It is WAY past this mama's bedtime, but that's what happens when I lay down with my baby at 8:00. In my former life I stayed up at least this late every night, regardless of whether I had to work the next day or not. Gone are those days, but I wouldn't trade them back even if I could.
This has been a crazy month so far with me going back to work and G starting "school." I have neglected writing so many a post, including his five month milestone. I couldn't let that one slide by, so here I am.
G has had his own short list of accomplishments from months four to five. He started solids and seems to enjoy them thus far with his favorites being pears and peaches. The other foods we have tried are butternut squash, sweet potatoes, bananas, and apples. I usually mix the food in with either oatmeal or rice cereal.
One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was the
Beaba Babycook. I had heard so many wonderful things about this gizmo and knew I wanted it for making G's food. I haven't busted it out of its box yet - I decided to wait until back home (this weekend - yay!), but I am anxious to start making his food. BTW, I have nothing against store bought baby food.
This is usually where I would insert a picture of G eating solids. Unfortunately, the two cameras holding most of the current pictures are both out of battery juice and my phone doesn't have any solids eating pics. Sorry amigos. I'll give you one of my current favorite pics of him, though. It's a phone picture, so please excuse the blurriness.
G isn't quite sitting unassisted just yet but he does LOVE making laps around the downstairs in the walker. I have heard mixed things about letting babies use walkers (some people say that it will inhibit them from learning how to walk naturally), but I think he's okay. For only being five months, the G Man knows how to get around. He hasn't mastered the art of steering, so someone has to be there with him at all times or he will quickly bump into furniture. He is FAST! It is hilarious to watch him move - tongue out with a big grin on his face. Ever since he started eating solids, he sticks his tongue out a lot. Such a funny boy!
The walker my parents have is Kolcraft brand that plays classical music and has shapes that light up. I couldn't find this particular one on Amazon (it must be an older model since they have had it over 5 years), so I bought another brand that seemed to have good reviews. Again, I'm waiting to get it out once we are back at our house, but I hope G likes it just as much.
I thought he would be rolling over like crazy by now since he mastered front-to-back and back-to-front so long ago, but he is pretty content to stay in whatever position someone puts him in. He prefers sitting and standing to laying down on his back and does very well with tummy time.
Another toy he now greatly enjoys is his
jumperoo. I think we already need to change the setting to level 2 because he is getting so long. Once we put him in it, he will immediately start bouncing away (usually hopping on one foot). He also loves his dog
Scout that sings songs to him and says his name. He loves anything that can go in his mouth and anything that lights up and plays music.
He still loves his bath time and is enjoying reading (and chewing on!) books more these days. He gets SO upset when I take him out of his bath to lotion him up and put on his jammies. I guess he would stay in his bath forever if we would let him!
He's still not a champion sleeper, but I admit that I'm part of the problem. The room we are sleeping in here at my parents' house has the crib in the bedroom. This is so convenient for night feedings, but now that he is pushing six months I know that his night awakenings are probably out of habit. It is hard to hear him cry at night when I am only a few feet away, so I will usually just bring him into bed with me and nurse him there. Of course I usually end up falling asleep, so he then ends up right beside me in bed. I don't have any issues with co-sleeping just in case you are wondering, but I know it is contributing to the issue at hand. The longest sleeping stretch to date is 5 hours, which is considered sleeping through the night, but any mama will tell you that 5 hours isn't gold medal worthy. I am pretty sure Dr. Ferber will be visiting our house once we move back home. :)
He is getting better about being in his car seat (thank goodness!) now that he is in the car everyday to and from school. It's not his favorite place to be, but he tolerates it okay. He is usually so wiped out because he doesn't nap very well at school that he will fall asleep on the way home. Poor baby. When does the mom guilt of dropping your baby off at day care go away?
We have been having issues with one of his eyes being goopey and crusty since he was a newborn. R took him in this past week and the pediatrician said to keep doing duct massage and applying his prescription ointment. There's a 90% chance it will go away by the time G is one - otherwise, we have to put him under and they will have to open up his tear duct.
Otherwise, he is a happy and healthy sweet baby. The only thing he has seemed to acquire from his school is nasal congestion, but that can also be from the crazy temperature changes lately.
Dear G Man,
This past month has been hard for me - I would much rather be at home playing with you. I love seeing your smile when I pick you up from school. So far you seem to be transitioning well, and that makes me feel so much better about having to leave you. I can tell you are still a mama's boy at heart although I know one day you will probably prefer to play with your daddy. I hope that day is still far away! You are the most precious thing to me, and I love you to the moon and back.
Love,
Mama
