Thursday, November 1, 2012

Carter: 5 Months


Monkey,
You are FIVE MONTHS old today! Where has the time gone?! This was definitely your month of "growing up."  You now seem like a little man instead of a little baby, if that makes sense.  This past month you have really started to smile and take in your surroundings in a way you have not done in the past.  It's truly been a blast watching you "see" the world and take in everything.  And boy, are you one happy baby!! I'm so glad I'm saying that since there were a few months back there where I could have said something different.  :)

Your personality is really starting to shine through and you are showing us what makes you happy and unhappy.  You still love to be held and snuggled and kissed on, which this mama tries to do all day long.  You are happy to sit on our laps when we are out and just people watch.  Speaking of being out, you are pretty flexible but definitely do not like to be strapped into your infant carrier if you don't have to be.  No sir.  You are much too nosey for that.  You LOVE to talk to us- you wake up talking, talk to yourself in the car, you talk to strangers and only really clam up when people get too close to your face (ugh!) You are so HAPPY!

Your nighttime sleep is amazing.  You really would like to go to bed around 7 but opt for a cat nap instead from about 7:00-7:45.  You are sleeping in your rock-in-play in your room and go down for the night between 8:00-8:45 every night.  Even if we are out at a football game you are zonked by 8:30 and can sleep through anything.  You typically wake up between 5:00-7:00 to nurse and go right back to sleep until 8:00-9:00.  I don't know how you did it but you put yourself on the best little nighttime schedule and stick to it every night.  Way to go, bud!

Your daytime naps are getting more predictable but we still haven't made any progress with you napping in your crib/ rock-n-play.  You nap great in the car and in my arms being rocked, but refuse to go down for a nap in your room.  It's strange because you go down at night so quickly without so much as a peep, but won't do the same during the day.  Dr K said not to worry until you were at least 6 months old- at that point we might need to start some baby boot camp so this mama can get some stuff done during the daytime.

We started giving you rice cereal on the 24th after an appointment with Dr K to discuss your reflux.  You started spitting up this month which is not fun, but the rice cereal seems to be helping.  You get 2 tbsp every day, typically at night before you go to bed.  At first you were not thrilled with the stuff, but now you open wide when you see the spoon and eat it all in about 5 minutes.  We will see how this month goes but I'm thinking we will wait until you are 6 months until we start veggies.

You are still nursing about 6 times a day.  There were several times this month where you had to take a breastmilk bottle and you were not a fan- you definitely prefer to nurse.  I'm so thankful that things are still working out for us in this department and pray they continue this way.

Baby boy, you are teething!  Everyone has been telling me for the past month or so that you were teething but I didn't believe them because I couldn't feel anything on your gums.  But between the drool, the fussiness and the hands in your mouth there is no doubt you are teething.  I don't feel anything in your gums so I don't think you are actually cutting a tooth anytime soon, but you are chewing something fierce on your hands.  I try to keep your hands super clean since they are always in your mouth but I know that's a losing battle.  Thankfully you still don't grasp hold of a lot of things while we are out so you aren't getting too many germs on those little fingers.

Speaking of your hands, you are finally starting to grab hold of your toys and swat at things on your bouncer and play mat.  Your favorite are the links on your bouncer because you can pull yourself up a little and get them in your mouth, lol.  In the morning when I'm getting ready I'll hand you a makeup brush and you are content to sit and hold it while I get ready.  We've put you in your BE exersaucer a few times but you are still a little too short to use it for more than a few minutes at a time.

You are a little peanut and are still rocking your 0-3 clothes.  I've ordered a few 6 month things for Christmas and I'm starting to worry that they won't fit you, even though you will be 6 months on December 1st.  You are just teeny tiny! You are taller than you are round so the length will push us to 3-6 months clothes before your weight will.

You are thisclose to rolling over from back to tummy but always get stuck before you get all the way over.  And you have still only rolled from tummy to back once while you were at Nana's.  I'm starting to think you are just lazy because I know your core strength can get you all the way over- you sit and stand up just great- but you just refuse to roll over.  Fine with me, you will roll when you're ready.

Your hair is slowly coming back in, and looks like it's going to be blonde!  Where did you come from?!?  And your eyes are still really dark blue.  People are going to start thinking we are babysitting when they see you with us and can't figure out how two brunette's made a blonde baby, lol! I guess you just take after your PawPaw and Daddy J with your blonde hair and blue eyes.

TMI warning- you've started doing what we call "poop day"- you pick a day of the week and poop all day long.  It's good and bad- good because we only have to worry about poop diapers about once a week, but bad because they are usually blow outs all day.  And usually you pick days where Dad works until 9 or 10pm so Mama is left with every.single.diaper.  I'll be sure to remind you of this later on in life when I need to cash in.

Pumpkin- I hope you know how much we LOVE you and how truly thankful we are for you.  God really went all out when he made you :)  You have changed our lives in the richest way and we are so blessed to be your parents.  Our days are so fun with you and we realize even the really long and hard days are truly a gift.   Thank you Jesus for a healthy and happy baby boy.

5 Month Stats:
Weight: about 15 1/2 pounds
Length: about 25 inches
Eating: nursing around 5am, 8:00am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8:0opm
Bedtime: around 8:30pm
Awake: around 8:00am
Naps: around 10am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm and 6:30pm
Diapers: size 2 Huggies
Clothes: 0-3 months
Favorites: babbling, chewing on your hands, playing with Mama's hair, standing on our legs, diaper changes, bath time
Development: laughs all the time, holds body up when on belly, grasps objects, can hold self up to sit on our hips

4 comments:

Unknown said...

How often did you feed Carter when you first brought him home? Just curious, I've read studies that the 12 per day isnt necessary, so I wanted to see how you did it.

Mateya said...

Such a cutie! Having a good sleeper is such a blessing...keep it up Carter! :)

Unknown said...

He is getting cuter and cuter. A blonde.... who would have ever thunk it

Unknown said...

He is just so cute! I love his expressions! And he just looks so TINY - haha. But all babies look small to me now that I have Coop. ;)