Toby: 5 Months!

Happy 5 Months to us…Toby slept from 8PM-5:30AM last night, ate, and then went back to sleep until 8:53AM!  Maybe sleeping straight through until 7ish is coming soon…

Anyway, this month has been all about moving, rolling, and wanting to sit.  As soon as you put him on his back, he automatically rolls to his belly and refuses to roll back.  I think he’s practicing for crawling…yikes!  And same goes for his crib which unfortunately made naps and nighttime sleep difficult for a week or so until he was comfortable enough to fall asleep on his belly or side.  It is nerve wracking seeing him sleep on his belly since you’re supposed to put them to sleep on their backs, but there’s really nothing I can do to stop him. 

And the other big thing this month…little, grabby hands.  Oh man, anything I’m holding, he wants, wants, wants!  I can’t hold him and have a drink in my other hand anymore.  Anything fascinates him, including a Boston Red Sox foam coaster.  He’s OBSESSED with it.  Like seriously threw a temper tantrum when I took it away from him one night so we could start bath time.  He loves feeling textures of different objects, figuring out what he can hold comfortably and what’s still too heavy, and then of course he will try to get it to his mouth to see what it tastes like.  Definitely need to start baby-proofing…

His personality has blossomed this past month.  He’s a pretty happy baby 90% of the time.  He gives shy smiles when he sees someone new for the first time and then slowly warms up.  Then he becomes a little flirt.  He prefers to be kept busy, so we usually do different activities every half hour or so when at home.  We really love playing with him now.  His back is getting very strong, so it’s easier to show him things when he’s sitting up.  I feel like he’ll be sitting unassisted by Christmas.  He is either very serious, looking around, and checking out his surroundings or he is laughing and talking up a storm.  I think the funniest thing he does is when we’re out in public and he starts talking.  He gets so loud that people look over to the stroller to check him out.  At least he doesn’t cry when we’re shopping anymore! 

Weight: guessing he’s over 13 pounds now and hopefully getting close to 14?  We brought him to the doctor a week after his 4 month check-up (see Medical Issues below) and he had already gained 8 ounces in 8 days so it was a good sign.  I can tell his arms and belly are chunking up a little.

Height: Definitely has gotten longer again as his feet hit the floor when he’s in his jumper and Go-Pod – doesn’t need a pillow underneath anymore.  Guessing close to 27 inches.

Medical Issues: The week after he turned 4 months, I noticed he was spitting up a lot after almost every feeding, and it didn’t matter whether he nursed or ate from a bottle.  He didn’t seem sick, otherwise – no fever and wasn’t fussy.  He rarely spits up so that’s why I thought it was weird.  I was also concerned because he’s slow to gain weight so I didn’t want this to affect it even more.  The office nurse suggested giving him smaller feedings every 90 minutes instead of one large feeding every 3 hours because he may have had a tummy bug.  We ended up bringing him in on the 3rd day since he was spitting up even after the small feedings.  The doctor said he was fine – soft tummy, no fever, no rash, and he had gained 8 ounces in a week from his 4 month appt so that was excellent.  He stopped spitting up later that night and it’s been off and on since then.  I think it may be a combo of teething, moving around, and just eating more overall.  Other main medical issue is his scalp…the cradle cap flakes are finally gone, but his head is still so dry.  He picks at it during the night so when he wakes up it’s bleeding and oozing.  I’ve tried having him wear a thin hat and infant mittens but he doesn’t move as well with the mittens on so it made me nervous for sleeping.  After using this shampoo, we’ve been lotioning him like crazy and I rub gobs of Vaseline on at night.  I really hope this isn’t eczema. 

Sleep: The newfound love of rolling onto his tummy disrupted sleep for a week or so.  We would have to go in a lot more to replace the pacifier and soothe him.  And then he also went through another week where he was waking up twice a night and would refuse to sleep unless he ate, so I’m assuming it was another growth spurt.  Luckily things are back to normal, so most nights he’s asleep by 8pm in his crib, sleeps straight through until he gets up to eat anywhere between 3-5AM, then back to sleep until 7:30 or 8AM.  As for naps, he’s still taking 3 a day, about 40-45 minutes long (1 morning, 2 afternoon).  On a good day, he will take a 90 minute nap but that is RARE.  His doctor said as long as we’re consistent with putting him down, he should start to take longer naps around 6 months and will probably combine them into two instead of three a day.  We never have to rock him to sleep anymore.  He will usually fuss for a few minutes but it’s very rare when we have to go in to soothe him after 10 minutes has gone by.

Clothes/Diapers: All 3-6 and 6 month clothes.  They fit him perfectly now.  Size 2 for diapers.  We are having issues with him leaking overnight so I have to change him at his early AM feeding or else he’s soaked by 8AM.  We tried putting him in size 3’s but he still leaks through.  Guess we’ll be trying out overnight diapers. 

Diet: Introduced formula officially on his 4th month birthday.  He’s been getting about 4-10oz each day since we’re using it to supplement now.  About 2/3 of what he eats is still breast milk.  I’m only nursing him at night when he wakes up and then for his two morning feedings.  I don’t think he was getting enough from me during the afternoon and evening, so we switched to giving him all bottles after 12pm.  It gives me peace of mind to know exactly how many ounces he’s getting in the later part of the day.  He gets about 7oz in a bottle, usually a mix of pumped milk and formula.  Still eating every 3 hours, though sometimes he can go up to 4 hours.  I think we are going to try doing 8oz in a bottle to get him to stretch to 4 hours and that way we can cut one out a day.  We started giving him pureed solids on 11/3 – started with 1-2 tablespoons each day.  So far he’s had pears, unsweetened applesauce, bananas, and carrots.  Not really a fan of the bananas and he spit back out the carrots after a few spoonfuls.

Baby Gear Love: The Go-Pod, Sophie, links

Milestones/Firsts: Tried first “solid” food on 11/3 – pears.  Starting to sit better with assistance the first week of November.  First Halloween – dressed up as a tiger.  First shower on 11/11…so let’s just say big poops + jumper = BIG MESS.  The shower was the quickest and most efficient way to clean him since Hubby wasn’t home.  It was kinda cute seeing him stand up in the shower, though – love that little tush even when it’s a mess ;)

Likes: Talking, talking, talking!  And sometimes screaming.  I think he likes to just hear himself sometimes.  He prefers to be standing in his jumper or sitting in his high chair rather than laying on the activity mat.  He loves touching stuffed animals, looking at board books, and grabbing my and Auntie’s hair.  Loves listening to new noises and watching people make them. 

Dislikes: Being put down for naps.  Always fusses for a least a couple minutes.  Other than that he’s a pretty happy baby!  And thank God he is okay with the car seat now.

Things I don’t want to forget:  The sour face he made when he tried pears for the first time…too, too funny!  And when he tried applesauce, he couldn’t get enough of it.  He was fussing in between spoonfuls because I apparently wasn’t feeding him fast enough.  When he sees someone and they say “hi” to him, he will smile quickly and then look away fast like he’s being shy.  He goes crazy on his changing table – will move his legs and arms so fast and start shrieking.  It’s funny but makes for interesting diaper changes.  He also sticks his tongue out randomly now and it always cracks me up.

Postpartum: Introducing formula officially was a hard decision, but I know I didn’t have the time and energy to try and amp my milk supply up.  I hardly have enough time in the day with working now, and I’m only working 15 hours a week.  I don’t know how full-time working moms do it – seriously, I give so much credit to them!  I have come to accept the fact that a happy mom equals a happy baby and I have to do what’s best for everyone in this situation.  I think the plan is now for me to slowly start weaning off pumping sessions so that I’m totally done breastfeeding by 6 months.  My original goal was to make it 3 months so to get this far is amazing and I have to remind myself of that :)