Lily's 5 Month Update

A lot has happened in the last month with Lily. The biggest things being that she got her DOC Band for her plagiocephaly and she got a tongue tie clipped. Keep reading for all the details!

Clothing size: mostly 3 months clothes, still fits into some 0-3 months clothing


Diapers: size 1

Weight: 12 lbs


Feedings/Sleep: Sleep is about the same as before. Bed around 7 PM, pumped bottle at about 11 PM and then she sleeps till 6-7 AM. She naps 3-4 times per day and is up for 1-1 1/2 hours at a time. We follow eat, play, sleep schedule which works awesome for us. We still swear by the Baby Merlin Magic Sleepsuit and she takes all naps in it and sleeps in it at night.

The 4 month sleep regression barely hit us at all! Lily woke up a couple of times in the night and thanks to a sleep expert that I follow, I learned not to feed her extra in the night than I already was because of the sleep regression. She just needed to be settled a bit and then went back to bed. Thankful!!

This picture cracks me up!

Tongue Tie Clipping: So many updates! For quite awhile, we were having issues with nursing where Lily would cry a lot during feedings. Adalyn had this and it was because of her reflux issues but Lily didn't have that. It was so bad at times that I would have to stop trying to feed her, go pump and then feed her that bottle. It was a lot of work, exhausting and very time consuming. Not good!


I would have to sit her straight up during a feeding while feeding on one side which was miserable for us both. I mentioned this to the doctor and she felt if Lily had a tongue tie. She said she could not feel one. Then she asked me if she made this certain clicking noise while eating and she always did. I did not realize that it was the typical clicking sound that is a sign of a tongue tie- I feel so silly! The doctor told me that that meant that she had a tongue tie and clipped it right then and there. It literally took 5 seconds, Lily did not cry at all and there was no blood or healing time needed.

The tongue tie clipping literally fixed all of our nursing issues instantly. I could not have been happier! No more clicking and almost no more crying during feeds!!! I called the doctor the next day just to thank her for everything and to tell them that the simple clip fixed our problem. I want to share this all because if another mom is going through the same thing, I definitely urge you to talk to your doctor about a possible tongue tie.


Physical Therapy: This month, we resumed going to physical therapy every week for Lily's torticollis (pinched neck). She is doing awesome and I hope to be done going soon but honestly, I think that they are going to tell me that they want to follow her for a year but I know that it is definitely time to space out our appointments instead of going every single week.


DOC Band for Plagiocephaly: Probably the biggest part of our update is that Lily got her helmet for her plagiocephaly. It was really simple to get measured for the helmet and they highly recommended that Lily get one. The scans of her head showed between moderate and severe plagiocephaly. Because she is young, she isn't supposed to have to have the band for too long (6-10 weeks about). She wears it for 23 hours a day.


We got the band the day before Thanksgiving. We have to go in every week for adjustments and to measure for changes. The first 6 days went really well without any redness or issues. When we went to our appointment, we found a quarter sized bright red spot on the back of Lily's head. They told us to take the band off until it went away. We had it off for about 24 hours and then put it back on and the redness keeps coming back.

We just went for another adjustment (12/10) and they are having us keep the band off for right now and I am sending in photos of the updates of her head and they will let me know when to put it back on. They think that it is red because she is getting too hot in the band. They said to just literally dress her in a onesie and a pair of pants. No sweaters, hats or socks. Crazy since it is winter.

12/13- the redness continues and we take her to the pediatrician. They prescribe an antibiotic ointment. Thank god, the redness FINALLY goes away after almost 2 weeks of problems. For the last several days, Lily is back in the band and is doing much better.

Lily doesn't seem to mind it at all- the helmet or the red spots. We just feel awful seeing the redness and also hate having the band off because she may have to wear the helmet longer since we are missing growth spurts that her head may have while the band is off. It is pretty stressful right now with weekly appointments for the helmet and weekly therapy sessions. This too shall pass. Right??



Milestones/Tidbits:
-Lily fell in love with toys! Specifically, a little lightweight ball that she played with at therapy and then I got her one of those balls for home. It is her favorite! She holds it with 2 hands and licks it like crazy haha. She also loves her kick piano activity mat and kicks to play the music and grabs the toys.


-She still loves tummy time but it not motivated to roll. She would just stay where we put her as of right now. Her physical therapist has given us tips to help her roll which we work on often.

-She is the smiliest and happiest baby! She rarely cries, especially if it isn't feeding time or nap time. She smiles at us constantly and is just such a joy.


-Adalyn is still loving to take care of her all the time. She begs me to hold her, sometimes changes a diaper or her clothes and most of all, holds her and plays with her. I love their love for each other.

-She loves tracking objects all around with her eyes. She loves watching TV if her big siblings are watching it (not our favorite but it is cute).

-She loves sucking her two fingers. She still uses her pacifier sometimes but if it falls out, she just sucks on her fingers.



-We loved celebrating Lily's first Thanksgiving! I felt extra grateful reflecting on being thankful that she was born healthy considering all of the worries during my pregnancy. She didn't eat anything besides milk but she enjoyed being held by Troy's family and my family.

-She is constantly babbling and making happy noises. She recognizes her name and loves staring at people when they talk to her.


-Lily loves standing while you hold her hands up.

It has been a good month, stressful but good! I look forward to seeing the progress with her DOC band and the shape of her head.