I can't believe Michael is already 5 months! It is crazy how fast the time is going...it seems like we were just bringing him home from the hospital. We didn't have a doctors appointment this month so no official stats, but Michael is now wearing 6 month sleepers for the length but is still wearing size 3 month pants and shorts (the 6 month ones are WAY too big for his skinny little waist).The past few weeks we have had some major sleep struggles. Michael went from waking up only once during the night to waking up 3 - 5 times a night! I was exhausted to say the least. We decided to take Michael to the doctor to make sure there was nothing medically wrong. The doctor told us everything looked fine and to try letting Michael cry for 10 minutes at night, then going in to check on him and soothe him, leave the room and let him cry for 10 more mins, repeating the process until he fell asleep. Well we must have a stubborn child on our hands because this did not work. Michael just became more and more frustrated and upset and so did I! It is hard hearing your baby cry :( I know that it is important to teach your child to fall asleep on their own but I think it is also important to find something that works for you. So I decided to say screw the books and we came up with our own plan.
I went back to nursing Michael to sleep at night and after a few days Michael went back to waking up only once a night and even slept for 7 hours straight the other night! He has actually started pulling away when he is almost asleep while nursing, then I lay him in his crib, pat and soothe him a little and he falls asleep in his crib! This may not seem like much but I think it is a HUGE accomplishment! I know that Michael will be able to fall asleep on his own as time goes on and for now this is what works for us :)
We also started rice cereal this month and Michael loves it! I was preparing for the worst. I have read how some babies do not like it and how the first time you try solids babies may reject it and make a huge mess. Not our Michael...he opened up wide and ate every bite! He didn't even spit any out or make a mess! We now give him about 1 tablespoon of cereal at dinnertime and are going to start giving him a tablespoon at breakfast as well. We will start introducing other solid foods (fruits and veggies) at 6 months. I am looking forward to seeing if Michael keeps up these good eating habits as we try new things.
New Things This Month:
- Rolling over both ways. Anytime Michael is playing on the floor he is constantly rolling back and forth.
- Putting his feet in his mouth
- Laughing when we tickle him...I love this sound :)
- Grabbing for toys and noses, mouths, and hair when people hold him
- Passing toys from one hand to the other
- Sitting up briefly on his own
- Turning towards you when you call his name
