Liam: Five Months

So I am going to be doing these a little different from now on.  Instead of doing it every 4 weeks (which should technically a month) I am going to write them on the 7th of every month (his birth day) so I might have more then 4 main pictures.

Likes: Being thrown up in the air, being naked, being held, sitting, standing, looking at the chickens, Curious George

Dislikes: Carseat (he really hates getting put in that thing), laying in his carrier (he tries to flip over in it)

Biggest Achievement of the Month: Having and sleeping in his own room

Biggest Challenge of the Month: Sleeping for mommy

Sleep: It has been so on and off.  Some night he will sleep all night and not wake up until Dad has to get him ready for the day and some nights he wakes up 3 or 4 times although the nights he gets up the most are my nights, which is just awesome for me.  In general he is a decent sleeper and normally gets up only once to eat.  We did put him in his crib in his own room a couple days ago and so far it has been good and bad.

The first night he got up 3 times, once to feed and then 2 times 15 minutes apart afterwards, apparently he just wanted mom in the room with him when he fell asleep but he slept until 8:15.  The second night wasn't as good, I went in there like 7 times because he did not want to sleep for me, and once it was around 6 I pulled him into bed with me like normal (I always do that on my days off so that he will sleep later) and he let me sleep until 9 and last night he woke up when I was getting ready for work so around 4. 

I think it has gone really well considering the horror stories I have heard about putting your kid in their own room.  

Temperment/Personality: He is starting to get more of a personality.  He is having bad days and good days.  There are days where all he wants to do is fuss unless he is being held and others where he is happy to play in his jumper and on his play mat all day.  He does have more good days then bad and his good days are so wonderful.  He does seem to be having more preferences about people as he is learning that not everyone is the same.  Nothing is better when I pick him up from the sitter and he sees it is me and just smiles at me.

Eating: He still loves the boobie and per my pediatricians orders we have started feeding him multigrain and rice cereal.  At first he really did not like it but I have been patient and used every trick I could think of (eating in front of him, having George playing, using the binky to help calm him down, giving him toys to play with during) and now he is eating really well.

We are trying to feed him twice a day and are using flavored cereals (Banana Apple Rice Cereal, and Sweet Potato Apple Multigrain Cereal)  We started at 2 tablespoons but he is still so hungry all of the time I have upped it to 3 to 4 tablespoons.  We mix it with breast milk but because that means we are using my supply that I pump (which isn't that large right now) I am going to try to switch to pear juice (which is the other option I was told I could mix it with) and see if he likes that.

The Superficial: He is still so pretty.  We get lots of compliments on how adorable he is.  At his last appointment he weighed 14 lbs and 3 oz so he has almost doubled in weight size since birth.  He is still in 0-3 month clothes but he is almost too big for them so I am sure within the next month we will put him in the 3 to 6 month.

He is starting to get hair and it is looking blonde so I am hoping that is the color it is going to be but we won't really know until it fills in more.  His eyes seem to be staying really blue so I am excited about that and they are so beautiful.  

Milestones & Firsts: He has done lots of things this month it feels like. He rolls over both ways now, which is fun (from back to front and from front to back).  He is also sitting up really well, for at least a couple minutes at a time but we still keep a really good eye on him just in case. He is also getting better at standing to the point that he has grabbed onto something when we were helping him stand and help himself up with it (we still had our hands on either side of him just in case)  He is also grabbing at everything including people.

He went swimming for the first time and loves it (we love it too because he is so sleepy after and because he looks so darn cute in his swim diaper) First time eating real food.  First time sleeping in a room without his parents (and once his room is decorated I will show pictures)  Oh and he found his feet.  I was really wanting him to do that and now that he has I have realized how annoying it is when I am trying to change him and he is trying to eat his feet.  

Favorite Baby Gear:

My new Solly Wrap.  I adore this thing, I got a Moby right after Liam was born and loved it but I wore it one day when it was warm out and I thought both him and me might die from overheating so I knew I had to get a more lightweight one.  After googling a bit I found the Solly wrap and it came in a cute striped patern and was made from bamboo cotton (same as my nursing cover) so I had to get it.

It is a little more stretchy then the moby so there was a learning curve again but I love it.  I can go out in the Southern UT heat and not worry that my kid is going to die.

I saw the OBall on another blog I read and thought that Liam might like it so I went to Target and bought it (it was only $4, why not) and he loves it.  He grips the sides and tries to eat it but since there is no way it can fit in his mouth, he just has an open mouth held against it as he keeps trying.  It is the funniest thing to watch.

Now this item I knew I needed but could just not bring myself to spend the money on it.  A Bumbo.  It lets him sit up by himself and I can feed him in it.  So I was at a friends house and they have a daughter and I thought I had seen her in it once upon a time, so I asked if I could try it and see if I could convince myself and hubby to spend the $40 to buy our own.  So they let me use it and then offered to let us borrow it since their daughter is too old for it and their new one is too small for it.

So I was at a kids consignment store in town (Caroseul Kids) and saw Baby Einsteins Musical Motion Activiry Jumper for half the price that it is in stores and I had to get it.  Liam is a little small for it (his feet barely touch the ground) but he still loves it and it gives him a chance to stand by himself.