy peasy now and she is moving on to crawling. She gets frustrated when she cannot move forward and cries. I do try to help her but she has yet to learn to move her arms so her butt is high up in the air. Very funny! And entertaining at the same time. She is more proficient at rolling towards her right and if you put her on the bed, she will do a full roll i.e. from back to front and then to back again. She doesn't

realise sometimes, that I am next to her, and she continues to roll.. right into me. I have actually to make space otherwise she will protest! Haha....

Now she actively reaches out to grab her toys. When she lies in her rocker if she sees a toy you want, she will raise her hand to reach for it. Also she will kick her legs when she sees the milk bottle, to tell me that she is hungry. Babies are so clever! They can find their own way to communicate without talking. She is also showing preference for toys. Some toys she can play with for a long time.. other toys she holds it for 2 secs and throws it away. We are trying to figure out which toy will become her 'favourite'...

Today we went to my colleague's place for a bbq and put her in a white dress. She looked sooo lovely and cute! I cannot stand it!!! I want to hug hug hug hug and kisssssssss. If I have another one, I wish that he/she is as good as my Sherrie. So lovable and well behaved.

The other day we went for Su's food tasting at the Shang and when there were alot of unfamiliar faces that appeared all at the same time, she cried. I think she is starting to recognise faces already. When there are alot of unfamiliar faces, she feels nervous. I think they also wanted to touch her and so she got a bit scared.

Oh yes, we gave her some rice cereal today! She was a little uncomfortable throughout the whole experience, with lots of the cereal being pushed out of her mouth. At first, we didn't put any milk so it must have tasted very bland. Once we added some formula to it, she took it, one spoonful at a time. Solid food feeding is a messy affair!! But she was so patient, sitting in the bumbo, taking it a little at a time. She didn't manage to finish it but at least she gave it a good try. I am so proud of her!!

Here are more photos of her: