Carter is 5 Months!

I know you are thinking…has it really been a month already. Yes! I can’t believe he is already 5 months old either! He is really starting to grow and change. He no longer feels like a newborn. Here are some of the things he is up to these days.

• I think he is finally comfortable in his surroundings. Our house can be pretty loud and crazy with Abbie and Bailey running around. I think he is finally used to the noise and excitement. He actually loves it! He watches Abbie wherever she goes and even smiles and laughs at her.
• He is in constant motion! He has perfected rolling both ways. The instant I lay him on the floor he starts rolling. Sometimes he rolls all the way across the floor. He usually only stops when he rolls into one of Abbie’s toys! He is also trying to crawl! If he was strong enough to push up on his arms for an extended period of time he would be crawling. He definitely has the leg movement down. He is also trying very hard to sit up. We have been practicing sitting up the past week or so. I am hopeful he will be able to sit up on his own around 6 months.
• He is officially a tummy sleeper! I know that it is not the recommended way for him to sleep but that is what he wants to do. He either sleeps on his side or his tummy and is a very good sleeper. We stopped swaddling him a few weeks ago. He was even able to turn onto his tummy when he was swaddled! Good thing we stopped swaddling him when we did because it is way too hot now!
• He only wakes up to eat once a night now. His last feeding is around 7:00, and he is usually in bed around 7:45. Then he wakes up once, anywhere from 1:00 to 4:30 and then sleeps until around 7:30. I can have him changed, fed and back in bed in about 30 minutes, which isn’t too bad. He actually slept through the night a few days ago! I think the technical term for sleeping through the night is 6 straight hours (which he has been doing for a while). That is not long enough for me though! My idea of sleeping through the night is 11 or 12 straight hours. He slept from 7:45 to 7:00 the next morning the other day. We were amazed! He hasn’t done it again. I think he will be able to sleep longer when we start solids in a few weeks.
• He is such a good sleeper, much better than Abbie was at this age! Lately he has been taking two, two-hour naps during the day. I can even put him in his crib awake, and he will just go to sleep! I remember having to rock Abbie for a long time before putting her to bed, and even then she would usually wake up when I put her in her crib and then cry for a few minutes before going to sleep. The most I am able to do for Carter is walk him around for a few minutes while trying to wrangle Abbie. Then I just put him in his crib! I usually just have to keep checking on him to find out when he is awake. He never cries when he wakes up, he just lays smiling in his bed. I am sure he will not always be such a good napper, but I am enjoying it while it lasts!
• He does not suck his thumb or use a pacifier. I keep thinking he will find his thumb one of these days but maybe not. He doesn’t have any soothing item yet (such as thumb, pacifier, blankie, etc.).
• He is so long! All of his 3-6 month clothes are too short and hard to button at the bottom. He really needs to be wearing 6-12 month clothes already if just for the additional length. He is still wearing Size 2 diapers.
• He will be starting solid food in the next few weeks! I can’t believe it is almost that time. Stay tuned for Carter’s first baby food!
• He loves to chew on fingers, his own or anyone else's! Still no teeth yet.
• He always has a smile for Mommy and usually a giggle, too. I love his smile!
• He completes our family!

We all love you very much Carter! You are growing so quickly, which makes me happy and sad at the same time. I took these pictures in about 2 minutes this afternoon. He was having a great time! (In order to get him to smile, we just have to make monkey noises…I guess he has been watching a little too much of Abbie’s Curious George shows!)