Thursday, December 16, 2010

Jude is 5 Months Old!

For some reason, it's really hitting me hard this month. I'm just shocked that he is so old already. I'm not sad, per say, I just can't believe how fast time flies. I really still consider myself to have just had a baby. It hit me the other day that I really didn't. I don't have a newborn anymore. I wasn't just pregnant. It's been 5 months. Wow. I always wondered how I would handle having a toddler and a newborn. I still wonder how. It's funny the way you just take it day by day, and suddenly you realize you did it. I got through the newborn, sleepless nights stage, and I didn't go crazy! I'm in no way saying I've arrived - we still have rough days and I'm definitely still learning how to be mom of two. It has been the most challenging, rewarding thing I've ever done, though. Here are some things my big, no-longer-newborn baby has been doing:

-Jude tried rice cereal for the first time this week! I was planning on waiting until he was 6 months since that's what the AAP recommends for breastfeeding babies, but he seemed ready, so we went ahead. He liked it ok. He did a pretty good job of swallowing it. We're just introducing it slowly for now. We won't really get serious about solids until he is 6 months old.

-He still nurses about every 3 hours during the day. Jude has never had any formula, and I'm kind of proud of that :o) He takes bottles of milk that I've pumped for him occasionally, and he does pretty well.

-Jude rolls onto his back anytime we put him on his tummy, but he hasn't quite gotten from his back to his tummy. He tries so hard! He can get onto his side, but he just can't get all the way over just yet. It's coming soon!

-Jude discovered his feet! He thinks they're pretty interesting, and he grabs them and holds on for dear life when he's getting his diaper changed. Super cute!

-He grabs at everything. It's cute sometimes, but you have to be careful about what you put near him. I used to be able to hold him in my lap while I ate, but now he grabs at my food as I'm putting it in my mouth. Haha. He also grabs toys, my hair, blankets, hands... anything! He reaches up and grabs his pacifier out of his mouth, too. That's frustrating when he is trying to go to sleep but can't because he keeps pulling the paci out :o/

-Speaking of sleeping, Jude is still a pretty good sleeper. He wakes up sometimes at night fussing for his pacifier, but I rarely feed him in the night. Sometimes, if he doesn't go right back to sleep when I give him the paci, I end up feeding him. That's just me being lazy, though. Ha! Because he does wake up for his pacifier a good bit, though, he is still sleeping in our room. Getting up and giving him his pacifier now is not a big deal - I really don't even wake up fully. If I had to go all the way upstairs, it would be way more annoying. I never dreamed we would keep him in our room this long, though. We'll move him to his own room one of these days. Maybe ;)

-Naptime is a bit of a challenge. Jude just does not like his bed during the day. He loves sleeping in his carseat. That's not really ideal, though, so we are going to work hard to make him love his bed night AND day! Jude usually takes 2 good naps a day and several little catnaps if we're out and about.

-He weighs around 17 pounds, and he's about 26 inches long.

-We just moved up a diaper size! He is now in a size 3. He had started having some "blowouts" lately, so hopefully the larger diaper will help with that ;o)

-Jude really loves anyone who will talk to him and give him attention. He smiles and laughs SO easily. Literally all I have to do is look at him and say "Hey!" and he just cracks up. ADORABLE!

-He loves bathtime! He just kicks his little legs and enjoys the warm water.

-Jude isn't a huge fan of his swing anymore :( Hopefully he will learn to love it again. We are going to pull out Aubrey's old [pink!] bouncy seat and see if he likes it.

Jude just gets sweeter and more delightful every month. Of course, he IS a baby, and it's not all smiles and laughs all the time. He does cry sometimes, too. Ha! He really is a sweet, darling little thing, though, and I just love love love him! :o)

4 comments:

The Williams Family said...

He is a precious baby and I love his smile!

Jennifer said...

Jude is getting so big! You should be proud of breastfeeding! Way to go Mama!

Amy said...

He is precious! Love those rolls and those sweet cheeks when he smiles! :)
So much of what you wrote brought back memories of Libbi - ha! We kept her in our room until she was 6 months old and the only reason I moved her out was because Jeffrey said, "it's seriously time...." ;0)
of course, i was also the one that said she would sleep in our room 6 weeks MAX before she was born - hahaha! never say never, right? ;)

Sarah Denley said...

Aww, I love all the rolls, too. Maybe, I'll have a chubby baby this time!

I really like that AP and Jude wear the same size diaper even though she is more than a YEAR older than him. Ha! We did just find out she's in the 7th percentile, though, which is the highest she's ever been!