I know I say it every month, but whoa! Slow down, time! I can't believe Nolan is already 5 months old. He has done a lot of new things within the last month, and many firsts and milestones, so let's get right to it!
Nolan continues to be an easy, happy-go-lucky baby. He loves to laugh and smile, and does so as soon as he wakes up in the morning until his head hits the mattress at bedtime. We are constantly trying to find new things that make him giggle and belly laugh, and he thoroughly enjoys watching us make a fool of ourselves doing so. He is quite social and loves to talk, whether it be to us, his toys, or just himself in his crib. All of his happiness and laughter isn't to say he goes without a scream or two here and there... This little guy has a temper and has found a new type of cry when he's mad, and he'll be sure to let you know. It's amazing to see his emotions changing and him discovering them. He doesn't get mad very often, but when he does, it is because he's hungry, he's done sleeping and wants OUT of his crib, or he's bored or "over" a toy or an activity that he's doing. For the most part though, Nolan can be found in a great mood and lights up when you play with him with his toys, talk to him, or give him any type of attention (even a glance in his direction is priceless to him)!
He is becoming more coordinated and has mastered sitting up unassisted. He can completely hold himself up and this is mostly how we spend our days playing. He loves this new perspective and likes his independence. He can reach for his toys, rake them over to himself if they are far away, and uses both hands extremely well while holding things, all while sitting up. He has started to throw things in the air and off of his high chair (it begins). He has also started to scoot/bounce while sitting up, so I know he is starting to get the itch to move, he just hasn't quite figured out how, yet.
Nolan finally learned how to roll over from belly to back unassisted! He still hates being on his tummy, but we worked really hard on getting him to learn how to roll and it paid off! He does very well at tummy time (when we do it) and can hold his head up completely and has even started to put pressure on his arms and lift himself up. Yet, he still doesn't last long in this position, because he just prefers to not be on his belly! Every time we place him on his belly, he instantly rolls over, so it's nearly impossible to keep him in that position, but we try! Even more recently, because he has been sitting up so frequently, he gets frustrated being on his back, so he wiggles and stretches, trying to figure out how to move up, but hasn't figured it out yet. He definitely prefers to be sitting up or even standing, which we've been doing much more of lately, also. He can stand for quite a while, but always assisted and still hasn't quite mastered leaning against furniture yet. Now we need to work on more standing, rolling the other direction and getting ready to crawl!
(Sorry for the loud voiceover... just a proud Mama celebrating!)
He is great at holding himself up when you hold him, and started wrapping his legs tight around your body for extra support. He learned how to give "hugs" by wrapping his arms around your neck (only when he wants to), and snuggles into your neck when "playing shy". When he's tired, he lays his head down on your shoulder.
He has developed a new sense of independence, and I can foresee him being very stubborn in his toddler years with the "he has to do it himself", attitude. He already displays this through holding his bottle and rolling over, two things he has made clear (when he wants to) that he has to do, not us. When in the mood, he will hold his bottle himself, but it has to be his idea, not ours. When teaching him to roll over, we had to lay him on his back and help roll him (letting him think he was doing it) rather than placing him on his belly first. Eating his first solids and even still, he likes to hold his own spoon and feed himself with his hands, by shoving his hands in his mouth after each bite (so messy, but fun). His stubbornness is also apparent in his new-found fighting to go to sleep (more on that below). This little man is so full of personality, and I can't wait to watch it develop even more!
Here is what else Nolan is doing at 5 months:
Height, Weight, and Sizes:
Nolan's weight gain has slowed down, but he's still moving upwards on the scale. We don't have a well-check visit this month, but unofficially he weighs around 16.5-17 pounds on our scale at home. He is still in mostly 6 month onesies with a few 9 month ones, and still in 6-9 month PJs and shorts. We've switched to size 3 diapers and also switched brands, from Pampers to Huggies. The extra band on the back of Huggies seems to work well to contain his blowouts and I find I'm not doing nearly as much laundry (yay!).
Nolan's weight gain has slowed down, but he's still moving upwards on the scale. We don't have a well-check visit this month, but unofficially he weighs around 16.5-17 pounds on our scale at home. He is still in mostly 6 month onesies with a few 9 month ones, and still in 6-9 month PJs and shorts. We've switched to size 3 diapers and also switched brands, from Pampers to Huggies. The extra band on the back of Huggies seems to work well to contain his blowouts and I find I'm not doing nearly as much laundry (yay!).
Feeding:
Lots of new milestones in this category! Nolan started solids at 19 weeks by introducing rice cereal. He loved it the first day and thought it was so funny to eat from a spoon! He isn't nearly as excited anymore about it, but still takes in solids on a daily basis, making it part of our daily schedule. He started oatmeal cereal shortly after, at 20 weeks, and eats this regularly rather than the rice cereal. We started only giving these to him once a day (dinner), and most recently, introduced a second feeding (breakfast) at 22 weeks. Soon enough, we will do three meals a day, and then introduce the fun stuff, like veggies and fruits!We successfully switched to a 4 hour E.A.S.Y. schedule with hardly any setbacks, and I feel much more normal in the sense that he is on a schedule most babies his age are on. Before, I found myself having different awake times than other friends, so setting playdates was hard because they would be completely opposite of sleep/awake times. Now, we're on a normal schedule and it is wonderful! Nolan usually wakes between 6:30AM and 7:00AM, and has his first bottle feeding at 7AM, followed by 11AM, 3PM, and a bedtime bottle at 7PM. He continues to dream feed at 10:30PM, and drinks 6-7 ounces each feeding, completely finishing his bottle every time. He eats solids for breakfast at 8:15AM and again for dinner around 4:30PM-5PM, only eating about a tablespoon of oatmeal cereal at each meal. We're excited to start introducing the fun stuff: the veggies and then fruits! I can't wait to see his reactions to the different flavors.
Nolan also got his first taste of water, as he has been showing a large interest in any glass you drink out of. I let him drink out of the bottom of a straw by holding the top and dripping drops of water into his mouth. He still needs a lot of practice at this, and didn't really get how to swallow the water once it hit his mouth (of course he'd be confused... it's not in a bottle!) He has also tried a few sips out of a glass the regular way, and was even more confused when the water hit his lips! Needless to say, he really hasn't drank too much water, just a taste here and there since he's so curious! We will introduce the sippy cup when he turns 6 months old and start getting him acquainted using a cup that way.
Sleeping:
Since switching to the 4 hour E.A.S.Y. schedule, Nolan goes two hours between naps now, with some days still barely making it to the 2 hour stretch. He loves his sleep and can get quite cranky if he's over his limit! After waking in the morning between 6:30AM-7:00AM, his first morning nap is at 9:00AM-11:00AM. Most days he will sleep the whole 2 hours, but sometimes he will only sleep for 1.5 hours. I try to keep him in his crib to play quietly and talk to himself if he's content, until his 2 hour mark. His afternoon nap is from 1:00PM-3:00PM, again, most days lasting for 2 hours. He usually needs to take a quick catnap again around 5:00PM-5:30PM, and sleeps for 30 minutes exactly every time. It's crazy how he has an internal clock set for only a 30 minute catnap... it is to the tee every.single.time. This little catnap is nice because I can get dinner started while he snoozes, and then he joins us for dinner at the table in his highchair as soon as he wakes up. After dinner, we start our bedtime routine around 6:45PM, with a bath, PJs, bottle at 7:00PM-7:15PM, some book reading, and then it's lights out by 7:30PM. He is always guaranteed to be asleep by 8:00PM. He continues to sleep through the night, minus the dream feed at 10:30PM, where he is half asleep, drinks his bottle and then dozes back off immediately.
Since switching to the 4 hour E.A.S.Y. schedule, Nolan goes two hours between naps now, with some days still barely making it to the 2 hour stretch. He loves his sleep and can get quite cranky if he's over his limit! After waking in the morning between 6:30AM-7:00AM, his first morning nap is at 9:00AM-11:00AM. Most days he will sleep the whole 2 hours, but sometimes he will only sleep for 1.5 hours. I try to keep him in his crib to play quietly and talk to himself if he's content, until his 2 hour mark. His afternoon nap is from 1:00PM-3:00PM, again, most days lasting for 2 hours. He usually needs to take a quick catnap again around 5:00PM-5:30PM, and sleeps for 30 minutes exactly every time. It's crazy how he has an internal clock set for only a 30 minute catnap... it is to the tee every.single.time. This little catnap is nice because I can get dinner started while he snoozes, and then he joins us for dinner at the table in his highchair as soon as he wakes up. After dinner, we start our bedtime routine around 6:45PM, with a bath, PJs, bottle at 7:00PM-7:15PM, some book reading, and then it's lights out by 7:30PM. He is always guaranteed to be asleep by 8:00PM. He continues to sleep through the night, minus the dream feed at 10:30PM, where he is half asleep, drinks his bottle and then dozes back off immediately.
Nolan has started fighting going to sleep, not because he isn't tired, but because he has so much fun during his awake time that he wants to stay up and play! I still can't complain that he is hard to put down, because I know people have it much worse than we do. But, for our easy sleeper that he's always been, the 15-minute struggle of getting him to go down is a new challenge for us. He never cries, but always flairs his arms, wiggles, kicks, spits his pacifier out; pretty much anything he can to fight the fact that he is slowly drifting off to sleep. He does this for both his afternoon naps and bedtime. Hopefully it's just a phase! He doesn't do it every single time, so I'm hoping it's just a timing issue that we can work out with practice.
We continue to move Nolan into the Pack N' Play in our room at his dream feed (I know, I know... no criticism, please!) Sidenote: We are planning on keeping him in his Pack N' Play until after our big trip to Vermont, because I don't want him to get used to his crib and complete quiet at night when he will be rooming with us in a Pack N' Play in Vermont. Once we return, then we will work on getting him through the night in his own room. After his dream feed, he falls back asleep immediately, sleeping through the night until 6:30AM-7:00AM the next morning. I've noticed the earlier I put him down at night, the later he usually sleeps in, which is why we strive to get him down by 7:30PM.
He still sleeps in a SleepSack and we plan to use these for a while... we love them! He also still uses his pacifier and can easily take it out and quite often put it back in. He uses his pacifier only for sleep and if we are out or in a different environment, especially in the car. He is getting better at soothing himself to sleep, and at times can put himself to sleep without being rocked. We will be working on putting Nolan down in his crib when he is just drowsy and not completely asleep, so he can start putting himself down better. He continues to sleep solely on his right side, and is quite the mover in his crib. I still manage to find him in so many different directions when I go to get him up, and lately he has discovered the slats in the crib, so I'll find him playing with the sides with either his hands or kicking them with his feet in his SleepSack. Soon enough, this will mean putting the breathable bumper on so I don't walk in to find limbs hanging out of the crib!
Firsts & Milestones:
-Rolling over from belly to back, unassisted
-Rolling over from belly to back, unassisted
-"Fake" coughing
-Watching Sesame Street on a regular basis (30 minutes max. a day, usually after his dinner and before his catnap)
-First time baby boy got a rash (on his belly-still don't know what caused it, but it only lasted 24 hours)
-Started rice cereal
-Started oatmeal cereal
-Sips of water
-Holds bottle completely unassisted (when he wants to)
-Pressing all buttons on all toys
-"Hugging" and clutching arms around neck when holding him
-Playing "shy"
-Designating he's tired by laying head on shoulder
-First road trip (to San Diego)
-First time at the zoo
-First time at the beach
-Celebrated first Father's Day with Daddy (5 months, 1 day)
-Grabbing Harley's tail and ears
-Riding in the "big boy" stroller seat (regular stroller seat and not the infant carseat)
-Musical turtle
-Fred the Dachshund toy
-Playing "Superbaby" (flying in the air like Superman)
-Wheels on the Bus book
-Grocery shopping- I usually wear Nolan in the carrier when we go, and he gets a front row seat of everything we shop for. His absolute favorite part is bagging produce!
-Exploring the refrigerator, loves to feel the cool air and touch the cold shelves
-Spinning in circles while being held
-"Jumping" up and down on the bed
-Sophie the Giraffe (still obsessed)
-"I'm a little teapot" song and dance
-Baby Einstein jumper
-"Wrestling" with his stuffed animals
Dislikes:
-Being tickled
-Being tickled
-Stranger danger- he currently is in a phase with initially being skiddish and crying around men... no idea why! It only lasts for a few minutes and then he's fine.
-Being overtired
-Being startled (We have to be careful when we go in to get him from his naps... there have been multiple times we swore he saw us, started talking to him, and he jumped, screamed and started bawling because we caught him off guard!)
Next month marks Nolan's half-birthday... 6 months! I can't believe it. Slow down, little man... mama's not ready to see you grow up!
No comments