Garrett: Five Months

  Five Months As Of 01.27.14

Where oh where is time going? I can't believe my precious little boy is growing so quickly! It seems that each day brings growth, changes & new things learned and while it excited me greatly it also saddens me to see him leaving the baby-ness behind so quickly! I am a few days behind {per usual} with this update but getting our little man to sit still long enough to snap photos has really become a challenge! He is a on-the-go type of boy!

Update: Garrett is at an age now where is is really, really becoming aware of what's going on around him and making his needs & wants known! He  is becoming more and more vocal and isn't afraid to let you know when something is ticking him off. He recently started an ear piercing scream and while it's adorable when it's a happy scream it gets old quick when it's an irritated scream. He's also started laughing, blowing bubbles & grabbing food when mommy and daddy aren't looking.
 
Stats & Recent Appointment: Our 4 month check actually fell when Garrett was 20 weeks old so I'll use those stats today even though they are almost two weeks old. At 20 weeks he weighed 18pounds 8ounces {88%} and was 26 1/2 inches in length {82%}. His head circumference was 43.6cm {86%}. The nurse was so impressed with how equal his proportions are! My mom dug out my baby book & I wasn't 18pounds until I was 10 months old! Chunky baby! He had his 4 month shots and while he screamed his little lungs off it was a much shorter than when he had his 2 month shots. Thank goodness!

Features: Our little balding boy! I'm incredibly sad to report that my baby is loosing his adorable head of hair! He has a large oval of near bald-ness on the back of his head and this past week I've noticed it thinning everywhere else too. :( His eyes are still pretty blue but slowly seem to be getting more and more hazel/brown in them.

Sleep: Well we've mastered the art of crib sleeping! Garrett now takes 90% of his naps in his crib and sleeps in it at night. There are times during the day that I let him sleep in his swing but I really try to keep those minimal. He is however quite the stinker at night still. He usually starts getting sleepy about 7pm. So we do bath at 7pm, lotion, jammies and bottle. He starts really dozing between 8pm and 8:30pm and is out around 9pm. I'll lay him down right away then at 9pm. He usually wakes up then around 10pm/11pm and will start screaming {and won't stop} if we don't come in there. Rock him back to sleep and he'll sleep until about 1am/2am. When he gets up at 2am I'll go ahead and nurse him or give him a bottle because he really does seem hungry. From there he's up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Talk about an exhausted momma! There are nights though where he won't even give me that three hour stretch meaning I'm up every 45mins to 1hour with him. During the day he's usually pretty good about taking three naps. The middle one is usually two hours long unless he was up a lot the night before...then the morning one is the long one. 

Eating: Our breastfeeding days are numbered I'm afraid. My supply is non-existent these days and despite my restarting Fenugreek {which worked wonders in the beginning} I've seen no increase. I'm incredibly sad yet sort of relieved about this all at the same time. {I'm considering writing a post about our trials with breastfeeding...would anyone even want to read it?!} I'm sad because it's true what they say about breastfeeding to incredible bonding. I loved knowing that I was providing nutrition and goodness for Garrett. At the same time these past few weeks have been hard on me because I knew my supply wasn't great and was constantly having to supplement with more and more formula. So, being nearly on 100% formula is sort of a relief because I know he's getting what he needs & isn't going hungry. Right now he's doing somewhere between 5-8 ounces every four hours of so. At times he'll even chug 9 or 10 ounces...no wonder he's huge huh?! We started rice cereal on January 2nd, just after he turned 4 months and he did okay with that. Last week we started oatmeal which he LOVES! We're using Earth's Best Organic cereals and mixing them with either breast milk or formula. This weekend we'll start with his first non-cereal food-avocados! I spent an entire day making baby food for him awhile back and became totally addicted to it! I love knowing that he's getting organic foods that I prepared myself! We used our blender and the Infantino squeeze station to make up our very own little pouches. More on that coming soon! 

Diapering: Chunky is wearing six three diapers! We're using all Target brand and I'm finding I like them much more now than I did when he was little! They also seem to run a bit bigger than Huggies or Pampers so I think he'll be in this size for some time!

Clothing: We spent many weekends last year hitting up rummage sales purchasing clothes from newborn to 12 months. Most of the 9month and 12month stuff I bought was warm spring/summer stuff. Who would have though that at 5 months old my little boy would already by outgrowing 9month clothing? Our little guy is truly a chunky monkey and I can't keep his drawers stocked with clothes that fit! I'm hoping we can limp by during these last few months of winter and snatch up loads more clothes at some rummage sales this coming spring/summer. I love buying clothes for him but at this rate the cost really starts to add up! I was lucky to find a whole mess of pants for $2-$3 a pair at Kohl's recently which where size 9months but he's nearly outgrown those now too :( If we're home he's usually in jammies as we have plenty of those that fit or he's nudie, which is his preferred state. And don't worry, it's 72* in our house.

Social: Our little guy remains a charmer though he seems to have a bit of stranger danger lately. Almost everyone that has visited lately has gotten a healthy dose of the pout face. He screamed his little head off when my bestie & her boyfriend visited. I think it was his beard. At times he'll bust out crying if people laugh or say "ouch". And don't even think about fake crying around him because that really brings the waterworks. As I mentioned above he has really found his voice and will be sure to let you know what he wants! There is no keeping him still these days either...he constantly wants to be sitting or jumping!

Nicknames: Monkey, monkey butt, squirt, little man, handsome, chunk, big boy, little love, Mr. Magoo, Stinky Magoo

Likes: Baths, his Baby Einstein phone {and nearly any toy that lights up and makes noise}, cuddling up while falling asleep with his blanket next to his cheek, tv {though momma rarely let's him watch}, music, being sang too, his jumperoo, being read to, standing on the couch to look out the window and sitting up {with help from momma and daddy}

Dislikes: Having his hair dried, having his nails clipped, the hiccups, being stationary in his car seat, going down for naps, being woke up and not getting food fast enough when he's hungry.