5 months!

Our little buddy is 5 months old today! It's hard to believe he's that old already! ...and even harder to believe this post is getting published on his actual 5 month birthday.

Matt and I laugh that we're really getting into a routine now (almost half a year in).

We just move faster now and have figured out how to tag team without verbalizing our plans to each other. Like in the evenings after bath- we usually bathe him together, and then Matt does the lotion, diaper, pjs, and sleepsack while I get the bottle ready. And then Matt starts feeding him in the living room while I pump. Then we move back to the bedroom for the last half of the bottle while I get the sound machine and humidifier ready to go. By then he's almost done with the bottle and ready for us to sing and say prayers before we lay him in the crib for the night.

That whole process usually starts between 6:30-7:30 and he's asleep anywhere between 7:30-8:30 most nights.

He still wakes up once to feed in the middle of the night, and I'll be honest- I've gone back and forth this month on how I feel about him eating in the middle of the night still. And here's where I stand with it:

As much as I would like for him to go the whole night and think he probably could, I'm not ready to let him cry himself back to sleep when he wakes up wanting to eat, and I do still enjoy that time with him. 

I think, actually I know, I was doing that awful mom-comparison game that I'm sure will happen many times over the course of Ryan's life and our future kids' lives, where I was thinking that because many of Ryan's "friends" sleep through the night and are on specific schedules, he should be too. 

But after many conversations with friends and family and myself, haha, I think I've reached a place where I'm confident and happy with his sleeping/eating routine. He's a happy baby, and right now, that's really all I want for him.

And on that note, I am SO so thankful for my sweet family and friends (oh, here come the tears- ha) who have never once made me feel like I am falling short as a mama or doing anything less than what I think is best for Ryan. Being a mama is the best hardest work I've ever done, and I'm so thankful to have encouraging family and friends and a sweet hubby who support me when I'm second-guessing myself.

For documenting purposes (I have yet to write things in his baby book, so for now, this is the only documenting I'll have to look at when I want to refer back to what Ryan did in these early days!), this is his general schedule right now:

Wake up between 7:15-8:15 and eat

Play for 1-2 hours

Nap for about an hour

Wake up and eat and start the routine over.

He goes 3-4 hours between meals, occasionally less, and sleeps anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours for his naps. He tends to take one long nap and a few cat naps throughout the day and is almost always happy when he wakes up.

The exception is the bedtime feed which happens 2 hours or less from the last feed. We've found that he does better with cluster feeding at night rather than stretching out that last meal like the rest of his meals in the day. For some reason, when he goes 3 or more hours before that last meal (even when he's wide awake and happy), he wakes up again 3-4 hours after he goes down. Almost like he doesn't realize it's nighttime. But when we cluster feed before bed, he gives a 7-9 stretch before waking up to eat. 

When he wakes up, he usually plays and talks to himself for 10-15 minutes before we get him up. And that smile when we go to get him is the sweetest!

Milestones:
December 8th- cut his first tooth
December 9th- laughed at me blowing kisses on his cheeks and belly
December 13th- cut second tooth
December 22nd- rolled from back to tummy in crib

Here's a look at what he's been up to this month. 

I've found it's easier to share pictures from my phone for these posts since their documented by day on my Google+ account, but because of that, many of the pictures aren't the clearest. But they're still sweet to look at!

At his 4 month checkup, he was smiley and wiggly:

He has rolled back to stomach twice and is trying to figure out how to do it whenever he wants to!

Bathtime is still one of his favorite parts of the day. We still have him in his little green tub in the sink, even though he's a little big for it. Neither one of us want to move him yet! But I think we will sometime this month... pushing the 1/2 year mark seems like an appropriate time to move out of the sink tub. ;)

He still loves napping in his wrap... and we love it too!

Game Day

He supports both teams on game day- even though, per Matt and I's agreement, he'll be a Florida State fan... haha. He gets the boys; I get the girls.

He had many a play date this month. Some went great, others, not so much. ;)

He loves his Aunt Dre!

At the end of his date with Caroline after church, he pooed through his entire outfit, socks included, and had to go naked in his carrier because I forgot to pack an extra outfit. Ooops!

A similar situation happened when we celebrated Laura's 30th at the Swan Coach House. He woke up from his perfectly planned nap 10 minutes in, pooed through his pants, and spent the rest of the fancy lunch happily wiggling on the floor pantless. Clearly I need to work on remember extra clothes in this next month. ;)

These three are probably going to think they're siblings. :)

He also had a few firsts!

picking out our first Christmas tree

First time wearing his winter hat that my mom got him

First time in a long time that he fell asleep being held. Nonna has the magic touch and the sweetest singing voice. :)

First ride in his new stroller! I like how he is higher up now and love how smooth the stroller rides! I will be so sad when he grows out of the carrier and has to sit facing away from us!

First time falling asleep on his back post-swaddle days. He's been a tummy sleeper for most of his short life (once he started fighting the swaddle early on), but on occasion he'll fall asleep on his back. Most of the time he gets uncomfortable though and tries to wiggle over to his tummy.

He's been working on reaching his feet for a while and finally made contact this month! He wants so badly for them to go all the way to his mouth. ;)

First time in church nursery!

First Christmas celebration at Nonna's!

First Christmas Day:

Matt and I had fun seeing our baby ornament pictures. Mine was much younger and looked so much like Ryan, but he is definitely starting to favor Matt more too!

First wagon ride on Christmas Day!

Ryan and Tally pics:

 

Reading, playing, and snuggling are three of his favorite things:

The changing table is still one of his favorite spots to wiggle, talk, and smile! The short giggles happen here on occasion too... but the laughing is still mostly silent! ;)

Lunch Dates and Mall Dates!

Surprising Uncle Riley in the hospital before his procedure:

Getting him out of his crib in the morning is the best:

The car is a much sweeter place for the buddy now! He loves looking at himself in the mirror and playing with his toys:

This one is so blurry, but he fell asleep with Sophie in his mouth- sweet buddy!

Teething:

Poor guy has two teeth already and is working on at least two more! The 22nd and 23rd were hard days for the little guy. We could tell he was hurting and did everything we could to make it easier on him. He even slept in his carrier for one of his naps which never happens, so he was definitely tired from being off of his normal sleeping routine!

We were so glad when he was smiley again on Christmas Eve! And then Christmas Day he was happy as could be! We were so thankful for that.

Showing off his teeth!

 

Cousin Pictures:

Videos from this month: