5 Months

It seems like it's been awhile since I've posted about our progress. Colin was on vacation for a week and a half so we've been traveling like crazy! It's been wonderful to visit places and see people, but it has been difficult on our routines.

Micah was doing about a three and a half hour feeding schedule with one two hour feeding towards the end of the night to keep up the five feedings and to also keep up the twelve hours of sleep he was getting at night. I also started feeding him baby oatmeal once a day at his 5 o'clock feeding. However, when we were on vacation in the Midwest Micah was not nursing well. He'd eat one side (maybe) and then nurse only a tiny bit on the other side. I attributed it to a flexible routine and him having a cold. There were a few times that he went longer than three and a half hours and he nursed MUCH better (I thought maybe he was getting ready to go on a four hour feeding schedule before we left, but I wanted to wait until we were back from vacation and in a normal routine), so I "sucked it up" and switched him to a four hour feeding schedule and added one more feeding of oatmeal at the end of our trip. I was surprised at how easily he fell into a four hour routine. Now Micah's routine looks like this (knock on wood because as soon as I write this something will change I'm sure):

7:30 nurse
9:30 nap
11:30 nurse and feed solid food
1:30 nap
3:30 nurse and feed solid food (although I'm thinking about doing solids around supper time instead, so that when he's weaned from nursing it'll be an easier transition to our meal time, but I don't want to create a habit of eating every 2 to 3 hours still)
5:30 short nap (this nap can get easily skipped if need be)
7:30 nurse and bed



Micah also started rolling from his tummy to his back pretty consistently this month and he can sit up for a few seconds without assistance. His drool output has definitely increased this month and perhaps we'll be seeing a tooth in the next little while (Jackson didn't get his first tooth until 7 months so we'll see). He's a happy little guy and although he hasn't made any consonant sounds yet he loves to jabber. He's a cuddle bug too. Sometimes if he fusses at the beginning of a nap all I have to do is cuddle with him for a few minutes and then put him back in his crib and he goes right to sleep. (By the way, I'm still swaddling him for his naps and he still takes a pacifier. For bed time, I put socks on his hands (I know it sounds silly)so that he doesn't accidentally scratch himself and to discourage him from sucking his thumb.) He's also very tender hearted when it comes to his brother ... if Jackson is crying Micah will cry too and the minute Jackson stops so does Micah.

I haven't had much Mommy and Jackson time lately due to our traveling, but Jackson has not been deprived at all (time with great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, going to Disneyland, etc.) He's grown up so much these past couple of weeks. I LOVE watching him play with other children ... his personality begins to shine. Despite being sick with a cold at the end of our vacation Jackson has been SUCH a trouper with all of the crazy traveling we've been doing lately. I really am proud of his maturity in that regard.

My boys are growing up WAY too fast, but it's been such an honor and a blessing to watch!!