The Dickens Daily: Bennett--5 Months (January 7-February 6)

5 Months Already???

Look at your cute, drooly self!

REACH!!!!!

This has been a BIG month for you! You have started SO many new things that your daddy and I are just amazed each time something new comes up! I can't even write it on the calendar fast enough--that's how fast you're changing! It's exciting to see the changes, but also sad because it means you're growing up too fast!

Stats:

No monthly checkup this month, but when we weighed you at home you were about 18.5 lbs--give or take a few ounces depending on the day!
We finally remembered to measure you at 5 1/2 months and you were 26 inches long! You've grown 6 inches since you were born--no wonder so many outfits don't fit you!
You're now officially in Size 3 diapers! They fit much better now--and it's not just due to your chunky thighs!
You are easily in 6 month clothes, but depending on the brand, some 3 month/3-6 month onesies still fit AND depending on length, you've had to go to 9 month/6-9 month clothes for leg length (especially pjs--your feet just don't fit in any 6 month ones except Carter's).

Eating

Bottles are back down to 5.5 ounces for the most part. We think adding cereal twice a day has helped with that. Well, that and the fact that for about a week or so, you'd leave some in the bottle and I didn't feel like wasting any more of the "liquid gold"!
We had to buy our very first tub of formula this month and WHOA, we're glad we've had some sample tubs/tubs given to us to use up until now because dang that stuff is expensive! It's definitely more motivation for me to keep pumping for your milk!
We started oatmeal with bananas right after the 5 month mark and you love it just as much as your other cereal--maybe even a little more. Guess I'd better get on the ball with making your baby food!
MMM.....oatmeal!

Gave you avocado a week before you hit 6 months and for 2 days it was "iffy". On Day 3 though, it was a YES! Whooo hooo for the green stuff!

Thanks, mom. I'll take it from here!

Sleeping

You're still a good night-time sleeper unless you're sick or had an extremely busy day. On those nights, you wake up once or twice, but will go back to sleep after a bottle.
Speaking of which...we're trying to figure out ways to get you to go back to sleep on your own after you wake yourself up. We/you have relied too much on the bottle and we don't want it to become a habit we can't break!
We tried the sleep sack at the beginning of January, but you woke up so often, we gave up on it so we could all get some good rest! Not good, we know...but we ALL needed it!
We started doing both arms out of the swaddle in mid-January (right at the same time you got Bronchiolitis again) and even though it's taking you slightly longer to go to sleep since your moving arms keep you busy, it seems to work!
You are now trying to roll over in bed. I watched you one night fling your arm over and I think the only thing keeping you from actually rolling is the fact that your lower half is swaddled and you need the momentum from your legs to actually get it to happen! (Bad news kid: we may keep you like this for a while since you hate it when you roll to your tummy!)

Morning stretches

Growth 

Wow! What a month for you! So many things have happened--I just hope I remember them all!
Rolling: You are now for sure rolling from your back onto your tummy. You hate it on your tummy, so we have to roll you over again and try to practice with you rolling from tummy to back, but that hasn't "taken" yet! We know it will soon though! You are slinging those arms and legs around a lot!
Head movement: We think you'd like to have the neck of an owl! You turn your head as far as you can to hear someone/look at them if they're not in your direct vision. This has made "peek-a-boo" more fun! You are now able to find us easier when we talk to you--so we challenge you by going upstairs, around a corner, etc--is it so wrong of us to get our entertainment from you???
Grabbing---EVERYTHING!!! If it's in front of you, you want it! Diaper, Sophie toy, paper towel, mail, bottle, blanket, my water bottle, medicine, etc. You've also started picking up your arms when I go to pick you up from the bumbo--I LOVE that!
You've now found your legs, hands, and feet and love to play with them! This definitely makes diaper changes more of an adventure (especially combined with the owl neck!), but it provides a lot of entertainment for you! My favorite moment was walking by your room one naptime and seeing you literally stare at your hand like it was the most interesting thing you'd ever seen. Slow motion and all--LOVED it!
Elvis legs. When we stand you up, you now like to bend your legs and wiggle. It reminds me of the moment in the movie Forest Gump, where Elvis watches Forest dance and takes it as his signature hip swing movement. You love doing the Elvis bounce

Sitting: You are definitely sitting now! For most of this month it was with some type of support, and then, at the end of the 5th month, it was all just YOU! You're such a big boy!