Showing posts with label swaddling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swaddling. Show all posts

Saturday, February 4, 2012

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!



You still love the walker!  You've found a new "parking spot" for it!




Cutie patootie in the bathtub!  



Wonder what Month 6 will bring??

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Bennett--4 Months (Dec 7-Jan 7)



4 Months Old
Starting to get chunky--legs, cheeks, belly--and SO cute!



You are one stinkin' cute kid!


Growth
  • At your 4 month appointment, you weighed 15.8 pounds and were 25 inches long! (A week later you weighed about 16.5 pounds...what a chunk! But, the day you had your 4 month appt, you also caught a bug at daycare and hadn't kept much down).
  • You got your 4 month shots and although you screamed, you didn't scream much longer than 30 seconds. As soon as that mean nurse left, you were good to go!
Sleep
  • Still 8-10 hours, depending on the night, and mommy and daddy are SO thankful for that!You've woken up around 2:30/3:30am a few nights this month, but go right back to bed after we feed you. We don't care for this middle of the night thing, but since you don't do it often, we really don't have much to complain about!
  • Swaddling: will this be the last month or no? You are in the medium size Summer Infant one and stretch your legs out to the end of it. You fight 5 out of 7 nights with your arms--so we try one or both arms out--and you cry, so we usually put both arms back in and you pass out! Right now (Dec. 15) I'm researching how to best wean you from it....I'll update later if things change.
First ever completely un-swaddled nap!
  • You now rub your eyes when you're tired, which is great! Sometimes we already know if it's definitely nap/bed time by your actions, but this is great for both us and if someone else is watching you so you can be put down!

Eating
  • You are now eating rice cereal at least once a day. Mommy and daddy try to feed it to you after picking you up from daycare, but if it's a busy evening, it doesn't get added. When I was on my Christmas break from school, I also added it to a morning feeding, so you got it twice a day!
  • Tried organic brown rice cereal the Monday before Christmas to see if you'd like it---you DID! (Think I liked it more too. When we went back to white rice, it was goo-ier and just didn't seem as good!)
  • You're still at 6 ounce bottles if you're not eating rice cereal---you're growing into quite the chunky monkey, but you're healthy and we love it! You get a little less with cereal since I use the bottle to make your cereal.

Personality
  • OMG can we say HAPPY BABY??? You are such a happy baby and every day we comment on how lucky we are that you are the baby that God blessed us with! Your laugh makes everyone around you giggle with delight and I try to get it on video whenever I can!
  • You wake up happy and go to bed happy (most nights).

Activity
  • Doorway Jumper--LOVE it still! You are a bouncing baby boy in every aspect of your life!
  • Jumperoo--starting to love touching and pulling on the toys on it. Your feet are just touching the floor, which makes it easier for you to entertain yourself in it.
  • Swing---STILL love it! We took it to Gram and Pops' house for Christmas--that's how important it is!
  • Playmats--LOVE touching/hitting things on it
  • Tummy time---still not a huge fan, but you're holding up your head so well and kicking/pushing off things more and more. Rolling over is on hold because you hate tummy time so much, but we try it every day!
  • Bumbo--LOVE it! You are now a huge fan of sitting up/standing up (with help) to see what's around you. You'd much rather do that than lay down flat.
  • Grabbing--bringing things to your mouth and reaching for them when they're around you

  • Throwing--started doing a slight toss of objects you have in your hands (did this right before Christmas)
  • Sitting--you're working on it....let's just leave it at that! The pictures pretty much say it all!
  • The week or so before turning 5 months old, you started reaching/grabbing for things a LOT more.  You actually started coming at me with your arms out if I was feeding/burping you, or just holding you in my lap and playing.  You've started to love it when I eat your hands and it really makes you laugh!