Five months

Lacey commented during our walk yesterday afternoon that Madeline's fifth month has seemed longer than the others, and I agreed.

My theory is that the month has seemed longer because less has been happening. While Madeline has been showing advancements in many areas, she hasn't made any major developmental leaps. Each day is a subtle progression on the last. Cumulatively she's more skilled than she was at the end of June, but the abilities that have been improving involve comprehension and fine motor skills - things we notice as her parents but that may not be so obvious to the casual observer.

On top of that, Madeline's meal and nap times have become quite regular, and Lacey and I have built our daily routines around Madeline's activities. The days are mostly predictable - nap, play, eat, nap, etc.

Because of these factors, our lives seem to have quietly fallen into a comfortable schedule in these recent weeks. We generally know what works to get us through the day.

The downside is that Lacey and I find ourselves ticking off the days as they go by, our goal each day simply to perform the routine and make it to bed that evening. We're focused solely on the present. I find myself stretching to come up with a long-term goal to capture my attention but, in the end, lacking the time and/or energy to follow up.

There's nothing wrong with adhering to a schedule - it can make everyone's life a little easier. But we need to be careful about becoming slaves to the schedule, and we need to find ways to spice up the daily routine.

Now that Madeline is a little older we have less of an excuse to stay home and stick to the rigid daily regimen. We owe it to Madeline to introduce the world to her, and we owe it to ourselves to make sure our lives are more than an ever-growing accumulation of merely completed days.

Notes on the month:
- Madeline's evening sleep has become very regular. No matter how the day's been, she is invariably ready for bed after her evening feeding at about 6:30. In bed by 7, she sleeps soundly until Lacey gets her up at about 9 p.m. for one last feeding. After that, she sleeps through the night until about 6 or 6:15 a.m.

- The 9 p.m. feeding seems to be a relic of the days when Madeline ate more frequently in the evening, and the fact that she doesn't wake on her own for this feeding makes me question its necessity. But we're wary of stopping it in case it makes her hungrier earlier in the morning. She sleeps so soundly through the night that we're cautious about disrupting the routine that's been working well up to this point. Now that she's started solids for her evening meal, we may try to ease away from the 9 p.m. wake-up call in the coming weeks.