five months

Happy five months, buddy. You continue to defy the odds by getting cuter every day. We really don't know how you do it. The theme for this month is: Baby was ready, Mom was not. Turns out I've been holding you back...and you might as well just get used to it. :)

After hitting the sleep regression in a big way last month, we knew we needed to make some changes. It wasn't sustainable to keep nursing you to sleep every time, and frankly, it wasn't working anymore. Even after a few too many sleepless nights, I still dragged my feet on sleep training because I anticipated a huge battle of wills, and I was not prepared to let you cry it out. But, as it turns out, you were more than ready because you caught on rather quickly. I've probably just been getting in your way this whole time. There were some tears involved (although not nearly as many as I thought there might be), but after just 1-2 days, you were going down easily for naps and bedtime. We stayed really consistent on our nap and bedtime routines, provided a predictable schedule, and introduced some other sleep associations besides nursing. We now put you down awake, and you fall asleep on your own like a boss!

Bedtime is between 7:15-7:30 p.m. and you wake up around 7:00 a.m. Sometimes we don't hear a peep from your all night, other nights you wake up briefly but fall back to sleep on your own, and then we still do have nights where you need some soothing or a little snack. And that's ok - you are just a baby after all. You start your morning nap by 8:00/8:30 and usually sleep for two to three hours. I often have to wake you up so we can go to pilates or song time at the library. I never imagined a day when I would have to actually wake you up from a nap. Your first afternoon nap is at 1:00 p.m. and then you also take a quick snooze around 4:00 p.m. Sometimes you let Mom know it's time for your nap by quietly laying down while playing and sucking on your fingers. You are your mother's child because you love a good plan (and naps!), and you've been a much happier camper due to all this sleep, and so is Mom.

You sleep in your crib now - all the way on another floor away from Mom. I'll let you guess which one of us had more trouble with that...You also went to the nursery for the first time at church last Sunday. Yet again, Mom was reluctant, but you weren't. You charmed the socks off the caregivers during both the morning and evening service. We had to talk them into giving you back to us both times. You've also stayed home with babysitters a couple of times over the last month, and been a little angel every time. Your most recent big boy move is getting rid of your pacifier. You haven't really been taking it during the day for some time now, but we did find it helpful in soothing you to sleep. Yet again, I expected a bit of a battle, but you haven't used it the last two days and seem completely unaffected by its absence.

There isn't too much you don't like these days. You fuss when you can't figure out how to do what you want (i.e. crawl or sit up) or when you are ready to move to a new activity. You can also get a little cranky when we are approaching nap or bedtime. We did learn that you hate power tools. Dad turned on the drill the other day, and you immediately went ballistic. You spent the next several minutes clinging to Mom. We felt bad you got so scared, but I didn't mind the extra snuggles.

You are working on sitting up, but you insist on doing it the hardest way possible. You try to pull yourself up while laying flat on your back - as if you are doing a crunch. Maybe you've been paying attention in pilates? When we help prop you up, you can sit without assistance for several seconds or even longer if you use your arms to create a little baby tripod shape. If we put you down on your back, you immediately roll over to your stomach (you sleep on your stomach now too) but then you get frustrated because you can't crawl forward. You push up on your legs in frustration and usually end up in a down dog yoga position before giving up and collapsing back down. You clearly want to be on the move, but you have no idea how to get your arms and legs to work together to make that happen. That's fine by me for now - I'm not ready to baby proof!

You've discovered your feet much to your delight. Happy baby pose is your jam. But don't worry, you don't neglect your hands. You are still a prolific hand chewer. You like anything that lights up and makes noise. You enjoy music and singing songs. The itsy bitsy spider is a favorite - you love watching my hands mimic the sun coming out. You enjoy playing peekaboo, watching Sesame street, and being tickled or attacked with kisses. But your favorite activity right now is your jumperoo. You can spend up to 45 minutes in there happily bouncing and squealing away.

You've started putting EVERYTHING in your mouth - especially whatever mom and dad are drinking: starbucks cups, coke cans, water bottles. You get mad when toys or stuffed animals are too big to fit into your mouth or when you can't quite pull the objects hanging from your baby gym to your mouth. You like to pull Mom's hair out of her ponytail. Saying you have a tight grip would be an understatement. Ouch!

Dad and I have stopped arguing about who's the favorite because it's neither of us. There is no doubt Papa Butch wins that title. I'm pretty sure he could just look at you and you would start to smile and laugh. The rest of us have to work a little harder, but your baby giggles are so worth it.

Highlights of the month: Went to two more Nats game, Schmeema & Papa Butch came to visit, learned how to fall asleep on my own, stayed home with babysitters twice, went to my first crybaby matinee movie (The Meddler), moved to my nursery and crib, went to church nursery for the first time, gave up my pacifier, worked on sitting up.