Another month already? LO is 5 mos old

I guess the beauty of February being short month is that I get to be gooey over LO's progress what seems like a few days early. I mentioned to DH that we are in the golden age of LO's infancy. He is getting more fun and social every day, but is still easy to feed and stays where we put him. As exciting as it is to see him develop, I can't stop the feeling that things are also about to get a little more complicated. It's like the ascent of the first big hill on the old school wooden roller coasters. With every click on the track you know you're getting closer to the top. The downhill is going to be awesome, but the anticipation, the "here...we...go!" is crazy.

At long last I can post our schedule! I think of it as a snapshot of our typical day. You should know by now just how giddy I am to have a schedule. It at least makes my day look predictable. Don't get me wrong, I love surprises, but I'm a planner and it's been a long time since I've been able to count on any kind of plan. Plans make me happy. A happy LO makes me even happier. Having a schedule gives me a chance at both. I digress...here's how we start the day:

I apologize for my part of the wake-up. We both love going in to get him in the morning or after a nap. It's like Christmas morning., each of us asking the other if we're ready and "can we go in yet?"

7 am wake-up

7:15 am breakfast

8-8:30 am read books, quiet play

8:30-10:30ish morning nap

10:30-11:15 am playtime/walk

11:15 am lunch

noon quiet play or walk if not done earlier

12:45ish-2:30/3:00 pm afternoon nap (if we're lucky, or 30 min nap, hour of crying if we aren't)

after nap-4 more active play

4 pm dinner #1

5-5:30 pm quiet play/floor time

5:30 or 6 pm evening cat nap (if we're lucky, or 30-60 min crying if we aren't)

7 pm get ready for bed, dinner #2

8:15 pm night-night

Times are, of course, approximate. DH is still giving me a hard time about not being flexible enough. I think I'm pretty good about it...if I'm too flexible, there isn't a schedule! As you can tell, we're still working on the nap thing. I truly expected it to be more straightforward than this. The morning nap is pretty reliable and LO sleeps great at night! I am SO GRATEFUL to have a good sleeper in the night time. I'd be fine with him napping less during the day IF he didn't need them. Unfortunately, though, he desperately does need them. So we're plugging along. After 4 weeks of having a routine, putting him down awake, and consistently letting him cry 45-60 min if he wakes too early, I really thought the cry times would be getting shorter. Was I naive or is stubbornness genetic? Maybe both. The saving grace is that he is always fine and usually happy when the crying time is up. If he hasn't slept enough he has no ability to cope with hunger or frustration, but at least he doesn't hold a grudge. DH and I just keep sticking it out because we know that we are giving him the chance to learn better sleep habits. We know if we change approaches now, it will just be confusing for LO. Surely he'll learn soon, right?

Overall the last month has been great fun. As you can tell from the video, LO has gotten a lot more talkative in the last two weeks. I say he's a polite babbler. He usually only talks when it's quiet and often when we aren't in the room. If there's anything going on or if we are talking, he just soaks it all in. Here's some of his dinner conversation from the other night. It was a rare occasion that he didn't stop when I turned the camera on.

In addition to the new babble, he has also started to laugh more. He was a little ticklish last month, but this month that became more predictable. DH and I love to have tickle time or make him laugh by kissing his naked belly before baths. He still hasn't gotten into making or receiving raspberries yet, but I'm sure the time is coming.

I have often heard moms talk about the joy of watching their LOs learn. In the last month, DH and I actually got to experience that. LO seems to have associated certain objects (a pillow) and sounds (the buckle on the pillow) with nursing; he gets so excited when he sees/hears those. He has also learned how to make some of his toys "sing" and how to maneuver himself in his exersaucer. He is more consistent with rolling over from his tummy (see below), and for about two weeks now has made it up on his side from his back. I'm certain he'll make it the rest of the way over any day now.

You might also notice from all of the videos that the cotton finally has some competition. Yep, those hands are in his mouth almost all the time. He doesn't want "cotton" to feel left out though and often will do his best to fit both in his mouth. He is such a fan of his fingers that, one several occasions, has stopped nursing to have a "side" of fingers. If his fingers or bibs would provide sustenance, I'd be a free woman!

I still find myself wondering if I'm seeing parts of his budding personality. He still seems "cautious" to me. That's the closest I can come to an accurate description. I know babies like to grasp things, but yesterday he fell asleep in the car with one arm extended to his hand could hold a corner of the toy mirror and the other hand grasping his bib. In the jog stroller yesterday he reached to hold the fabric by the frame. It is so endearing to me. I wonder where that comes from?

Speaking of the car seat, we've made big progress in becoming more mobile. I think it's a combination of finally having some predictability to our day and the (hopefully) waning sick season. I still don't want to be out much until April. (RSV and flu are still in the community, yuck!) We have, however, ventured out twice with LO in the last week and have plans to spend the day out weekend after next. Our first non-medically related trip out as a family (since Nov?) was to a friends new house. We had great fun visiting, and I was flexible enough to scrap LO's evening nap to go. We expected LO to be exhausted and feed poorly as a result. Instead he seemed completely wired. Bedtime was definitely not routine that night. It was more like a Three Stooges skit. In addition, LO and I ran an errand yesterday. Yep, when you're a mom, the first time just you and the babe run and errand is blog-worthy. We did great if I do say so myself.

So the next month promises some really exciting things. More "trips", a visit from a new aunt, greater mobility, more personality , and maybe, just maybe, better naps! We love you punkin!